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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed the writing. I'm not completely sure about the ending yet, but it was a fine slasher tale.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book had it’s ups and downs. I really enjoyed the 80s nostalgia from The Shadow Glass (by the same author) and was hoping this would be similar for 90s horror. However, I didn’t really get that, with it being more similar to a meta horror remake of the 2010s, in my eyes. I will say I enjoyed some of the references to classics, such as a town named (presumably) after Wes Craven (Scream), and a tongue in cheek mention of motels that “look like theyre run by some guy with mommy issues” (Psycho). Additionally, I loved the start with the bridge scene and her anxiety to return to LA and the callback to that later in the books. I was also, as is the case for The Shadow Glass, loved the media additions between chapters. I felt it really helps with the world building and cementing the legacy that The Guesthouse left.
That being said, this is 3.5 stars for a reason. I think the characters weren’t particularly well written, especially Amy. I see the purpose of her, and she makes sense for the story but I found it difficult to grasp her motivations (which makes sense for the whodunnit aspect of a slasher). Even though she turns out innocent, it’s difficult to route for her since all she seems to do is cause issues for every other character.
I sort of loved that the Needle Man was actually a supernatural thing, as I was worried it was all going to be Laura and her blacking out. The scene of her throwing up the Needle Man was great conceptually, but I wish there was more detail. It seemed like you could skip a paragraph and miss it. Maybe since I’m just off a Grady Hendrix read that was a bit more detailed with its gore, but I found in general the horror was quite lack-lustre. That being said, I quite liked the ending although I wasn’t sure exactly what she meant when she said she was going to “stop the cycle. Stop the people who capitalized on tragedy.” I assume she means massacring the new remake of The Guesthouse, but I’m not sure.
Overall, a fun quick read that fell flat in a few places. The plot was interesting, but pacing a little slow for me (which obviously is a personal thing) and not particularly liveable characters. Some nice aspects of horror, but I felt it could’ve gone further.
That being said, this is 3.5 stars for a reason. I think the characters weren’t particularly well written, especially Amy. I see the purpose of her, and she makes sense for the story but I found it difficult to grasp her motivations (which makes sense for the whodunnit aspect of a slasher).
Overall, a fun quick read that fell flat in a few places. The plot was interesting, but pacing a little slow for me (which obviously is a personal thing) and not particularly liveable characters. Some nice aspects of horror, but I felt it could’ve gone further.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Dementia, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
dark
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
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
Such a promising start, such a disappointment overall. Anyone who knows anything about me knows I have a questionably unhealthy obsession with horror movies, so this was an easy, immediate pickup upon discovery. The first half is SO good and exactly what I wanted, but we take a hard turn about halfway through and it turns into something completely different. I’m pretty sure this is supposed to be some sort of statement about festering trauma? But as we’ve previously established I’m terrible with and hate metaphors. I wanted a fun, creepy thriller about horror movies and what I got was …… not that.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
mysterious
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I'm a sucker for cursed film horror plots; though, I don't know of any that have been executed partcularly well. Unfortunately, Burn The Negative is no different. The book starts off good, building backstory for the '90s horror film, The Guesthouse, and how prominent cast and crew from the film died under horrible circumstances. All except for our MC Laura, who was a child actor in the movie. After escaping from all the horror surrounding the film by moving out of the country and changing her identity, she's pushed back to it through her career as a journalist on assignment to cover the film's remake as a mini-series. And the curse seems to start all over.
That plot sounds pretty good, right? But then it's a lot of filler chapters with characters getting from this place to that place and never really amplifying tension or dread along the way. People die, and our MC continuously sees The Guesthouse's evil Needleman. Yet somehow, this never feels scary. It lacks any interesting prose to heighten the terror. It feels like many lifeless horror films you see today.
The best parts of the book are the little snippets between chapters (screenplay samples, book excerpts, Internet posts) that tie in the film lore of The Guesthouse. The rest of the book feels like a missed opportunity for something creepy and sinister.
⭐️⭐️
That plot sounds pretty good, right? But then it's a lot of filler chapters with characters getting from this place to that place and never really amplifying tension or dread along the way. People die, and our MC continuously sees The Guesthouse's evil Needleman. Yet somehow, this never feels scary. It lacks any interesting prose to heighten the terror. It feels like many lifeless horror films you see today.
The best parts of the book are the little snippets between chapters (screenplay samples, book excerpts, Internet posts) that tie in the film lore of The Guesthouse. The rest of the book feels like a missed opportunity for something creepy and sinister.
⭐️⭐️