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3.29 AVERAGE
3.29 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-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:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4/5 Stars!
The Dark Between the Trees is a creeping, atmospheric suspense that takes us through two vastly different timelines and groups of people as they travel through the terrifying Moresby Wood, where both a terrible creature from centuries before man walked the earth is said to stalk the area and the witch who claims it.
This was a slow-burn if I ever saw one. We start with both Dr. Alice Christopher, a historian who has studied the stories, lore, and accounts from those rare few who had entered the Moresby Wood(which is now closed off for supposed military purposes) and managed to come out the other side. She is joined by two guides, a student of her own, and a map surveyor. A group of particular note was the lost men of Captain Davies, a man who lived three hundred years before her. But the Wood itself grabs hold of Alice, and with each strange phenomena, her obsession grows, even as it costs the lives of her companions.
Meanwhile, Captain Davies and his men were attacked by a rogue battalion on the hills next to Moresby Forest. Being forced into the wood, he attempts to guide them all out safely. But between the whispers and fears of his own men, and something horrible lurking in the dark behind them that is seemingly determined to pick them off one by one, Davies finds that getting out might not be as easy as any of them might have suspected.
This was dark in the way that darkness soothes until something shatters the silence and invites your imagination to take root. Each group swaps stories about the history of the wood; the monster that roams there, the witch, the family who disappeared or died overnight. We follow both of these groups through the woods, through mud and blood and blisters, and it is painful in itself. I really enjoyed the writing here, because a format like this is easy to drag along pacing-wise, but FB did a fantastic job switching through the POVs and allowing the natural tension of the situation to push the story along. When I finally sat down to read this book, I finished it in two complete halves—which was fitting in and of itself that the halves seemed to reveal the Before and After of when obsession and fear takes hold of each group.
TDBTT was compared to The Ritual and The Descent, both notable and gory horrors that utilize the ambiguity of unknown nature to get the job done. Because of that, I was expecting more of those elements in this book, and really, I don't think it could have been more different. When we did get to the 'Corrigal', or the creature in the woods, it was almost inconsequential. We are led to believe this is going to be a monster scare, and really, it was more of a Sentient Setting sort of situation. Which, again, was lovely, just not what I expected after the comparison to the two films.
What we got instead was a look inside the human psyche; how our legends affect us, how we, as humans, can be so separated by time and yet not really at all. How obsession and pride can drive us to the ends of the earth and bears the question: What do we do when we get there?
In the end, this was a truly creepy read and I highly recommend it for anyone who loves the kind of slow-moving scares that make you think about it long after it's done.
The Dark Between the Trees is a creeping, atmospheric suspense that takes us through two vastly different timelines and groups of people as they travel through the terrifying Moresby Wood, where both a terrible creature from centuries before man walked the earth is said to stalk the area and the witch who claims it.
This was a slow-burn if I ever saw one. We start with both Dr. Alice Christopher, a historian who has studied the stories, lore, and accounts from those rare few who had entered the Moresby Wood(which is now closed off for supposed military purposes) and managed to come out the other side. She is joined by two guides, a student of her own, and a map surveyor. A group of particular note was the lost men of Captain Davies, a man who lived three hundred years before her. But the Wood itself grabs hold of Alice, and with each strange phenomena, her obsession grows, even as it costs the lives of her companions.
Meanwhile, Captain Davies and his men were attacked by a rogue battalion on the hills next to Moresby Forest. Being forced into the wood, he attempts to guide them all out safely. But between the whispers and fears of his own men, and something horrible lurking in the dark behind them that is seemingly determined to pick them off one by one, Davies finds that getting out might not be as easy as any of them might have suspected.
This was dark in the way that darkness soothes until something shatters the silence and invites your imagination to take root. Each group swaps stories about the history of the wood; the monster that roams there, the witch, the family who disappeared or died overnight. We follow both of these groups through the woods, through mud and blood and blisters, and it is painful in itself. I really enjoyed the writing here, because a format like this is easy to drag along pacing-wise, but FB did a fantastic job switching through the POVs and allowing the natural tension of the situation to push the story along. When I finally sat down to read this book, I finished it in two complete halves—which was fitting in and of itself that the halves seemed to reveal the Before and After of when obsession and fear takes hold of each group.
TDBTT was compared to The Ritual and The Descent, both notable and gory horrors that utilize the ambiguity of unknown nature to get the job done. Because of that, I was expecting more of those elements in this book, and really, I don't think it could have been more different. When we did get to the 'Corrigal', or the creature in the woods, it was almost inconsequential. We are led to believe this is going to be a monster scare, and really, it was more of a Sentient Setting sort of situation. Which, again, was lovely, just not what I expected after the comparison to the two films.
What we got instead was a look inside the human psyche; how our legends affect us, how we, as humans, can be so separated by time and yet not really at all. How obsession and pride can drive us to the ends of the earth and bears the question: What do we do when we get there?
In the end, this was a truly creepy read and I highly recommend it for anyone who loves the kind of slow-moving scares that make you think about it long after it's done.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
an enjoyable folk horror, but sadly with somewhat shallow characterisation.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
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
adventurous
mysterious
medium-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
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Good first two thirds then just kind of wanes to a blah ending.