Καπως ανισο οπως ολες οι συλλογες ιστοριων- η συγκεκριμενη ομως με διαφορετικο τροπο απο το συνηθισμενο. Ενω τυπικα υπαρχει το θεμα "Η μια ιστορια εινΚαπως ανισο οπως ολες οι συλλογες ιστοριων- η συγκεκριμενη ομως με διαφορετικο τροπο απο το συνηθισμενο. Ενω τυπικα υπαρχει το θεμα "Η μια ιστορια ειναι καλη και η αλλη οχι", εδω ειναι ολες καλες.... αλλα θα μπορουσαν να ειναι ακομα καλυτερες.
Οπως λενε κι αλλες κριτικες, το βασικο μειονεκτημα της συλλογης ειναι οτι φλυαρει απιστευτα. Συμβαινει σε ολες τις ιστοριες (πλην των "Κρυων Χνοτων", που ειναι η μικροτερη της συλλογης), και πολυ συχνα μπορεις να πηδηξεις παραγραφους ολοκληρες χωρις να εχεις χασει απολυτως τιποτα. Το βιβλιο δεν ειχε κανεναν λογο να ειναι 350 σελιδες.
Επισης, τουλαχιστον κανα δυο φορες, ακριβως εκει που κορυφωνεται η αγωνια και ο πρωταγωνιστης δεν ειναι δυνατον να σωθει, εμφανιζεται Απο Μηχανης Θεος και ολα καλα. Τρομος δεν σημαινει απαραιτητα τραγικο και ασχημο τελος, αλλα κατι τετοια εμενα προσωπικα με βγαζουν απο την ιστορια. Ειναι σχεδον παιδικο το "Ολα μοιαζουν να εχουν τελειωσει..... αλλα την τελευταια στιγμη σωζεται ο πρωταγωνιστης!!!"
Πιο συγκεκριμενα: -"Αγαληνευτα Βαθη": λιγο παραπλανητικη η περιγραφη στο οπισθοφυλλο περι "οταν ερχεται η ωρα της αναδυσης, ο δυτης μενει παγιδευμενος στον βυθο". Νομιζα οτι θα ειχε να κανει οντως με την απελπισια και τις τελευταιες σκεψεις ενος δυτη (συν σιγουρα προσπαθεια να ξεφυγει απο την μοιρα του) Προσωπικα με κουρασε λιγο, ειναι 100 σελιδες (κυριολεκτικα) με πολλη επαναληψη και φλυαρια που, ενω μου αρεσε στην αρχη, μετα τραβαει απιστευτα πολυ με (view spoiler)[τον Κωνσταντη να ειναι κατι σαν αθανατος Michael Myers που δεν λεει να πεθανει με τιποτα και μονο συνεχιζει να επιτιθεται ακουραστα, τον Φωτη να μπαινοβγαινει στην θαλασσα και ολο να σκεφτεται οτι τωρα τελειωσαν οι ασοι στο μανικι αλλα μετα να του ερχεται νεα ιδεα, και την Απο Μηχανης Σμερνα στο τελος που ειχε αγνοησει εντελως τον Φωτη πριν, αλλα επιτιθεται στον Κωνσταντη για καποιο λογο (hide spoiler)].
-"Η Νυχτα των Νεογνων": απιστευτη ιδεα, πολυ δυνατη αρχη με ατμοσφαιρικες περιγραφες (οταν φτανει ο Μενελαος στα Καλαβρυτα, οι γεροι να λενε ιστοριες στο καφενειο), πααααρα πολυ καλη η σκηνη (view spoiler)[που πρωτοεμφανιζονται τα σμερδακια, με τα ματια να κοιτανε τον Μενελαο στο σκοταδι (hide spoiler)]. Αλλα εκει ακριβως ειναι που χαλαει ολο. (view spoiler)[Εμφανιζονται Απο Μηχανης Συζυγος Και Γερος Με Οπλο, που ειδικα ο δευτερος δεν ειχε κανενα λογο να ρισκαρει το τομαρι του για εναν ακυρο τουριστα που τον ειχε προειδοποιησει να μην παει βραδυ στο δασος... αλλα φυσικα και πηγε, επειδη νωριτερα το πρωι "ειχε ζεστη". Δεν ειναι καν το προβλημα μου οτι "σωθηκε ο πρωταγωνιστης αν και δεν θα επρεπε" (αν και η ιστορια θα ηταν πολυυυυ πιο δυνατη ετσι), το προβλημα ειναι οτι η ιστορια συνεχιζει για 15 σελιδες μετα που δεν εχουν καμια σημασια. Οι πρωταγωνιστες τρεχουν, τα σμερδακια ειναι ακριβως πισω τους αλλα ποτε δεν τους φτανουν, ο γερος πεθαινει και κανεις δεν νοιαζεται επειδη δεν τον ξεραμε και τοσο καλα, τα σμερδακια σταματανε το κυνηγι στα ορια του δασους επειδη ??????, και μετα εχουμε τους πρωταγωνιστες να κανουν γουτσου γουτσου αγαπουλες για τις τελευταιες 5 σελιδες. No1curr. (hide spoiler)]
-"Ζητειται Φαροφυλακας": νομιζω ολοι συμφωνουν οτι ειναι η καλυτερη της συλλογης. Προσωπικα, αν και μου αρεσε παρα πολυ μεχρι τοτε, με εχασε στο τελος (view spoiler)[οταν ο Λουκας ηταν κυριολεκτικα στο λαρυγγι του τερατος, αλλα καταφερε και γλιτωσε με καποιο τροπο (για ποιον λογο το μαχαιρωμα εκανε το τερας να ξερασει? Δεν εχω ιδεα), και ακομα και μετα απο αυτο η ιστορια δεν ελεγε να τελειωσει με τιποτα. Ειναι 20 σελιδες φλυαριας με το τερας να χτυπιεται στο ισογειο, τους ντοπιους να πεθαινουν, και την κυρα Σοφια την μαγειρισσα να κανει τον Κλιντ Ιστγουντ πιστολερο- συν το φιναλε, που και ο Λουκας αλλα και εκεινη επιζουν απο την εκρηξη. Υπερβολικα τραβηγμενο. (hide spoiler)]
-"Κρυα Χνοτα": ΟΚ, τιποτα ιδιαιτερο. Γενικα δεν μου αρεσουν τοσο οι ρεαλιστικες ιστοριες τρομου, προτιμω να εχουν και καποιο στοιχειο φανταστικου. Ηταν ομως το τελειο μηκος ιστοριας, και δεν ειχε τα μειονεκτηματα των αλλων.
-"Μια Κρυμμενη Αληθεια": επισης πολυ καλη περα απο την φλυαρια. Συγκεκριμενα, πιστευω οτι ειχε παρα πολυ ατμοσφαιρικες περιγραφες (το λιμανι, η επαυλη, (view spoiler)[το τερας φυσικα (hide spoiler)]), και αρκετη αγωνια.
Γενικα καλα τα πηγαμε, αλλα θα μπορουσαμε και ακομα καλυτερα....more
While I enjoyed my time reading this book up until the end (we'll talk about that), the more I think about it now, the less I like it.
I enjoyed the foWhile I enjoyed my time reading this book up until the end (we'll talk about that), the more I think about it now, the less I like it.
I enjoyed the folk horror themes in this (I thought it'd mostly be about lost films, but it turned out to be both), I enjoyed the look into silent era lost films, seances, hauntings. Lois was an interesting character to follow through all that. The writing was evocative, especially in the creepy scenes.
But.
The book is bogged down by many things. *There's A LOT of focus on Canadian film history. A LOT. I get that the author was a film critic before, so all her knowledge seeped in, but that was all mostly filler that had my eyes glazing over. The book would be long enough even without all that.
*The antagonist character Wrob, the rich spoiled petty dude, was not only uninteresting but kind of redundant. Not much would have changed had he been removed from the book entirely after introducing Lois to mrs. Whitcomb. I never felt that he was in any way a real threat to anyone, not even after (view spoiler)[he got someone killed. (hide spoiler)]
*The book was going strong up until the (view spoiler)[Vasek Sidlo making the psychic film imprint for Lois scene. Not only was Lois' goal stupid ("I thought I could trap the goddess in the film and then destroy it!!" ...What??? Why in the WORLD would that work?), but that also led to the police getting involved for a hot moment and then not (just took up space in the book and nothing more), and led to the climax involving Wrob, the most inconsequential antagonist ever- and then, to make things worse, the finale was a trope I hate. The "the protagonist tells off the godlike powerful entity, and the entity just stands there and takes it even though they've already killed people for less" (no idea what that's called) Especially if that's right after "the godlike entity just tried to bribe the protagonist by making their deepest darkest wishes come true, but the protagonist says NO! because they're just Moral Like That", which happened here. Funny that "The Princess and the Frog" was also mentioned earlier in the book, because that's also what the protagonist does in that movie. (hide spoiler)]
All that to say: the book would've been perfect with some major editing. This honestly felt like little to no editing was involved at all. With a bunch of the film history/ how to get and keep a grant/ Wrob stuff removed, the story would've been A LOT tighter as just Lois biting off more than she can chew when she stumbles onto all this....more
Would've been amazing as a short story, but in full length, there's a whole lotta nothing happening for most of the book. The ending is good but not eWould've been amazing as a short story, but in full length, there's a whole lotta nothing happening for most of the book. The ending is good but not enough to save the entire thing....more
2,5 stars, rounded down for now. A very straightforward Alien fanfic turned into a book. That doesn't mean it's bad, especially if you've never watche2,5 stars, rounded down for now. A very straightforward Alien fanfic turned into a book. That doesn't mean it's bad, especially if you've never watched any of the Alien movies, but it does mean it's extremely derivative and predictable. The ending in particular was a letdown, (view spoiler)[a typical cliche "Everything gets wrapped up in a nice little bow and it all ends on a high note even though it all seemed hopeless!" (hide spoiler)]...more
I had a pretty good goddamn (geddit, because we're dealing with a cosmic Lovecraftian god, har har) time with this.
It's not in any way action packed,I had a pretty good goddamn (geddit, because we're dealing with a cosmic Lovecraftian god, har har) time with this.
It's not in any way action packed, or even horror packed, or even that creepy for most of the book, which'd normally mean that I'd be dropkicking this in the bin, BUT. What it does give us, I had a blast with.
What does the book give us? An absolute sense of dread, slowly but surely building throughout the book. A realistic and relatable (at least for me, though that's.... probably not great for me) main character who acts like a normal person in her circumstances and is basically just Going Through It as best as she can. A deliciously ominous setting and a bunch of sus supporting characters. A very, very interesting look into stained glass and art restoration, which, being a very nosy person who loves being a fly on the wall all up in people's business, I ate right up. And, of course, the appropriately Lovecraftian cosmic finale; our friend H.P. sure did love (view spoiler)[only showing the mind-bending entity at the very last second (hide spoiler)].
So yeah, I really enjoyed this and I've been thinking about it since. Knocking a star off for now because it needs to stand the test of time, plus (view spoiler)[the storm scene with the glass in the bird's nest was kinda stupid (hide spoiler)]....more
I'm usually the first person to screech about always wanting my horror to have supernatural/ paranormal elements instead of just people brutalizing eaI'm usually the first person to screech about always wanting my horror to have supernatural/ paranormal elements instead of just people brutalizing each other (because it almost always leads to the author smugly pointing their finger at the reader like a mean teacher and being like "Repeat after me: humans are the biggest monsters!"), but it seemed to work for me here.
I think it was a combination of: 1. Me really liking the setting, the theme park is described lovingly and it's always a great setting for horror stories; I consider amusement parks liminal spaces, unless you're working there, which brings me to my next point 2. I, as someone who works customer service, projected on the, also customer service working, characters (even though we're never really shown that aspect of the park; don't ask me how my mind works) and that kinda ended up as "What if that was ME and my coworkers there??" immersion in the story 3. And most importantly: I loooooove multiple POV stories like this, in which one person's narration directly contradicts another's (so you never can tell what's real and what's not, which person you should believe, which version of events agrees best with the rest of the story) and you're able to see the same event from many different angles and piece what actually (might have?) happened on your own.
All that worked together to make this a great read for me....more
Unfortunately, I..... don't remember much from this book. It HAS been 3 months, and I remember enjoying it while reading, plus a few scenes (mostly (vUnfortunately, I..... don't remember much from this book. It HAS been 3 months, and I remember enjoying it while reading, plus a few scenes (mostly (view spoiler)[comparing it to The Ruins, which I also really enjoyed (hide spoiler)]) but not much else. That's never a good thing, so here's a basic 3 stars, I guess....more
Να γιατι νομιζα οτι το Ασημι Που Ουρλιαζει ηταν συλλογη ιστοριων: πρεπει να ειχα διαβασει κριτικες αυτου του βιβλιου, και τα μπερδεψα.
Οπως λενε και οιΝα γιατι νομιζα οτι το Ασημι Που Ουρλιαζει ηταν συλλογη ιστοριων: πρεπει να ειχα διαβασει κριτικες αυτου του βιβλιου, και τα μπερδεψα.
Οπως λενε και οι αλλες κριτικες, εδω προκειται για συνδεδεμενες ιστοριες. Υποτιθεται το βιβλιο λαμβανει χωρα μετα τα γεγονοτα του "Ασημιου", αλλα οι ιστοριες εχουν ολες να κανουν με το παρελθον της Πανδωρας, οποτε προκειται μαλλον για prequel αντι sequel που θα περιμενε κανεις. (Ασε που sequel λογικα δεν θα δουμε ποτε, εκτος αν ο συγγραφεας το βγαλει 13+ χρονια μετα για εκπληξη)
Ειχα γραψει κατι παρομοιο και στο "Ασημι", αλλα να 'μαστε παλι: θα συμφωνησω με τον D'Ailleurs οτι το βιβλιο εμοιαζε σαν να ηταν μεταφρασμενο απο τα Αγγλικα σε καποια σημεια (πχ "Ηταν ασκοπο να μεινει στο σπιτι, ηταν η επικρατεια της μητερας της" Στο Αγγλικο, "it was her mother's domain", ταιριαζει τελεια, αλλα στα Ελληνικα απλα κλωτσαει) και αυτο το εκανε κουραστικο μεχρι να το συνηθισεις.... που ηθελε αρκετο χρονο.
Εκτος απο αυτο, το βιβλιο ηταν ακριβως στο επιπεδο που περιμενα εχοντας διαβασει το "Ασημι". Φυσικα και δεν μου αρεσαν ολες οι ιστοριες το ιδιο (η πιο αδυναμη ηταν νομιζω η τελευταια, In Heaven Everything Is Fine- δεν μου αρεσε τοσο η "Ο/η ντετεκτιβ εχει εκεινη την μια υποθεση απο το παρελθον που τον/ την στοιχειωνει ακομα!!" πλοκη, ειναι κλισε και χιλιοπαιγμενη. Η αγαπημενη μου ηταν μαλλον το Vipers In a Hatbox), αλλα ηταν ολες σε υψηλο επιπεδο, ειδικα για τα Ελληνικα δεδομενα (που, δεν θα σταματησω ποτε να το λεω, εχω διαβασει και κυριολεκτικη λογοκλοπη, λεξη λεξη αντιγραφη απο πολυ γνωστη σειρα κομικ φαντασιας. Αληθεια νομιζαν οτι δεν θα το προσεχε κανεις?)
Ο μονος λογος που παιρνει 4 αστερια αντι 5 ειναι λογω του κουραστικου στυλ που λεω παραπανω (περιεργως, στο Ασημι μολις το συνηθισα δεν το προσεχα καν, ενω εδω συνεχισε να "κλωτσαει" καθ'ολη την διαρκεια), συν που σε μερικα σημεια δεν καλοκαταλαβαινα τι συνεβαινε στις 2 τελευταιες ιστοριες. Περιμενα επισης λιγο περισσοτερα στοιχεια sequel....more
Δυστυχως δεν μου αρεσε τοσο οσο περιμενα. Καποιες ιστοριες ειναι πολυ καλες, αλλες δυσκολευτηκα να τις τελειωσω καν, γενικα ηταν 50/50- ενω περιμενα οΔυστυχως δεν μου αρεσε τοσο οσο περιμενα. Καποιες ιστοριες ειναι πολυ καλες, αλλες δυσκολευτηκα να τις τελειωσω καν, γενικα ηταν 50/50- ενω περιμενα οτι θα ηταν 5/5 διαβαζοντας τις εξαιρετικες κριτικες που εχει.
Συγκεκριμενα οι πολυ καλες ηταν οι Camera Obscura, Το Ξεφωτο, Το Ονειρο του Κρονου (νομιζω η αγαπημενη μου της συλλογης), και Η Μασκα, οι ιστοριες που "ανοιγουν" την συλλογη. Ολες ειναι φοβερα εφευρετικες (μου αρεσε πααααρα πολυ η σκηνη που (view spoiler)[οι νεκροι στις φωτογραφιες χτυπανε τα "τζαμια" στις φωτογραφιες (hide spoiler)]) και απλα πετυχαν τα γουστα μου. Παντα μου αρεσει ο υπερφυσικος τρομος που ερχεται απο το πουθενα στους πρωταγωνιστες, που απλα στεκονται εκει και αναρωτιουνται τι στο κερατο συνεβη ή τι να κανουν για να σταματησει.
Στις "ουτε κρυο, ουτε ζεστη" μπαινουν Το Στοιχειωμα (δεν ξερω γιατι αρεσε σε ολους τοσο, προσωπικα μου φανηκε πιο πολυ λυπητερο παρα τρομακτικο), Γεννηθητω το Θελημα Σου, και The Babalon Working.
Και μετα ολες οι υπολοιπες. Ripper's Ballad, Απλα Περαστικος, Ο Ανθρωπος που Σκοτωσε τον Χρονο, Ωχρα Σπειροχαιτη, Vice Versa. Καθολου τυχαια, εδω εχουν μπει ολα τα retellings με διαφορες ιστορικες φιγουρες (και οι ιστοριες με serial killers) που δεν με ενδιεφεραν καθολου. Κατι τετοια πειραματα ειναι ενδιαφεροντα κυριως για τους ιδιους τους συγγραφεις, αλλα καθολου για οσους πιστευουν οτι αρκετα εχουμε διαβασει για ολους αυτους τους διασημους ηδη (συν, δεν χρειαζεται να κανεις και τοση δουλεια οταν δουλευεις με ιστορικα προσωπα, "ολοι τους ξερουν ηδη") οποτε ας δουμε και τιποτα καινουριο (δηλαδη για μενα) Ο Σταματης Λαδικος εχει ηδη δειξει μεσα στην ιδια την συλλογη οτι δεν χρειαζεται τετοιες πατεριτσες και οτι μπορει μια χαρα να γραψει και εντελως πρωτοτυπες ιστοριες....more
DNF @60%. Started off incredibly strong, but lost all its momentum somewhere around the halfway mark. I couldn't care less about a possible (view spoiDNF @60%. Started off incredibly strong, but lost all its momentum somewhere around the halfway mark. I couldn't care less about a possible (view spoiler)[romance between Laure and Andor (hide spoiler)] which is what the narrative was most interested in when I gave up, and (view spoiler)[Coralie having made a deal of her own was so obvious, I couldn't wait patiently til Laure caught up to me in between her pining after Andor. I skipped forward a few chapters and yep, Coralie did. Whoa, didn't see that coming!! (hide spoiler)]
Left unrated because it's not objectively bad at all- the author is very talented. It's not the book's fault I lost interest, and I'm sure someone else would love where the story was going....more
3,5 stars, rounded down for now because I really wish I'd liked this more.
It was good almost the entire way throughout, but became very messy by the e3,5 stars, rounded down for now because I really wish I'd liked this more.
It was good almost the entire way throughout, but became very messy by the end. So many plotlines and characters introduced but ending up playing no role in the story; (view spoiler)[Patricia, the cop guy that was enchanted (?) to look like Barry for Niamh's kidnapping, honestly Betty; it's like she's only there until we can get introduced to Ashling, who's the actual protagonist for the 'present' timeline. Kate is also constantly talked about but barely present. Father Fitt seems like he'll be a POV character in the beginning but pretty much disappears. (hide spoiler)]
I almost feel like I need to re-read it to make sense of a few of the mysteries. (view spoiler)[What was the deal with the rings? Why did they protect some people but mark others for death? Why did Barry have to die? Who was with which of the "three powers", the Station, the Diocese, and.... one more I couldn't tell you the name of if my life depended on it? (hide spoiler)]
In general, I just don't think the author juggled the MANY elements and characters and plotlines of the story all that well. (view spoiler)[You've got a horror story about Irish mythology. You've got a creepy children's show a la Mister Magic with an entire 'net' of children kidnappings that's brushed over somehow (implied to be because of the 'three powers' influence' but still). You've got monster priests running around, you've got the mob. You've got a generational trauma story and mommy issues on top of that. You've got an LGBTQ+ coming of age story. You've got a "Dog that won't let go of that yummy bone" type journalist (could've also been a cop) looking into the entire thing. You've got an entire section about a university drama society in between all that. (hide spoiler)] There is A LOT going on in here, and I think this is a jack of all trades, master of none situation.
I'm bummed about not liking this more, and I do think that a re-read could possibly bump this up. Maybe in the future....more
My first time reading from Kristopher Triana, and definitely not the last.
It's a slasher story for people who don't care for slashers (it's me, I'm pMy first time reading from Kristopher Triana, and definitely not the last.
It's a slasher story for people who don't care for slashers (it's me, I'm people); the author should do a seminar on 'show, don't tell' because he's a master of it. He made me care about the characters before delivering the gnarly kills. He questioned the classic slasher tropes WHILE making them happen, because what's a slasher without the Final Girl, the 'I think I killed him!', the T&A, the corny one liners, etc? You can't NOT deliver on that front either.
The book is pretty much a cleverly written love letter to classic horror movies, esp. slashers obviously. The characters all have different views on the legacy of them instead of just them all parroting whatever the author thinks (ahem, Grady Hendrix in We Sold Our Souls, I'm looking at you, though that one is about music), from the people who think they're outdated and should be reimagined into something else, to the people who think they're an iconic piece of media that stands on its own just fine, to.... one other thing. You'll see.
Honestly, the book is just fun. The characters are interesting. It's fast paced. The kills are cool, the suspense is off the charts, it actually tackled a few issues I wasn't expecting (like 'no means no'). I really enjoyed it....more
After The Dangers of Smoking In Bed and now this, I'm convinced that Mariana Enriquez is writing specifically for me. I wish I spoke Spanish so I coulAfter The Dangers of Smoking In Bed and now this, I'm convinced that Mariana Enriquez is writing specifically for me. I wish I spoke Spanish so I could read more of her backlist right here, right now. This blend of horror, stories that read exactly like urban legends, feminism, queerness, and social issues, is EXACTLY my jam.
The stories didn't all hit, but the ones that did, hit HARD; those were "The Dirty Kid", "Adela's House", "Spiderweb", "End of Term", "The Neighbor's Courtyard", and my absolute favourite, "Under the Black Water"- I loved every single second of it. It was one of those "If I could write, I would've written something like this" moments. The other stories were also very good, but there are always those few stories in every collection that shine the brightest. You can't help but like some a little bit more.
P.S. I don't like Shirley Jackson, so I couldn't care less about comparing Mariana Enriquez to her. I still think that she's perfect for the people who tried Carmen Maria Machado and liked her themes but couldn't quite connect to her writing, though. (It's me, I'm people)
P.S. 2: Major props to the translator for clearly having done an incredible job with the stories. Megan McDowell, I'm BEGGING you to work on more of Mariana Enriquez's books. Please....more
The good: +The horror was great. I was looking for a gory bloody HORROR (all caps) read after having beenthwartedrepeatedlyrecently (also this, but The good: +The horror was great. I was looking for a gory bloody HORROR (all caps) read after having beenthwartedrepeatedlyrecently (also this, but that one was probably my fault), and I got it here. Very pleased with that. +The cover is absolutely beautiful.
....And that's it.
The bad (everything else): -The story is predictable from the get go. You know exactly what is happening from the first 15%. (view spoiler)[Oh gee, the "gang" of characters all have a mysterious dark event in their pasts, that has something to do with a mysteeeeerious young woman, and then a fisherman finds a young woman's head in the water! Gee, I wonder what could've happened here!! (hide spoiler)] Some of the twists land (view spoiler)[like Oksana being a mutant, or Megan becoming the new host in the end instead of becoming a Final Girl (hide spoiler)], but eeeeeeverything else unfolds in the most stereotypical fashion. (view spoiler)[The gang getting picked off one by one, them trying to warn each other, someone going to meet the others but arriving JUST after they've been killed, betrayals, double crossings (hide spoiler)] -The first 40% is pure setup that drags and drags and drags. The book only really gets going in the halfway point. -The characters are neither interesting, nor memorable. -The true crime podcast gimmick is exactly that: an overdone gimmick that added nothing to the story. Same goes for all the emphasis on the story being set in the 90s, which is even on the blurb itself. -The book just tried to do too much and it falls apart after you think about it for 2 seconds. (view spoiler)[Oksana needing the "creepy yearbook writing" was completely useless and just took up space. There are so many POV characters that you end up not really knowing any of them. Megan seeing the "creepy starfish" in the library was also irrelevant (that entire 'hauling ass to look at a yearbook' section was filler tbh). Her having a ~psychic connection~ with Oksana was convenient as hell for the finale. The entire climax with the ~Super Secret Russian Agent Explosion~ took up TONS of space for no reason whatsoever, given that all we ever learn from them is "Oksana was a mutant", nothing more. Adam (who was sometimes called "Alex" in my copy, who the hell made the final corrections on this?) was a complete non-character the entire time, he was just.... there too. Oksana having telepathic powers, the entire "She makes you hear horrible things from your past" thing was also mostly used as filler. (hide spoiler)] And that's off the top of my head, there'd be more here if I'd kept notes lmao.
I mean, if you'd like a mix of I Know What You Did Last Summer (very obvious even from the blurb), Orphan (the 2009 movie- (view spoiler)[Oksana being an Eastern European who is not who she says she is (hide spoiler)]), Venom ((view spoiler)[not only is there a direct reference to 'symbiotes', but the little growth in host's bodies moves exactly like him, especially in the morgue scene (hide spoiler)]), and maybe a little of Let the Right One In ((view spoiler)[the Oksana- Louis dynamic is very similar to Eli- Hakan (hide spoiler)]) and Tomie (like Kate says), this will be perfect for you- but for me it was A LOT of missed potential.
3 stars because it wasn't unreadable or anything, as long as you don't think about it at all and just go with the flow it's great....more
Did you love that part in Bunny where the protagonist is inside the Bunny Hivemind, keeps saying "we" and barely knows where she is and what she's doiDid you love that part in Bunny where the protagonist is inside the Bunny Hivemind, keeps saying "we" and barely knows where she is and what she's doing? You know, the "Mona Awad Signature Fever Dream Writing"? If yes, this book is for you!
Man, was this a chore to finish. The beginning and ending were both strong, but the middle drags HARD and reads like an overwritten, bloated high school essay where the student was just trying to hit the word count like the iconic Kronk meme: [image] And kept repeating the same stuff over and over, plain ol' rewriting sentences on-page (I've found out that I kind of hate stream-of-consciousness writing styles lately), or overexplaining the point she was trying to make ad nauseam (maybe trust your readers more when you're trying to be Oh So Cryptique?? Ruins the effect when you just turn around and explain everything explicitly), or like an author that just loooved hearing themselves talk.
There's a brilliant novella inside of this book, but it's lost underneath the millionth mention of "mother/ daughter of Noelle/ Tom Cruise/ Tom Tom Tom/ jellyfish/ brightness/ red/ red, rouge, rose" and more. Not to mention the completely useless subplots of (view spoiler)[whether or not Belle will go back to Montreal/ a fucking romance with a Stereotypical Cop character/ Tad, who's suspicious in the beginning but ends up amounting to absolutely nothing despite a significant amount of time being dedicated to him (hide spoiler)] that just take up space and nothing more. This book legit feels like Mona Awad was contractually obligated to have a 300+ page book out next, had a pretty good idea with the beauty industry stuff but couldn't hit the word count, and just started typing whatever to fill the pages. I was so disappointed.
Merged review:
Did you love that part in Bunny where the protagonist is inside the Bunny Hivemind, keeps saying "we" and barely knows where she is and what she's doing? You know, the "Mona Awad Signature Fever Dream Writing"? If yes, this book is for you!
Man, was this a chore to finish. The beginning and ending were both strong, but the middle drags HARD and reads like an overwritten, bloated high school essay where the student was just trying to hit the word count like the iconic Kronk meme: [image] And kept repeating the same stuff over and over, plain ol' rewriting sentences on-page (I've found out that I kind of hate stream-of-consciousness writing styles lately), or overexplaining the point she was trying to make ad nauseam (maybe trust your readers more when you're trying to be Oh So Cryptique?? Ruins the effect when you just turn around and explain everything explicitly), or like an author that just loooved hearing themselves talk.
There's a brilliant novella inside of this book, but it's lost underneath the millionth mention of "mother/ daughter of Noelle/ Tom Cruise/ Tom Tom Tom/ jellyfish/ brightness/ red/ red, rouge, rose" and more. Not to mention the completely useless subplots of (view spoiler)[whether or not Belle will go back to Montreal/ a fucking romance with a Stereotypical Cop character/ Tad, who's suspicious in the beginning but ends up amounting to absolutely nothing despite a significant amount of time being dedicated to him (hide spoiler)] that just take up space and nothing more. This book legit feels like Mona Awad was contractually obligated to have a 300+ page book out next, had a pretty good idea with the beauty industry stuff but couldn't hit the word count, and just started typing whatever to fill the pages. I was so disappointed.
Merged review:
Did you love that part in Bunny where the protagonist is inside the Bunny Hivemind, keeps saying "we" and barely knows where she is and what she's doing? You know, the "Mona Awad Signature Fever Dream Writing"? If yes, this book is for you!
Man, was this a chore to finish. The beginning and ending were both strong, but the middle drags HARD and reads like an overwritten, bloated high school essay where the student was just trying to hit the word count like the iconic Kronk meme: [image] And kept repeating the same stuff over and over, plain ol' rewriting sentences on-page (I've found out that I kind of hate stream-of-consciousness writing styles lately), or overexplaining the point she was trying to make ad nauseam (maybe trust your readers more when you're trying to be Oh So Cryptique?? Ruins the effect when you just turn around and explain everything explicitly), or like an author that just loooved hearing themselves talk.
There's a brilliant novella inside of this book, but it's lost underneath the millionth mention of "mother/ daughter of Noelle/ Tom Cruise/ Tom Tom Tom/ jellyfish/ brightness/ red/ red, rouge, rose" and more. Not to mention the completely useless subplots of (view spoiler)[whether or not Belle will go back to Montreal/ a fucking romance with a Stereotypical Cop character/ Tad, who's suspicious in the beginning but ends up amounting to absolutely nothing despite a significant amount of time being dedicated to him (hide spoiler)] that just take up space and nothing more. This book legit feels like Mona Awad was contractually obligated to have a 300+ page book out next, had a pretty good idea with the beauty industry stuff but couldn't hit the word count, and just started typing whatever to fill the pages. I was so disappointed....more
It was fine. I was really, really into it in the beginning, when I thought that this would be some kind of (view spoiler)[paranormal threat (an ancienIt was fine. I was really, really into it in the beginning, when I thought that this would be some kind of (view spoiler)[paranormal threat (an ancient evil god or something) (hide spoiler)], but lost almost all interest once I realized this was an (view spoiler)['intelligent fungus' book, a la The Last of Us, Mexican Gothic, What Moves the Dead, (hide spoiler)] and more. It's trendy nowadays for some reason, but I've never enjoyed it (why yes, I AM a special snowflake)
Though, in the book's defense, (view spoiler)[the origin of the 'virus' was implied, if not outright stated, to be of alien origin, which is what I was looking for- but the bulk of the book is just the main characters trying to avoid being 'infected'. That's just a spin on zombie horror, and I'm not into zombies, so it's not the book, it's me. (hide spoiler)]
But the bottom line is that (view spoiler)[as I said, the bulk of the book is the characters running around and trying to avoid being 'infected' and effectively turning into zombies, while also seeing their friends turn and having to watch them die etc (all the classic zombie tropes), nothing to do with caves or ancient gods like I'd imagined, so in the end this wasn't really the book for me. (hide spoiler)] Not to mention how sometimes I didn't really understand where we were and what we were doing, sometimes the writing got weirdly convoluted and messy.
The positives: the characters were interesting and nicely written (nothing revolutionary, but still did the job), the suspense was suspensing, and (view spoiler)[the very very last sentence of the book was really good, a perfect finale. Answered the "Was Dean infected after all??" question, AND the implications were chilling. Very good. (hide spoiler)]
It was a solid book to pass a few hours with, but definitely not a new favourite for me....more
**Thank you to NetGalley for giving me a free copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.**
I've been Adam Ellis' fan for years and years, es**Thank you to NetGalley for giving me a free copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.**
I've been Adam Ellis' fan for years and years, especially the horror stuff he's been doing lately, so I JUMPED on the opportunity to read this book. I read this in one sitting, and it was good- but not great.
The art IS great throughout, but the stories were a lot more predictable than I expected (and than the stories Adam usually posts on Instagram) It's like he chose the 'safest' ones for this release to play it safe for a mainstream release; but I don't think the world needed yet ANOTHER Green Ribbon reimagining, or r/nosleep creepypasta style 'This actually happened to me!' stories (though Adam did go viral about one of those, the 'Dear David' story). Maybe that's just me....more
Disappointing. If you'd like a mix of Bird Box and the early days of Covid lockdowns, with all the lingo ("return to normality", "we don't know how itDisappointing. If you'd like a mix of Bird Box and the early days of Covid lockdowns, with all the lingo ("return to normality", "we don't know how it's transmitted", "the rules!", learning to wear something on your face as a precaution, feeling stir crazy in your house, "risking it all" for some human-to-human contact, not knowing whether you've got it, being asymptomatic, everything), this is the book for you- but it wasn't for me.
I was hooked by the Bird Box comp, but I somehow wasn't expecting this to be as derivative as it was. I also knew I wasn't interested in ~pandemic parallels~ between a fictional pandemic and our 2020 one, because I lived it and that was plenty enough for me- but I was hoping it would be incorporated with some kind of finesse. I was wrong. Not to mention that it takes about 50 pages to get going, so you'll have to be patient, but I'm not sure it's worth it.
The book's strongest point is its ambiguity (view spoiler)[is Riley descending into madness or not? Is her perception of things even accurate, did this really happen or not? Is she just going crazy or is someone messing with her for the lolz? (hide spoiler)], and those parts are the best written, because the choppy writing style really works there.... but not anywhere else. It rubbed me the wrong way the entire time.
I don't know what to say other than 'I really, really liked this book'. My positive reviews are always lackluster, while the negative ones just write I don't know what to say other than 'I really, really liked this book'. My positive reviews are always lackluster, while the negative ones just write themselves, 60k words per minute.
This book had many things I liked: a Spider Jerusalem-type main character (I know, I know, Hunter S. Thompson was the gonzo blueprint that both Spider and Jack are modelled after, he even gets namedropped in this book; but I knew Spider before Hunter, so sue me), multiple hauntings and possessions all manifesting differently, traveling all over the globe (even though I thought this'd be a "Youtuber getting haunted in his home" book for some reason?), a team of random people thinking that they're paranormal experts and looking to recreate bizarre 'psychic experiments' from the acid-happy 70s, really well done horror scenes, interesting characters, and my personal favourite:
Including POV narration from characters other than the main one, whose narration may or may not (usually the former) directly disprove what the main character says. It's the best way to write an Unreliable Narrator instead of the godwaful "This character is SO unreliable, they were just hiding/ forgot to mention this fact the entire time!!" asspulls that the reader couldn't possibly predict, that get revealed in the last 20% or so. It's showing, not telling, and brilliant. I know some people consider that a tired cliche, but I'm not one of those people. I believe that an author should have enough trust in his readers to not have to spell out every single little thing.
Could this book have been edited a little tighter? Yes. Was the (view spoiler)[Mimi (hide spoiler)] reveal and subsequent (view spoiler)[exorcism of it from "me me me me I I I I" Jack (hide spoiler)] a little silly? Also yes. But those were the only two weak parts in the book, and I can just.... sail past them. I loved it.
The highlight of the book: (view spoiler)[Sherilyn's Hong Kong boat exorcism. I loved that scene even BEFORE the final reveal about the spirit, which just elevated it to a new height. (hide spoiler)] Actually, I should just say I loved Sherilyn herself, she pretty much stole the show (the book?)...more
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