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akouznetsov's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
okenwillow's review against another edition
4.0
On s’attend à un percutant livre d’angoisse et d’horreur, et on découvre les peurs irrationnelles d’un enfant portées à leur apogée. Pas mal fait, ça me fait penser au Tour d’écrou d’Henry James, en beaucoup moins transcendant. On finit tout de même par comprendre assez vite que rien n’est réel, si ce n’est pour le petit garçon. Et tous cas l’auteur retranscrit parfaitement la psychologie d’un enfant en proie à ses terreurs, ses angoisses et ses superstitions. J’ai un peu de mal à le classer dans « Fantastique ».
sianalexhoare's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
the_bookubus's review against another edition
4.0
Ten-year-old Ned and his parents move from the city to a small town on the coast for a quieter pace of life. Ned is a bit of a loner and spends a lot of time in his own head. He has quite an imagination and still believes in the idea of monsters being under the bed. Settling into the new house and exploring the area, including an abandoned building, enforce these ideas in Ned's mind.
This was such a great read! It's a bit of a slow burn but excellently written and builds up to a rather trippy climax. The idea of an entity that can take different forms and plays on your fears is a really fascinating one and is used to great effect here. I'm surprised this novel isn't more well known and that I haven't heard it compared to It by Stephen King (or vice versa since Phantom came out four years before It).
I loved the way Ned was written. Tessier did an excellent job of creating a believable child character and capturing the feeling of being that age; the innocence and the ability to see magic and adventure in everything.
Ned and his parents arrive into town during the summer so school is out which means Ned doesn't get chance to meet any other local kids. Instead, he makes friends with two old codgers who run a bait and tackle shop. The relationship between these three characters was genuine, wholesome, humorous and all around lovely. It was one of my favourite elements of the book.
I really enjoyed the scenes where Ned explores the abandoned spa. In particular, there is a scene involving spiders that genuinely made my skin crawl! It was so well done and effective. It still makes me shudder to think about it.
My least favourite parts of the book were when it focuses on Ned's parents, either individually or as a couple. These were definitely necessary to flesh out their characters and to give context but I kept wanting to get back to Ned's story!
Overall this is a wonderful coming of age story that manages to be both creepy and touching. It takes place during the summer so it's a perfect summer read. Highly recommended!
This was such a great read! It's a bit of a slow burn but excellently written and builds up to a rather trippy climax. The idea of an entity that can take different forms and plays on your fears is a really fascinating one and is used to great effect here. I'm surprised this novel isn't more well known and that I haven't heard it compared to It by Stephen King (or vice versa since Phantom came out four years before It).
I loved the way Ned was written. Tessier did an excellent job of creating a believable child character and capturing the feeling of being that age; the innocence and the ability to see magic and adventure in everything.
Ned and his parents arrive into town during the summer so school is out which means Ned doesn't get chance to meet any other local kids. Instead, he makes friends with two old codgers who run a bait and tackle shop. The relationship between these three characters was genuine, wholesome, humorous and all around lovely. It was one of my favourite elements of the book.
I really enjoyed the scenes where Ned explores the abandoned spa. In particular, there is a scene involving spiders that genuinely made my skin crawl! It was so well done and effective. It still makes me shudder to think about it.
My least favourite parts of the book were when it focuses on Ned's parents, either individually or as a couple. These were definitely necessary to flesh out their characters and to give context but I kept wanting to get back to Ned's story!
Overall this is a wonderful coming of age story that manages to be both creepy and touching. It takes place during the summer so it's a perfect summer read. Highly recommended!
writertomg's review against another edition
3.0
I first heard of Tessier's Phantom via the Top 40 horror novels on the Horror Writer's Association website. The list is available here: http://www.horror.org/readlist.htm in alphabetical order.
The book was a quick read. Very crisp and concise. And it was a classic, supernatural-presence tale of horror and suspense. A straight-forward spooky tale without too many twists or turns. Just genuine fright. The ending, I will say, was not what I was expecting. Which came as a shock, considering the book mainly followed the plot structure of classic ghost stories.
Overall, it wasn't bad. But it wasn't anything to write home about either. Would I put it on my list of top 40 horror novels? Probably not. But I can see why people liked its simplicity at a time (it was published in the 1980s) when horror writers seemed to be getting more and more convoluted.
The book was a quick read. Very crisp and concise. And it was a classic, supernatural-presence tale of horror and suspense. A straight-forward spooky tale without too many twists or turns. Just genuine fright. The ending, I will say, was not what I was expecting. Which came as a shock, considering the book mainly followed the plot structure of classic ghost stories.
Overall, it wasn't bad. But it wasn't anything to write home about either. Would I put it on my list of top 40 horror novels? Probably not. But I can see why people liked its simplicity at a time (it was published in the 1980s) when horror writers seemed to be getting more and more convoluted.
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