Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - Das Dorf der toten Seelen

This was such a disappointment for me. A solid premise and genuinely creepy atmosphere ruined by an impossible ending, ableism, and an asshole of a main character who doesn’t even try to use logic when making decisions.

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spacecadelliot's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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sorry_imbooked's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

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onemorepagecrew's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The Lost Village, written by Swedish author Camilla Sten and translated to English by Alexandra Fleming, helped solidify my enjoyment of Scandinavian horror and suspense novels. In this story, a documentary filmmaker returns to an abandoned mining town where her grandmother’s family disappeared from long ago. She has brought a few friends along to help make the film and while they are there, strange things begin happening and they suspect they are not alone. I don’t want to give away too much of the plot or characters, so I’ll leave it there.

This novel had the right level of suspense for me and enough mystery that I was never quite sure if I was dealing with supernatural powers, which I enjoyed. There is violence and there is suspense and I’d classify it as psychological tension more than outright fear. The author weaves in religious cults, mental health, and there is reference to suicide so read with care. My only small issue was the notion that a whole town could disappear a remain a mystery for decades and when they reveal what happened (no spoilers, promise) it seems that it would have uncovered long ago.

When researching this author I found that her mother is also an author with many published novels and Camilla herself has a new novel coming out in 2022. It’s called The Resting Place and I’m looking forward to reading it as well as perusing her prior novels. Side note – if you’re enjoying the television series Yellowjackets I think you will like this novel!

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