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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
Nominated for the Bram Stoker Award 2022
Added to my TBR list 06/2022
That thudding noise you hear is the sound of of the ending of Daphne by Josh Malerman. It is so loud because this book fell from such a great height and fell so hard. This makes me sad, mad, and bad!
I wanted to love this book so badly, and there was so much to love about it. Strong female characters, an unusual villain in Daphne, and tense and dramatic storyline with an intriguing premise. On top of this, the story referenced my favorite Josh Malerman book [b:Goblin|54610996|Goblin|Josh Malerman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1611929175l/54610996._SY75_.jpg|57619539] on more than one instance, thus showing it was set in the same universe as my favorite Malerman story.
I wish the ending was not so abrupt and unsatisfying. I am going to say something I rarely say. This story could have benefited from 15-25 more pages to pad out the ending just a bit.
98% of this book: 5 Stars
The Last 2%: 2 stars
I'm giving this one 3.5 stars rounded down to 3 for Goodreads.
Added to my TBR list 06/2022
That thudding noise you hear is the sound of of the ending of Daphne by Josh Malerman. It is so loud because this book fell from such a great height and fell so hard. This makes me sad, mad, and bad!
I wanted to love this book so badly, and there was so much to love about it. Strong female characters, an unusual villain in Daphne, and tense and dramatic storyline with an intriguing premise. On top of this, the story referenced my favorite Josh Malerman book [b:Goblin|54610996|Goblin|Josh Malerman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1611929175l/54610996._SY75_.jpg|57619539] on more than one instance, thus showing it was set in the same universe as my favorite Malerman story.
I wish the ending was not so abrupt and unsatisfying. I am going to say something I rarely say. This story could have benefited from 15-25 more pages to pad out the ending just a bit.
98% of this book: 5 Stars
The Last 2%: 2 stars
I'm giving this one 3.5 stars rounded down to 3 for Goodreads.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The short version of this review is “cool ideas, terrible execution” and the premise fell apart the further the book went.
At first, the book leads the reader to think that Daphne was wrongly murdered by the high school basketball team because she was a 7 foot tall metalhead who they deemed a freak. This would make sense why no one in town wants to talk or think about Daphne if they covered up this atrocity.
But it turns out she’s a child kidnapping serial killer cannibal, so I’m confused what the town is guilty for. They stopped an evil person from doing more evil. It was very confusing why this was meant to be a secret that was eating at everyone in this small town. My best guess is that they wanted to hide the vigilantism of the basketball team, but then that would contradict the ending of the book where the detective who is one of the main POV characters just continuously breaks the rules (with the blessing of the police chief as well, so this book kind of justifies police corruption in a way) to find the cause of these murders. That detective just continued this cycle of vigilantism (if this is what the book was trying to say was the bad thing to try and forget, but again, this is very confusing).
On top of the story having issues, the writing is very slow and every point of view switch seems more to info dump backstory than anything that really pushes the story forward. This entire story could be summed up briefly as not much happens beyond people dying and Kit, the protagonist, having anxiety about everything.
The theme of something that never leaves the consciousness of a town because they are trying so hard to not think about it, and therefore are constantly thinking about it, is a really cool thing to explore, but not with this story. This was a bit of a mess.
At first, the book leads the reader to think that Daphne was wrongly murdered by the high school basketball team because she was a 7 foot tall metalhead who they deemed a freak. This would make sense why no one in town wants to talk or think about Daphne if they covered up this atrocity.
But it turns out she’s a child kidnapping serial killer cannibal, so I’m confused what the town is guilty for. They stopped an evil person from doing more evil. It was very confusing why this was meant to be a secret that was eating at everyone in this small town. My best guess is that they wanted to hide the vigilantism of the basketball team, but then that would contradict the ending of the book where the detective who is one of the main POV characters just continuously breaks the rules (with the blessing of the police chief as well, so this book kind of justifies police corruption in a way) to find the cause of these murders. That detective just continued this cycle of vigilantism (if this is what the book was trying to say was the bad thing to try and forget, but again, this is very confusing).
On top of the story having issues, the writing is very slow and every point of view switch seems more to info dump backstory than anything that really pushes the story forward. This entire story could be summed up briefly as not much happens beyond people dying and Kit, the protagonist, having anxiety about everything.
The theme of something that never leaves the consciousness of a town because they are trying so hard to not think about it, and therefore are constantly thinking about it, is a really cool thing to explore, but not with this story. This was a bit of a mess.
This was the first book I've read in a while that actually scared me; I was listening to the audiobook driving home in the dark and had to resist the urge to keep looking over my shoulder. For me, that's a win!
It's a pretty introspective narrative, so if you're looking for non-stop action from the get-go, or if you're not in a place to read in-depth descriptions of anxiety and panic attacks, this probably isn't for you. If you're fascinated by urban legends or enjoy spending time in characters' minds, and especially if you liked My Heart Is a Chainsaw, give this one a try!
It's a pretty introspective narrative, so if you're looking for non-stop action from the get-go, or if you're not in a place to read in-depth descriptions of anxiety and panic attacks, this probably isn't for you. If you're fascinated by urban legends or enjoy spending time in characters' minds, and especially if you liked My Heart Is a Chainsaw, give this one a try!
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Nothing felt especially fresh in the genre, but it was a quick, well-paced, gory ride.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.75 // “If you can think something terrible into being, why not something great?”
my first Josh Malerman book—this book spooked the fuck out of me & I loved every minute of it, our mc Kit struggles with severe anxiety & I related to her so much because of that—this book is about anxiety & the manifestation of thoughts & it’s brilliant
this book did make me extremely anxious though I should’ve seen that comin, anyway all i have to say now is just don’t think about daphne!
“Make sure they understand the things we’re told not to talk about are the things that get real bad. Those subjects get sick. And they get confused. And nobody can make sense of them because they were never allowed to talk them out.”
my first Josh Malerman book—this book spooked the fuck out of me & I loved every minute of it, our mc Kit struggles with severe anxiety & I related to her so much because of that—this book is about anxiety & the manifestation of thoughts & it’s brilliant
this book did make me extremely anxious though I should’ve seen that comin, anyway all i have to say now is just don’t think about daphne!
“Make sure they understand the things we’re told not to talk about are the things that get real bad. Those subjects get sick. And they get confused. And nobody can make sense of them because they were never allowed to talk them out.”