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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
This was quite entertaining and did creep me out at least once. I'd say it's not so much "horror" as "weird fiction." There isn't really a climax, and (thank goodness) no expository explanation at the end. I'm so glad Hand resisted the opportunity to have Nancy provide a tidy bow on the story, with her psychic powers and occult knowledge.
No, what makes this good is that Nancy doesn't know what happened. Lesley doesn't know what happened. No one knows what happened. Nancy was sensitive enough to feel that something was seriously wrong in this place, but that's all. And that feeds the weirdness. Hand gives us feather-soft brushes of the eldritch to put us in the right head space, and then, Julian just vanishes. No monster chase scene, no thunder and lightning, just absence. And Lesley's vision of tiny blood spots on the walls and birds smashing themselves on the bedroom window.
The bits and pieces of horror are woven subtly throughout, from photos of a pre-Christian ritual that has somehow survived in the village longer than elsewhere* to someone singing in a dark room, whom no one can quite identify, to the stairway in the Tudor wing that may not exist entirely in our three dimensions, you can pick up these off notes if you're patient. If you're looking for a spooky ghost or slavering monster, this isn't going to work for you. But it does have a good dose of dread, and plenty of atmosphere.
One warning - I wouldn't do the audio book, because the actor voicing Lesley was really irritating. I think she's a Brit putting on an American accent, and it just came out overly drawly and drawn out, like she's thinking way too hard about every word. Distracting and it prevented her from showing appropriate emotion based on what she was talking about.
*Apparently Hunting the Wren is still celebrated in Ireland today!
No, what makes this good is that Nancy doesn't know what happened. Lesley doesn't know what happened. No one knows what happened. Nancy was sensitive enough to feel that something was seriously wrong in this place, but that's all. And that feeds the weirdness. Hand gives us feather-soft brushes of the eldritch to put us in the right head space, and then, Julian just vanishes. No monster chase scene, no thunder and lightning, just absence. And Lesley's vision of tiny blood spots on the walls and birds smashing themselves on the bedroom window.
The bits and pieces of horror are woven subtly throughout, from photos of a pre-Christian ritual that has somehow survived in the village longer than elsewhere* to someone singing in a dark room, whom no one can quite identify, to the stairway in the Tudor wing that may not exist entirely in our three dimensions, you can pick up these off notes if you're patient. If you're looking for a spooky ghost or slavering monster, this isn't going to work for you. But it does have a good dose of dread, and plenty of atmosphere.
One warning - I wouldn't do the audio book, because the actor voicing Lesley was really irritating. I think she's a Brit putting on an American accent, and it just came out overly drawly and drawn out, like she's thinking way too hard about every word. Distracting and it prevented her from showing appropriate emotion based on what she was talking about.
*Apparently Hunting the Wren is still celebrated in Ireland today!
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A great book until the ending. This book deserved better ending. I'm still giving it 4 stars mostly because of the narrators.
dark
mysterious
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:
Complicated
dark
fast-paced
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was so good! I don't know what I was expecting when I started this audiobook but I was intrigued by the premise (acid-folk band record an album in a creepy old house, things go wrong). The audiobook was great - I wasn't too keen on all the narration but the idea was great - a collection of interviews with the band and associated members.
The story was creepy, it got creepier as it went on and I felt very on edge listening. I just thought this was great. I will definitely be reading more by this author. I think more horror books should be written in this way!
The story was creepy, it got creepier as it went on and I felt very on edge listening. I just thought this was great. I will definitely be reading more by this author. I think more horror books should be written in this way!
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use
Moderate: Suicide
If Daisy Jones and the six ended up in wylding Hall And it was a little creepy but not too creepy, you would have this book. It had moments so we're good, and I liked the confusion among the multiple perspectives. It was just too short to be powerful in the way that I was hoping.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes