Reviews - Chopping Spree | The StoryGraph

83 reviews for:

Chopping Spree

Angela Sylvaine

3.38 AVERAGE

thehorrormaven's review against another edition

3.0

First off, that cover

bookish_predator's review against another edition

5.0

Review to come!

inkdrinkersbookshelf's review against another edition

5.0

Was lucky enough to get chopping spree arc! Angela Sylvaine never disappoints. This book was the perfect mall slasher... with a twist. I cold not put it down. I wanted more, really hope there is a part two in the future. Id highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good slasher.

dead_alien's review

3.75

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

eliane_boey's review against another edition

5.0

A breathless ride to a punchy retro soundtrack, that pulled into such a shocker in the end! Angela's delivered another killer YA, for every 90s mall kid at heart.

whateveryoneelseisreading's review against another edition

4.0

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Unnverving in exchange for an honest review.

This book is crazy in all the best ways! Honestly I was expecting a bit more of a traditional slasher style horror book but what I got instead was a welcome surprise. Chopping Spree is the story of Penny, a girl who works in an 80s mall. She has a weird encounter with a man in a wolf mask, followed by a weirder encounter with her work colleagues. The blurb of this book implies that what follows is a standard slasher set in a mall but the story takes quite a different turn. Instead it is more focused on an anti-capitalism, cult-type story.

I was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. The writing is fantastic and the usual problems of the genre (weird sexualisation elements and bad characterisation) are completely absent here. I'm not even a huge fan of cult stories but I was completely absorbed by the plot and I finished it in two sittings. I really liked the unique vibe it had and I couldn't predict where the story was going which was really nice. As with the other Rewind or Die book I read, this genuinely brings something new to the horror table and it's a welcome breath of fresh air.

Having said that, I don't want to give you the wrong impression. This book isn't ground-breaking and it still has a lot of staples of horror that you would expect and enjoy as a horror fan. There is some semblance of the slasher elements and there are a lot of 80s references which give it that classic touch. This isn't a criticism from me, I just want to make it clear that there are both traditional and new features which blend well to create a really solid horror book.

Overall, I think this book and others from the series are definitely worth a try if you are a horror fan. So long as you don't expect a full-on slasher, there is a lot to like about this book and it's so short that you can't really go wrong.

Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

thegrimhobbyist's review against another edition

4.5

What a slashing good time this novella was! I was hooked from the very first page and stayed captivated until the end. The action kicks off early - practically right from the start - and the story unfolds seamlessly from one chapter to the next. And what an intriguing story it is! It took a direction I wasn’t expecting, but that only added to the thrill - especially since I went in blind, judging the book solely by its cover and title without reading the synopsis. What a pleasant surprise to find it embracing some of my favorite horror tropes! Plus, the clever use of song titles throughout had me cackling with delight.