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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
Reminiscent of THE THING or perhaps FALLING ANGEL, THE HOLLOW ONES was a good time!
We follow a young female FBI agent named Odessa Hardwicke, as she is temporarily suspended for an officer involved shooting, wherein her partner was the victim and she the perpetrator. She ends up taking a desk job until everything is sorted out. She takes over the desk of an agent on medical leave and for...spoiler-ific reasons, she goes to meet him. He then tells her to mail a letter, which she does and then, POOF! We meet Hugo Blackwood, Occult Detective. Why did she shoot her own partner? How is Blackwood going to help her? You'll have to read this to find out!
I absolutely love the idea of an occult detective and this one being named Mr. Blackwood, is, (I'm guessing), an homage to Algernon. I need to know more about him and the Hollow Ones. Being a man who has lived for a long, long time there could be many more stories about him and his history. I want to read them.
Brittany Pressley is the narrator and she's completely new to me. I thought her voicing performance was pretty good. (I think Ray Porter has spoiled me as far as narrators go, he is so great at changing voices.)
I'm being totally honest here, this book did not knock my socks off. It did pique my interest, though, and I enjoyed the finale quite a bit-enough to continue on with the series. I hope that Mr. Blackwood will be an integral part of it, as I found him to be infinitely more interesting than Odessa.
Recommended!
Available everywhere August 4th, but you can pre-order here: https://amzn.to/39zQfBV
*Thank to the publisher and NetGalley for the audio download provided in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*
We follow a young female FBI agent named Odessa Hardwicke, as she is temporarily suspended for an officer involved shooting, wherein her partner was the victim and she the perpetrator. She ends up taking a desk job until everything is sorted out. She takes over the desk of an agent on medical leave and for...spoiler-ific reasons, she goes to meet him. He then tells her to mail a letter, which she does and then, POOF! We meet Hugo Blackwood, Occult Detective. Why did she shoot her own partner? How is Blackwood going to help her? You'll have to read this to find out!
I absolutely love the idea of an occult detective and this one being named Mr. Blackwood, is, (I'm guessing), an homage to Algernon. I need to know more about him and the Hollow Ones. Being a man who has lived for a long, long time there could be many more stories about him and his history. I want to read them.
Brittany Pressley is the narrator and she's completely new to me. I thought her voicing performance was pretty good. (I think Ray Porter has spoiled me as far as narrators go, he is so great at changing voices.)
I'm being totally honest here, this book did not knock my socks off. It did pique my interest, though, and I enjoyed the finale quite a bit-enough to continue on with the series. I hope that Mr. Blackwood will be an integral part of it, as I found him to be infinitely more interesting than Odessa.
Recommended!
Available everywhere August 4th, but you can pre-order here: https://amzn.to/39zQfBV
*Thank to the publisher and NetGalley for the audio download provided in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*
This was clearly written with either major motion picture or streaming series in mind and that's not necessarily a bad thing, but it is an easy thing. It's pat. After the twentieth-or-so time one reads "Blackwood didn't answer" it becomes hard to stifle the frustration that at least 50 pages of this could've been cut if the guy would just sit down and explain things to Odessa for fifteen minutes. Also wearying are characters who remain skeptical of everything that takes place despite ample, repetitive evidence that yes, you are currently living in a horror novel. Just go with it.
I really enjoyed this book - a lot more than I thought I was going to based on the first few sections. I’m glad I stuck with it because it took a turn for the better.
If you’re looking for a modern mystery/thriller with an occult twist, I highly recommend this one. I would also steer fans of True Detective to this book as well as it gave me a lot of similarities. The use of time and supernatural elements worked perfectly, and I thought that the commentary this story provided on suffering and grievances was interesting. I also enjoyed the writing and the layout of the story. Definitely one of the better books of 2020 for me (and there are quite a few).
I’m glad that I decided to pick this up and I’m looking forward to future volumes.
If you’re looking for a modern mystery/thriller with an occult twist, I highly recommend this one. I would also steer fans of True Detective to this book as well as it gave me a lot of similarities. The use of time and supernatural elements worked perfectly, and I thought that the commentary this story provided on suffering and grievances was interesting. I also enjoyed the writing and the layout of the story. Definitely one of the better books of 2020 for me (and there are quite a few).
I’m glad that I decided to pick this up and I’m looking forward to future volumes.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I wanted to read this book because I have been dipping my toe into some horror novels (physiological more than bloody or jump scare horror.) This was a quick read for me and I liked the main theme of the story. However, I had problems with the fetishization of the Palo Mayombe and hoodoo religions and the use of prominent racial themes in 1960s Mississippi such as lynchings, church burnings, and the KKK.
The subtitle The Silence Tapes Book 1, (the character of John Silence in the ARC version will be named Hugo Blackwood in the final version) gives me hope that any following books in this series will give more tape transcripts...and more of library scenes!
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I wanted to read this book because I have been dipping my toe into some horror novels (physiological more than bloody or jump scare horror.) This was a quick read for me and I liked the main theme of the story. However, I had problems with the fetishization of the Palo Mayombe and hoodoo religions and the use of prominent racial themes in 1960s Mississippi such as lynchings, church burnings, and the KKK.
The subtitle The Silence Tapes Book 1, (the character of John Silence in the ARC version will be named Hugo Blackwood in the final version) gives me hope that any following books in this series will give more tape transcripts...and more of library scenes!
Come chat with me about books here, too:
Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest
3.5 Stars
I love the first trilogy that these two authors created, so I was excited about this new book.
Although I enjoyed this, I couldn't help but compare it to the previous trilogy, and this opening book was just not as strong to me. The premise of the "hollow ones" who can exist and jump from person to person seeking to cause chaos and damage wherever it goes was very well written.
Odessa makes an excellent main character. She's a strong, independent female and it's refreshing to see women getting their leads in the horror genre.
Overall, this is a good start and I'm excited to see what happens next.
I love the first trilogy that these two authors created, so I was excited about this new book.
Although I enjoyed this, I couldn't help but compare it to the previous trilogy, and this opening book was just not as strong to me. The premise of the "hollow ones" who can exist and jump from person to person seeking to cause chaos and damage wherever it goes was very well written.
Odessa makes an excellent main character. She's a strong, independent female and it's refreshing to see women getting their leads in the horror genre.
Overall, this is a good start and I'm excited to see what happens next.
El FBI, detectives ocultos y raros, el mundo sobrenatural, cazadores de demonios y espíritus y temas escalofriantes y sangrientos.
Me ha encantado.
Me ha encantado.
The Hollow Ones is a fairly fast read but it is not memorable. I still think of some of the scenes from The Strain Trilogy, but I felt like I was getting a mind wipe while reading this.
This is the first book in a planned trilogy, but I have no interest to see what happens next. That isn't to say I hated it - I enjoyed the mysterious mailbox and the magic system surrounding the possession of a number of characters. However, the story is told like any other bland mass market paperback.
Thank you to the publisher, via Edelweiss, for providing me with a copy for review.
This is the first book in a planned trilogy, but I have no interest to see what happens next. That isn't to say I hated it - I enjoyed the mysterious mailbox and the magic system surrounding the possession of a number of characters. However, the story is told like any other bland mass market paperback.
Thank you to the publisher, via Edelweiss, for providing me with a copy for review.
I received this ARC through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I began this novel with high expectations. Del Toro is a prolific director known for more than one fantastical story. The promise of a horror novel with his name attached to it was exciting.
The novel was fast-paced, rotating between three connects storylines/timelines. Unfortunately, the primary story was the least interesting of the three. Agent Odessa’s story began with strength and suspense, but quickly fizzled to something too familiar. Despite the supernatural elements and introduction of plenty of varied characters, the story felt tired. Everything that occurred was expected, and nothing was surprising passed the first chapter.
The alternate storylines, one set in the 1960s and one set in the 1500/1600s felt more original. If the authors had focused one of these storylines instead, I truly feel the novel would have had a far greater impact and more room for originality.
I began this novel with high expectations. Del Toro is a prolific director known for more than one fantastical story. The promise of a horror novel with his name attached to it was exciting.
The novel was fast-paced, rotating between three connects storylines/timelines. Unfortunately, the primary story was the least interesting of the three. Agent Odessa’s story began with strength and suspense, but quickly fizzled to something too familiar. Despite the supernatural elements and introduction of plenty of varied characters, the story felt tired. Everything that occurred was expected, and nothing was surprising passed the first chapter.
The alternate storylines, one set in the 1960s and one set in the 1500/1600s felt more original. If the authors had focused one of these storylines instead, I truly feel the novel would have had a far greater impact and more room for originality.
For the first week every time I sat down to read this book I couldn't remember a single thing that happened the last time I picked it up. I didn't care about the characters, I didn't care for the writing and the story was pretty bland. I did not want to finish this book, but I toughed it out- it felt like a chore.