Reviews tagging 'Death'

Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig

18 reviews

wimzie's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75


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audioaxolotl's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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pbraue13's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0


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fkshg8465's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Horror was a genre I’d started away from for a very long time, but a couple years ago, I challenged myself to read books I’d normally avoid. So fantasy and horror were now officially on the list of books. I find I’m still picky about fantasy, but I’m a fan of well written horror now, and this one feels very well organized and plotted.

The story was, admittedly, a little hard to get into at first. I reread the first chapter several times, but once I got past it, I was hooked. I also had to wonder if it was a satire about MAGA, but the author’s note at the end said nothing about it, so I’ll try to skip assumptions. But if you’ve read it, you may see some parallels there as I did.

I really liked what my friend would refer to as the unlikely friendships that were written. It was they who saved the works, after all! I liked the epilogue and the seed of doubt planted (yes, I meant that internally and unironically). And in between, I liked that a range of LGBTQ relationships were normalized while still acknowledging transphobia just a bit, although I was sorry that sex shaming was still ever present (pretty sure that’s a leftover disease of Puritan influence, and that was appropriate too, given the discussion of settlers, John’s commitment to the Quakers, and the purity of faith our heroes had in the value of humanity).

I will be seeking out more of this writer’s works.

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whatzoreads's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Set in small town America, Black River Orchard, is a legacy gone rotten story, as twisted and gnarly as the ancient apple trees that transform the townsfolk with their dark magic. 

Chuck Wendig uses the sinister slow burn playbook to perfection in this terrifying tale about a parasitic Apple cult. 

With a beautifully layered ensemble cast that decomposes before your very eyes, at its rancid core is the creepiest and perhaps most insidious of monsters.

Black River Orchard is like the Ruby Slipper Apple it produces… it quickly becomes your home, your everything, you find yourself slipping between the dust jacket with a sense of relief and contentment. Just one more bite… 

… and at 640 pages it’s a horror masterpiece. I rated this five stars, and it’s fair to say I will never eat another apple again. 



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rachelpoteet's review against another edition

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slow-paced
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0


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kylieqrada's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

YES. An author’s hyperfixation novel that makes me scared of fruit?? I’m sooooo here for it. 

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zag95's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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atamano's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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carissa230's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It's apple picking season and The Ruby Slipper is the perfect apple in every way. It's beautiful, it makes the eater more beautiful, confident, and of course meaner. There is something off about the people who consume the apples. They change, in subtle ways at first, that get more pronounced as they eat more apples. 

Not all the people in town are eating the apples. There are those that refuse to eat it. They see what is happening, and they know that something must change to ensure the apple and it's weird powers don't expand beyond Harrow. 

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