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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Gun violence
Moderate: Racism
Ooooooohhh my god this book was so good. I totally was expecting something to be really dark and intense (which it did have) but there was so much levity and comedy in this book as well that really lent itself to making something very riveting and thoroughly entertaining. I listened to this book via Libro and to see that it was narrated by the same person that did Well Met really made my day. She did a wonderful job.
That being said, reading some of the reviews for this book, I totally understand why some people are put off by some of the content of this book. It’s totally reasonable to be off-put by white men writing segments that take place in 1960s American South and having a white man lynched (not that it is described). Those are completely valid criticisms. Same for the people that say this book is a ripoff of another story. I just happen to not know of the story these people are referring to, so as far as I know this book has a mostly original concept and it was something that I enjoyed.
That being said, reading some of the reviews for this book, I totally understand why some people are put off by some of the content of this book. It’s totally reasonable to be off-put by white men writing segments that take place in 1960s American South and having a white man lynched (not that it is described). Those are completely valid criticisms. Same for the people that say this book is a ripoff of another story. I just happen to not know of the story these people are referring to, so as far as I know this book has a mostly original concept and it was something that I enjoyed.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Quite excellent. Almost a five, but something was missing. Still a phenomenal read.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
I really liked the world and set-up, I just wish it was longer and more complex.
“… a line was crossed. A natural law was broken. A dark boundary trespassed.”
The Hollow Ones by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan is the first book in a horror detective series. FBI agent Odessa is forced to shoot her partner during a call on a brutal murder. Whilst on desk duty she recalls a strange sighting of something leaving her partners body the moment she shot him. Whilst on desk duty she is appointed to work with FBI agent Soloman who is in hospital from suffering a stroke. He is very familiar with what she describes and instructs her to meet a mysterious man named Hugo Blackwood who will lead her to the truth.
I was very excited to get to this book. The story itself is quite fast-paced and I felt this first novel covered all the bases for what’s to become a series. The dark and mysterious background around many of the central characters is teased and in some cases explored thoroughly. The character of Hugo Blackwood instantly clicked with me, I loved what he stood for in the overall story and cant wait to see how his character develops as the series continues.
The imagery was spot on and on many occasions quite explicit during the brutal deaths met by some of the victims. The horror and psychological horror is there throughout the book taunting the reader page after page.
I was a huge fan of The Strain series and couldn’t wait for the publication of The Hollow Ones. I also had every intention to read this book next month but I couldn’t help myself
The Hollow Ones by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan is the first book in a horror detective series. FBI agent Odessa is forced to shoot her partner during a call on a brutal murder. Whilst on desk duty she recalls a strange sighting of something leaving her partners body the moment she shot him. Whilst on desk duty she is appointed to work with FBI agent Soloman who is in hospital from suffering a stroke. He is very familiar with what she describes and instructs her to meet a mysterious man named Hugo Blackwood who will lead her to the truth.
I was very excited to get to this book. The story itself is quite fast-paced and I felt this first novel covered all the bases for what’s to become a series. The dark and mysterious background around many of the central characters is teased and in some cases explored thoroughly. The character of Hugo Blackwood instantly clicked with me, I loved what he stood for in the overall story and cant wait to see how his character develops as the series continues.
The imagery was spot on and on many occasions quite explicit during the brutal deaths met by some of the victims. The horror and psychological horror is there throughout the book taunting the reader page after page.
I was a huge fan of The Strain series and couldn’t wait for the publication of The Hollow Ones. I also had every intention to read this book next month but I couldn’t help myself
Like The Strain, The Hollow Ones has a promising premise but the execution is lacking. Odessa and her partner felt flat to me, and I found her motivations unconvincing outside of the novel's opening, which dragged on for far too long (imagine if The Strain had opened with Goodweather's divorce proceedings). Even the appearance of Blackwood didn't do much to grab my interest until far too late in the book. That said - I persisted (simply because I couldn't be bothered finding another horror in my library's poor Libby selection), and I was hooked by the end. Maybe by the time Part 2 is released I'll have forgotten enough of the drudgery that opens this book to read it.
The book's editing leaves a little to be desired, too. Blackwood seems to have gone through a few different names in the early drafts and ARCs of this book - fair enough, but there's an important reveal (or at least an oh-sh**-moment) tied to one of those former names that loses all of its impact and meaning in the final copy, and ought to have been excised.
Despite that, if you look at horror as reflecting the anxieties of the author and/or the nation, The Hollow Ones is a perfect case study for today. What's more appropriate than a monster? It's not only cathartic but reassuring - the problem isn't us after all! Look! It's not our society that's the issue - it's demons! What a relief! (Or, less charitably, demons originally from the Middle East who prefer to target white Americans. Not del Toro's intended reading, I'm sure, but that doesn't mean this isn't also very suited to white America's fears and loathings). Unfortunately, an interesting case study in basic literary theory doesn't necessarily make for an interesting book. Maybe Part 2 will be better.
The book's editing leaves a little to be desired, too. Blackwood seems to have gone through a few different names in the early drafts and ARCs of this book - fair enough, but there's an important reveal (or at least an oh-sh**-moment) tied to one of those former names that loses all of its impact and meaning in the final copy, and ought to have been excised.
Despite that, if you look at horror as reflecting the anxieties of the author and/or the nation, The Hollow Ones is a perfect case study for today. What's more appropriate than a monster
Spoiler
which causes mass shootings and suicide by cop
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated