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marrie_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, and Murder
Moderate: Car accident, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, and Death
Minor: Cursing, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content
billyjepma's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
"How could something sacred be bad?"
Like all good stories that take up the torch of cosmic horror, this is a slippery, unsettling, captivating descent into horrors too big to name. It's more literary than many of its genre peers but also leans into its genre more than any "literary" book would, which means it's essentially the ideal book for me. Langan is a helluva writer, pairing rich prose with dense descriptions that force you to submerge yourself in his storytelling if you want to keep the reins. The story-within-a-story structure of the book is a two-edged blade: its secret weapon and the one thing with the potential to hurt its impact. It was very much the former for me, as the two stories are less about the events that transpire and more about the ideas they confront. But in the same breath, I can admit that the third act, where the original story returns, is notably weaker than the material preceding it. The story moves so quickly in those final 80 pages that the revelations and developments lack the same teeth that the rest of the book uses so well. It still worked for me, though, as evidenced by the score above. There's an inevitability to it that feels appropriate for the scale and subject of the book, so while I would've happily read more, I appreciate how things ultimately unwound, too.
What might impress me the most about this book—which I'm obviously a fan of and will undoubtedly linger in my mind for quite some time—is how fluidly it embraces its influences while differentiating itself from them. Langan takes the horrific ideas of Lovecraft and pairs them with Stephen King's penchant for grief-stricken protagonists who are a hairsbreadth away from disaster, but the book is entirely Langan's front-to-back. The quality of his writing is superb, striking a delicate balance between poetic and needle-sharp that would also feel right at home read aloud by a campfire. The book also isn't that scary, at least not in a traditional sense, but is interspersed with a looming, impenetrable sense of foreboding that worms its way under your skin. I haven't lost sleep over scary stories since I was a kid, but I'd be lying if I said that—when preparing to go to bed—my mind didn't linger on the darkness Langan writes of here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Gore, Grief, Death, Blood, and Body horror
Moderate: Murder, Violence, Sexual content, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Abandonment, and Cancer
Minor: Alcoholism, Vomit, Terminal illness, and Animal death
whatathymeitwas's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I enjoyed this more than I thought I might. I was a little uncertain about it when I checked it out from my library, but I had just finished reading Michael McDowell's Blackwater, so I figured something else that had to do with water would be a pretty good follow up. I went in pretty much entirely blind, aside from the blurb, so color me surprised once I realized what I was reading.
I found this book pretty interesting overall. I enjoy fishing myself, so reading a horror novel essentially structured around that was really fun. However, it's a lot more than that, too. I loved the long story within a story that this provided, I was absolutely caught up in it just as much as the base story. Overall I found it to be a really delightful horror reminiscent of Lovecraft in many ways, but unique enough to not feel copy cat and to retain its own sense of fright. My only qualm that kept it from being five stars, is I feel the ending cut a bit shorter than it could have. I won't spoil it, but the last fishing trip and what occurred during it, I thought could have been fleshed out a bit more. However I found the ending itself satisfactory, and that bit of a cut off didn't detract too much from it, I still very much enjoyed the read. Nicely written and easy to engage in and breeze through.
I found this book pretty interesting overall. I enjoy fishing myself, so reading a horror novel essentially structured around that was really fun. However, it's a lot more than that, too. I loved the long story within a story that this provided, I was absolutely caught up in it just as much as the base story. Overall I found it to be a really delightful horror reminiscent of Lovecraft in many ways, but unique enough to not feel copy cat and to retain its own sense of fright. My only qualm that kept it from being five stars, is I feel the ending cut a bit shorter than it could have. I won't spoil it, but the last fishing trip and what occurred during it, I thought could have been fleshed out a bit more. However I found the ending itself satisfactory, and that bit of a cut off didn't detract too much from it, I still very much enjoyed the read. Nicely written and easy to engage in and breeze through.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Car accident, Child death, Death, Body horror, Cancer, Grief, Terminal illness, and Cursing
Minor: Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Cursing
bibliophilecrocodile's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Wow this was such a slow ride but a good one. It didn't scare me and I hadn't expected it to as it is cosmic horror, but the images it gave me won't be forgotten any soon, I can guarantee that. The mental health and grief parts were written really well. I think the story in the middle was even more interesting than the real story, but it might be because it was longer and the aspects were still new to me when I reading that story. It was definitely a weird story as expected and the weirdness stays throughout the story, which I was happy for. The slow pace of the book wasn't working for me at the beginning, but by the middle events, the pace helped in keeping track of all the details. Overall a genius book that I'm glad that I finally read. Maybe in the future I might warm up to it even more, who knows.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Car accident, Child death, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, and Self harm
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Racism and Cursing
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