Reviews

These Prisoning Hills by Christopher Rowe

disreputabledog's review

challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

djondjakecollins117's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.0

The book really hinges on the concept/plot but there is some layered characterization with the main character. Rowe has created a lore-rich alternate future that is rooted in the landscapes of KY and TN. However, These Prisoning Hills does leave much more world-building to be desired. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

themarquessmagpie's review

challenging mysterious medium-paced

2.75

houdini117's review against another edition

fast-paced

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

3.0

lini002's review

adventurous challenging informative medium-paced

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

2.0

quillonon's review

emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.0

mimela78's review

adventurous challenging reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

catbooking's review against another edition

3.0

It was alright, but at the end I did not feel like there was a point to the story. There was very little investigation of the strange new life forms, what they were and what they did, and there was very little investigation of the damage, emotional and psychological, that former and current soldiers suffered because of those new life forms.

shanaqui's review

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

2.0

I'm going to just admit it: I didn't really get this one. There's a history and a world built up here that I feel I only half-understood, from the politics to the geography to the relationships between people and things. There's a lot of atmosphere to it, and I found it intriguing, but at the same time the narrative jumps around so much -- and often without a logical link between the jumps -- that I just... didn't follow.

I feel like I missed something, some vital context that would make it all make a lot more sense. I grasped some of the basic stuff (Athena Parthenus is a massive AI that tried to take over the world and involved controlling people somehow; there's heavy body modification in the opposing side as well), but... I couldn't fit it all together, and figure out the characters' place in it. I wonder if there are short stories in this world or something? Or a previous book? 

Anyway, I can't personally recommend it, though I see that others enjoyed it a lot. Whatever the key to it is, I missed it.

hendrixpants's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence