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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
dark
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
Fantastic! Felt like a cool blend of IT, Something Wicked This Way Comes, and some N0S4A2 at the end. I'm convinced this is a modern horror classic.
Black Mouth has some amazing tone, setting, and characters; however, I don't feel like the events all work together, particularly in the second half.
I really enjoyed the struggles of our main character and his brother Dennis, I felt like these were fleshed out well, and explored in depth. The remaining cast felt shallow, if likable.
What didn't always work for me, as much as I loved Dennis's character, is how frequently he fell into the magical character with a disability trope. I felt like outside of these moments he was handled in such a nuanced way, that it felt like a shame that he essentially became a plot device to guide along the rest of the cast.
Black Mouth as a setting itself is built up very well, it's got a creepy history, the perfect decrepit town feel. But I don't think we get to spend enough time in it in modern times to get pay off for the build-up.
There are some truly horrifying moments in this story, and Malfi does an expert job balancing psychological and supernatural horror elements until they swirl together to be indistinguishable. His use of describing noises and smells is particularly great.
Our over arching challenges and threats to the cast are where I struggled a bit. Without spoiling anything, there is an element introduced about midway through the story which I felt was done to try to dangle the "is this psychological or super natural" carrot over characters' heads. But I felt this element just didn't work as well as what had been previously built up.
Overall, I enjoyed Black Mouth and will definitely be reading more of Malfi's work, but it is not something I would consider a must-read for horror fans. It struggles a bit with pacing and some of its character use while excelling with building tension, setting, and emotion into its main cast.
I really enjoyed the struggles of our main character and his brother Dennis, I felt like these were fleshed out well, and explored in depth. The remaining cast felt shallow, if likable.
What didn't always work for me, as much as I loved Dennis's character, is how frequently he fell into the magical character with a disability trope. I felt like outside of these moments he was handled in such a nuanced way, that it felt like a shame that he essentially became a plot device to guide along the rest of the cast.
Black Mouth as a setting itself is built up very well, it's got a creepy history, the perfect decrepit town feel. But I don't think we get to spend enough time in it in modern times to get pay off for the build-up.
There are some truly horrifying moments in this story, and Malfi does an expert job balancing psychological and supernatural horror elements until they swirl together to be indistinguishable. His use of describing noises and smells is particularly great.
Our over arching challenges and threats to the cast are where I struggled a bit. Without spoiling anything, there is an element introduced about midway through the story which I felt was done to try to dangle the "is this psychological or super natural" carrot over characters' heads. But I felt this element just didn't work as well as what had been previously built up.
Overall, I enjoyed Black Mouth and will definitely be reading more of Malfi's work, but it is not something I would consider a must-read for horror fans. It struggles a bit with pacing and some of its character use while excelling with building tension, setting, and emotion into its main cast.
dark
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
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Overall, I enjoyed this book. It walked a line between real life horror and supernatural that I love, never giving you a firm answer - but I know what I believe. Malfi's writing is accessible and sometimes even poetic. The book was reminiscent of Laymon's Funland with it's carnival settings. The depiction of Dennis reminded me perhaps a bit too much of John Coffee, but he was a lovable character, nonetheless.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Violence
4 Star read! Ronald Malfi is such a good story teller and I loved the characters in this. Overall this was really good. It didnt quite grab me like Come With Me did ( which had me crying at the end) but it still was very impactful and interesting.
My only complaint was an under utilized double villain aspect that could have brought the story to more of a head, though this is only a minor detail.
I have one more Ronald Malfi on my shelf, Little Girls, and I'm tempted to jump into it next!
My only complaint was an under utilized double villain aspect that could have brought the story to more of a head, though this is only a minor detail.
I have one more Ronald Malfi on my shelf, Little Girls, and I'm tempted to jump into it next!
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
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
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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