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torismazarine's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Drug use, Suicide, Gore, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Dementia, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Self harm, Ableism, Murder, and Death
Minor: War
There's a lot of talk about religion and faith, the characters argue a lot about it (I'm paraphrasing here, but at some point a charachter says religious people are stupid, others have very strong faith, and for some of them it's fluctuating throughout).misshelenjune's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
I'm really not sure how to rate this book. I went into it looking for an adventure/mountain climbing novel with elements of weird, and found one of the most complex and challenging (on a scientific level) books I've ever read. I even wondered a few times if I just wasn't smart enough to be reading it, but I persisted.
The premise lulls you into a false sense of preparedness by being so simple. A mountain appears out of nowhere and a team of various scientists are gathered to investigate it - after only two members of the previous team come back alive but very changed. One of these survivors is the ex-wife of our protagonist - Harold - and the story is largely told in the form of letters written to his estranged niece, which have been discovered after his death and his surviving family is now trying to make sense of.
The book does not shy away from the realities of mountaineering in extreme weather conditions, but as well as that the team soon begin to realise that the fabric of reality works differently in this place. There are questions about time, about the place of humanity in the universe, and our scientific understanding of how our planet works and why. I found these questions fascinating, as well as the slow reveal of Harold's own past, and the tragedies therein.
This story is far more sci-fi than horror, but there are deaths, injuries, and other moments of unease, with a pleasing Lovecraftian edge to the goings on. Like the characters you will find yourself questioning everyone and everything as the situation deteriorates and paranoia increases. It is not a story I think anyone could rush - but I think how slowly you'll engage with it depends on how well you can follow the ideas.
For all this - and all my admiration for it - I struggle to give this 4 stars. There is a reveal at about 84% that's so silly, and honestly felt so juvenile, I felt it took the wind out of the sails. I understand what the author was going for with it, but looking at those words on paper I burst out laughing instead of feeling horror, which is a huge shame.
I feel this is a book that won't appeal to everyone - or possibly not many at all because of how heavy the science and thought experiments are - but I do think it's worth the effort. If you're looking for a challenge, this is it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Child death
ambert's review
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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
5.0
This book made me contemplate death and the afterlife in the exact same way The Iron Giant did as a kid.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Child death, Murder, Body horror, and Death
Moderate: Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Death
Minor: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Death of parent
maddie_can_read's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? Yes
3.0
Feel conflicted about the book.
First part grabbed my attention with the setting up of the mystery but I felt like the second half really dragged and the payoff wasn't as satisfying as the build-up made it seem like it would be.I wish more time had been spent at the end of the novel explaining the aliens/ the seeds/ the leviathans/the death and afterlife/ why the last characters killed themselves etc I probably would not have finished it if I hadn't been hooked by the mystery. Think there were a bit too many themes to do them all justice (religion, grief, death/loss, regret, all the science stuff, mountain-climbing, people going mad ) . I liked the writing style and found it easy to read. Personally I didn't enjoy the extended descriptions of people losing their minds descending into madness. .
First part grabbed my attention with the setting up of the mystery but I felt like the second half really dragged and the payoff wasn't as satisfying as the build-up made it seem like it would be.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Violence, Body horror, Gore, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, and Mental illness
pkc's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I r njoyed the plot here. So much going on, all of it resolved to some extent which I loved. Questions about humanity are explored using this metaphor and while there can never be answers, it was intriguing to ponder them within the setting. If you’re looking for a book with likeable protagonists, personally, I’d swerve this one. You may like Harold but I found him reasonably ineffectual and awful. That being said, I thought the plot was super inventive, adventurous and wild. The mountain as a character was intriguing and made for some epic set pieces
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Blood, Child death, Suicide, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Vomit
teatunesandtales's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Violence, Blood, Child death, and Death
Minor: Suicide and Forced institutionalization
honeywine's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Child death, Gun violence, Gore, Death, Murder, Grief, Body horror, and Forced institutionalization
ohennui's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Murder, Child death, and Dementia
azrah786's review against another edition
3.5
**I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, gun violence, injury, blood, murder, death, child death, fire/injury, suicide, body horror, grief
--
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
CW: violence, gun violence, injury, blood, murder, death, child death, fire/injury, suicide, body horror, grief
--
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Death, Suicide, Violence, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Murder, Child death, and Blood
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