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true_crime_nana's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
erikbergstrom's review against another edition
3.0
Another stellar read from Gemma Amor, with a strong lead and a wholly original adventure. Not much scares me in terms of supernatural reads, but her descriptions of the monster, Nimrod, gave me chills! I grew attached to Megan and her plight nearly right away, and was with her for both her successes and failures. Overall, solid work from one of the better independent horror writers in the game.
Where the book fell short for me, especially compared to other works from Gemma I've loved, was in some of the pacing--the lead-up to Megan's arrival in White Pines was suspenseful and exciting, but in her time spent there, I felt like time was lagging a little. The denouement leading up to the end also felt longer than necessary. I also didn't fully connect to her relationship with Matthew--it seemed in the short time when they were physically together, she mostly disliked him. This leads me to my last detail... the voice of the narrator sometimes pulled me out of the story. It was anachronistic at times, like she was trying to speak like a Lovecraft or Poe narrator, then would speak in more contemporary terms in dialogue. But of course, these are all personal nitpicks!
Gemma has a knack for telling more than 1 type of story. She has stories that are both small, insular, and ones where she expands her scope to something wider and more cosmic. Over her library of work, I've found I've come to really enjoy and live in the former--overall, I'm not much of a fan of cosmic type horror, so to have me engaged throughout this story is quite a feat in itself. After knowing how much work and time she invested into this book (a blog of her journey was really inspiring to read) I can say I see all of her blood, sweat, and tears in this one, and I know her fans and lovers of more fantastical horror will really engage with this book in all the places I quite couldn't.
Where the book fell short for me, especially compared to other works from Gemma I've loved, was in some of the pacing--the lead-up to Megan's arrival in White Pines was suspenseful and exciting, but in her time spent there, I felt like time was lagging a little. The denouement leading up to the end also felt longer than necessary. I also didn't fully connect to her relationship with Matthew--it seemed in the short time when they were physically together, she mostly disliked him. This leads me to my last detail... the voice of the narrator sometimes pulled me out of the story. It was anachronistic at times, like she was trying to speak like a Lovecraft or Poe narrator, then would speak in more contemporary terms in dialogue. But of course, these are all personal nitpicks!
Gemma has a knack for telling more than 1 type of story. She has stories that are both small, insular, and ones where she expands her scope to something wider and more cosmic. Over her library of work, I've found I've come to really enjoy and live in the former--overall, I'm not much of a fan of cosmic type horror, so to have me engaged throughout this story is quite a feat in itself. After knowing how much work and time she invested into this book (a blog of her journey was really inspiring to read) I can say I see all of her blood, sweat, and tears in this one, and I know her fans and lovers of more fantastical horror will really engage with this book in all the places I quite couldn't.
wednesdayzombie's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
3.0
sleepingnerd's review
4.0
Okay, so this was a whole experience.
My love for Gemma Amor has already been well established with “Dear Laura” and “Cruel Works of Nature”, so I was very excited (and also a bit apprehensive) to read a full novel by her. Overall? It didn’t disappoint.
The best word I can use to describe this story is “raw”. It rubs us raw, makes us watch as Megan, our protagonist, is destroyed and made anew, as all the horrors of the world are revealed, leaving us drowning in the wreckage. Like the synopsis warned, it’s a mash of Celtic, folk, cosmic horror with a hint of cults that somehow works beautifully. To this day I still think about some of the horrific images this book brought me (specially the pig). Amor’s mind is truly something to behold. This is what I love about horror: how it can expose our fears, our helplessness, both in an uncaring, cruel world, and in the horrible things we do to each other.
I felt the pacing falter a bit from the middle towards the end, as horror after horror presented itself without answers. Also, Megan doing everything just because of this “indescribable drive of the island” felt a tad too convenient, and I would have appreciated if she had more complex motives for her actions, specially when it’s those actions moving the plot forward. I’m not sure how I feel about the ending, but it was... fitting, somehow.
All in all, I really loved reading this! I’m really becoming a horror fan, huh?
My love for Gemma Amor has already been well established with “Dear Laura” and “Cruel Works of Nature”, so I was very excited (and also a bit apprehensive) to read a full novel by her. Overall? It didn’t disappoint.
The best word I can use to describe this story is “raw”. It rubs us raw, makes us watch as Megan, our protagonist, is destroyed and made anew, as all the horrors of the world are revealed, leaving us drowning in the wreckage. Like the synopsis warned, it’s a mash of Celtic, folk, cosmic horror with a hint of cults that somehow works beautifully. To this day I still think about some of the horrific images this book brought me (specially the pig). Amor’s mind is truly something to behold. This is what I love about horror: how it can expose our fears, our helplessness, both in an uncaring, cruel world, and in the horrible things we do to each other.
I felt the pacing falter a bit from the middle towards the end, as horror after horror presented itself without answers. Also, Megan doing everything just because of this “indescribable drive of the island” felt a tad too convenient, and I would have appreciated if she had more complex motives for her actions, specially when it’s those actions moving the plot forward. I’m not sure how I feel about the ending, but it was... fitting, somehow.
All in all, I really loved reading this! I’m really becoming a horror fan, huh?
brian_garbage's review
4.0
Somehow exactly what I wanted to read, although some of the more interesting ideas were abandoned in favour of long winded minutiae.
rsksmith's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Torn between 4.5 and 5, and maybe the audiobook narrator is what’s skewing this a tad down for me because I found the story itself to be fantastic!
A little slow moving, but early on even there were a couple of scenes that literally made my jaw drop, then once it gets cooking we get into real Lovecrafty horror territory and I was bout it bout it.
But back to that narrator, oh boy. I don’t know, her inflection was like listening to a children’s book and I’m FAIRLY sure she mispronounced several words. Like “inland” which I tried searching to see if British folks pronounce inLAND like she did but to no avail. So maybe she’s just British and I’m ignorant but at any rate did lessen my experience a skosh.
A little slow moving, but early on even there were a couple of scenes that literally made my jaw drop, then once it gets cooking we get into real Lovecrafty horror territory and I was bout it bout it.
But back to that narrator, oh boy. I don’t know, her inflection was like listening to a children’s book and I’m FAIRLY sure she mispronounced several words. Like “inland” which I tried searching to see if British folks pronounce inLAND like she did but to no avail. So maybe she’s just British and I’m ignorant but at any rate did lessen my experience a skosh.
mialeyden's review against another edition
4.0
The final part went too far into fantasy territory compared to the rest of the book. It wasn't bad, but the change in tone was a bit disconcerting. I enjoyed the story overall.
fleurhoplof's review
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5