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adventurous
challenging
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The Anomaly is a very weird sci fi thriller that starts very slowly then takes a right turn into Wild. This thriller was reminiscent of many other popular thrillers (Jurassic park, Indiana Jones, etc.) and even references the source material in the book, so the author isn’t denying he’s using some old but good tropes here.
I was very confused through a lot of this, and you kinda just have to shrug and go with it or you’re not gonna have a good time. If logic is something that you need in a story I wouldn’t pick this one up because none of it is logical. I wanted a fun fast paced thriller with some archaeology and this book delivered so I enjoyed it well enough but it didn’t stand out much to me. I enjoyed the archaeological mysteries and how weird this one got but I see how this could be disliked by a different reader looking for more substance.
I was very confused through a lot of this, and you kinda just have to shrug and go with it or you’re not gonna have a good time. If logic is something that you need in a story I wouldn’t pick this one up because none of it is logical. I wanted a fun fast paced thriller with some archaeology and this book delivered so I enjoyed it well enough but it didn’t stand out much to me. I enjoyed the archaeological mysteries and how weird this one got but I see how this could be disliked by a different reader looking for more substance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-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:
Complicated
This immediately felt familiar, reminding me of Ararat and I wish I had done the same thing I had done with that book and stopped reading before I got too far in. The familiarity only grew once Nolan had figured out the clue Feather gave him.
All of the characters came across as unpleasant people, our main character Nolan, most of all.
It took a very long time for anything to happen and even then, I wouldn't really have called this horror.
All of the characters came across as unpleasant people, our main character Nolan, most of all.
It took a very long time for anything to happen and even then, I wouldn't really have called this horror.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Alcohol
Minor: Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Colonisation
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
While the prose is good, the plot and the characters are so incredibly boring that getting to the end of this book was a slog. There is only one scene that I genuinely loved - when, after a completely unexpected moment of alien-style body horror that shocks both us and the main characters, one of the characters IMMEDIATELY runs up and curbs stomps the creature to death. My man! That's how you survive the horror novel. Truly made me laugh out loud for several minutes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book was described as "if Indiana Jones lives in the X-Files," but it's really just a bad episode of Ancient Aliens
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Alcohol
Moderate: Racism, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racial slurs
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was a lot of fun! An adventure book that I've seen compared to X-files and Indiana Jones, and I'd say that's pretty accurate.
The first half was a bit slow, mostly building character backstories. However the second half was pretty exciting. I love the dynamic between Ken, Nolan, and Molly - by the end they are quite lovable. I'll eventually pick up the second installment.
The first half was a bit slow, mostly building character backstories. However the second half was pretty exciting. I love the dynamic between Ken, Nolan, and Molly - by the end they are quite lovable. I'll eventually pick up the second installment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death
Moderate: Gun violence, Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This review can also be found here!
4.5/5
TW: mentions of cheating and slight gore
I read this book in one day. Nearly in one sitting, actually.
We had workers all around the house to do stuff with our A/C (we had to get a new one and this was the final step of making it the most efficient it could be), so I was sitting in the kitchen and just read. There were a couple other books that I had planned on getting to during that time, but, literally, I just read this book.
I read all of it and it was glorious.
One of my favorite TV personalities is Josh Gates. I first got to know him by watching Destination Truth on Netflix when they had it on there, then I tuned into his new show, Expedition Unknown.
Expedition Unknown is more about him actually trying to find things like Cleopatra’s tomb, pirate gold, proof of Nazis in Argentina, and other conspiracy theories. It’s professional, although Josh typically works in his usual humor.
Whereas, Destination Unknown is him traipsing the globe to find cryptozoological creatures and proof of ghosts.
This book was as if something went terribly wrong on Expedition Unknown and he was suddenly in Destination Truth but they actually found something besides what might be a Bigfoot print.
I got this as one of my June Book of the Month choices and I couldn’t have picked something better. I’ve been in the mood for paranormal/horror/thriller stories and this fit exactly what I want it to. Rutger did exactly what I needed and more.
The basic story is that Nolan Moore is the star of a YouTube series where he tries to find proof of conspiracy theories. The series finally got backed up by a sponsor, so they were able to do another season, taking them to The Grand Canyon in search of a secret cavern that was found years ago by two Smithsonian funded professors, Jordan and Kinkaid. It was then covered up. You can find more about it here, but the biggest thing is that most people assume that it was a fake article and people don’t believe in it.
But, Nolan, of course, has to see if he can find it.
And he does.
Which then goes terribly wrong.
For me, it was just a fun, quick, summer read. I didn’t have to pay too close attention to it. I could just read it and put it down just to pick it back up after talking with the workers and jumped right back in. It’s one of those perfect summer or beach reads because it holds your attention.
Of course, I didn’t think it was perfect. I liked the ending, but the stuff close to the ending didn’t work for me. I didn’t think that it needed that addition, even though certain things had to be summed up.
All of the characters were fantastic, too. I loved them all and I found them fun to have this journey with. Nolan and Ken, the producer, were hilarious. I also loved Molly, the one in charge of finances. Pierre and Feather were definitely interesting, too.
Basically, this was a great read that I didn’t know I needed until I had it in my hands.
4.5/5
TW: mentions of cheating and slight gore
I read this book in one day. Nearly in one sitting, actually.
We had workers all around the house to do stuff with our A/C (we had to get a new one and this was the final step of making it the most efficient it could be), so I was sitting in the kitchen and just read. There were a couple other books that I had planned on getting to during that time, but, literally, I just read this book.
I read all of it and it was glorious.
One of my favorite TV personalities is Josh Gates. I first got to know him by watching Destination Truth on Netflix when they had it on there, then I tuned into his new show, Expedition Unknown.
Expedition Unknown is more about him actually trying to find things like Cleopatra’s tomb, pirate gold, proof of Nazis in Argentina, and other conspiracy theories. It’s professional, although Josh typically works in his usual humor.
Whereas, Destination Unknown is him traipsing the globe to find cryptozoological creatures and proof of ghosts.
This book was as if something went terribly wrong on Expedition Unknown and he was suddenly in Destination Truth but they actually found something besides what might be a Bigfoot print.
I got this as one of my June Book of the Month choices and I couldn’t have picked something better. I’ve been in the mood for paranormal/horror/thriller stories and this fit exactly what I want it to. Rutger did exactly what I needed and more.
The basic story is that Nolan Moore is the star of a YouTube series where he tries to find proof of conspiracy theories. The series finally got backed up by a sponsor, so they were able to do another season, taking them to The Grand Canyon in search of a secret cavern that was found years ago by two Smithsonian funded professors, Jordan and Kinkaid. It was then covered up. You can find more about it here, but the biggest thing is that most people assume that it was a fake article and people don’t believe in it.
But, Nolan, of course, has to see if he can find it.
And he does.
Which then goes terribly wrong.
For me, it was just a fun, quick, summer read. I didn’t have to pay too close attention to it. I could just read it and put it down just to pick it back up after talking with the workers and jumped right back in. It’s one of those perfect summer or beach reads because it holds your attention.
Of course, I didn’t think it was perfect. I liked the ending, but the stuff close to the ending didn’t work for me. I didn’t think that it needed that addition, even though certain things had to be summed up.
All of the characters were fantastic, too. I loved them all and I found them fun to have this journey with. Nolan and Ken, the producer, were hilarious. I also loved Molly, the one in charge of finances. Pierre and Feather were definitely interesting, too.
Basically, this was a great read that I didn’t know I needed until I had it in my hands.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Blood
Moderate: Infidelity