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shoegazesecondhand_books 's review for:
The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands
by Sarah Brooks
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands is giving gothic "Sideways Stories from Wayside Elementary" (there is no 2nd Class).
Once I was able to let go of my preconceived notion that this was supposed to be more of a horror story, or scary mystery, I was able to enjoy it more, however I found there to be very few twists and turns that weren't super obvious.
The themes are clear: corporate greed, man vs nature, a thirst for knowledge with no regard for consequences... sure. Incredibly relevant themes in our current timeline that are being repeated ad nauseam and as such made things just a little too predictable here.
I still love a gothic tale for all it's tropes, and appreciated the moments of beautiful prose and imagery as they occured. But I felt like I was beaten over the head with "it's all bad and bad things are coming!" without being given the details to back any of it up. Also like, is the train alive? Hell if I know. I just wanted either: 1. more structure to back up the vibes, or 2. a shorter book to paint the gothic picture without so much repetition.
That being said, I am so sick ofmushrooms being the magic solution/revelation in far too many stories. Mycelium! It's all connected! Great! It just feels like an easy way out atp. 🍄🍄🍄🍄
Once I was able to let go of my preconceived notion that this was supposed to be more of a horror story, or scary mystery, I was able to enjoy it more, however I found there to be very few twists and turns that weren't super obvious.
The themes are clear: corporate greed, man vs nature, a thirst for knowledge with no regard for consequences... sure. Incredibly relevant themes in our current timeline that are being repeated ad nauseam and as such made things just a little too predictable here.
I still love a gothic tale for all it's tropes, and appreciated the moments of beautiful prose and imagery as they occured. But I felt like I was beaten over the head with "it's all bad and bad things are coming!" without being given the details to back any of it up. Also like, is the train alive? Hell if I know. I just wanted either: 1. more structure to back up the vibes, or 2. a shorter book to paint the gothic picture without so much repetition.
That being said, I am so sick of