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taquito44 's review for:
The Library at Hellebore
by Cassandra Khaw
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
At a university for the most monstrous and dangerous magic users, a handful of survivors barricade themselves in the library when the faculty goes on a cannibalistic killing spree. This book could be considered dark academia, if you turned the dark alllll the way up and the academia allll the way down.
This book seems to be marketed as dark fantasy, and it just really is not. That's not to say it doesn't have it's audience, but the "fantasy" (as well as the academic setting) in this book is really just a device to take the horror in a certain direction, and nothing more. If you are a dark fantasy fan who has gotten sick of romance, world building, and character growth, then this book might fill that gap for you.
What the book does have in spades is graphic eldritch-type body horror. The visceral descriptions can definitely fuel some nightmares, and in fact the book does read like a nightmare. The plot weaves in and out of the timeline to the point where time and reason and order of events don't feel tangible anymore. What you can piece together through the narrative does put a fresh horror twist on moral dilemmas. Despite the non-stop gore, I think this book has plenty of room for discussion.
Ultimately the book was very much not for me because for many reasons, but mostly because I can't bring myself to care about a story that relies on gore and shock factors as it's main tool to keep a reader interested.
This book seems to be marketed as dark fantasy, and it just really is not. That's not to say it doesn't have it's audience, but the "fantasy" (as well as the academic setting) in this book is really just a device to take the horror in a certain direction, and nothing more. If you are a dark fantasy fan who has gotten sick of romance, world building, and character growth, then this book might fill that gap for you.
What the book does have in spades is graphic eldritch-type body horror. The visceral descriptions can definitely fuel some nightmares, and in fact the book does read like a nightmare. The plot weaves in and out of the timeline to the point where time and reason and order of events don't feel tangible anymore. What you can piece together through the narrative does put a fresh horror twist on moral dilemmas. Despite the non-stop gore, I think this book has plenty of room for discussion.
Ultimately the book was very much not for me because for many reasons, but mostly because I can't bring myself to care about a story that relies on gore and shock factors as it's main tool to keep a reader interested.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Vomit
Moderate: Pedophilia, Torture, Cannibalism
Minor: Rape