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thomaswjoyce's review
5.0
Grau is firmly at home in the Weird fiction genre and this is no exception. I first heard about this book through the This Is Horror podcast when they interviewed Grau and, from the little details they gave away, I had a small idea of what it was about. But not much. I was immediately gripped by his writing style. The protagonist, Hettie, is a teenage girl yet he manages to get her voice just right. There is an innocence to Hettie that is very endearing. Is it wrong that I related to her a bit? It probably says more about Grau's excellence as a storyteller more than anything else. He has the reader fully invested in Hettie's quest from early on in the book and we are rooting for her to save the day. But her methods and behaviour grow increasingly weirder until the brilliant ending. The cover art (designed by Ives Hovanessian and created by Candice Tripp) is beautiful and the interior design by Pye Parr is very high quality. As a publisher of horror novellas, This Is Horror are really setting a very high standard with both the writing within and the package as a whole. Overall, wonderful storytelling, great complex characters, and beautiful, poetic prose. This is an instant classic that will live long in the memory.
lamusadelils's review
3.0
3.5
No soy fan de los libros de vampiros. De los miles que hay allá afuera, puedo contar en una mano los que si me han gustado.
Pero me gustan los libros impredecibles con personajes que se leen auténticos. Me gusta leer a personajes adolescentes que no son demasiado pretenciosos ni caen en el cliché de ser rebeldes nada más porque sí.
Y si tienen que ser vampiros, me gusta que se explore el tema no como un asunto de castas o grupos sino como la naturaleza misma de la condición: qué significa ser vampiro en ese universo en particular.
Bajo esos parámetros, They don't come home anymore cumple y lo hace bastante bien.
No soy fan de los libros de vampiros. De los miles que hay allá afuera, puedo contar en una mano los que si me han gustado.
Pero me gustan los libros impredecibles con personajes que se leen auténticos. Me gusta leer a personajes adolescentes que no son demasiado pretenciosos ni caen en el cliché de ser rebeldes nada más porque sí.
Y si tienen que ser vampiros, me gusta que se explore el tema no como un asunto de castas o grupos sino como la naturaleza misma de la condición: qué significa ser vampiro en ese universo en particular.
Bajo esos parámetros, They don't come home anymore cumple y lo hace bastante bien.
o_oliviarose_o's review against another edition
dark
fast-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
3.0
kelliehatcher's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
sufyazi's review
3.0
This is a novella but it took me a week to get through it because I just cannot care for the central character — there’s just a lack of reason, as to why she cared so much for Avery other than her talking to her, not until you reached the actual end of the novella. This was almost a DNF for me, but I felt so bad for myself for abandoning a novella which is short enough as it is. Plus, I guess I am just too old for vampiric-themed plots, although I find the way Grau slightly did a twist on this frankly hackneyed horror genre, quite refreshing. My main disappointment is I that I was expecting something more…eldritch, not gothic angsty.
My whole 3 stars then are purely dedicated to the way Grau wrote. Because dang do I find his prose absolutely beautiful. I don’t even know how to describe it other than ‘clean but poetic’. There were many moments where I found myself saying ‘wow this person really chose their words with a unique care’ — there was just a sense of personality to it, especially when this novella is written in a third person. I know I am being vague right now so do give this one a try if you’re curious. I would definitely check out Grau’s other works (this is their first work I have ever read) purely because of the enjoyment I derived from reading this writing.
My whole 3 stars then are purely dedicated to the way Grau wrote. Because dang do I find his prose absolutely beautiful. I don’t even know how to describe it other than ‘clean but poetic’. There were many moments where I found myself saying ‘wow this person really chose their words with a unique care’ — there was just a sense of personality to it, especially when this novella is written in a third person. I know I am being vague right now so do give this one a try if you’re curious. I would definitely check out Grau’s other works (this is their first work I have ever read) purely because of the enjoyment I derived from reading this writing.
kibiiiariii's review
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
This book is clearly written as a satire, however I didn´t find it that amusing, even thought it did have it's funny moments.
It was a quite painful read. Even though the book is short, it took a long time to force myself through it.
It was a quite painful read. Even though the book is short, it took a long time to force myself through it.
ajlct's review
dark
funny
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Vomit, Violence, Toxic friendship, Stalking, Medical content, Gore, and Gaslighting