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bedill's review against another edition
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? Yes
3.75
stepriot's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed it more than Horns, but Hill is a chronic over explainer. You get a mid episode review at least twice as well in this one. Aside from that and some mild inconsistency I thought it was ok. The reference to Robert Frobisher was a beautiful touch though.
aposthuma's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is SO GOOD. It has everything: romance, coming of age, fantasy elements, and a whole lot of pure horror. It starts strong and the pace just doesn't let up, culminating in a wonderfully satisfying ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Body horror, Car accident, Confinement, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Trafficking, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Blood, Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Drug use
sploof's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
ritikaupadhyay's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
kschmitz2011's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
cayleejanet's review
i’m coming back it’s just so long but the first 40 or so pages were rlly good
amy123456789's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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
werdnamich's review against another edition
3.0
Victoria McQueen’s son has been taken by Charlie Manx, the same man who destroyed her life when she was a child. Using her gift for finding things, she is now the only person who can stop Manx from claiming yet another child’s soul.
This is my second Joe Hill book and I think the problem I have with his books is that I can't seem to care about the main character. At all. Hill seemed to go to great lengths to have the reader sympathise with Vic, which is what made the book extremely long and unnecessarily so, and I just could not for the life of me care about her at all. In fact I think I gave more of a damn about her son Wayne and husband (?) Lou, which is why I’m even giving this a 3 star rating – the ending was excellent, more I felt because of Wayne and Lou than Vic.
I really feel the book could have been much shorter and as a result perhaps more gripping than I found it. Although it claims to be thrilling and terrifying, I did not find the book scary - Charlie Manx was cartoonish, if anything, and Manx’s minion, Bing, was quite disgusting, and more often than not annoying with his excessive rhyming and singing. For the most part I was quite bored with all the elaborate descriptions of trivial characters and events, which is probably why it’s taken me – what? – two months to finish this book.
So I am in the minority with my take on this particular Joe Hill novel. It had its moments but in the end I’m only going to remember it as that book that took me two months to finish.
Spoiler
for immortalityThis is my second Joe Hill book and I think the problem I have with his books is that I can't seem to care about the main character. At all. Hill seemed to go to great lengths to have the reader sympathise with Vic, which is what made the book extremely long and unnecessarily so, and I just could not for the life of me care about her at all. In fact I think I gave more of a damn about her son Wayne and husband (?) Lou, which is why I’m even giving this a 3 star rating – the ending was excellent, more I felt because of Wayne and Lou than Vic.
I really feel the book could have been much shorter and as a result perhaps more gripping than I found it. Although it claims to be thrilling and terrifying, I did not find the book scary - Charlie Manx was cartoonish, if anything, and Manx’s minion, Bing, was quite disgusting, and more often than not annoying with his excessive rhyming and singing. For the most part I was quite bored with all the elaborate descriptions of trivial characters and events, which is probably why it’s taken me – what? – two months to finish this book.
So I am in the minority with my take on this particular Joe Hill novel. It had its moments but in the end I’m only going to remember it as that book that took me two months to finish.
graveyardpansy's review against another edition
2.0
this book SUCKS but not quite bad enough to warrant a 1-star. it spooked me a bit at a few points, so I guess it can have a star for that. But there are so many bad things and I’ve already ranted abt it to many friends, so no need to type it all out here.