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eddiegenerous's review against another edition
4.0
Highly entertaining. Strange and complex characters. Maybe showed the hand a little too early for the suspense to really kick my head in.
arrex's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
jesselyn's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
justinsdrown's review against another edition
5.0
The Elementals is my favorite new read of the year. A southern gothic horror novel that is a slow burn in the best way. And burn is the apt word. You can feel the heat coming off the pages. The story is set in Alabama during a blazing summer. The atmosphere is so thoroughly set that I had to remind myself I was in my cooled apartment.
The book is written by the scriptwriter of Beetlejuice and co-writer for A Nightmare Before Christmas. I consider The Elementals to be better than both. The main character of the novel feels like the blueprint of what would go on to be Lydia in Beetlejuice. The difference is that this book is told in a semi-realistic yet off kilter fashion. Because of that there is gravity when horror things start to happen in this horror novel.
I grew attached to all of the characters. Even the ones you're supposed to dislike. I think this is owed to the writing prowess of Mcdowell. Those that require a thriller pace should be warned. The book is two parts family drama. One part horror. This structure allows the horror aspect to hit so much harder if you can relax and enjoy the ride (though I can already imagine all the "got bored dnf" comments from the clinically impatient.)
This is one of maybe three books to ever give me the creeps. I can't overstate how uncommon that is. I found out after finishing that Mcdowell died at the tragically young age of 49. Selfishly, I imagine he had so many more books and scripts in him. I now plan on reading everything that he's written. It's increasingly harder to find slow build, subtle horror. I hope there's more of that in store for me while plundering his bibliography.
The book is written by the scriptwriter of Beetlejuice and co-writer for A Nightmare Before Christmas. I consider The Elementals to be better than both. The main character of the novel feels like the blueprint of what would go on to be Lydia in Beetlejuice. The difference is that this book is told in a semi-realistic yet off kilter fashion. Because of that there is gravity when horror things start to happen in this horror novel.
I grew attached to all of the characters. Even the ones you're supposed to dislike. I think this is owed to the writing prowess of Mcdowell. Those that require a thriller pace should be warned. The book is two parts family drama. One part horror. This structure allows the horror aspect to hit so much harder if you can relax and enjoy the ride (though I can already imagine all the "got bored dnf" comments from the clinically impatient.)
This is one of maybe three books to ever give me the creeps. I can't overstate how uncommon that is. I found out after finishing that Mcdowell died at the tragically young age of 49. Selfishly, I imagine he had so many more books and scripts in him. I now plan on reading everything that he's written. It's increasingly harder to find slow build, subtle horror. I hope there's more of that in store for me while plundering his bibliography.
drew12's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
secluded's review against another edition
5.0
Listened to the audiobook, so may have missed a bit in places. But I really enjoyed the lushness of this story. It starts off slow but does a great job of developing characters you actually understand and care about. But when the horror aspects start kicking in, the story becomes fast paced and hard to stop reading/listening to. Still not really sure what happened or why, but I think that's what makes it such a good horror story.
kpazulski's review against another edition
4.0
If you want a spooky book for this haunted month, this is a short and very creepy read.
allyhalla's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0