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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
On the blog and in my Reader's Shelf Column in the 10/1/18 issue of Library Journal: http://raforallhorror.blogspot.com/2018/10/31-days-of-horror-day-2-my-annual.html
Three Words That Describe This Book: unsettlingly beautiful, two time frames, atmospheric
From haunted houses to an entire town haunted by a terrifying event in its past we have THE RUST MAIDENS by Bram Stoker Award nominated short story writer, Gwendolyn Kiste. It’s 1980 and Cleveland is a town in serious decline. The plants and mills are all closing and jobs are disappearing. The setting is bleak and uneasy on its own accord, but then, in one neighborhood, young girls start transforming into grotesque creatures, right before everyone’s eyes. Their transformation becomes a tourist stop with people flocking to see The Rust Maidens, but why are they changing and what horror does this portend. Told through the eyes of Phoebe in two timelines, 1980 and the present, as she tries to understand the mystery and come to terms with her own part in the frightening events, this is a tale dripping with dread and atmosphere, told with an unsettlingly beauty, and portraying a realism that contradicts its obvious supernatural plot.
Three Words That Describe This Book: unsettlingly beautiful, two time frames, atmospheric
From haunted houses to an entire town haunted by a terrifying event in its past we have THE RUST MAIDENS by Bram Stoker Award nominated short story writer, Gwendolyn Kiste. It’s 1980 and Cleveland is a town in serious decline. The plants and mills are all closing and jobs are disappearing. The setting is bleak and uneasy on its own accord, but then, in one neighborhood, young girls start transforming into grotesque creatures, right before everyone’s eyes. Their transformation becomes a tourist stop with people flocking to see The Rust Maidens, but why are they changing and what horror does this portend. Told through the eyes of Phoebe in two timelines, 1980 and the present, as she tries to understand the mystery and come to terms with her own part in the frightening events, this is a tale dripping with dread and atmosphere, told with an unsettlingly beauty, and portraying a realism that contradicts its obvious supernatural plot.
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, Abandonment, Alcohol
Moderate: Pregnancy
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I very much enjoyed the book but found the suspense dragged out a bit too long. I lost track of the number of times she’d refer to what happened “that night” as being key or the turning point but then it turned out there was another one after that. And another. And another. To the point where the climax happened almost before I realized this was really it. And although I figured out what caused the change pretty early on I kept thinking there had to be more. But there wasn’t. But there should have been or why was it so isolated to this one neighborhood in Cleveland? There are plenty of neighborhoods like this throughout the Rust Belt, so why not near the GE plant in Schenectady? Or a hundred other possible settings?
That said though it was superbly done and clear despite never being written explicitly.
I read this for Book Riot’s Read Harder 2020 horror task and as part of my own Reading My Way challenge for Ohio.
That said though it was superbly done and clear despite never being written explicitly.
I read this for Book Riot’s Read Harder 2020 horror task and as part of my own Reading My Way challenge for Ohio.
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Beautiful prose! A coming of age horror novel that is as beautiful and tragic as it is creepy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
There was something exceptionally creepy about the body horror in this without being too over the top, but for anyone who has a really weak stomach, be aware that there's body horror.
Reading through the Rust Maidens felt like watching Annihilation collide with early Silent Hill. Set in a dying town dependent on a dying industry, the titular Rust Maidens start appearing at the worst possible time.
We follow Phoebe, a young girl when the Rust Maidens first appear, who has come back as a middle-aged woman to try and reckon with the past she's tried so hard to leave behind. There is a weight to everything in this book and some the most effective scenes weren't the big horror ones, but the small ones like the deception of a parent and your disappointment in them or the helplessness of being an adult, but having no power yet.
If you like slow-burn horror that is more about the atmosphere and less about the monsters, then this is a great choice for you. The town feels oppressive as if the houses are working against Phoebe as much as anything else.
Reading through the Rust Maidens felt like watching Annihilation collide with early Silent Hill. Set in a dying town dependent on a dying industry, the titular Rust Maidens start appearing at the worst possible time.
We follow Phoebe, a young girl when the Rust Maidens first appear, who has come back as a middle-aged woman to try and reckon with the past she's tried so hard to leave behind. There is a weight to everything in this book and some the most effective scenes weren't the big horror ones, but the small ones like the deception of a parent and your disappointment in them or the helplessness of being an adult, but having no power yet.
If you like slow-burn horror that is more about the atmosphere and less about the monsters, then this is a great choice for you. The town feels oppressive as if the houses are working against Phoebe as much as anything else.
Tragic, creepy, compelling, thought-provoking, moving, disturbing, and (ultimately) life-affirming. Well worth reading.
Powerful and compelling
Loss, grief, regret-they can haunt you for years even when you did your best, even when you helped. Phoebe’s memories and experiences flow and meld, seamlessly drawing the reader to the quiet crescendo.
Loss, grief, regret-they can haunt you for years even when you did your best, even when you helped. Phoebe’s memories and experiences flow and meld, seamlessly drawing the reader to the quiet crescendo.
Tengo la impresión de no haber entendido completamente la metáfora y eso ha hecho que me haya faltado algo para disfrutar de la historia, que tiene un punto de partida muy interesante. Precisamente porque es una metáfora no queda todo explicado y parece que la transformación en doncellas de óxido no es más que una mera excusa para poner otros temas sobre la mesa.
Tampoco me ha gustado la protagonista, creo que era demasiado intensa y catastrofista, como si ella fuera la causante de todo el Mal. No sé, eso también me ha dificultado entrar en la historia. La forma de escribir de la autora tampoco me ha gustado, creo que le falta profundidad y no logra crear una atmósfera ni que la trama resulte verosímil.
Es una novela que en general se me ha quedado a medio gas.
Tampoco me ha gustado la protagonista, creo que era demasiado intensa y catastrofista, como si ella fuera la causante de todo el Mal. No sé, eso también me ha dificultado entrar en la historia. La forma de escribir de la autora tampoco me ha gustado, creo que le falta profundidad y no logra crear una atmósfera ni que la trama resulte verosímil.
Es una novela que en general se me ha quedado a medio gas.