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raychill1's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
michele_carolina's review against another edition
4.0
Before finishing the book, I would have given it 5 stars. Still worth reading though.
hteske's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
thirdsaint's review against another edition
4.0
I read this book 18 years ago when I was 16 and I remember it gripping me. It’s also the only book I can remember where I actually had tears run down my face, which is odd in and of itself. I just remember caring very much for the little boy and the conversation his mother had to have with him explaining why he was losing his eyes was hard to read but wonderfully done. I don’t remember much else of the book though and I fear if I read it again I may not enjoy it as much. Some things are best left in memory but curiosity may overpower me.
sendpam's review against another edition
3.0
Good vacation book, kept me wanting to read it. Seemed a skip around a bit at times, but mostly a good read.
kmh_1832's review against another edition
4.0
I picked this up from the bookshare shelf at Tobacco Caye Lodge in Belize. Despite some silliness and a single plot hole that is so giant I surely must have missed something, somewhere - I found this thoroughly enjoyable. It reminded from the very beginning of The Great and Secret Show by Clive Barker, if said novel was less ridiculous, less tedious, and less like a pornographic acid trip, and had been crossed with The Shining and Sliders.
fauna_n_fiction's review against another edition
4.0
Woah, what a read. It took me longer than I would have liked but such a huge book was pretty intimidating. This was a very intense, very emotional and very HEAVY read (Mentally and physically ;) )
I loved reading this. The story was entirely captivating and Koonz has a way of immediately establishing who a character is and making sure you almost immediately decide how you feel about them. Just when he brings in a character that seems unimportant, they show up at critical moments and prove to be vital.
Koonz is brilliant with making you panic and worry for characters. In just the first 100 pages of this book, I was close to tears three times. It's an emotional rollercoaster for sure.
Why not 5 stars:
- I skipped over Edom and Jacob's dialogue most of the time and felt that I missed absolutely nothing. Loved the characters but they were tiresome to read and I found myself a little disappointed whenever we were in their POV
- I felt like sometimes the descriptions went on for a bit longer than necessary. With such a long, heavy read, near to the end of the book I found myself scanning past descriptive paragraphs to get back to the action
- I hesitate to use the word "climax" of the story because there were so many climactic moments but the "FINAL SHOWDOWN" if you will, was slightly lacking for me based on everything we got in the rest of the book. Just unexplained and then super quick resolution is all.
Great read. Would recommend to someone who isn't feint of heart and is up for a taxing, emotional, thought-provoking, heart-pounding, tear-jerking read. :)
I loved reading this. The story was entirely captivating and Koonz has a way of immediately establishing who a character is and making sure you almost immediately decide how you feel about them. Just when he brings in a character that seems unimportant, they show up at critical moments and prove to be vital.
Koonz is brilliant with making you panic and worry for characters. In just the first 100 pages of this book, I was close to tears three times. It's an emotional rollercoaster for sure.
Why not 5 stars:
- I skipped over Edom and Jacob's dialogue most of the time and felt that I missed absolutely nothing. Loved the characters but they were tiresome to read and I found myself a little disappointed whenever we were in their POV
- I felt like sometimes the descriptions went on for a bit longer than necessary. With such a long, heavy read, near to the end of the book I found myself scanning past descriptive paragraphs to get back to the action
- I hesitate to use the word "climax" of the story because there were so many climactic moments but the "FINAL SHOWDOWN" if you will, was slightly lacking for me based on everything we got in the rest of the book. Just unexplained and then super quick resolution is all.
Great read. Would recommend to someone who isn't feint of heart and is up for a taxing, emotional, thought-provoking, heart-pounding, tear-jerking read. :)