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misshelenjune's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Murder, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Child death
mandolin77's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death, Child death, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Violence, and Mental illness
alireads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Blood, Child death, Gun violence, Body horror, Violence, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Grief, Bullying, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Kidnapping, Suicide, and Religious bigotry
zosiablue's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Death, Grief, Child death, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Blood, Dementia, Suicide, and Forced institutionalization
teatunesandtales's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Violence, Blood, Child death, and Death
Minor: Suicide and Forced institutionalization
honeywine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Child death, Gun violence, Gore, Death, Murder, Grief, Body horror, and Forced institutionalization
carissa230's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
The story is told through letters that Harold was writing. So we see the mountain and exploration through his eyes. While ascending the mountain he is also looking back on his life and why he is estranged from his wife.
The book was an interesting concept, but not an amazing execution. Maybe more perspectives would have helped or less back and fourth between past and present.
Graphic: Grief
jkpiowa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Child death, Death, and Grief
ohennui's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
Moderate: Grief, Murder, Child death, and Dementia
azrah786's review against another edition
3.5
CW: violence, gun violence, injury, blood, murder, death, child death, fire/injury, suicide, body horror, grief
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It has taken me some time to get my head around wording my thoughts for this book because though it was an engaging read it fell a little flat by the end.
A quick read and a good mashup of genres Binge has written a mind-bending story. Told through the letters of a lost scientist - Harold Tunmore – addressed to his niece, we follow the journey he and a group of fellow scientists took when they were sent to explore a bizarre mountain that had randomly appeared in the middle of the Pacific. The writing successfully conveys all the tension of a real life mountain hike as well as the “what the fuck” feel of everything that goes on during the expedition.
The epistolary format and this being represented in the book as a published collection was really clever however, I feel it was also a hinderance the further you read. The lengthy monology descriptions and anecdotes that the narrator was penning for the reader just felt a bit overkill and slowed the story down for me. Particularly with how fast the primary and more intense mountain plot was.
From about midway on towards the end, the narration started to feel a little monotonous and I found I was able to predict some of what was going to happen which lessened my enjoyment of the big twists and reveals.
Though I will say Binge’s writing does well to bring a range of emotions to the page in those segments of personal reflection when he is unpacking the mysterious past of the protagonist. There was also some interesting and thought provoking discussions on the themes of faith vs science, humanity and autonomy.
And so despite being a bit of a miss for me overall I think this story would make a brilliant mini-series.
Final Rating - 3.5/5 Stars
Graphic: Gun violence, Death, Suicide, Violence, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Murder, Child death, and Blood