Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
What a ride this book was. If you want a good mystery, this is it. Just be prepared for a long one. Stanislas Cordova is much like the fictional version of Kubrick or Hitchcock. Our main characters investigate the mysterious suicide of Cordova's daughter Ashley and her father's potential involvement. While I mostly enjoyed the investigation, there were some parts that were a little lackluster and I definitely didn't need a full synopsis of every fictional film Cordova created. Good overall story though and I would recommend it to indie film lovers.
Loved it. Could not put it down or stop thinking about it when I wasn't reading. What a great (and scary!) summer read.
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
For a week I dedicated every scrap of time to this book. I mean, I literally was sneaking off and reading it, and if I had honestly thought that no one at work would’ve noticed, I would have been under my desk with a pillow reading it by flashlight. I would come back from work, read it as I walked the hall to my desk, then would plug my headphones in and actually listen to the robot kindle voice read it to me. I couldn’t stop. I had to know what was happening. It was that engrossing. I haven’t been that absorbed by a book in a while, and it was refreshing, particularly because I’ve felt a bit like I was in a book slump lately.
There were so many things that I loved about this book. I loved the slow ramp-up of horror, it slowly increased your pace and you never realized that you were being led down the dark rabbit hole until it was too late, and there was only a tiny pinprick of light left filtering in from the surface. I particularly love the way the author describes minute details, it’s not cumbersome, and always sets an exact image in your head. The trio of main characters were wonderful, you really felt that you knew them, they were a collage of humanity and lost little souls seeking something intangible.
Then there were some things that drove me nuts. All the italics. Ack! I felt like I was being babysat by the author, that she was afraid I’d read her book wrong, so she italicized every fourth word. Still, I don’t know if those italicized words led to clues if you played the online game. If someone knows, tell me. Then, there were too many information dumps. They went to interview people and they would just start to blather, and, had this happened only once, this may have been acceptable but it was frequently used. This didn’t bother me as much as it should have because I was as equally obsessed with getting the story as the characters were. Had this been any less enthralling of a tale, I would have balked at using so many talking heads to deliver information.
And I had a problem with the ending. It was rambling. It went on for too long. And Still, the story was a great read, and as evidenced by my four stars, I recommend you read it. It’s a great story for this time of the year.
It was a particularly excellent work for a sophomore novel. I cannot wait to see more from Pessl in the future.
There were so many things that I loved about this book. I loved the slow ramp-up of horror, it slowly increased your pace and you never realized that you were being led down the dark rabbit hole until it was too late, and there was only a tiny pinprick of light left filtering in from the surface. I particularly love the way the author describes minute details, it’s not cumbersome, and always sets an exact image in your head. The trio of main characters were wonderful, you really felt that you knew them, they were a collage of humanity and lost little souls seeking something intangible.
Then there were some things that drove me nuts. All the italics. Ack! I felt like I was being babysat by the author, that she was afraid I’d read her book wrong, so she italicized every fourth word. Still, I don’t know if those italicized words led to clues if you played the online game. If someone knows, tell me. Then, there were too many information dumps. They went to interview people and they would just start to blather, and, had this happened only once, this may have been acceptable but it was frequently used. This didn’t bother me as much as it should have because I was as equally obsessed with getting the story as the characters were. Had this been any less enthralling of a tale, I would have balked at using so many talking heads to deliver information.
And I had a problem with the ending. It was rambling. It went on for too long. And
Spoiler
it wrapped up too neatly, the author tried to hint at the remaining ambiguity of the story, but it was too late, she had killed too much of the (black) magic with the Coyote’s confession. Suddenly the story wasn’t so dark, so haunting, it was too clean of an ending for the tale she was telling.It was a particularly excellent work for a sophomore novel. I cannot wait to see more from Pessl in the future.
See "Hannah's" review. Intriguing and engaging in terms of the Cordova films, to a certain extent; overall plot was better than I could do, for sure, but had weaknesses. Main weaknesses were characterization & narration. The characters never became real to me in the least, and the writing was flawed on many levels (again, see Hannah for an excellent summary). To add a point I'm not seeing in other reviews--I never felt the masculinity of of the narrator. Overall, a lot of effort from this young author, some good ideas, but not great results.
this book felt so full of promise during the first half- but after that it felt like a long undoing of every storyline she'd created. it was super enjoyable during some parts, and in some parts i felt like i couldn't put it down, but i didn't like the open ending or the story arc.
disappointed.
disappointed.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No