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A review by holdenwunders_
The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
DNF at 55%
I am over half way through and I think it’s time to finally give up on this one. Grounded science fiction stories are my very favourite genre and I was so excited for my first book by Chuck Wendig but it’s time to give up. I absolutely love the premise of this book but in reading it feels superfluous to the actual plotline.
My problems with this are not few and far between so I’ll try to make it quick. The synopsis and the mysterious nature of the staircase and what’s behind it feels very much on the back burner here and it is much more in the vein of a character heavy plotline but that’s not what the synopsis gives us. While I don’t mind a character driven story, it’s not what I was expecting and it’s taking me so far out of the book that the “science fiction” and mysterious staircase feel unnecessary to the story. There are so many flashbacks that every time something interesting starts happening, I got ripped out to have a flashback of the characters years ago. If it felt relevant or did something to enhance the plot, I could get down on a couple of these happening, but it’s every chapter and feels pointless to everything else that’s happening.
With so many issues with stylistic choices, to writing choices, and characters it feels nitpicky to hate the cover as well, but here I am. At first it feels fun but then the fact the staircase is described in the book and doesn’t match the staircase on the cover REALLY irks me. Was it AI? Was it them not working together? I’m not sure but it really rubs me the wrong way.
I haven’t completely given up on Wendig as an authour and will try another of his older books but I wish there was a singular thing I liked here and just couldn’t even finish it which is disappointing in itself.
I am over half way through and I think it’s time to finally give up on this one. Grounded science fiction stories are my very favourite genre and I was so excited for my first book by Chuck Wendig but it’s time to give up. I absolutely love the premise of this book but in reading it feels superfluous to the actual plotline.
My problems with this are not few and far between so I’ll try to make it quick. The synopsis and the mysterious nature of the staircase and what’s behind it feels very much on the back burner here and it is much more in the vein of a character heavy plotline but that’s not what the synopsis gives us. While I don’t mind a character driven story, it’s not what I was expecting and it’s taking me so far out of the book that the “science fiction” and mysterious staircase feel unnecessary to the story. There are so many flashbacks that every time something interesting starts happening, I got ripped out to have a flashback of the characters years ago. If it felt relevant or did something to enhance the plot, I could get down on a couple of these happening, but it’s every chapter and feels pointless to everything else that’s happening.
With so many issues with stylistic choices, to writing choices, and characters it feels nitpicky to hate the cover as well, but here I am. At first it feels fun but then the fact the staircase is described in the book and doesn’t match the staircase on the cover REALLY irks me. Was it AI? Was it them not working together? I’m not sure but it really rubs me the wrong way.
I haven’t completely given up on Wendig as an authour and will try another of his older books but I wish there was a singular thing I liked here and just couldn’t even finish it which is disappointing in itself.