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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I fucking hated this
Great horror visuals towards the end. Bit slow to get there. Overall a pretty good small town horror story.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
I've read other Malfi before, so I know muted, melancholy slow burn is his thing, but there was no tradeoff here. Just an abrupt fall into some kind of fantasy mess that didn't match the rest of the story at all.
Also, there was way too much emphasis placed on the physical bodies of disabled characters, to an extent that felt othering without any sort of point about othering being made. (I'm referring to the MC's first-person narration, not the POV and dialogue of various antagonists, in which case it's inevitable.) Do we need to constantly be reminded of how big and lumbering Dennis is? Or that Clay has vitiligo and sure is funny-looking? Not sure one of the villains needed to have a grotesque birth defect either.
Also, there was way too much emphasis placed on the physical bodies of disabled characters, to an extent that felt othering without any sort of point about othering being made. (I'm referring to the MC's first-person narration, not the POV and dialogue of various antagonists, in which case it's inevitable.) Do we need to constantly be reminded of how big and lumbering Dennis is? Or that Clay has vitiligo and sure is funny-looking? Not sure one of the villains needed to have a grotesque birth defect either.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Murder
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes