Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Burn the Negative will be available on July 11th.
Ah, campy horror. That fun combination of spooky and slasher, often spawning sequel (or reimagining) after sequel. It’s also the perfect setup for a book. Burn the Negative takes advantage of this in the most entertaining of ways.
Laura used to be named Polly. A recovered child star, she was most well known for her role in the 90s horror movie, The Guesthouse. This is the role that led to her quick exit from acting, as the cast and crew began dying in ways that were eerily similar to the deaths in the movie. Fans everywhere have since become obsessed with the movie’s “curse”. Now, years later, Laura has to interview the cast and crew of the upcoming remake- except the “curse” seems to have started up again. And of course, in true campy horror fashion, everyone she’s near is in danger. Gotta love those creepy child stars.
Author Josh Winning set the tone right from the get-go. Burn the Negative is a combination of horror and thriller, and it had me wondering which direction the ending would go- horror or thriller. I am not giving anything away, but I was surprised. I didn’t see any of the twists coming at all. I have an annoying habit of seeing the twists coming a mile away in books and movies, so it was awesome to have no idea.
The characters were all fun twists on archetypes. The psychic was jaded, the replacement main character was bubbly and not at all creepy, and the director was a major fanboy. The horror villain, Needle Man, was exactly what you would find in a horror movie, making for a fun mix of old and new. The way he was described preyed on the imagination and added an extra creep factor.
I loved the way the trustworthiness of every character was thrown into question. Everyone had something to hide and no one was without ulterior motives, including Laura. Characters were added along the way (some were quite obviously “red shirts” but not all of them) so that the suspect pool- if the deaths are human-caused and not supernatural, I’m not telling- didn’t ever shrink to one.
Burn the Negative was fast-paced and the perfect length. It didn’t drag things out but it also didn’t rush things that were meant to have emotional resonance. The ending was a satisfying gut punch and the throwbacks to old-school slasher movies were loads of fun. Burn the Negative oozes guts and glee in equal measure, and I loved every gory moment.
Ah, campy horror. That fun combination of spooky and slasher, often spawning sequel (or reimagining) after sequel. It’s also the perfect setup for a book. Burn the Negative takes advantage of this in the most entertaining of ways.
Laura used to be named Polly. A recovered child star, she was most well known for her role in the 90s horror movie, The Guesthouse. This is the role that led to her quick exit from acting, as the cast and crew began dying in ways that were eerily similar to the deaths in the movie. Fans everywhere have since become obsessed with the movie’s “curse”. Now, years later, Laura has to interview the cast and crew of the upcoming remake- except the “curse” seems to have started up again. And of course, in true campy horror fashion, everyone she’s near is in danger. Gotta love those creepy child stars.
Author Josh Winning set the tone right from the get-go. Burn the Negative is a combination of horror and thriller, and it had me wondering which direction the ending would go- horror or thriller. I am not giving anything away, but I was surprised. I didn’t see any of the twists coming at all. I have an annoying habit of seeing the twists coming a mile away in books and movies, so it was awesome to have no idea.
The characters were all fun twists on archetypes. The psychic was jaded, the replacement main character was bubbly and not at all creepy, and the director was a major fanboy. The horror villain, Needle Man, was exactly what you would find in a horror movie, making for a fun mix of old and new. The way he was described preyed on the imagination and added an extra creep factor.
I loved the way the trustworthiness of every character was thrown into question. Everyone had something to hide and no one was without ulterior motives, including Laura. Characters were added along the way (some were quite obviously “red shirts” but not all of them) so that the suspect pool- if the deaths are human-caused and not supernatural, I’m not telling- didn’t ever shrink to one.
Burn the Negative was fast-paced and the perfect length. It didn’t drag things out but it also didn’t rush things that were meant to have emotional resonance. The ending was a satisfying gut punch and the throwbacks to old-school slasher movies were loads of fun. Burn the Negative oozes guts and glee in equal measure, and I loved every gory moment.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The plot of this was promising but the execution did not follow through.
It had conversation about childhood acting and trauma and mommy issues but all the characters were unlikeable. The ending didn't make any sense and kind of backpedaled on the whole facing your past metaphor. The first reveal of what happened(pushing him off the building) , I saw from a mile away but kind of left the rest unexplained? only one scene truly gave me the chills (finding out who it was that jumped off the bridge) and how it was connected.
Ultimately, although I loved the idea of following the same pattern of deaths, the path to finding out the truth of it was rather disappointing and didn't feel like a satisfying resolution, as well as truly unbelievable scenes that took me out of the story(they did not have all that time to talk when the old house was doused in oil and going up in flames around them) .
It had conversation about childhood acting and trauma and mommy issues but all the characters were unlikeable. The ending didn't make any sense and kind of backpedaled on the whole facing your past metaphor. The first reveal of what happened
Ultimately, although I loved the idea of following the same pattern of deaths, the path to finding out the truth of it was rather disappointing and didn't feel like a satisfying resolution, as well as truly unbelievable scenes that took me out of the story
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
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:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Honestly made me cry(in a goodway). I still haven't decided how I feel about the ending. It def struck a chord with me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes