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A review by aliciagw
The Beetle by Richard Marsh
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
This book is a little difficult for me to review, so my review itself is scattered. It was different. I did enjoy it for the most part, although there were some points at which it dragged a bit.
I think what I found different about it is that I don't know that I could give it a specific genre. It is definitely Victorian Gothic, but the different sections of the book have entirely different feels to them. There are four sections narrated by four different characters. I really enjoyed the first section, which was the creepiest and could probably best be described as Gothic horror. The second two sections lost quite a bit of that creepiness, and I would describe as general fiction. The last section suddenly became a mystery with a Sherlock Holmes feel to it. Even though the last section felt like a whodunnit, there really wasn't any sort of mystery going on, just a mysterious feeling chase that ended in a somewhat vague anticlimactic ending. Not a whole lot of answers. Some parts were creepy, some parts dragged a bit, some parts were mysterious, and I found some parts to be downright funny.
It is definitely a book that was all over the place, but I am nonetheless happy to have read it. Old horror can be so much fun at times.
I think what I found different about it is that I don't know that I could give it a specific genre. It is definitely Victorian Gothic, but the different sections of the book have entirely different feels to them. There are four sections narrated by four different characters. I really enjoyed the first section, which was the creepiest and could probably best be described as Gothic horror. The second two sections lost quite a bit of that creepiness, and I would describe as general fiction. The last section suddenly became a mystery with a Sherlock Holmes feel to it. Even though the last section felt like a whodunnit, there really wasn't any sort of mystery going on, just a mysterious feeling chase that ended in a somewhat vague anticlimactic ending. Not a whole lot of answers. Some parts were creepy, some parts dragged a bit, some parts were mysterious, and I found some parts to be downright funny.
It is definitely a book that was all over the place, but I am nonetheless happy to have read it. Old horror can be so much fun at times.