Reviews

The Cormorant by Stephen Gregory

rileigh_is_reading's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Animal death

lavender___'s review against another edition

4.0

It took me several days to review this because of how truly strange it all was. I finished reading late at night and felt compelled to check the next morning and make sure the last part wasn’t a fever dream.
Teetering on 5 stars for me, but I don’t think there’s enough of a punch to warrant that.
Stephen Gregory is truly incredibly strange for writing this. I was a huge fan of the way he developed the bird, introducing it like it was a human character. It’s origin and past behaviors indicate what will happen now. Something that sometimes get lost with non-human characters.
I also really appreciated the setting. Cozy cottage in the mountains, by the sea? Yes please!!
I don’t really know what to say. This was surprisingly gory and just very weird, in the best possible way. It all felt like a fever dream.

piscesprincesss's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

3.0

abattleofmice's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

jimmypat's review against another edition

3.0

Highly disturbing in a few scenes, this book left me reeling. I’m not sure I liked it, but 3 stars for its ability to keep me reading despite the persistent doominess and grotesqueness.

zeecorster's review against another edition

4.0

This book surprised me from start to finish. It's bizarre and scary and oddly poetic, and features some base, primal symbolism that I was continuously impressed by. Plus, it doesn't hurt that I loathe birds and this book's primary antagonist—if you can call it that—is a filthy, vile bird with a penchant for squirting streams of crap at inopportune moments. As our narrator puts it, "...this bird made an art of being vile." (He also describes Archie, the titular cormorant, as "a Heathcliff, a Rasputin, a Dracula," and that coupled with the use of the phrase "murder-beak" in the first chapter pretty much guaranteed a good review from me.)

All in all, this is an excellent slice of sorely under-read 80s horror that pleasantly transcends that narrow category. Long live Valancourt Books; they're doing some great work bringing these books back into print.

joy_b's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty

Moderate: Child abuse

lkkirk75's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

souymuilk's review against another edition

2.0

Does the author has a fascination with poop, dear god. The bathtub scene was completely horrid and unnecessary with no repercussions afterwards just onto the next scene. The ending was shocking and boring at the same time, completely flat and not executed well, maybe it’s because of his writing style the whole book felt flat and boring despite the things occurring in it.

The only thing I took away from this is lots of poop, weird baby, and a bad parent. The house sounded really cool though.

beingboiled's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5