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dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A truly unsettling twist on a classic sub-genre of horror. Written by one of my favorite online personalities, I loved the wit and humor woven throughout. While sometimes it felt like the main trio might speak a little too similarly, it was a language I enjoyed and would happily continue reading.
I would argue that all the primary characters were lovable, if not always complex— even the ones that were truly horrifying. They demonstrated the range of reactions that grief can produce, growing deep roots that sprout very different personalities. Since no one gets to pick how the grieve, I appreciated this range because I could relate to each of them to some degree. I was truly sorry to say goodbye to them by finishing the book.
While not as tightly-formed in some respects as it could have been, this is easily one of my new favorite books. It is because I loved this book, that I feel like addressing the parts I found challenging. These did not undermine my overall enjoyment of the book, but represent the ways this is evidently a first work for the author. Not having finished a single story in my entire life, I'd say he's still miles ahead of whatever criticisms I can level. Mild spoilers ahead.
- Eamon's Fickle Survival Instincts: Being an unwilling survivalist, I would've liked to have seen his "training" kick into place more thoroughly. Caught in several near-death instances, he was always a bit too willing to leave his mortal coil behind. One of the best parts of "final girls" is the transformation from vulnerable to powerful, and while Eamon does have some growth in this direction, it wasn't as fully-fledged as I would prefer.
- Deus Ex Machina (Kind Of): Speaking of near-death instances, Eamon was often saved just in time by one entity or another. And when I say "often", I mean about half a dozen times. This feels like an issue that could've been better resolved if his development arc had been more complete.
- Crying War: There was one specific description that was used over and over. When one character bellows a war cry, it invariably described as "cries war". It's a great description— once. After that it's just repetitive.
- Failed Bechtel: Not unusual, but still a little frustrating that the characters were overwhelmingly male. Of the female characters, only two had real roles in the story vs. the six primary male characters.
As a sub-note, there was an allusion to "children" and the world outside of the island that was not fully resolved. While it might be a little tricky, I could see a sequel possibility and I'm wondering if that is why this small thread was left. If so, I'm all in. Happy Barley Day to all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Self harm, Violence, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Genocide, Gun violence, Slavery, Torture, Death of parent, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gore, Self harm
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent
dark
tense
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:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Kidnapping, Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse, Abandonment
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Violence, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
wow, what a read. for the first time in years, i finished this book in 36 hours. it was that engrossing to me.
what an honestly bonkers concept turned out to be such a dark, fast paced, and surprisingly moving story written in a lovely prose that i can only imagine comes from the very stories that inspired the ensemble of not-so-cuddly creatures (some reviews did not care for that and some even called it pretentious, but i see what the author was going for and i loved it).
truly the only reason why this book doesn't earn a perfect five is due to the human characters, except for the one girl in the group named caroline who i liked a lot. to keep it as spoiler-free as possible because this book should be read blind, i found the main character to be the male equivalent of a mary sue at times, in the sense that you can tell he was the apple of the author's eye and had to be the most specialest lil guy of all the guys in the story, which felt a bit :/ as the story went on. while he was interesting and you feel for him, it all lining up the way it did just made me wish there was more there than just something that felt very "ope, he was special the whole time! surprise everyone!" like... okay. his male friend was also very one-note, left to be nothing more than the bumbling himbo sidekick who makes the main character look ever so clever and special in comparison. if not for his bravery and care for caroline and their relationship tugging at my heart, i would not care for him at all.
other than that, the world, the animal characters and their plight, the theme of trauma and loss and grief, all of it made for such a unique story that i know is going to stay with me. peter rabbit and friends are already looking a little more suspicious.
what an honestly bonkers concept turned out to be such a dark, fast paced, and surprisingly moving story written in a lovely prose that i can only imagine comes from the very stories that inspired the ensemble of not-so-cuddly creatures (some reviews did not care for that and some even called it pretentious, but i see what the author was going for and i loved it).
truly the only reason why this book doesn't earn a perfect five is due to the human characters, except for the one girl in the group named caroline who i liked a lot. to keep it as spoiler-free as possible because this book should be read blind, i found the main character to be the male equivalent of a mary sue at times, in the sense that you can tell he was the apple of the author's eye and had to be the most specialest lil guy of all the guys in the story, which felt a bit :/ as the story went on. while he was interesting and you feel for him, it all lining up the way it did just made me wish there was more there than just something that felt very "ope, he was special the whole time! surprise everyone!" like... okay. his male friend was also very one-note, left to be nothing more than the bumbling himbo sidekick who makes the main character look ever so clever and special in comparison. if not for his bravery and care for caroline and their relationship tugging at my heart, i would not care for him at all.
other than that, the world, the animal characters and their plight, the theme of trauma and loss and grief, all of it made for such a unique story that i know is going to stay with me. peter rabbit and friends are already looking a little more suspicious.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Self harm, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The author's prose style is a lot. The story is worth pushing through if you can, however.
I wish the owls' part was explained better, and how Gene fits in. There's no way he doesn't have some idea of what was going on ifpeople you take out to a "deserted" island routinely vanish .
I wish the owls' part was explained better, and how Gene fits in. There's no way he doesn't have some idea of what was going on if
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Flackwell and Runny were lovers and you cannot change my mind on that.
Overall, I loved this book! Even though there were sentences and phrases were hard to understand at times due to their wording, some questions left unanswered that I would have loved answers for, as well as the ability of characters both human and animal to survive the seemingly impossible after graphic injuries that should've killed them, the rest of this book absolutely makes up for these failings.
Overall, I loved this book! Even though there were sentences and phrases were hard to understand at times due to their wording, some questions left unanswered that I would have loved answers for, as well as the ability of characters both human and animal to survive the seemingly impossible after graphic injuries that should've killed them, the rest of this book absolutely makes up for these failings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Self harm, Blood, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail