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tome's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I don't often read things in one sitting anymore, but this book transfixed me unlike any other. The ambiguity, the viscerality, the perspective, all of it left me utterly engrossed. I'm gonna have to sit with this one for a bit. Also, as a note, some of the trigger warnings added are, to some extent, dependent on what conclusion you make of the ambiguity. I've added them just in case.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Homophobia, Gun violence, Blood, Violence, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Child death, Hate crime, and Vomit
Moderate: Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
ms_sarah621's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
At first, this book had me so captivated. I was trying to hard to determine who to believe and what was actually happening. It felt very slow burn, but I was still intrigued by what was happening. There were enough questions and events happening to have me interested. However, the last half of this book just dragged for me and it took me forever to finish it because of that. Then, the ending was sad and slightly disappointing. It just felt so stretched out and slow paced for nothing to really ever happen. I’m not sure, but I did really enjoy the beginning and premise of this book. It’s still worth a read
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Gore, Homophobia, Child death, and Death
melsage1823's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A Tense Home Invasion That Falls Flat By The End.
After seeing the movie I very much was looking forward to checking out the book and to me it only half delivered, the movie is way better. Shyamalan may have been a coward for excluding the death that happens in this book but at least it was a lot clearer in the message it was trying to give. The first quarter and half of this book was absolutely fantastic as I love psychological horror novels and this one definitely messed with me. The desperation of the Invaders was heartbreaking to read.
Even the slower parts of the book are disturbing. Every page makes you uncomfortable and that's what a good horror novel should do. It's the perfect length and the perfect pace. It also has a really good basic structure. I've only rated it lower because of the last quarter of the book. Truly if it wasn't for that last quarter this would a hundred percent be another five star. It normalises a healthy lgtbq+ family despite the fact the same family has to deal with invaders and the apocalypse.
This novel is definitely one that has an even number of flaws and strengths. Its one I'd recommend you to make your own decision.
So with that being said let's go into the flaws.
First the fact that it leans into the Bury Your Gays trope, I know it's a horror novel but the reason I loved the movie was because despite how much Eric and Andrew the story still manages to cleverly subvert the bury your gays trope but Cabin At The End Of The World does the complete opposite. Without spoilers I can say that this book is walking bury your gays trope novel, we don't even get proper flashbacks of Andrew, Eric and Wen as a happy family to add to the feels of what the characters are losing. Queer people deserve to exist in horror novels but not solely to suffer.
Secondly the message. Cabin At The End Of The World falls into a trope I hate in horror especially if it doesn't suit the story. Its up to interpretation! Does not belong in a dooms day apocalypse. This ambiguity spoils the doomsday aspects as well as the many sacrifices. There's two messages Paul Tremblay wanted to include in this novel and it's clear he couldn't decide between Dooms Day Religious Cults Bad or Love In Any Form Is Powerful Enough To Save The World. You can't have both in a story like this it's gotta be one way or the other.
Finally the pov writing. Even bracing the reader for it doesn't help. The povs in the first half of this book was absolutely brilliant but the second half of the book felt like the povs were unintentionally weak or that he'd ran out of time so just decided having duel pov would work, it really didn't. Especially Sabrina's where it sounds like Eric and Andrew are reading a letter from her. It just felt so inconsistent and messy. Novels work better when they have the same writing style throughout. Cabin At The End Of The World would have struck better if kept the same writing style throughout.
Now let's get onto the positives.
First the fact that Wen's povs are actually written like she's seven years old. Alot of novels e.g Hunger Games cough cough like to write their child/teen protagonist as if they're an adult but Tremblay doesn't. He makes sure that we're actually in the mind of a scared seven year old and purposefully contrasts her povs from the povs of the adults and as a result it adds to the creepiness and eeriness especially contrasting with her and her Dad's povs. Her povs also add weight to how the Invaders feel about traumatising her and shows how messed up the doomsday invasion really is. Out of all of the characters I felt the most bad for her.
Secondly the pacing. Pacing is something that can either make or break a horror novel. In the case of Cabin At The End of the used the pacing is very fast and simple structured in terms of progression. As a result it makes the slower parts more intresting to focus on. Tremblay takes the right amount of time to flesh out the story and characters as a result allowing the dual messages of the story to further sink in. It also makes the atmsophere work a lot better. Had this been a slow draw out it would have felt very good so I'm glad Tremblay played it right.
Finally the boldness of the horror. Compared to the movie I did prefer the horror in this novel as it was more brave and unapologetic. Tremblay wasn't afraid to sugar coat the extremeness of the scenario presented to the family. The deaths were a lot more darker and disturbing which messed with my head more due to how graphic they were. It showed and empathised how dedicated the hoursemen were with their mission and purpose. I also think it adds a horror aspect to religion and throughly debates the question about if there's a God why are some of his decisions are so unethical.
Overall despite its major faults, The Cabin At The End Of The World is a beautifully messed psychological horror story that leaves you second guessing until the very end about the validity of the strangers stories. It's very tense and sad. Would recommend only if your in a good place mentally as I'm not sugar coating it, there's alot of su***de.
After seeing the movie I very much was looking forward to checking out the book and to me it only half delivered, the movie is way better. Shyamalan may have been a coward for excluding the death that happens in this book but at least it was a lot clearer in the message it was trying to give. The first quarter and half of this book was absolutely fantastic as I love psychological horror novels and this one definitely messed with me. The desperation of the Invaders was heartbreaking to read.
Even the slower parts of the book are disturbing. Every page makes you uncomfortable and that's what a good horror novel should do. It's the perfect length and the perfect pace. It also has a really good basic structure. I've only rated it lower because of the last quarter of the book. Truly if it wasn't for that last quarter this would a hundred percent be another five star. It normalises a healthy lgtbq+ family despite the fact the same family has to deal with invaders and the apocalypse.
This novel is definitely one that has an even number of flaws and strengths. Its one I'd recommend you to make your own decision.
So with that being said let's go into the flaws.
First the fact that it leans into the Bury Your Gays trope, I know it's a horror novel but the reason I loved the movie was because despite how much Eric and Andrew the story still manages to cleverly subvert the bury your gays trope but Cabin At The End Of The World does the complete opposite. Without spoilers I can say that this book is walking bury your gays trope novel, we don't even get proper flashbacks of Andrew, Eric and Wen as a happy family to add to the feels of what the characters are losing. Queer people deserve to exist in horror novels but not solely to suffer.
Secondly the message. Cabin At The End Of The World falls into a trope I hate in horror especially if it doesn't suit the story. Its up to interpretation! Does not belong in a dooms day apocalypse. This ambiguity spoils the doomsday aspects as well as the many sacrifices. There's two messages Paul Tremblay wanted to include in this novel and it's clear he couldn't decide between Dooms Day Religious Cults Bad or Love In Any Form Is Powerful Enough To Save The World. You can't have both in a story like this it's gotta be one way or the other.
Finally the pov writing. Even bracing the reader for it doesn't help. The povs in the first half of this book was absolutely brilliant but the second half of the book felt like the povs were unintentionally weak or that he'd ran out of time so just decided having duel pov would work, it really didn't. Especially Sabrina's where it sounds like Eric and Andrew are reading a letter from her. It just felt so inconsistent and messy. Novels work better when they have the same writing style throughout. Cabin At The End Of The World would have struck better if kept the same writing style throughout.
Now let's get onto the positives.
First the fact that Wen's povs are actually written like she's seven years old. Alot of novels e.g Hunger Games cough cough like to write their child/teen protagonist as if they're an adult but Tremblay doesn't. He makes sure that we're actually in the mind of a scared seven year old and purposefully contrasts her povs from the povs of the adults and as a result it adds to the creepiness and eeriness especially contrasting with her and her Dad's povs. Her povs also add weight to how the Invaders feel about traumatising her and shows how messed up the doomsday invasion really is. Out of all of the characters I felt the most bad for her.
Secondly the pacing. Pacing is something that can either make or break a horror novel. In the case of Cabin At The End of the used the pacing is very fast and simple structured in terms of progression. As a result it makes the slower parts more intresting to focus on. Tremblay takes the right amount of time to flesh out the story and characters as a result allowing the dual messages of the story to further sink in. It also makes the atmsophere work a lot better. Had this been a slow draw out it would have felt very good so I'm glad Tremblay played it right.
Finally the boldness of the horror. Compared to the movie I did prefer the horror in this novel as it was more brave and unapologetic. Tremblay wasn't afraid to sugar coat the extremeness of the scenario presented to the family. The deaths were a lot more darker and disturbing which messed with my head more due to how graphic they were. It showed and empathised how dedicated the hoursemen were with their mission and purpose. I also think it adds a horror aspect to religion and throughly debates the question about if there's a God why are some of his decisions are so unethical.
Overall despite its major faults, The Cabin At The End Of The World is a beautifully messed psychological horror story that leaves you second guessing until the very end about the validity of the strangers stories. It's very tense and sad. Would recommend only if your in a good place mentally as I'm not sugar coating it, there's alot of su***de.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Kidnapping, Murder, Child death, Death, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, and Homophobia
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Racism
thebearnest's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Confinement, Blood, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence, Hate crime, and Homophobia
Minor: Vomit and Suicide
raeisreading's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Death, Physical abuse, Murder, Homophobia, Hate crime, Vomit, Gore, and Child death
apersonnamedfaith's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This one fucked with me. There was so much tension and confusion and frustration…just emotion overall. I watched the movie before I knew it was a book, and as usual, the book is better(though I did like the movie). My only (small) critique is with Wen’s death. That was such a major, emotional thing and I felt like there could’ve been just a bit more focus given to it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Gore, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Body horror, Blood, and Gun violence
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic
caroline_123's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Homophobia, Gun violence, Pandemic/Epidemic, Torture, Child death, Gore, Hate crime, Death, Grief, Murder, Suicide attempt, and Suicide
kickitupanotch7's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Grief, Blood, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Gun violence, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Death, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Vomit, Confinement, Homophobia, and Hate crime
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic
carliedikes's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Gore, and Body horror
Moderate: Hate crime
jully_bean's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death, Child death, Murder, and Confinement
Moderate: Hate crime and Homophobia