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gwx 's review for:
Episode Thirteen
by Craig DiLouie
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"The door changes everything."
Speaking as a massive fan of the found footage subgenre - from it's classics like Blair Witch to it's hidden gems like It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This or Noroi: The Curse to it's masterpieces like Hell House LLC to it's guilty pleasures like Grave Encounters - discovering this book's attempt to emulate them was an absolute delight. I was always going to like it, especially with the particular directions it seemed to be pointing towards.
So considering all that preface, it turns out to be rather easily summed up. The formatting was unique in a way that emphasizes varied character study over plot advancement, and once you click into this, it allows for a unique experience and a much better sense of why any given person will react certain ways. While some will find it repetitive, I quite liked it. In fact my only complaint is that I wished they went a bit further with it, as by the end a majority of the cast didn't feel like they had quite as much depth as they fought they did. Still, it's an interesting ensemble.
The pacing is great, knowing when to slowly build up tension, when to tease out ominous info, when to rest, and when to payoff. The ideas behind the scared were interesting, but I felt they could've been better executed - especially the overall reveal, which, as well as the ending, kind of jumps the shark with a few somersaults thrown in.
Overall it's a solid genre exercise that I felt could've been much better if they committed to the bit some more.
Speaking as a massive fan of the found footage subgenre - from it's classics like Blair Witch to it's hidden gems like It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This or Noroi: The Curse to it's masterpieces like Hell House LLC to it's guilty pleasures like Grave Encounters - discovering this book's attempt to emulate them was an absolute delight. I was always going to like it, especially with the particular directions it seemed to be pointing towards.
So considering all that preface, it turns out to be rather easily summed up. The formatting was unique in a way that emphasizes varied character study over plot advancement, and once you click into this, it allows for a unique experience and a much better sense of why any given person will react certain ways. While some will find it repetitive, I quite liked it. In fact my only complaint is that I wished they went a bit further with it, as by the end a majority of the cast didn't feel like they had quite as much depth as they fought they did. Still, it's an interesting ensemble.
The pacing is great, knowing when to slowly build up tension, when to tease out ominous info, when to rest, and when to payoff. The ideas behind the scared were interesting, but I felt they could've been better executed - especially the overall reveal, which, as well as the ending, kind of jumps the shark with a few somersaults thrown in.
Overall it's a solid genre exercise that I felt could've been much better if they committed to the bit some more.