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unicornheart_books's review against another edition
2.5
"The fear of a thing is quite often worse than the thing we fear"
I first attempted to read this book two years ago, but the writing style didn’t really click with me at the time, so I put it down. Lately, with some extra time on my hands, I decided to give it another go. At first, I was drawn in – at least for the first 250 pages. The beginning held my attention, and I was intrigued by the plot and events unfolding. The creepiness and eerie atmosphere reminded me of The Diviners by Libba Bray, which is one of my favorite books, and for a moment, I thought I’d finally connected with this one.
However, after the first half, the book began to lose me. It shifted in a direction that felt more like fantasy than horror, which diminished the creep factor, and that’s where my interest started to fade. I found myself continuing only out of a desire to finish the book rather than being genuinely invested in the characters or story. The only character I remotely cared about was Maddie, but even she couldn’t fully carry the narrative for me.
While the first half had potential and kept me hooked, the latter part of the book felt like a slog. I lost my connection to the plot and characters, and ultimately, the book didn’t deliver on the eerie, unsettling vibes I was hoping for.
I don’t think I’ll be picking up another Chuck Wendig book in the future unless the plot is particularly intriguing or widely praised as genuinely scary. His writing style just doesn’t seem to resonate with me and is unfortunately not my cup of tea.
I first attempted to read this book two years ago, but the writing style didn’t really click with me at the time, so I put it down. Lately, with some extra time on my hands, I decided to give it another go. At first, I was drawn in – at least for the first 250 pages. The beginning held my attention, and I was intrigued by the plot and events unfolding. The creepiness and eerie atmosphere reminded me of The Diviners by Libba Bray, which is one of my favorite books, and for a moment, I thought I’d finally connected with this one.
However, after the first half, the book began to lose me. It shifted in a direction that felt more like fantasy than horror, which diminished the creep factor, and that’s where my interest started to fade. I found myself continuing only out of a desire to finish the book rather than being genuinely invested in the characters or story. The only character I remotely cared about was Maddie, but even she couldn’t fully carry the narrative for me.
While the first half had potential and kept me hooked, the latter part of the book felt like a slog. I lost my connection to the plot and characters, and ultimately, the book didn’t deliver on the eerie, unsettling vibes I was hoping for.
I don’t think I’ll be picking up another Chuck Wendig book in the future unless the plot is particularly intriguing or widely praised as genuinely scary. His writing style just doesn’t seem to resonate with me and is unfortunately not my cup of tea.
anteus7's review against another edition
5.0
I've been reading a lot of...what genre is this?...weird fiction lately. I am always intrigued when books echo through each other after I read them. I just read a book called The Gone World and, thematically, there is so much to compare with this one. Cosmic horror of different kinds, dopplegangers (kind of), creeping unease, at one point the phrase 'the gone world' came out of one character's thoughts and my first thought was 'I just read that book...'.
All of this is coincidental and a result of my just having read the other book, of course. I just think that effect is neat. There should be a word for that. There probably is. Yup--the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon, otherwise known as the frequency illusio or recency bias. So that's a thing, cool.
I enjoyed lots of things about this book. I liked the different points of view and how distinct they were. Wendig is (apparently) a maniac, and I need to read more of his stuff, and that comes through in his writing voice. The setting gets progressively loony as things begin to shake loose or fall apart and we become more aware of it.
Give it a read if you are in the mood for creeped-out confusion.
All of this is coincidental and a result of my just having read the other book, of course. I just think that effect is neat. There should be a word for that. There probably is. Yup--the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon, otherwise known as the frequency illusio or recency bias. So that's a thing, cool.
I enjoyed lots of things about this book. I liked the different points of view and how distinct they were. Wendig is (apparently) a maniac, and I need to read more of his stuff, and that comes through in his writing voice. The setting gets progressively loony as things begin to shake loose or fall apart and we become more aware of it.
Give it a read if you are in the mood for creeped-out confusion.
d3dmouth_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
introvert_reader10's review against another edition
5.0
This is my first time reading Chuck Wendig and boy am I impressed. I really enjoyed this book. I felt immersed in the story and invested in multiple characters. It really kept me in suspense as to how it would all end. Definitely recommend!
the_agog_nog's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
4.25
augustj's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I loved Wanderers and Black River Orchard. This story was equally compelling, and even hopeful. This book would've gotten a higher review if I wasn't burnt out on the plot device or this story
legendaryphantom's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mamatyphoo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
mikaylasky's review against another edition
3.0
The plot twist went crazy, but other than that I wasn’t a big fan of this. Not really important but also the humor was kinda cringe, lol