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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
#ComeKnocking, like @mikebockoven’s #FantasticLand is told as a collection of first-person narratives and supporting documents edited by his fictional author, Adam Jakes. Like his earlier novel, Come Knocking draws the reader in by appealing to that nature within us that makes us marvel at tragedy while challenging us to empathize with instigators and victims alike. It’s hard not to compare Come Knocking with FantasticLand due to its structure and the light he shines on the human nature that’s revealed during a tragic event - in this case a deliberate attack on an immersive, interactive theatrical performance, but like our favorite horror film franchises, sticking to the formula works, and I’m eager to see what Bockoven has for us next. Thanks to #NetGalley and @SkyHorsePublishing for the review copy. #HorrorNovel #Satire #HorrorSky #BookSky
It’s just slow and repetitive.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“The masks appear to be off. Please plan accordingly.”
🧡🧡🧡🧡
Come Knocking is a metafiction meditation about an interactive play that, from my reading perception, draws inspiration from Dante’s Inferno, Eyes Wide Shut, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Phantom of the Opera, and like a haunted rendering of Cirque du Soleil.
The book is written as Reddit posts about the play and interviews from survivors of the March 14th massacre of Come Knocking conducted by the journalist writing the novel. These chapters explicitly detail the horrors of that night from the perspectives of the audience, the stagehands, the performers, the bartenders, security, the EMTs, and those who participated in the overall unraveling of the show, members from a forum called Who’s There?
Come Knocking disturbed me greatly because, of course, the humans are the monsters, and it’s truly about how the internet can push angry people into becoming weapons of chaos that cause catastrophic harm to others who are simply trying to enjoy an event. I loved how Bockoven portrayed this with the literal hijack of the play’s control room, giving Who’s There? the ability to fuck up stages, engage flameflowers, and release performers from their safety nets. Scary shit. It’s all too real in the world we live in. When the control is put into the wrong hands, it’s deadly. We all know this. People aren’t seen as people anymore, just the enemy. We all have eyes and ears; we’ve seen this play out for decades and somehow keep falling for it.
Keep in mind that Reddit can be annoying in and of itself, so some of the chapters made me 🙄, which is the point. Aside from that, there is a powerful narrative here about how people tend to destroy beautiful things. It’s very Fight Club-esque in that way. If you’re into that, read it. If you’re not, this probably isn’t for you.
I love theatre and immersive experiences. Love a theme and dressing up for it. I would 100% be in the audience for this and “get it.” I really enjoyed this one. I am definitely a Mike Bockoven fan!
Thank you so much to @netgalley and @skyhorsepub for the ARC!
🧡🧡🧡🧡
Come Knocking is a metafiction meditation about an interactive play that, from my reading perception, draws inspiration from Dante’s Inferno, Eyes Wide Shut, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Phantom of the Opera, and like a haunted rendering of Cirque du Soleil.
The book is written as Reddit posts about the play and interviews from survivors of the March 14th massacre of Come Knocking conducted by the journalist writing the novel. These chapters explicitly detail the horrors of that night from the perspectives of the audience, the stagehands, the performers, the bartenders, security, the EMTs, and those who participated in the overall unraveling of the show, members from a forum called Who’s There?
Come Knocking disturbed me greatly because, of course, the humans are the monsters, and it’s truly about how the internet can push angry people into becoming weapons of chaos that cause catastrophic harm to others who are simply trying to enjoy an event. I loved how Bockoven portrayed this with the literal hijack of the play’s control room, giving Who’s There? the ability to fuck up stages, engage flameflowers, and release performers from their safety nets. Scary shit. It’s all too real in the world we live in. When the control is put into the wrong hands, it’s deadly. We all know this. People aren’t seen as people anymore, just the enemy. We all have eyes and ears; we’ve seen this play out for decades and somehow keep falling for it.
Keep in mind that Reddit can be annoying in and of itself, so some of the chapters made me 🙄, which is the point. Aside from that, there is a powerful narrative here about how people tend to destroy beautiful things. It’s very Fight Club-esque in that way. If you’re into that, read it. If you’re not, this probably isn’t for you.
I love theatre and immersive experiences. Love a theme and dressing up for it. I would 100% be in the audience for this and “get it.” I really enjoyed this one. I am definitely a Mike Bockoven fan!
Thank you so much to @netgalley and @skyhorsepub for the ARC!
Come Knocking is a super interesting horror novel told through a series of interviews with survivors and the people involved with the interactive theater production called Come Knocking as they recount the events of a disastrous show that left numerous cast, crew, and audience members dead.
I have not read this author’s previous novel, FantasticLand (it’s on my TBR), which I hear is told in a very similar way. I thought that this was a very effective way to tell this story, as it explores how different points-of-view converge and diverge as to how and what (and why) this disaster happened.
There is a lot to explore with regard to art, how we consume and interact with it, and the give and take between consumer and creator, as well as how challenging art can bring out both the best, and worst, in people. There are also heavy themes of online culture and how dangerous it can get.
The deaths and injuries and perilous situations people are put through are brutal and Bockoven describes these very effectively. My minor gripe is that this one did get a bit repetitive in the middle, but that’s a minor issue.
I enjoyed this one a lot and will recommend you check this one out!
Thanks so much to Skyhorse for sending me an ARC for review!
I have not read this author’s previous novel, FantasticLand (it’s on my TBR), which I hear is told in a very similar way. I thought that this was a very effective way to tell this story, as it explores how different points-of-view converge and diverge as to how and what (and why) this disaster happened.
There is a lot to explore with regard to art, how we consume and interact with it, and the give and take between consumer and creator, as well as how challenging art can bring out both the best, and worst, in people. There are also heavy themes of online culture and how dangerous it can get.
The deaths and injuries and perilous situations people are put through are brutal and Bockoven describes these very effectively. My minor gripe is that this one did get a bit repetitive in the middle, but that’s a minor issue.
I enjoyed this one a lot and will recommend you check this one out!
Thanks so much to Skyhorse for sending me an ARC for review!
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Bleak and brutal, this blends documentary metafiction with the psychological horror of mass violence, chaos, and unraveling morality. Not for the faint of heart, but if you like your fiction sharp, dark, and disturbingly relevant, this’ll probably stick with you — whether you want it to or not!
Extreme violence warning. After about 50% it’s mostly that and is descriptive.
Energy: Morbid. Fascinating. Pertinent.
🐕 Howls: After 50% we see the same extreme violence just from slightly different perspectives. Not poorly done, just emotionally exhausting at times. Sometimes the interviews knocked me out of the story when characters sounded similar so I mixed them up or when they spoke in a way that didn’t feel true to interview formats (more like a novel).
🐩 Tail Wags: Unsettling because it holds a mirror to humanity and the commentary feels particularly relevant. The documentary-style storytelling. Using interviews to show the mess of justifications, delusions, and lies by omission that led up to the tragedy. How it made me keep asking myself what I’d do in that situation, if I’d go to the show, if I’d like it.
Scene: 🇺🇸 Los Angeles, California, USA
Perspectives: Interviews with multiple characters who were adjacent to the Incident, including attendees, staff, crew, bartenders, actors, protestors, fans, and trolls.
Timeline: After an incident on March 14th (2020s)
Narrative: Listening to characters speaking to us, in-the-dark (epistolary)
Fuel: Exploring dynamics of ‘why we can’t have nice things’, hive mind, and mass violence/hatred. What was the incident? What led up to it? Who was ultimately responsible?
Cred: Hyper-realistic
Mood Reading Match-Up:
‘I didn’t do anything wrong’. Flame thrower. Demon dance. Tickets. Screaming. Fans. Trolls. Mods.
- Folksy, immersive, journalistic writing style
- Interviews with mix of likeable, nasty, rude, self-absorbed, sympathetic, unlikeable, and villainous characters
- Psychological manipulation, paranoia, and jumping to conclusions (first-half)
- Extreme mass murder survival horror (second-half)
- Online & media critique of fandoms, trolls, conspiracy theories
- Documentary style metafiction
- Disturbing, detailed, chaotic violence
- Grim exploration of destruction, hate, hypocrisy, helplessness, societal decay, art, and fragile morality
- Horrific things happen, Heartstring hits, and Humans are the real horror
Content Heads-Up: Alcohol (bars). Bullying (online). Death. Drug use (mention). Entitlement. Fire, smoke, fire injury (recalls from childhood; graphic on page for incident; burns). Homophobia (online slurs and comments). Infidelity. Loss of friend. Loss of spouse. Massacre (attack, shooting, targeted and random; manifesto). Murder. Nudity. Racism (bullying). Satanic/occult themes. Sexual assault (in relationship). Sexual harassment. Violence (graphic, on page; physical, stabbing, blood, sabotage, threats).
Rep: American. British. Dutch upbringing. Cis. Hetero. Gay. Brown and ambiguous skin tones.
📚 Format: Advance Reader’s Copy from Skyhorse Publishing and NetGalley
My musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Alcohol, Sexual harassment
Minor: Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual assault
dark
mysterious
medium-paced