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seanml's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This book is rated a Certifiable Spooky. It hosts a small but charming cast of characters, and the setting of the Wonder Museum is one of my favorites. Definitely one of the more interesting horror locations. Recommended for October!
Literary Quality: 5/10. Normal, colloquial language that has no problem being itself.
Spook Factor: 5/10.
Overall: 7.5/10.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol, Death, Drug use, and Infidelity
urs's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Child death, Animal death, and Ableism
Minor: Medical trauma, Drug use, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, and Infidelity
wardenred's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
4.0
Come on, let’s go back to the coffee shop and I’ll make us Irish coffees and we’ll discuss this like people who don’t die in the first five minutes of a horror movie.
All books that, to whatever extent, comply with the traditional Western three-act structure have this part. The beginning of Act I. The introduction. The part before the real adventure starts. It serves to present just enough information about the setting and the overall situation, to introduce the reader to the protagonist, and to hook the reader into the story; to get them invested into the things to come. Some stories, while having overall strong beginnings, don't exactly nail the "hook" part. Maybe they start too early. Maybe they don't put all the focus in the right place. Regardless, it may so happen that by the time the real plot starts unfolding, some readers are already invested in "the world before."
I feel that The Hollow Places is one such story. In all fairness, the stars I'm giving this book mostly come from the first 3-4 chapters. The ones where the characters got introduced, and Carrot kept allowing herself to get distracted from the divorce aftermath by reading fanfic and drinking coffee, and she and Simon were the ultimate dry witty comedic duo exploring that one weird corridor. The ones where the stakes were more personal and everything was full of that special warmhearted quirkiness T. Kingfisher does so well.
And then Carrot and Simon landed in what one of the reviewers called Narnia from Hell and the horror started in earnest. And hey, I picked up this book for the horror! I loved The Twisted Ones, the author's previous horror novel, and I expected to love The Hollow Places just as much. But, unfortunately, I didn't. Oh, the horror is good, make no mistake! It's vivid and visceral, and I love how Kingfisher describes the way her characters interact with horror, the way it slips inside and changes them. The Narnia from Hell was quite the experience. But I kept thinking back to those early 4 chapters and I couldn't help but feel disappointed that, while the story I was actually reading was good, I wasn't getting to read that story I felt I was promised by those chapters. The quirky, weird, more personal one, with potential for more magical realism than horror. So it was kind of... hard to enjoy the story that I was getting and made me focus less on what was going on and more on the moments that reminded me of the promise of the early chapters.
It's a good book, regardless. But maybe the beginning was a little too good? Idk.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Murder, Violence, and Body horror
Minor: Drug use
pandin's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Not my favorite from Kingfisher, but that’s probably because I was so dang scared the whole time. Fantastic writing, as ever, and great characters with bright, light moments of levity. All of that was overshadowed by the Lovecraftian terror, but I think that was the point.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Body horror
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Infidelity, and Mental illness
Minor: Animal death, Blood, Child death, Death, Drug use, Excrement, Gun violence, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Violence
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