Reviews

Il terrore by Arthur Machen

juliet_carl's review

2.0

Anche se il libro mi ha preso fino al penultimo capitolo, ha una pessima fine.



Il terrore non é quello che ipotizza lui.
Non sapeva come uscirsene.

mariakureads's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Never having read any work by Machen, I wasn't sure what to expect but this was an interesting read.

It had great world building and in the first few pages, I was able to see and depict what he wrote, which for me is a struggle with some older books, but not here thanks to Machen's use of language to create this mystical and magical horror tale that had nods back to history specifically WWI.

Some parts of the books felt like a history lesson, others felt manic, and other moments were drawn out before looping back into the story but all in all, I never expected the ending and that was such a surprise.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death and Death

weejman33's review against another edition

4.0

Quaint, relatively timeless novella that presents a worthwhile mystery that keeps you invested. Pretty incredible that over a hundred years later people are still coming up with theories for seemingly unexplainable phenomena as batshit insane as some proposed in these pages.

aztlan's review against another edition

tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

carlacbarroso's review against another edition

3.0

Três contos interessantes, dos quais destaco sobretudo o primeiro que dá o título ao livro. O autor cria uma atmosfera densa e o leitor não sabe o que esperar.

O segundo pareceu-me o mais fraco, pouco memorável mesmo. No terceiro, o ambiente continua a ser o melhor, mas se no primeiro era denso, neste há alguma luz.

mpc0812c's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

revenant_tomato's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

ndz's review against another edition

No conozco una historia de Machen que no sea recomendable, pero "Un fragmento de vida" y ahora también "El terror" son mis favoritas. Cuando un personaje anda de curioso, investigando los secretos del cerebro o preparando pócimas de origen arcano, te puedes imaginar por dónde van los tiros. ¿Pero qué pasa cuando el terror asume diversas formas, ataca a muchos y a diario, sin admitir explicación? 

http://arthursclassicnovels.com/arthurs/machen/terrmach10.html

gio_gaglia's review

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

colonel2sheds's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A

3.75

The ending is so good it sort of made me forget the whole middle section, while necessary, was sort of a slog.