Reviews

Even for how short this book was, it was overwritten and repetitive. The author missed an opportunity to weave Russian folklore into the novel. Instead it was hardly there, and more time was spent describing how cold it was over and over. There are moments that are well written, but overall, it was a disappointing read.

historiana's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

jayfr's review against another edition

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2.0

Yet another book that could have been so much more.

opanda's review against another edition

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3.0

It was fine. I think I enjoyed googling the animals and random things about the Siberian environment and folklore more than reading the actual book though. I really liked the premise but I was expecting more historical background on the road of bones itself. The whole story takes place around the road of bones but none of the spooky stuff actually has anything to do with it. It was so disconnected that the author could have never even mentioned the road of bones or the history of it and it wouldn’t have taken away from the story at all. There was a lot left unexplained at the end which was a little disappointing but I wasn’t entirely surprised because I was never quite sure what it was all building up to. I had no idea how it would end and not in a good way. I also didn’t get the point of including Ludmila in the story. Her character brings you back to the history of the road of bones but her and that history have nothing to do with the main plot.

aquaphase's review against another edition

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4.0

Traveling the infamous Kolyma Highway in the coldest parts of Siberia, Felix Teiglund and his friend Jack Prentiss hope to be able to pull together a documentary film or television series about life in the coldest town on Earth. When they finally arrive the town appears to be uninhabited aside from a mostly catatonic little girl, Una, who their guide recognizes as the child of some of the other missing townspeople. In the process of investigating the empty town, they decide to pack up and take Una to her great grandmother’s gas station which is further down the infamous road of bones.

Mr. Golden sets the scene incredibly well, and the isolation and desolation definitely play a great part in this tale of supernatural horror and suspense. Very quickly, the group are confronted by mysterious shadow wolves who attack them: seemingly in an attempt to get to Una. In the process, Teig and Prentiss’ guide, Kaskil, is killed, and the party goes on the run to rush away from the town. The thing is, the wolves seem to be keeping up quite handily.

Yup, these folks are in a mess of peril.

The Kolyma Highway is a daunting subject to tackle, and Mr. Golden does it great justice. There is probably no other stretch of highway with such a gruesome history. Stalin had it built to connect his Siberian gulags, and it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of prisoner bodies lie beneath the pavement: a morbid tomb for the poor souls who constructed the 1,262 miles of it.

This novel is all about the futility of survival when the elements — be they natural or even supernatural — are very much not in your favor.

Sure, there are several quite confusing portions of the book, but the story progresses in a manner that very much compelled me to try and find the light at the end of the tunnel. I’ll leave it to you to decide if that actually happens. Definitely some great Summer reading.

Original review at 23rdLegion.com

justinevandale's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced

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

3.0

I love the cover of this book and the synopsis was super interesting and not really like anything else I have read.
The actual book not really anything like the synopsis and was way too weird for me. I didn’t really care for it at all. It wasn’t scary, it really didn’t make a whole lot of sense and it had random characters for no reason that didn’t add anything to the story at all.
I would not recommend this read.

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