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lauraborkpower's review against another edition
4.0
I shouted at this book a lot. Like, more than I normally shout at a book. It was really good.
Beukes creates a world so vivid that I felt connected to the characters and a part of their lives. I wanted them to survive--even Jonno (sort of), who is the world's biggest douchebag--and I yelled at them when they were doing things that endangered their lives. And because this is a horror/thriller, that happened a lot.
This was realistically gruesome--a bit of a police procedural, which I love--but supernatural as well, which pushed it over the edge into truly nightmarish.
I'm not from Detroit, so my friends from MI might disagree, but I like what Beukes does with the city. It feels authentic, palpable.
I'm not usually a fan of audiobooks with multiple narrators, but because the narrative voices are so distinct, it worked well. And the reader for Jonno, Sunil Mohatra, sounds like a grade-A jackass, which is perfect. Although it's also totally irritating. Because I want to punch Jonno in the face.
Beukes creates a world so vivid that I felt connected to the characters and a part of their lives. I wanted them to survive--even Jonno (sort of), who is the world's biggest douchebag--and I yelled at them when they were doing things that endangered their lives. And because this is a horror/thriller, that happened a lot.
This was realistically gruesome--a bit of a police procedural, which I love--but supernatural as well, which pushed it over the edge into truly nightmarish.
I'm not from Detroit, so my friends from MI might disagree, but I like what Beukes does with the city. It feels authentic, palpable.
I'm not usually a fan of audiobooks with multiple narrators, but because the narrative voices are so distinct, it worked well. And the reader for Jonno, Sunil Mohatra, sounds like a grade-A jackass, which is perfect. Although it's also totally irritating. Because I want to punch Jonno in the face.
b1ueb0y's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
3.75
5feet_of_fury's review against another edition
4.5
This was very disturbing, thought provoking & truly strange.
This thriller set in Detroit follows a varied cast of characters as a grisly murder impacts them &their communities with an eye towards art, social media & societal issues.
ka4t's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
queenofstrays's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
pollyno9's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
mrpetej's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Body horror, Death, Violence, Murder, Blood, Child death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
terriblelynne's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
noras_nibbles's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
honnari_hannya's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars
A horror-thriller-mystery that oftentimes bit off more than it could chew. This multi-POV story kicks off with the discovery of a young boy's murdered and mutilated body. Even by 18-year-veteran detective Gabriella Versado's standards, the scene is particularly gruesome: instead of human legs, the boy's have been replaced with the other half of a deer, and they can't find the rest of him. Yet.
Versado's counterpart in searching for the killer is freelance journalist-turned-youtuber, Jonno, who washed out of New York and hopes to make it in Detroit one viral video at a time. A lucky break lands him the lead role as citizen sleuth, following the tracks of the city's latest serial killer, the so-called "Detroit Monster." Or is he being led to the killer for some darker purpose?
And then there's Clayton Broom—a failed artist, a failed would-be father, a man with nothing to his name. He's plagued by dreams of doors that he needs to open.
Now, if that were the whole novel, I would've rated it higher. Unfortunately, this is plagued by an issue that Beukes herself identified in the novel, I found it deeply ironic. Too many voices (visions) in one spaces, it kind of crowded out the message. It would have been far more interesting to limit the perspectives on this one so as to sustain the tension of this novel quite a bit more—Versado and Jonno are the obvious choices, as two investigators; but Versado and her daughter are another pair of POVs, perhaps, as detective and potential victim with Jonno as purely a non-speaking role that functions as audience (which could make for a really interesting point as a spectator). TK was completely unnecessary. Like, entirely so. He was only needed him for his miraculous chair moment—side character promoted for no particular reason.
Because of this, I felt like we never got to see fluctuation between Clayton and the Dream develop—where I felt this book was the weakest, and where Beukes could have really taken it into that realm of strange and speculative much sooner and better.
The slow build got entirely wrecked by the end by the choppy switch of POVs in what felt like the most convoluted fight scene of all time. It felt like a bad youtube supercut. Which, maybe it was meant to. Good effort, I suppose. Might pick up another from her but this was not my favorite.
A horror-thriller-mystery that oftentimes bit off more than it could chew. This multi-POV story kicks off with the discovery of a young boy's murdered and mutilated body. Even by 18-year-veteran detective Gabriella Versado's standards, the scene is particularly gruesome: instead of human legs, the boy's have been replaced with the other half of a deer, and they can't find the rest of him. Yet.
Versado's counterpart in searching for the killer is freelance journalist-turned-youtuber, Jonno, who washed out of New York and hopes to make it in Detroit one viral video at a time. A lucky break lands him the lead role as citizen sleuth, following the tracks of the city's latest serial killer, the so-called "Detroit Monster." Or is he being led to the killer for some darker purpose?
And then there's Clayton Broom—a failed artist, a failed would-be father, a man with nothing to his name. He's plagued by dreams of doors that he needs to open.
Now, if that were the whole novel, I would've rated it higher. Unfortunately, this is plagued by an issue that Beukes herself identified in the novel, I found it deeply ironic. Too many voices (visions) in one spaces, it kind of crowded out the message. It would have been far more interesting to limit the perspectives on this one so as to sustain the tension of this novel quite a bit more—Versado and Jonno are the obvious choices, as two investigators; but Versado and her daughter are another pair of POVs, perhaps, as detective and potential victim with Jonno as purely a non-speaking role that functions as audience (which could make for a really interesting point as a spectator). TK was completely unnecessary. Like, entirely so. He was only needed him for his miraculous chair moment—side character promoted for no particular reason.
Because of this, I felt like we never got to see fluctuation between Clayton and the Dream develop—where I felt this book was the weakest, and where Beukes could have really taken it into that realm of strange and speculative much sooner and better.
The slow build got entirely wrecked by the end by the choppy switch of POVs in what felt like the most convoluted fight scene of all time. It felt like a bad youtube supercut. Which, maybe it was meant to. Good effort, I suppose. Might pick up another from her but this was not my favorite.