bookshy's review against another edition
3.0
Some great visuals, but it didn't really come together in the end.
leilaniann's review against another edition
3.0
The book started out strong. I loved the descriptions of the setting, and the background of the main characters. Unfortunately, not far into it the story started dragging and it got confusing. The ending was boring enough that I already forgot it the day after I finished the book.
tashaw's review against another edition
DNF at p.45. It's one of those things that bothers me, that some people prefer. Tell me they have a dialect, don't type all the dialogue in it. It's distracting.
oland94's review against another edition
2.0
Its very interesting, but the story line is kind of hard to follow (at least for me it was.) I read a little over half way through it before I finally just set it down.
underwater_reader's review against another edition
3.0
In a small Newfoundland fishing village Joseph Blackwood, recently divorced, takes his daughter, Robin, to Bareneed to spend some time with her and to get some rest. The vacation isn't as restful as it should be and as soon as father and daughter arrive in town strange things start happening: centuries old corpses rise from the water appearing as if they had drowned just yesterday, ghosts come out to play, sea monsters appear, an epidemic plagues the town causing the residents to not be able to automatically breathe on their own any more and peoples behaviors take a turn towards violent.
This book was reminiscent of Chris Bojilain's The Night Strangers in that waterlogged little girls try to steal away a human daughter from an affected father, ghosts only reveal themselves to certain characters, the fathers personality takes a dive, eccentric old ladies run about the town and water is a main theme of both novels. The plot was obviously more character-driven than action driven. It was also a very Stephen King-esq book where it was an atmospheric spooky story without the cheap, scary overkill.
Since the book was so character-driven I really liked how there was no actual one "main character" and instead we got a group of characters from a seven year old girl to a ninty-plus year old woman. The story was told in third person narration and I think that was best as I was more likley to believe a third person narrator, especially when dealing with topics like dementia and sea creatures.
I didn't care for the fact that none of the characters were particularly likeable save for the Tommy character and the Miss Laracy character. The book is a hefty one coming in at 468 pages which gave Harvey ample time to flesh out each character, which he did very well- he just forgot to make them likeable and as a result, I didn't much care what happened to them. Let them eat cake (and drown).
The book could move very slowly at times and I found myself wondering if Harvey wrote in some of the descriptions and some of the scenes just to add page numbers. This book is definitely not the theatrical version I would have prefered, instead it had ALL of the deleted scenes intact. Towards then end I found myself skipping parts. The one good thing about the ending was the epilogue which is told from one of the main characters first person POV many years later. If you find yourself skipping parts towards the end, you're really not going to miss anything, but do make sure to read the epilogue!
This book was reminiscent of Chris Bojilain's The Night Strangers in that waterlogged little girls try to steal away a human daughter from an affected father, ghosts only reveal themselves to certain characters, the fathers personality takes a dive, eccentric old ladies run about the town and water is a main theme of both novels. The plot was obviously more character-driven than action driven. It was also a very Stephen King-esq book where it was an atmospheric spooky story without the cheap, scary overkill.
Since the book was so character-driven I really liked how there was no actual one "main character" and instead we got a group of characters from a seven year old girl to a ninty-plus year old woman. The story was told in third person narration and I think that was best as I was more likley to believe a third person narrator, especially when dealing with topics like dementia and sea creatures.
I didn't care for the fact that none of the characters were particularly likeable save for the Tommy character and the Miss Laracy character. The book is a hefty one coming in at 468 pages which gave Harvey ample time to flesh out each character, which he did very well- he just forgot to make them likeable and as a result, I didn't much care what happened to them. Let them eat cake (and drown).
The book could move very slowly at times and I found myself wondering if Harvey wrote in some of the descriptions and some of the scenes just to add page numbers. This book is definitely not the theatrical version I would have prefered, instead it had ALL of the deleted scenes intact. Towards then end I found myself skipping parts. The one good thing about the ending was the epilogue which is told from one of the main characters first person POV many years later. If you find yourself skipping parts towards the end, you're really not going to miss anything, but do make sure to read the epilogue!
rbudd24's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
persypie's review against another edition
DNF, not rated
I love horror, I love suspense, and I love an original plot. Unfortunately, there was something missing with the first two criteria. I quit after the first 100 pages.
I love horror, I love suspense, and I love an original plot. Unfortunately, there was something missing with the first two criteria. I quit after the first 100 pages.
annafckingreads's review against another edition
1.0
this book sounded so cool with a really cool maritime mythical mystery atmosphere but holy cow it was so slow and I just could not get into it. first dnr in a very long time and first on good reads. anyways like they should just like breathe its not that hard.
thewitchturtle's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I found the initial idea really great and loved some of the main characters. But over all, I felt the story took too many turns for me to follow. Even with all the twists and turns the writing felt a bit too slow-paced for my taste.
Spoiler
Finally, some characters turned out to be so unlikeable at one point they felt unredeemable for the rest of the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Blood and Domestic abuse
Spoiler
Many mentions of strong violent urges and intentions of murder in the first-person narration, provoked by the illness.directorpurry's review against another edition
3.0
This book was billed as being "Lovecraft inspired" and for once, I kind of agree with the hype. It felt very much to me like a mix of Lovecraft and King - and it certainly had some triumphs and downfalls of each author.
Let's start with what I liked. To begin with, I don't think this book deserves the low rating it has. Certainly I wouldn't say it was my favorite book, but I definitely enjoyed it. At the beginning, I very much enjoyed the atmosphere of the story. It was creepy and unsettling, throwing two "townies" into the middle of nowhere in Newfoundland. I thought Joseph was a strong character. Not likable, really, but very distinct. I also loved the concept of the plot, I found it really interesting and unique. As someone with asthma, breathing and suffocation horror are something I am personally familiar with, so I could really feel it as it was drawn out.
On the other hand, this book was far too long. It didn't really sustain my interest and I got tired of reading it around page 275. It definitely had moments where it felt like it had ideas to wrap up but I was only half way through the story.
I also thought the writing of the female characters was weak. While Joseph and Dr. Thomson are very much active on the page, I felt like the sections about Kim and Claudia were being told to us, now shown. They definitely had their motives listed out and I didn't always find some of their choices realistic. In general, the narrative tone is extremely masculine. Much of the horror is about excessive violence and threats of sexual violence, thought very little really happens. I also would have liked to see the "fairy" elements either become much more plot relevant or take up less page time, because I didn't really think they connected in the end to the actual culprit.
All this being said, I think this would make an excellent mini series. Probably even better than a book. This story really shines in the plot and its downfall is just the overabundance of explanation and words on the page. Cutting it down to its heart of character actions would make a great improvement on the story.
A worthy horror novel, that I would recommend to people who actively enjoy Lovecraft and King, but not something I plan on reading again.
Let's start with what I liked. To begin with, I don't think this book deserves the low rating it has. Certainly I wouldn't say it was my favorite book, but I definitely enjoyed it. At the beginning, I very much enjoyed the atmosphere of the story. It was creepy and unsettling, throwing two "townies" into the middle of nowhere in Newfoundland. I thought Joseph was a strong character. Not likable, really, but very distinct. I also loved the concept of the plot, I found it really interesting and unique. As someone with asthma, breathing and suffocation horror are something I am personally familiar with, so I could really feel it as it was drawn out.
On the other hand, this book was far too long. It didn't really sustain my interest and I got tired of reading it around page 275. It definitely had moments where it felt like it had ideas to wrap up but I was only half way through the story.
I also thought the writing of the female characters was weak. While Joseph and Dr. Thomson are very much active on the page, I felt like the sections about Kim and Claudia were being told to us, now shown. They definitely had their motives listed out and I didn't always find some of their choices realistic. In general, the narrative tone is extremely masculine. Much of the horror is about excessive violence and threats of sexual violence, thought very little really happens. I also would have liked to see the "fairy" elements either become much more plot relevant or take up less page time, because I didn't really think they connected in the end to the actual culprit.
All this being said, I think this would make an excellent mini series. Probably even better than a book. This story really shines in the plot and its downfall is just the overabundance of explanation and words on the page. Cutting it down to its heart of character actions would make a great improvement on the story.
A worthy horror novel, that I would recommend to people who actively enjoy Lovecraft and King, but not something I plan on reading again.