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A review by caidyn
The Shuddering by Ania Ahlborn
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is my first novel that I've read by Ania Ahlborn. Saw that I could borrow it for free on my Kindle and I recalled that I had actually wanted to read a couple of her novels, one of which, if I remember correctly, had been featured as a Kindle First Read a couple months back.
I was very impressed.
This book captured my attention from the start. I loved how most of the beginning chapters told a tale of an encounter with one of the creatures, all of which ended terribly. The main story was definitely tight and I was impressed with the amount of provided back story in the 283 page horror novel. Needless to say, I was very pumped at my decision on this book.
Ahlborn, in my opinion, borrowed from the Wendigo to create her monster. It reminded me heavily of it, minus the hunting in packs if I remember the book correctly. The most experience I have with Wendigos is one episode of Supernatural and the book [b:The Curse of the Wendigo|7775755|The Curse of the Wendigo (The Monstrumologist, #2)|Rick Yancey|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1319724787s/7775755.jpg|10682443] and one other classic book: [b:The Wendigo|1137702|The Wendigo|Algernon Blackwood|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1181290361s/1137702.jpg|2482119]. Not too much, but I remember how creepy it is; a person who turns to cannibalism and is transformed into a creature that needs flesh to survive, preferably human. With that my take on the creature, I think it made me like the novel more.
Since there was so little on the identity of the creature -- which made it more fun to muse about while I was reading -- I'm really not sure if I'm guessing correct or not.
I loved the slow build up to the climax. The ending was a bit like the normal ambiguous ending where you just know what happened without actually reading the words on the page, but it fit with the story. Perfect amount of gore, but not enough for my already nauseous gut to protest about anything; if anything, my nausea went away while I was reading. Characters were solid the whole time, and I enjoyed the bits of depth, no matter how many times I rolled my eyes at Jane and Sawyer until, well, stuff started happening and certain people died.
The one thing I was glad about was Oona, the husky, lasted. I hate reading when dogs die. So I was glad that I didn't have to read anything like that at all.
A four star book, and it was a fun night read. I just suggest to read it in the winter for it to creep you out even more.
I was very impressed.
This book captured my attention from the start. I loved how most of the beginning chapters told a tale of an encounter with one of the creatures, all of which ended terribly. The main story was definitely tight and I was impressed with the amount of provided back story in the 283 page horror novel. Needless to say, I was very pumped at my decision on this book.
Ahlborn, in my opinion, borrowed from the Wendigo to create her monster. It reminded me heavily of it, minus the hunting in packs if I remember the book correctly. The most experience I have with Wendigos is one episode of Supernatural and the book [b:The Curse of the Wendigo|7775755|The Curse of the Wendigo (The Monstrumologist, #2)|Rick Yancey|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1319724787s/7775755.jpg|10682443] and one other classic book: [b:The Wendigo|1137702|The Wendigo|Algernon Blackwood|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1181290361s/1137702.jpg|2482119]. Not too much, but I remember how creepy it is; a person who turns to cannibalism and is transformed into a creature that needs flesh to survive, preferably human. With that my take on the creature, I think it made me like the novel more.
Since there was so little on the identity of the creature -- which made it more fun to muse about while I was reading -- I'm really not sure if I'm guessing correct or not.
I loved the slow build up to the climax. The ending was a bit like the normal ambiguous ending where you just know what happened without actually reading the words on the page, but it fit with the story. Perfect amount of gore, but not enough for my already nauseous gut to protest about anything; if anything, my nausea went away while I was reading. Characters were solid the whole time, and I enjoyed the bits of depth, no matter how many times I rolled my eyes at Jane and Sawyer until, well, stuff started happening and certain people died.
The one thing I was glad about was Oona, the husky, lasted. I hate reading when dogs die. So I was glad that I didn't have to read anything like that at all.
A four star book, and it was a fun night read. I just suggest to read it in the winter for it to creep you out even more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, and Gore