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oohsnickers's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
laurientroch's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
There were too many loose ends for me. It stayed a but too much on the surface. There is a lot of repetition in the different character’s point of views. Still you don’t really uncover mich of the mystery. Plus, I had expected way more spookyness or creepy scenes.
gremlynn's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Almost lost me in the first half but got me back enough in the second half to have me googling reddit threads about it/the ending, so there's that.
mehsi's review against another edition
3.0
What happened that summer so many years ago? What kind of spooky things lurk in this book?
Thanks to .... for recommending this one. I have to say it was a pretty good read, but it wasn’t that scary or haunting or spooky. It was slightly unsettling at times, especially the descriptions of the house (which I would never ever visit, and I would have left way before things got truly out of hand). And yes, there were a few moments that had me scared or creeped out, but I had expected much more. The blurb made it seem like something huge happened, but yeah, I was kind of sad about what actually happened.
The book is told through various POV. Throughout each of them we find out what happened during that summer. The summer that they were recording an album and trying to recover from the death of one of their bandmembers, Arianna. The summer that their lead singer/leader disappeared and was never seen (well….).
Unlike some books with multiple POV I didn’t have any problems discerning between the bandmembers, each of them had their own unique voice, their own story to tell. And I really wanted to get to know all of them. See what kind of personalities they had, what they saw in that summer, how they experienced the band, how that time was for them (as it was a time of sex, drugs, and folk music). Of course, I wasn’t a fan of all of them, but for most they were quite likeable. My favourite would be Nancy or Lesley, followed by Jon and Will.
I quite liked the idea that this book takes place so many years after the event, that they are finally agreeing with telling their story.
I hated how the police, but also the manager, took so long to act. Maybe Julian could have been saved, then again, I think the moment he went to do dark arts, and whatever that girl was, he was screwed. Then again, the question remains, did he mind what happened? And what truly happened to him?
The photographs, well, for once I didn’t mind not seeing them. The descriptions were horrific enough to have my imagination spin a nice image for me in my head. Thank you!
That last chapter, from Jon(no)’s POV gave me some serious goosebumps. That is sure one way to end this book, and it was a perfect way.
All in all, I flew through this book, and I would still recommend it even if it wasn’t as creepy as I had hoped.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
Thanks to .... for recommending this one. I have to say it was a pretty good read, but it wasn’t that scary or haunting or spooky. It was slightly unsettling at times, especially the descriptions of the house (which I would never ever visit, and I would have left way before things got truly out of hand). And yes, there were a few moments that had me scared or creeped out, but I had expected much more. The blurb made it seem like something huge happened, but yeah, I was kind of sad about what actually happened.
The book is told through various POV. Throughout each of them we find out what happened during that summer. The summer that they were recording an album and trying to recover from the death of one of their bandmembers, Arianna. The summer that their lead singer/leader disappeared and was never seen (well….).
Unlike some books with multiple POV I didn’t have any problems discerning between the bandmembers, each of them had their own unique voice, their own story to tell. And I really wanted to get to know all of them. See what kind of personalities they had, what they saw in that summer, how they experienced the band, how that time was for them (as it was a time of sex, drugs, and folk music). Of course, I wasn’t a fan of all of them, but for most they were quite likeable. My favourite would be Nancy or Lesley, followed by Jon and Will.
I quite liked the idea that this book takes place so many years after the event, that they are finally agreeing with telling their story.
I hated how the police, but also the manager, took so long to act. Maybe Julian could have been saved, then again, I think the moment he went to do dark arts, and whatever that girl was, he was screwed. Then again, the question remains, did he mind what happened? And what truly happened to him?
The photographs, well, for once I didn’t mind not seeing them. The descriptions were horrific enough to have my imagination spin a nice image for me in my head. Thank you!
That last chapter, from Jon(no)’s POV gave me some serious goosebumps. That is sure one way to end this book, and it was a perfect way.
All in all, I flew through this book, and I would still recommend it even if it wasn’t as creepy as I had hoped.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
casparquarius's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
extremely my kind of thing - a slowburn where almost nothing happens. I found it very compelling and the framing of the story really appealed to me. though not much technically happens, especially “on screen”, I keep thinking about it days later, turning different bits over in my mind
deedeedeedee10's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
raven_morgan's review against another edition
5.0
An eARC of this book was received from the publisher via Netgalley.
***
I'm a longtime fan of Elizabeth Hand's work, so I was extremely happy to receive an ARC of this short novel.
Set in the early 1970s, the novel follows the folk rock band Windhollow Faire go to the isolated Wylding Hall to record their second album. The story is told from the perspectives of the various band members, as well as a few other characters, as they work on the album, and as strange things begin to happen to some of them.
For me, this novel has the flavour of what I really love in contemporary fantasy (think Robert Holdstock, with the deep connections to mythology and the land), with connections to mythology and the land, and the exploration of the strangeness of Wylding Hall itself (which put me in mind in several parts of House of Leaves, which is one of my favourite books of all time).
There is a fey beauty which Hand manages to capture in this book - everything feels both hyper real and one step sideways from the real. Mysteries appear and are not resolved, and it is hard to remember at times that Windhollow Faire are not a real band, and Wylding Hall itself does not exist.
Highly recommended. My only complaint is that I can't ever listen to any of Windhollow Faire's music.
***
I'm a longtime fan of Elizabeth Hand's work, so I was extremely happy to receive an ARC of this short novel.
Set in the early 1970s, the novel follows the folk rock band Windhollow Faire go to the isolated Wylding Hall to record their second album. The story is told from the perspectives of the various band members, as well as a few other characters, as they work on the album, and as strange things begin to happen to some of them.
For me, this novel has the flavour of what I really love in contemporary fantasy (think Robert Holdstock, with the deep connections to mythology and the land), with connections to mythology and the land, and the exploration of the strangeness of Wylding Hall itself (which put me in mind in several parts of House of Leaves, which is one of my favourite books of all time).
There is a fey beauty which Hand manages to capture in this book - everything feels both hyper real and one step sideways from the real. Mysteries appear and are not resolved, and it is hard to remember at times that Windhollow Faire are not a real band, and Wylding Hall itself does not exist.
Highly recommended. My only complaint is that I can't ever listen to any of Windhollow Faire's music.