Reviews with content warning for Grief - The Dead Take the A Train

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Dead Take the A Train by Richard Kadrey, Cassandra Khaw

7 reviews

jessicafee86's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense 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

5.0

I heard someone describe Cassandra Khaw's writing as gorgeously, gooey horror and this book is a perfect example of that. This is the only book I've ever read that has felt weirdly hopeful even while I'm digging through endless piles of intestines and bowel for pages on end.

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vaguewhisperings's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense 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

5.0

So fun to read. All characters were interesting, worldbuilding was fantastic. Such good writing- had to look away few times since descriptions were graphic. Fun plot. Ending didn't feel quite right but works as lead up to second book. Great book, would read again; have recced to multiple people

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beccapedia_'s review

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dark funny slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This was my first attempt at a cosmic horror type book, and I think overall it was okay. The humor of the characters definitely helped balance out some of the gore and at least lightened the mood a little.

The book started off REALLY strong. I was hooked from the first page, and at first I couldn't put it down. I was super interested in the world and magic system, and I really wanted to know more.
But as I approached the halfway point, I was really struggling to finish. There was just so many unnecessary details. The POV was constantly switching to characters we didn't even know, only to give us a bunch of their thoughts and opinions that didn't matter to the story before killing them three or four pages later. I found myself skimming the last half of the book because so much of it felt unnecessary.
Truthfully, I got to the halfway point and had to ask myself "What even is the plot?" The chapters from Tyler's POV all seemed to connect and have a consistent plot from beginning to end, but so much of Julie's POV was just.... Stuff? Their plots overlapped and connected at certain points throughout, but not enough to feel cohesive.
Honestly, I preferred Tyler's POV. I don't think that was the authors intention. I think you're meant to like and root for Julie, but what I initially thought made her character unique and engaging eventually became grating and cringy. I just didn't care for her side of the story at all. I was far more interested in the complexities and corruption of Tyler's corporate monster hunting firm.
Most of the side characters were the saving grace, here. Dead Air and St. Joan were by far the best, and I looked forward to when they were around.

I think this is meant to be the first in a series, but I probably won't continue it. Still, I'm glad I at least tried it!

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eefmaoam's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny hopeful mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

4.5

Is it perfect? No; there are a couple of loose ends that I would like to be solved (maybe in a second book?). However, I enjoyed every second of reading it and was fully emerged in Julie’s NYC and all its magic and mystery. Would highly recommended if you’re into dark horror with a side of detective-like-investigation and queerness.

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