Reviews

Locke & Key, Vol. 3: Crown of Shadows by Joe Hill

amberfinnegan's review

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

dance64's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

stephen_arvidson's review

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5.0

Crown of Shadows, the third full-length installment of the sensational Locke & Key series, continues to follow Dodge (disguised as classmate Zack Wells) in his unremitting quest to unearth the Omega Key that will unlock the Black Door. Armed with an unholy crown found in the dark recesses of Keyhouse, Dodge raises an army of shadow monsters to torment the Locke children. Surrounded and outnumbered, Tyler, Kinsey, and Bode find themselves alone in a desperate battle for survival. Meanwhile, their grief-stricken mother, Nina, drowns her sorrows in alcohol, wrecking emotional havoc on herself and her children.

Riveting and profoundly creepy, the Locke & Key series gets better with each installment, injecting new mysteries into the existing storylines and introducing new bizarre keys that perform fantastical feats. Readers at this point will be glued to the pages waiting to find out what each newly discovered key does. The fantasy element is literally taken to new heights with the discovery of a so-called Giant Key that—yeah, you guessed it—turns you into a giant.

Joe Hill’s unique writing continues to impress and immerses readers in what feels like a full-fledged novel. The brilliant visuals crafted by Gabriel Rodriguez are flawless, and the emotions of the characters bleed through even without words. Both author and artist have an equal chance to shine in this latest volume, and audiences can only expect great things in the three remaining installments.

shubbar1's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.0

ridanwise's review

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5.0

I’m a point of no return and whoever spoils this for me will know the inside of a coffin soon enough! I have a fairly ambiguous idea of what the Omega Key does... but that’s as far as I can go...

annie_lawrence's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

4.25

jessicarose's review

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3.0

3.5 stars

This is definitely the best instalment yet, the character development is great.

is_book_loring's review against another edition

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4.0

Getting darker and intense as aver. Nina, the mother, is sinking into alcoholism and overall worthlessness, drinking in front of her children all days long, like she was the only one been through hell. Her kids been through much worse, not to mention having an evil supernatural being to deal with! I don't care what people say. Fact is parents supposed to be the protectors, the responsbile parties. How the hell could someone ever decide to have kids without absolute commitment? If you can't be sure to be responsible and pull your shit together through no matter what, for your children, DON'T. HAVE. KIDS.

pbraue13's review

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5.0

The Shadow Key is terrifying!

shadylane_00's review

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0