hiphoboharold's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I had high hopes for this one. I love the format. I like the idea. I even felt so drawn in with the first story. It was weird in a way, because the violence was short and to the point. It didn't even give a ton of description. But as others have said, that odd feeling starts to show in the fact that it seems like death and murder are just not a big deal for these people. And that kind of makes it scarier. So after that story I was excited to read the rest...
Then it just went downhill. Like somethings seem to he thrown in for no real reason. Just little details that are meant to male it more disturbing, but feel more out of place. It constantly seems to try and play the "maybe it's paranormal!" card, but it never convincing that's it. Especially when pretty much all the stories are just people being terrible.
I also agree with a lot of the other reviews in that all the characters just start to blend together. No one really has a unique voice.
I also think it would have been improved if it had fewer but longer stories. After a bit I dreaded starting a new one. It would get to the scary parts, and then i would start over with building back up to it. Yes, that happens in horror, but it happens so much that it starts to feel like there's just not as much of a flow to it.
I think my Kindle said I'm at 40%, and I'm thinking I'm gonna put this under DNF. Nit sure. Part of me wants to see where the whole thing is going, but I'm also wondering how much it's worth my time. I have a feeling it's just gonna be "Surprise! The people are terrible!", which I have already gotten. I'm not sure what more there is to build.
Then it just went downhill. Like somethings seem to he thrown in for no real reason. Just little details that are meant to male it more disturbing, but feel more out of place. It constantly seems to try and play the "maybe it's paranormal!" card, but it never convincing that's it. Especially when pretty much all the stories are just people being terrible.
I also agree with a lot of the other reviews in that all the characters just start to blend together. No one really has a unique voice.
I also think it would have been improved if it had fewer but longer stories. After a bit I dreaded starting a new one. It would get to the scary parts, and then i would start over with building back up to it. Yes, that happens in horror, but it happens so much that it starts to feel like there's just not as much of a flow to it.
I think my Kindle said I'm at 40%, and I'm thinking I'm gonna put this under DNF. Nit sure. Part of me wants to see where the whole thing is going, but I'm also wondering how much it's worth my time. I have a feeling it's just gonna be "Surprise! The people are terrible!", which I have already gotten. I'm not sure what more there is to build.
pwbalto's review
4.0
It seems like a churlish observation to make when discussing such an affecting work, but I couldn't tell the male characters apart.
This novel, set in a horrible small village in Germany, is told by four (five?) children as they move from childhood through their teenage years. This is a town where Domestic drama and Peyton Place-type small-town betrayals and sins ALWAYS end in murder or defilement. It's the ordinariness of the narrative voice, the dispassionately observed crimes, that make this book stand apart from other rural gothics, and yet I think that same dispassion is why I couldn't keep track of which kid was which.
This novel, set in a horrible small village in Germany, is told by four (five?) children as they move from childhood through their teenage years. This is a town where Domestic drama and Peyton Place-type small-town betrayals and sins ALWAYS end in murder or defilement. It's the ordinariness of the narrative voice, the dispassionately observed crimes, that make this book stand apart from other rural gothics, and yet I think that same dispassion is why I couldn't keep track of which kid was which.
lizdeckers's review
dark
mysterious
slow-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? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Murder, Child abuse, Incest, Violence, and Rape
Moderate: Cannibalism
cmcrockford's review
4.0
4 and a half stars. A series of intersecting stories featuring the same group of young teens who are, along with their town, immersed in sin and superstition. Kiesbye's cold prose is beautiful, insidious in its portrait of casual sociopathy and evil. This is some of horror literature at it's finest.
gusaefulloh98's review
2.0
I can't say I enjoyed this book; I mean, it was well written, it can be creepy and deeply unsettling at times and the first half of the book was interesting and had me captivated, but it lack of realism. I just couldn't believe all the shit that happened in this book.
It read like a collection of short stories narrated by multiple characters in the village but every character in this book speaks with exactly the same voice. I couldn't even distinguish one character from the other. And The second half of the book bored me stiff I get to the point when I just couldn't wait for it to end.
It read like a collection of short stories narrated by multiple characters in the village but every character in this book speaks with exactly the same voice. I couldn't even distinguish one character from the other. And The second half of the book bored me stiff I get to the point when I just couldn't wait for it to end.
meredithmc's review
3.0
reading reviews of this book, i went into it with some pretty high hopes. unfortunately, they weren't completely met. there were a few points where i found myself thinking "i think i got it?" but also times when i didn't want to put it down. comparing it to shirley jackson is apt (enough) but i didn't quite find it supernatural - just stories of the truly disturbing actions of people that come out when they're at their very worst.
also, don't e-book this one, read the actual book. the cover and "secret message" are creepy as hell.
also, don't e-book this one, read the actual book. the cover and "secret message" are creepy as hell.
eddie_reads_books's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
whatdotheyknowaboutfriends's review
2.0
Creeeeeepy. Overly so. The basic idea is that this tiny, remote German town has a lot of violence, adultery, incest, cannibalism, etc. In the beginning, it seems like witches and the curse of the Devil's Moor are responsible, but these are quickly revealed to be the imaginings of the townsfolk who are either superstitious, or seek a cover for the sin that seems to touch every household. The heaping of sin on sin gets a little much after a while. There was something interesting in the tension of "are these ghost sightings real, did the Black Miller really take that boy, and why do we never learn where he got lost to?" But it becomes clear too early that this is really the hand of man here, and so the latter half assumes a tone of "oh hey, this guy is jealous because the narrator said so, well I'm pretty sure he'll get revenge, and yep, here it is, 10 pages later". Ultimately, the violence gets boring and gross and it's hard to feel much for the characters. I did like how there is a larger town nearby that characters visit, and new people come from, and certain characters even travel around the world- I liked the contrast between this strange, medieval place, and a world around it that seemed abruptly but temporarily suspended within its bounds.