Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was a surprise for me. I really didn’t know what to expect going in and I ended up loving this story! It’s pretty gruesome at some points and the main character sucks but he’s supposed to! This is a great supernatural horror read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Gore, Blood, Murder
two things i truly enjoy in books? an unreliable narrator, and a fucked up protagonist.
jack sparks is in no sense of the word, a good guy. he’s incredibly selfish, misogynistic, close-minded, and a compulsive liar (including to himself.) yet, tell me why at certain points i felt so sad for him, even though i also hated his guts.
this book had me glued to the pages. and the twist at the end? this man really got the full “bent-neck lady” treatment. i was beside myself realizing all the connections i had read throughout the book. while i did come to conclusions almost immediately for some twists (he filmed the youtube video, his death was predicted in the book) - i did not expect the time travel-esque ending
the gripes i did have were mainly with writing choices, such as the pop culture reference sarcasm comments - which i understand why they were made (because that’s a totally jack sparks thing to say) but still briefly took me out of it.
overall, an extremely fun read. this man was cooked from the start, and bex deserved better
jack sparks is in no sense of the word, a good guy. he’s incredibly selfish, misogynistic, close-minded, and a compulsive liar (including to himself.) yet, tell me why at certain points i felt so sad for him, even though i also hated his guts.
this book had me glued to the pages. and the twist at the end? this man really got the full “bent-neck lady” treatment. i was beside myself realizing all the connections i had read throughout the book. while i did come to conclusions almost immediately for some twists (he filmed the youtube video, his death was predicted in the book) - i did not expect the time travel-esque ending
the gripes i did have were mainly with writing choices, such as the pop culture reference sarcasm comments - which i understand why they were made (because that’s a totally jack sparks thing to say) but still briefly took me out of it.
overall, an extremely fun read. this man was cooked from the start, and bex deserved better
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think my final rating of this book is 2 stars ⭐️
There were parts I really enjoyed, like the unreliable narrator aspect and the creepy vibes, but for being under 300 pages it felt like it really dragged after part 1. I love the sections written by Allistair and wish that would have been a bigger part of part 2.
I think the book lost me with the whole Mimi experiment section. Jack doesn’t make an effort to know any of the people involved on a deeper level, so when they start dying horrifically it felt like “meh okay”. I wanted to be scared, but wasn’t invested enough in the story. The book was almost too unpredictable in a bad way, because it felt like the author just kept throwing weird things at the reader and it’s all glossed over at the end to try and wrap it up with a pretty bow.
I can see how some people would love this, but it just didn’t work for me.
There were parts I really enjoyed, like the unreliable narrator aspect and the creepy vibes, but for being under 300 pages it felt like it really dragged after part 1. I love the sections written by Allistair and wish that would have been a bigger part of part 2.
I can see how some people would love this, but it just didn’t work for me.
dark
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Definitely a good book, but it has some flaws.
Jack is insufferable for a lot of the book. He's supposed to be, but it's tough reading when you dislike the main character so much. There was one part of the book that was truly creepy and a few disturbing descriptions but a lot of the shock factor was described a little too matter of factly with character reactions that seemed disproportionate to the descriptions. The final 'big twist' was terrible in my opinion. Others might love it, but it wasn't for me.
That's a lot of negative about the book. Now for the positive. The plot is interesting, an atheist journalist is challenging the world to present him with solid evidence of the supernatural. This will take us on a journey across the world and have us meet many interesting characters. There are a few scenes in the book where Arnopp knocks it out of the park. He sets the mood perfectly and gets the descriptions just right, leaving enough to the imagination but getting the core idea across splendidly. The interspersion of notes to the editor, interview transcripts, and other sources makes for extremely interesting alternative perspectives on everything that takes place in the book.
Overall, a fun read with some flaws.
Jack is insufferable for a lot of the book. He's supposed to be, but it's tough reading when you dislike the main character so much. There was one part of the book that was truly creepy and a few disturbing descriptions but a lot of the shock factor was described a little too matter of factly with character reactions that seemed disproportionate to the descriptions. The final 'big twist' was terrible in my opinion. Others might love it, but it wasn't for me.
That's a lot of negative about the book. Now for the positive. The plot is interesting, an atheist journalist is challenging the world to present him with solid evidence of the supernatural. This will take us on a journey across the world and have us meet many interesting characters. There are a few scenes in the book where Arnopp knocks it out of the park. He sets the mood perfectly and gets the descriptions just right, leaving enough to the imagination but getting the core idea across splendidly. The interspersion of notes to the editor, interview transcripts, and other sources makes for extremely interesting alternative perspectives on everything that takes place in the book.
Overall, a fun read with some flaws.
challenging
dark
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I know writers who use subtext and they’re all cowards.
A fun if on the nose romp, the gore and ghosts are very affecting and the action and mystery really pull you along. Only reason it isn’t a 4 is once the basic shape of the answer is revealed the ending drags on for ages.
A fun if on the nose romp, the gore and ghosts are very affecting and the action and mystery really pull you along. Only reason it isn’t a 4 is once the basic shape of the answer is revealed the ending drags on for ages.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Gore, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Terminal illness