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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
this was so creepy! now i kind of wished i read this closer to halloween
If there's one thing you definitely shouldn't do this summer, it's think about Daphne. If you do she comes for you, and when that happens, none of your limbs or basketballs are safe. Josh Malerman returns with the story of a shameful piece of town history purposefully lost from memory that resurfaces to wreak havoc on a high school girls basketball team. Star player Kit Lamb, fresh off a hospital visit after her first panic attack, hears Daphne's story from one of her teammates and finds herself unable to stop thinking about her. Soon, her teammates start falling like dominoes in mysterious fashion, and Kit must find the inner strength to tackle both her mental health and the Shaquille O'Neal sized ghostly slasher haunting her.
Pros:
- The description of Daphne is so overtly campy that it works on levels I wasn't expecting. She's described as over seven feet tall, hulking, wearing denim head to toe with metal band patches sewn everywhere, and sporting "Kiss" makeup. I can only assume that this "Kiss" makeup is actually corpsepaint and that Daphne is a huge fan of black metal. This is absolutely fantastic.
- Kit Lamb is a strong main character, burdened with anxiety and depression but doing her best to hold the world together around her despite that.
- Malerman doesn't get too bogged down into creating a very complicated backstory for the town or Daphne's history, so there's a lot left to the imagination (always a good thing in horror).
Cons:
- Basketball for some reason is huge right now in horror. Malerman makes it a big part of the story here, hot off the heels of Stephen Graham Jones famously doing the same in The Only Good Indians. It's entertaining sure, but a bit strange to read multiple detailed passages about basketball games.
- Slashers are also in vogue again...it'll just never be the preferred horror subgenre for me.
Four stars. While the horror here stumbles at times through some well-trodden territory, the struggle of the lead character with mental health strife is timely and relatable.
FFO: A Blaze in the Northern Sky, shooting hoops, slasher flicks.
**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Netgalley*
Pros:
- The description of Daphne is so overtly campy that it works on levels I wasn't expecting. She's described as over seven feet tall, hulking, wearing denim head to toe with metal band patches sewn everywhere, and sporting "Kiss" makeup. I can only assume that this "Kiss" makeup is actually corpsepaint and that Daphne is a huge fan of black metal. This is absolutely fantastic.
- Kit Lamb is a strong main character, burdened with anxiety and depression but doing her best to hold the world together around her despite that.
- Malerman doesn't get too bogged down into creating a very complicated backstory for the town or Daphne's history, so there's a lot left to the imagination (always a good thing in horror).
Cons:
- Basketball for some reason is huge right now in horror. Malerman makes it a big part of the story here, hot off the heels of Stephen Graham Jones famously doing the same in The Only Good Indians. It's entertaining sure, but a bit strange to read multiple detailed passages about basketball games.
- Slashers are also in vogue again...it'll just never be the preferred horror subgenre for me.
Four stars. While the horror here stumbles at times through some well-trodden territory, the struggle of the lead character with mental health strife is timely and relatable.
FFO: A Blaze in the Northern Sky, shooting hoops, slasher flicks.
**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Netgalley*
2.5/5 stars - This book was not great. It was very much written like a YA/early teen Goosebumps "horror" with high school basketball at its core. Don't get me wrong, Goosebumps was my teen-jam, and I love YA, but I think it missed for me because I was expecting adult horror of a quality of writing and storytelling more like Birdbox, so I was disappointed. It also truly made no sense and we were given so little information to really fill out the lack of actual possible science that it didn't work for me. Most of it was boring teen writing in her journal or thinking obsessively about the same drawn out thing. Ultimately, a pretty boring read, would not recommend.
Absolutely great villain, and not really like any I've ever seen before. It makes interesting use of the concept of tulpas, and shared trauma and repression, but still, it ended up feeling repetitive throughout, and the ending was just... trite.
3.5 with the .5 bump for the description of Daphne alone.
3.5 with the .5 bump for the description of Daphne alone.
It Follows/Halloween but with Basketball and a psychic basketball hoop. Alright.
4.5 stars rounded up to 5!
I’ve never in my life felt so seen and represented in how impairing anxiety can be until I read this book, and had NO clue what a massive impact the main character would have on me. The 7ft tall killer with greasy black hair and all denim who murders those who think of her was scary to think about at night in the dark, but the real fear resided in the overwhelming monstrosity that is anxiety.
I could feel how much more personal this book was to him and the authors note almost made me tear up at the end (tears? who am i?) when he spoke directly to his readers who experience anxiety and how they are never alone.
This book was creepy, suspenseful and emotionally haunting in a way I’ve never found in books before. I definitely recommend it to readers who enjoy Malerman’s work, but also to people who enjoy horror and also happen to live with anxiety. Will definitely be thinking about this one for a while.
I’ve never in my life felt so seen and represented in how impairing anxiety can be until I read this book, and had NO clue what a massive impact the main character would have on me. The 7ft tall killer with greasy black hair and all denim who murders those who think of her was scary to think about at night in the dark, but the real fear resided in the overwhelming monstrosity that is anxiety.
I could feel how much more personal this book was to him and the authors note almost made me tear up at the end (tears? who am i?) when he spoke directly to his readers who experience anxiety and how they are never alone.
This book was creepy, suspenseful and emotionally haunting in a way I’ve never found in books before. I definitely recommend it to readers who enjoy Malerman’s work, but also to people who enjoy horror and also happen to live with anxiety. Will definitely be thinking about this one for a while.
Daphne takes place over the summer before college for Kit and her fellow basketball team. Before a game, the team gathers and one of them shares the story/urban legend of Daphne, a girl from many years ago who died, but the circumstances aren’t clear. Did she take her life? Was she murdered? There are many stories surrounding it. It is also noted that she is out for revenge and will come for you if you think of her.
Soon the teammates begin to vanish one by one. Is it Daphne? How can they stop her? There’s also an underlying message in this story on anxiety intertwined with coming of age. This was a 3.5 slow burn read rounded up to 4. Thank you to Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine and NetGalley for the EArc and the chance to review it!
Soon the teammates begin to vanish one by one. Is it Daphne? How can they stop her? There’s also an underlying message in this story on anxiety intertwined with coming of age. This was a 3.5 slow burn read rounded up to 4. Thank you to Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine and NetGalley for the EArc and the chance to review it!
medium-paced
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really like Josh Malerman. I loved the bird box series and I loved Inspection so much. This book not so much.
Maybe I'm just not a fan of urban legends or that Daphne just wasn't scary to me at all. I mean a big woman in a jean jacket..I'd probably laugh...
I was originally going to give this book a 2/5 stars but it did get a little better towards the end deserving that extra star
Maybe I'm just not a fan of urban legends or that Daphne just wasn't scary to me at all. I mean a big woman in a jean jacket..I'd probably laugh...
I was originally going to give this book a 2/5 stars but it did get a little better towards the end deserving that extra star