Reviews

All the White Spaces by Ally Wilkes

exitmouse's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Doomed fictional polar exploration with enough mystery to leave you wondering for much of the book if these men are just going mad out there or if there really is Something In The Snow. I adored Jonathan as a main/pov character, especially with how the narration wasn't shy about letting him be flawed and shitty in his own ways at times. It fleshed him out and made him feel real. I also really kind of love that the only name we ever know him as is "Jonathan". 

I was tense for much of the book waiting for some kind of reveal - especially against Jonathan's will - where he's found out, but instead him revealing he's trans comes entirely at his own choice to disclose because it let him realize that the images they see aren't ghosts but Something Else.  It utilized 'the way I'm different is what gives me the ability to get through this' in a very unique and interesting way, and I really enjoyed how the other character just rolled with it.

writerwendywag's review against another edition

4.0

WARNING: Lots of dogs die in this book. Just ... FYI.

A very spooky approach to the Mountains of Madness! I quite enjoyed.

kingpockets's review against another edition

Haunting, grief fueled polar survival horror.
Perfect for long, cold nights

fiphillips's review against another edition

5.0

Many horror novels use gore, or jump scares, or outright violence to frighten the reader. All The White Spaces is much more about a creeping suspense that stays just out of reach, at the corner of your eye. It digs into real life human suffering and peril, and the strains that puts on a person’s mind, including feelings of paranoia.

At the start of the book, I wasn’t sure that Jonathan was the right person to tell this story through. By the end, I realised the wisdom of the author in placing him centre stage.

This brilliantly written, historical horror subtly tells the creeping terror of the expedition’s experiences, right up until the final, emotional showdown.

kdomps's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I'd never read historical horror fiction before but i found it fascinating. I love the protagonists character arc.

This is a really great story to listen to, it was very creepy to listen to as I was falling asleep at night. Plenty of tension and unnerving feelings. At times i got confused about who was who but reading the print book probably would have solved that. I grew very attached to the characters. Dragged a little bit in places but overall very good. 

I don't read historical fiction and i was surprised this kept my interest the whole time. Would definitely recommend, especially to those interested in trans stories in history. 

alyshab2005's review against another edition

It was just too slow for the mood I was in

capriciouscacti's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

griffonage's review

4.0

I’d rate All the White Spaces at a 5/5 if you are reading it for the trans narrative. I was surprised by this and, in fact, put off reading it for over a month because I don’t have positive experiences of reading trans fiction written by cis-presenting authors. I was fortunately surprised by how genuine and well done it was.

That being said, if you are reading this novel for the horror story, I’d give it a 3/5. The antagonistic force seems random and inconsistent (at least as a horror monster— it makes significantly more sense to me as a transgender allegory) & the resolution feels a bit l forced.

All in all, as much I avoid buying books, I’ll have to buy a copy if only to write in all the margins and do a proper review.

mothandlantern's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

jfogg's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Clearly a great deal of love and attention from Ally to the setting, painting era-realistic characters, and that slow build up of an unknown horror. I really enjoyed the embedding of queer characters, Jonathan especially.

It's quite a large cast that was sometimes difficult to keep track of, and sometimes they behaved in a way that was too tropey (why did they keep posting watch??). The unforgiving ice didn't quite live up to that in Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness, but was still impressive and made for a thoroughly engaging read.