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glowingskeleton's review
5.0
Unsettling. Couldn't put it down. For sure the best book I've read this year.
alfsan's review
3.0
So so creepy!
This book, which is very short by the way, is written in a very "Gogolian" style. I could say it's a mix of Russian old school meets Lovecraft.
The story itself is not as complete as you might expect, but the writing style compensates this.
It is a weird story, in the sense that not much is explained and you have to take a strong leap of faith AND imaginationwith the author to truly summerge yourself to his prose.
I found it refreshing and different from all that I've read lately. I don't give it more than three stars because I think the characters couldve been a bit more developed, and the story be more coherent regarding it's grammatical structure, what I mean is that maybe the translation wasnt clear enough to know when the "description of the dream" stopped and whem normal scenario started.
Worth your 2 hours? Solid yes i f you're into the genre.
This book, which is very short by the way, is written in a very "Gogolian" style. I could say it's a mix of Russian old school meets Lovecraft.
The story itself is not as complete as you might expect, but the writing style compensates this.
It is a weird story, in the sense that not much is explained and you have to take a strong leap of faith AND imaginationwith the author to truly summerge yourself to his prose.
I found it refreshing and different from all that I've read lately. I don't give it more than three stars because I think the characters couldve been a bit more developed, and the story be more coherent regarding it's grammatical structure, what I mean is that maybe the translation wasnt clear enough to know when the "description of the dream" stopped and whem normal scenario started.
Worth your 2 hours? Solid yes i f you're into the genre.
gansoup's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
froudy's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Deceptively, there are other bits of writing in here that suggest more of De Maria’s character - which I adore, but its not why you pick up the book at first. And perhaps I personally would not have put the additional short story and interview at the end.
The star of the show, The Twenty Days, is truly remarkable. Glazov’s introduction really sets the scene for when this book was written, and it's essential to bare in mind. The inclusion of the library, the connectedness of all our inner thoughts, may seem shallow now - a perhaps underexplored allegory for the internet, is made all the more menacing and tense when considering just how long ago it was written. De Maria explored the idea and the horror before a desktop pc even existed.
The Library isn't even the core focus. The mystery, which I shan’t spoil here, really had me hooked throughout. An Arkham Horror with an Italian seasoning. One I can't recommend enough.
The final shorter story about Lord Byron was a surprise, but an inevitably welcome one. One that painted the poet in a unique light, with again a similar sense of looming dread De Maria seems to love to impose. Lastly the interview, one that makes clear the author’s love of music but sensualities as well. It's positioning at the end of the book felt odd, as it gave me another look into the author, much like the intro.
A look that further deepens the tales I just read and will now have to reread again.
The star of the show, The Twenty Days, is truly remarkable. Glazov’s introduction really sets the scene for when this book was written, and it's essential to bare in mind. The inclusion of the library, the connectedness of all our inner thoughts, may seem shallow now - a perhaps underexplored allegory for the internet, is made all the more menacing and tense when considering just how long ago it was written. De Maria explored the idea and the horror before a desktop pc even existed.
The Library isn't even the core focus. The mystery, which I shan’t spoil here, really had me hooked throughout. An Arkham Horror with an Italian seasoning. One I can't recommend enough.
The final shorter story about Lord Byron was a surprise, but an inevitably welcome one. One that painted the poet in a unique light, with again a similar sense of looming dread De Maria seems to love to impose. Lastly the interview, one that makes clear the author’s love of music but sensualities as well. It's positioning at the end of the book felt odd, as it gave me another look into the author, much like the intro.
A look that further deepens the tales I just read and will now have to reread again.
sbratty17's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
sharki1998's review
4.0
This a weird one and a little tough to review because it's the kind of book that's more about vibes and mood than storytelling. There's not much of a story here. A bunch of weird shit happened a few years ago with regard to a mysterious shared "library" and the main character tries to understand what it all meant and why it happened. Except, he doesn't try very hard and he never really gets any answers. So, if you go into this book expecting a traditional mystery-type narrative you're going to be disappointed.
That being said, there's still a lot to enjoy in this work and it's a quick read. There's some beautiful language, some very creepy atmosphere, and an intriguing premise. But what really makes this work so remarkable and recommendable is how De Maria was able to predict the post-Internet world with his idea of a shared "library" where people document and share their lives and how it drove people insane. It's really astonishing how prescient this book is considering it was written long before the modern Internet was a gleam in Google's eye.
That being said, there's still a lot to enjoy in this work and it's a quick read. There's some beautiful language, some very creepy atmosphere, and an intriguing premise. But what really makes this work so remarkable and recommendable is how De Maria was able to predict the post-Internet world with his idea of a shared "library" where people document and share their lives and how it drove people insane. It's really astonishing how prescient this book is considering it was written long before the modern Internet was a gleam in Google's eye.
colepsmith42's review
3.0
2.5
It's a good book, but dryly written. The sort of style that I find underwhelming in Asimov and Lovecraft that others seem to be able to easily look past. The ideas and plot are interesting, and the book is short and to the point, but overall I never felt hugely invested in the book.
It's a good book, but dryly written. The sort of style that I find underwhelming in Asimov and Lovecraft that others seem to be able to easily look past. The ideas and plot are interesting, and the book is short and to the point, but overall I never felt hugely invested in the book.