You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
artsyems 's review for:
The Staircase in the Woods
by Chuck Wendig
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It pains me to be giving one of Wendig's books a rating of less than 4 stars as I usually love his books and The Book of Accidents is still, to this day, one of my top favourite books, but this one just did not do it for me.
There is nothing to criticise about this book, it is all just personal preference.
Firstly, I hated the writing style. I am usually quite picky with writing styles but I always loved the writing style Wendig used, especially in Black River Orchard, but not this one. I love that he puts so much of the characters thoughts and feelings into the narrative, but this time it was too much to the point it started feeling repetitive for me. It didn't help that I just didn't like any of the characters and I found myself rolling my eyes at them all in turn. I also felt that some of their reactions and especially their actions just felt very bland to me.
There were plenty of moments that I enjoyed, horrifying scenes that had me excited as Wendig always has a way of writing the most horrifying scenes that would stay with me. But almost each of these moments were ruined by the character's reactions/actions that sometimes didn't even make any sense to me.
My overall feeling of the book: Chuck Wendig tried making an amazing book, but his characters kept interrupting his storytelling and ultimately hijacked it.
There is nothing to criticise about this book, it is all just personal preference.
Firstly, I hated the writing style. I am usually quite picky with writing styles but I always loved the writing style Wendig used, especially in Black River Orchard, but not this one. I love that he puts so much of the characters thoughts and feelings into the narrative, but this time it was too much to the point it started feeling repetitive for me. It didn't help that I just didn't like any of the characters and I found myself rolling my eyes at them all in turn. I also felt that some of their reactions and especially their actions just felt very bland to me.
There were plenty of moments that I enjoyed, horrifying scenes that had me excited as Wendig always has a way of writing the most horrifying scenes that would stay with me. But almost each of these moments were ruined by the character's reactions/actions that sometimes didn't even make any sense to me.
My overall feeling of the book: Chuck Wendig tried making an amazing book, but his characters kept interrupting his storytelling and ultimately hijacked it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
Moderate: Child death, Death, Violence, Murder
Minor: Cancer, Car accident, Death of parent