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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
I am flabbergasted that the overall rating for this book is so low... why!?
It's pretty straight forward. Four colleagues / friends are on a mission to map what they all think is unchartered mountainous terrain. Dylan, the climber along with her boyfriend Luke and his dog Slade, will make her mark on the climbing world by mapping new climbing routes. Clay will log all this for his PhD and carve out a space for his future as a geologist. Sylvia tags along as Clay's assistant, but brings along her own knowledge of plant life to the group.
The book opens with the discovery of their mangled bodies, except for one, so we already know they outcome. Even so, the book is still propulsive, engaging, disorienting and creepy.
If you want a horror with an outdoor setting, a bit of a slow burn, torment, hallucinations, and setting as character then give this a try!
It's pretty straight forward. Four colleagues / friends are on a mission to map what they all think is unchartered mountainous terrain. Dylan, the climber along with her boyfriend Luke and his dog Slade, will make her mark on the climbing world by mapping new climbing routes. Clay will log all this for his PhD and carve out a space for his future as a geologist. Sylvia tags along as Clay's assistant, but brings along her own knowledge of plant life to the group.
The book opens with the discovery of their mangled bodies, except for one, so we already know they outcome. Even so, the book is still propulsive, engaging, disorienting and creepy.
If you want a horror with an outdoor setting, a bit of a slow burn, torment, hallucinations, and setting as character then give this a try!
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I finally got around to reading the advanced copy of this that I got from work like two years ago.
Where Rachel Harrison's quote is on the finished copy, mine reads "TAKE ONLY PICTURES. LEAVE ONLY BONES." It tells you all you need to know. It's a wilderness story that doesn't go well for our protagonists.
Four people, among them a rising star in the rock-climbing community, enter the woods to check out a rock wall that's been sound with LIDAR scans. They soon realize that they can't seem to get back to the road. No matter how long they walk, they end up back at their campsite.
Also, ghosts? Ghouls? Anyway, they manifest as Confederate soldiers and eighties teens. And they want blood.
This was a perfectly solid horror read. It was a good palate cleanser for me after a crappy reading month in July. Enjoyed it enough that I'll check out Kiefer's future books.
Bonus fact: Jenny Kiefer owns Butcher Cabin Books, a horror-themed bookstore in Kentucky. I hope to visit it someday.
Where Rachel Harrison's quote is on the finished copy, mine reads "TAKE ONLY PICTURES. LEAVE ONLY BONES." It tells you all you need to know. It's a wilderness story that doesn't go well for our protagonists.
Four people, among them a rising star in the rock-climbing community, enter the woods to check out a rock wall that's been sound with LIDAR scans. They soon realize that they can't seem to get back to the road. No matter how long they walk, they end up back at their campsite.
Also, ghosts? Ghouls? Anyway, they manifest as Confederate soldiers and eighties teens. And they want blood.
This was a perfectly solid horror read. It was a good palate cleanser for me after a crappy reading month in July. Enjoyed it enough that I'll check out Kiefer's future books.
Bonus fact: Jenny Kiefer owns Butcher Cabin Books, a horror-themed bookstore in Kentucky. I hope to visit it someday.
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
I was so excited for this book since I'm a climber and obsessed with survival horror stories. Unfortunately, it did not work for me.
Pros: the premise was so promising. I don't think I've read any climbing stories in fiction before, so it felt novel. The interstitial chapters were also an interesting idea.
Cons: I felt no attachment to any of the characters. As others have said, knowing that none escape the scenario leaves you without the tension and anxiety of someone to root for. Besides Dylan, it felt like the characters had no development. I also found the books repetitive and slow. We'd get the same exact thoughts from multiple characters instead of building a new creepy situation. Some of the plot just felt goofy?
I got bored and uninterested and ended up skimming the final 20% of the book to just get it over with.
If you're interested in survival horror, I'd still give it a shot! Hopefully it works better for others than me.
Pros: the premise was so promising. I don't think I've read any climbing stories in fiction before, so it felt novel. The interstitial chapters were also an interesting idea.
Cons: I felt no attachment to any of the characters. As others have said, knowing that none escape the scenario leaves you without the tension and anxiety of someone to root for. Besides Dylan, it felt like the characters had no development. I also found the books repetitive and slow. We'd get the same exact thoughts from multiple characters instead of building a new creepy situation. Some of the plot just felt goofy?
I got bored and uninterested and ended up skimming the final 20% of the book to just get it over with.
If you're interested in survival horror, I'd still give it a shot! Hopefully it works better for others than me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
characters plainer than toast--you could swap any one name out and there'd be no difference. everyone acts mind-numbingly imbecilic.
horrifically bland dialogue. clearly the characters serve the plot, to the extent where the book is about as exciting as a game of Tic Tac Toe. πΆββοΈ
you'll either love it or hate it π€·ββοΈ
horrifically bland dialogue. clearly the characters serve the plot, to the extent where the book is about as exciting as a game of Tic Tac Toe. πΆββοΈ
you'll either love it or hate it π€·ββοΈ
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore