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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
dark
medium-paced
This book is getting hammered in the ratings and reviews, so I was surprised at how much I actually liked it. Very Event Horizon. Viscerally dark, bleak stuff. Audiobook narrator Corey Brill does a fantastic job.
Rating only lowered towards the very end,when not only do we meet the entities, they actually sit and infodump their entire plan and backstory . Lovecraftian horror RUINED.
Rating only lowered towards the very end,
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Gore, Incest
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
- nick cutter this prose isn’t it.
- very matter of fact which id prefer rather than trying to squeeze in banter. no one has a particularly distinct voice so far and any attempts the author makes to be unnerving falls flat for me.
- chapters are too short and are constantly, essentially: ‘let me show you this’ ‘and now i’ll show you this’ ‘and now i’ll finally go and see this’. ‘he hasn’t shown you the thing yet? come with me. it’s behind that door. go ahead and open it. and she did.’ GET TO THE DAMN POINT ??? how many two-page chapters do i need to skim before we finally get to see anything happen?
- the foreshadowing seems too simple. the introduction of the ambrosia, the so-called weird effect it has on people (felz being a science man but being so quick to brush it off like oh it just has that effect on people just hypnotizes u. i don’t believe it and/or completely do not understand felz’s character). the ‘ominous’ nature of the ambrosia, it being an organism that goes into others and cures……… it’s too simple. also absolutely no one reacts how they should. something batshit happens and the next page in they’ve already completely compartmentalized it and are talking about the next thing. maybe let’s talk about the doctor who’s clearly lost his mind and could be a liability? maybe don’t write off all this shit you’re experiencing.
- 55 pages in and it’s already chapter 15. the dialogue’s not great and the prose is pretty much non-existent and clunky at best. i’m still holding out hope that i’ll be scared out of my mind soon, though everything seems predictable so far and the writing isn’t subtle or textured or witty or layered enough to make me feel anything. i have a feeling this is one of those horror novels that’s more about what happens rather than scaring you by using your imagination against you or making you feel (it is trying though… but the mentions of luke’s mother and the gets are so random and not that well written so they’re just. not ominous or scary). the characters are doing/thinking their own foreshadowing in the most cliché way (‘someone down there wanted them off.’ ‘someone or someTHING,’ luke thought irrationally - just had me rolling my eyes).
- reasonings are weak… they’re so weak… i don’t have enough information to believe when you just tell me luke would leave everything to come to guam to dive 2k feet under WITHOUT KNOWING WHY… (we don’t know his personality at all… we get a hint that he’s a ‘good citizen’ and will do it bc the government told him to????? has he always been naturally curious ?? i need more than just ‘and he didn’t have anything better to do anyway bc btw his son is missing’) AND that they specially brought him here based on his brother’s completely delirious speech. basically you’re absolutely sending him to die and he’s just… ok with that. he is absolutely not asking enough questions and i’m thankfully literate enough to maybe come up with my own theories but not due to any hints in the writing… i’m just filling in holes because the plot’s leaving too many.
- also: fucking americans. eight miles doesn’t seem that long a way down at all.
- i wish they’d described the buildup to the descent more…. and the submarine itself so i have a sense of where anything is… also they put him in the submarine with no. crash course on what to expect or what to do or not to do once getting on the trieste??? they Know he’s going to die there are no stakes i’m being told luke is nervous but i feel no nerves in me whatsoever.
- the constant flashbacks get old quick, especially when misused or just to delay a discovery (e.g. chapter ends on a cliffhanger and you turn the page only for the next chapter to start as a flashback, which wouldn’t be a bad strategy if the whole two-page chapter stayed as a flashback as a kind of break, but instead they return you back to the present within half the page. what’s the point?).
- scary for scary’s sake… a lot of the imagery may be effective if it didn’t feel like it exists in a vacuum. luke imagines things sometimes that could be kinda scary but it doesn’t serve as a punch because the things he imagines (besides the voices which aren’t scary at all) aren’t related to his deepest fears and personal trauma, so they feel kind of just. dropped in there. scary for scary’s sake. the children’s feet maybe? the pack of youths that never come back at all? non…
- this guy flinches at fucking everything grow a spine
- this guy is a fucking veterinarian and thinks it’s strange that he’s talking to a dog? get real
- this book wants to scare u with the whole something’s there! or is it…? so bad. it is so inefficient at doing this. as proof maybe let’s start with the fact that the ‘or is it…?’ or ‘was there…?’ is literally used verbatim several times throughout.
- this guy likes using italics too much
- p. 214 when i started to speedrun this stupid book
- finally some semblance of something that’s made me feel anything. westlake’s journal still isn’t that great but it makes for a better voice than luke’s. better storyteller than he is. westlake talking about crying while brushing his teeth, worlds away from his daughter was one part i can say is kind of well-written because it made me feel something! anything at all! this whole novel could’ve been focused on westlake. i can’t believe they went with luke as a protagonist lol. this journal could and should be the story itself and not just a plot device or side quest. as a novella it wouldn’t be terrible. 1-star book for how many times it got me rolling my eyes but +0.5 stars for westlake’s journal.
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Felt like it was gory just to be gory and gross, not to actually further plot line. Ending was honestly disappointing
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
This book made me feel like I was under the ocean & claustrophobic. It made me cringe with some of the dog parts & cry (chocolate lab, we have one
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was my first book after a decade plus break from reading and I enjoyed it! I did think the ending was a bit cliche but besides that I wanted to do nothing but read until it was done.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Medical content
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced