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arthurbdd's review against another edition
2.0
Massively overrated. Yes, yes, the setting described is very imaginative, but the conceit faux-archaic writing style just doesn't work, and the second half slips from cosmic horror into substandard Gorean fanfic.
naninana's review against another edition
Interesting premise, could have been a really good sci-fi classic but the way the female main character is portrayed and treated by the male protagonist was just so horrible that I couldn't ignore it for the sake of the story. I tried giving the book another chance even after the male protagonist hits the female lead, but it's not discussed, criticized or leads to any real consequences for him. For me, that's to much even in a "classic"
alexwoodroe's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The prose is dense and particular, but I swear it's worth it.
braxwall's review against another edition
1.0
Tröttsamt 100-årigt sömnpiller till skräck/sci-fi/fantasyberättelse. Berättaren med ursprung i typ 1600-talet får en uppenbarelse miljontals år in i framtiden då solen slocknat och jorden är mörk och död (människorna lever i stora pyramider) och befolkas av rysliga varelser. Hade varit helt okej om inte gestaltningen varit så kass. I strävan att efterlikna något slag ålderdomliga prosa blir allt bara styltigt och platt. Sen så blir inte läskigt heller bara för att man skriver att monstret ser läskigt ut.
gobbeline's review against another edition
I made it about two thirds through but I am abandoning it here because I cannot stand it anymore. The one star it gets is for the beautiful and imaginative worldbuilding, the scenery of the night land and its atmosphere, the pyramids, the telepathy, the monsters. All quite lovely.
If only it had been written in some other register than this hellishly annoying faux-olden-days-'For verily it did be that I was come upon a mighty slope that I verily did prance downward on my muscly manly legs'-language. If only there were fewer words and more of a plot. Any plot. Any other characters than the protagonist and his woman. Which brings me to the last straw: If only it was not so appallingly, infuriatingly sexist. Ugh.
If only it had been written in some other register than this hellishly annoying faux-olden-days-'For verily it did be that I was come upon a mighty slope that I verily did prance downward on my muscly manly legs'-language. If only there were fewer words and more of a plot. Any plot. Any other characters than the protagonist and his woman. Which brings me to the last straw: If only it was not so appallingly, infuriatingly sexist. Ugh.
lbrex's review against another edition
4.0
This is one of the most frustrating of the different "weird" novels and stories that I've been reading over the last two years. Its combination of science fiction and horror is inventive and intriguing, and there are many passages describing sinister, partially human forces on a post-solar earth that I will not forget. In some ways, you won't find more intriguing creations of weirdness and horror than you will find in _The Night Land_. That said, this book is also structured by a quest narrative to rescue a woman in peril, and the extent of the protagonist's macho exertions to rescue and protect the infantilized woman, "Nani," often made me want to gag. Nani seems utterly unable to process the clearly palpable danger that she and her rescuer are in, and the protagonist cycles through moments where he must discipline her (physically shaking her or whipping her) and moments where he wants this little girl-woman nestled against him in the endless cold night of the blighted and monstrous earth. These complaints, however, do make me wonder about the gender dynamics of Hodgson's work more generally, and I will certainly consider his other writings with this in mind. The fact that he ran a school of physical culture certainly seems pertinent here, as horror is here combined with an orgy of male heroism, something reminiscent of the oddest paragraphs of H. Rider Haggard.
lusitania's review against another edition
2.0
This thing reads like the one time I tried to do NaNo, didn't plan for it, and just rambled blindly to hit my word goal.
strtdusty's review against another edition
2.0
the story was LONG and kept telling about the minutiae of the characters travels
lottpoet's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-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
4.5