Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Revelator is a great southern gothic tale about a monstrous god in the mountain, and the generations of one family tied to the mysterious divinity. It’s a cult story, but also a book about coming of age, family, and place. I can’t say I was ever really afraid while listening, but it was definitely dark and enigmatic, and full of a great character development.
* Really good, not the best thing I’ve ever read but I couldn’t put it down and finished it in two days
* Despite trying to hit a ton of different notes (cult/mystery/supernatural) it actually does a really good job of capturing the essence of all of them in only 300 pages
* Despite trying to hit a ton of different notes (cult/mystery/supernatural) it actually does a really good job of capturing the essence of all of them in only 300 pages
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This one took me a while to get into. But once I got to about the half way point, I couldn't put it down. And that ending??? Ugh. I wanted another 200 pages!
Creepy gothic thriller that really snuck up on me. I loved the surprises. I loved Stella.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Revelator by Daryl Gregory takes place between two time periods and is about a woman, Stella, grappling with her history as a revelator for a mysterious god under the mountain.
Thoughts while reading:
-I’m enjoying the time period, setting, and situation (as well as the narrator of the audiobook), but struggling to care about the characters
-I feel like the protagonist, Stella, is not very compelling, despite her circumstances. And the antagonists (if we can call her grandma and uncle that, though their roles in her life are clearly complicated) don’t really feel threatening enough (either in terms of personality, or either in terms of their actions due to ignorance) to give the story a strong sense of stakes. The same could be said of the god in the mountain, who is mysterious to the point where it’s hard to say whether to be concerned about it
-The story gets much more interesting past the 75% point. Sunny is unlikable, but her behaviour also comes across as normal for a bratty kid .When the filaments come out of her, she becomes a lot more interesting. At this point, circumstances start to become unveiled, like what happened to Lunk as well as Stella’s mother. I notice many of the women in the family have celestial themed names (Selena, Stella, Sunny—though I’m listening to the audiobook so I don’t know if I’m pronouncing them wrong). At this point, Stella also reveals some of the god’s motives (it’s dying and wants to move out of the mountain, and Uncle Hendrick has been misinterpreting it’s revelations to push his own religion)
-The climax was interesting but the section after was kind of a let down, and the end was unsurprising
There were a lot of interesting elements in the story, but because I wasn't connecting with the characters, it was ultimately unsatisfying. I would give it a 3 out of 5
Thoughts while reading:
-I’m enjoying the time period, setting, and situation (as well as the narrator of the audiobook), but struggling to care about the characters
-I feel like the protagonist, Stella, is not very compelling, despite her circumstances. And the antagonists (if we can call her grandma and uncle that, though their roles in her life are clearly complicated) don’t really feel threatening enough (either in terms of personality, or either in terms of their actions due to ignorance) to give the story a strong sense of stakes. The same could be said of the god in the mountain, who is mysterious to the point where it’s hard to say whether to be concerned about it
-The story gets much more interesting past the 75% point. Sunny is unlikable, but her behaviour also comes across as normal for a bratty kid .When the filaments come out of her, she becomes a lot more interesting. At this point, circumstances start to become unveiled, like what happened to Lunk as well as Stella’s mother. I notice many of the women in the family have celestial themed names (Selena, Stella, Sunny—though I’m listening to the audiobook so I don’t know if I’m pronouncing them wrong). At this point, Stella also reveals some of the god’s motives (it’s dying and wants to move out of the mountain, and Uncle Hendrick has been misinterpreting it’s revelations to push his own religion)
-The climax was interesting but the section after was kind of a let down, and the end was unsurprising
There were a lot of interesting elements in the story, but because I wasn't connecting with the characters, it was ultimately unsatisfying. I would give it a 3 out of 5
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
With a mysterious, dark family legacy expressed on the female side, a creepy uncle, a young, naïve and curious protagonist who becomes a jaded, keen businesswoman selling moonshine, a dash of body horror and terrific writing make this a compelling, occasionally horrifying and wonderfully characterized book.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes