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jarofbees's review
dark
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
meinfulleffect's review
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
hmlan89's review
5.0
Do you ever get that uneasy feeling? You know that one where you have the slight sense that you should be afraid but you don’t know what about. Well that is how it feels to read Hell Hound.
From the beginning you can sense that terrible things are going to happen. “What are the possibilities of my strength?” A simple question that is the center of the book. When asked of himself by the sociopathic Baxter it is a wondering of if he has greater strength than the adult humans he encounters. Baxter’s actions set in motion an entangling of lives for several members of the town.
When the question of strength is asked by Carl Fine it is more about proving dominance. Dominance over Baxter. With boy and dog vying for strength the collateral damage starts to grow. The constant struggle to maintain dominance proves disastrous to their boy/dog relationship in the end.
Ken Greenhall knows how to create that subtle fear in the reader. Hell Hound doesn’t feature the typical aspects of horror that one usually thinks of when picking up a horror book. Yet, it still reaches that part of your mind... soliciting fear in a way that almost is more unsettling than the obvious fear caused by most horror books.
From the beginning you can sense that terrible things are going to happen. “What are the possibilities of my strength?” A simple question that is the center of the book. When asked of himself by the sociopathic Baxter it is a wondering of if he has greater strength than the adult humans he encounters. Baxter’s actions set in motion an entangling of lives for several members of the town.
When the question of strength is asked by Carl Fine it is more about proving dominance. Dominance over Baxter. With boy and dog vying for strength the collateral damage starts to grow. The constant struggle to maintain dominance proves disastrous to their boy/dog relationship in the end.
Ken Greenhall knows how to create that subtle fear in the reader. Hell Hound doesn’t feature the typical aspects of horror that one usually thinks of when picking up a horror book. Yet, it still reaches that part of your mind... soliciting fear in a way that almost is more unsettling than the obvious fear caused by most horror books.
prettyinpapercuts's review
4.0
I've always wanted to read the mind of a dog, but this isn't quite how I expected it to go.
amelia1228's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
romireads's review
4.0
The concept of this book was really interesting - one of the POV's was the dog's, Baxter's - and it was worked out really well! Besides Baxter's POV there's also the POV from the people he lives with and other people in town. Just like me, these people are curious what the dog might be feeling or thinking about. We, as in humans, like to think that we know what goes on inside an animal's head, but in this book most of the people are far from right! Which made me look at the dogs I pass each day very differently ... (they're still cute though)
And man, did this book make me feel uncomfortable every now and then! Don't get me wrong: I don't like it when people are killed in books (secretly I do geheh), but when animals get killed? That's when you'll see me cry or hear me shout "NO" over and over. And although Baxter's quite a vicious dog I couldn't help but feel sorry for him in the end.
As I mentioned earlier, there are a lot of different POV's in this book, but it wasn't hard to understand who's who and it wasn't confusing at all! You get to read from the view of a lot of people in the small town, so you get to know Baxter from many different perspectives. Great, great book!
And man, did this book make me feel uncomfortable every now and then! Don't get me wrong: I don't like it when people are killed in books (secretly I do geheh), but when animals get killed? That's when you'll see me cry or hear me shout "NO" over and over. And although Baxter's quite a vicious dog I couldn't help but feel sorry for him in the end.
As I mentioned earlier, there are a lot of different POV's in this book, but it wasn't hard to understand who's who and it wasn't confusing at all! You get to read from the view of a lot of people in the small town, so you get to know Baxter from many different perspectives. Great, great book!
jobis89's review
4.0
"What if some morning as the old woman stood at the head of the staircase she were suddenly to feel a weight thrusting against the back of her legs? ... What would become of me if she were found unmoving at the bottom of the stairway?"
Baxter is a sociopathic bull terrier who is on the hunt for his perfect master, as he plots the demise of his current owner...
Days later and I am still thinking about this book. I even gave my boyfriend a detailed description of the events in the book (which I'm pretty sure he loved - let's not ask him though). I just honestly did not expect SUCH a great story, in fact I'd never even heard of Hell Hound nor the author before - thank god for The Nocturnal Reader's Box, eh!?
What I really enjoyed about this was the fact that the story is told from a number of different POV's - we have the POV of the dog, Baxter, and then a number of the humans that come into contact with him. This book started off being quite humorous, some of Baxter's thoughts and comments were hilarious. Then it takes a bit of a dark turn... although some humour is still retained. I actually got quite intense Apt Pupil vibes at times, and we all know that novella is dark as shit!! I was uncomfortable for sure. However I did feel like I was looking at dogs a little bit differently after reading this one... WHO KNOWS WHAT'S GOING ON IN THEIR MINDS? Are they plotting to kill us?! I don't know!!
The story itself didn't feel dated, it almost felt like it could have been written in recent times. There are seriously dark undertones and I constantly felt on edge as I really didn't know what to expect. Greenhall kept me guessing right until the end, and holy SHIT, that ending. I LOVED IT. I did have a teeny tiny minor issue with the story that I can't really go into much detail on without giving a potential spoiler, but some ridiculously bad parenting left me a bit pissed off and felt a tad unrealistic (hence it doesn't get the full 5 star treatment).
Basically, I DIG THIS. Very much. But if you are a bit sensitive when it comes to doggos...beware. I just tell myself that it's fiction and therefore it's fine. But I know that doesn't work for everyone. Thoroughly enjoyed this one - 4 and a half stars!
Baxter is a sociopathic bull terrier who is on the hunt for his perfect master, as he plots the demise of his current owner...
Days later and I am still thinking about this book. I even gave my boyfriend a detailed description of the events in the book (which I'm pretty sure he loved - let's not ask him though). I just honestly did not expect SUCH a great story, in fact I'd never even heard of Hell Hound nor the author before - thank god for The Nocturnal Reader's Box, eh!?
What I really enjoyed about this was the fact that the story is told from a number of different POV's - we have the POV of the dog, Baxter, and then a number of the humans that come into contact with him. This book started off being quite humorous, some of Baxter's thoughts and comments were hilarious. Then it takes a bit of a dark turn... although some humour is still retained. I actually got quite intense Apt Pupil vibes at times, and we all know that novella is dark as shit!! I was uncomfortable for sure. However I did feel like I was looking at dogs a little bit differently after reading this one... WHO KNOWS WHAT'S GOING ON IN THEIR MINDS? Are they plotting to kill us?! I don't know!!
The story itself didn't feel dated, it almost felt like it could have been written in recent times. There are seriously dark undertones and I constantly felt on edge as I really didn't know what to expect. Greenhall kept me guessing right until the end, and holy SHIT, that ending. I LOVED IT. I did have a teeny tiny minor issue with the story that I can't really go into much detail on without giving a potential spoiler, but some ridiculously bad parenting left me a bit pissed off and felt a tad unrealistic (hence it doesn't get the full 5 star treatment).
Basically, I DIG THIS. Very much. But if you are a bit sensitive when it comes to doggos...beware. I just tell myself that it's fiction and therefore it's fine. But I know that doesn't work for everyone. Thoroughly enjoyed this one - 4 and a half stars!
abbie_'s review
3.0
A very disturbing little book but I thought it was clever and appreciated that it didn’t rely on a tonne of gore!
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