oleanderwillow's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
iamericat22's review against another edition
2.0
Pretty art and great color palette but the plot is all over the place. I didn’t get a real sense of horror while reading and the characters didn’t have enough depth for me.
deeoh's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
crookedtreehouse's review against another edition
2.0
If you enjoy horror books for their randomness, and how there is no real narrative logic to anything, just a general aura of creepiness, then this might be a book for you. Events happen because horror. You eventually learn the reason why the protagonist is involved because the story needed an ending.
It's not really fun. There's no reason to like or dislike any of the characters, as they're all just plot devices to move you to the next scene. The maybe(?) antagonist is supposed to look creepy because they have a mask, but cutting holes in paper plates hasn't been terrifying to me since I've had object permanence.
I recommend this only to people who love bad horror movies or books. It's not unreadable garbage. It's a perfectly underwhelming concept executed with maximum mediocrity.
It's not really fun. There's no reason to like or dislike any of the characters, as they're all just plot devices to move you to the next scene. The maybe(?) antagonist is supposed to look creepy because they have a mask, but cutting holes in paper plates hasn't been terrifying to me since I've had object permanence.
I recommend this only to people who love bad horror movies or books. It's not unreadable garbage. It's a perfectly underwhelming concept executed with maximum mediocrity.
vulpescorvum's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
jhstack's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this weird mental institution horror more than I did ... I did like some of the artwork though, but some of the writing and pacing felt a little off (and not sure if there will be a follow-up series or not).
cynthiasreadinglist's review against another edition
1.0
I did not read the synopsis of this and judging a book by its cover truly bit me in the ass LOL
I checked this out because I really enjoy Harrow County and this cover was gorgeous! Then I started reading. For one, I’m not a fan of mental asylum stories. I get what they were going for kind of like a “subversive,” existential, what does sanity even mean approach?? But it just was not well done and leaned more into the ableist trappings of using mental illness and asylums as scenery for horror without the heavy lifting of character development and original storytelling.
The art and layout was thrown on the page and made it difficult to follow along. I kind of got a headache squinting. It dragged on too long for a story that didn’t really make much sense and did not intrigue me to keep reading future issues. I kept reading because I was hoping to get closure and tbh I wish I’d stuck to my gut and moved on.
CW: There’s a lot of blood and depictions of self harm with razors. It felt more gratuitous than essential to the story.
Do not recommend.
I checked this out because I really enjoy Harrow County and this cover was gorgeous! Then I started reading. For one, I’m not a fan of mental asylum stories. I get what they were going for kind of like a “subversive,” existential, what does sanity even mean approach?? But it just was not well done and leaned more into the ableist trappings of using mental illness and asylums as scenery for horror without the heavy lifting of character development and original storytelling.
The art and layout was thrown on the page and made it difficult to follow along. I kind of got a headache squinting. It dragged on too long for a story that didn’t really make much sense and did not intrigue me to keep reading future issues. I kept reading because I was hoping to get closure and tbh I wish I’d stuck to my gut and moved on.
CW: There’s a lot of blood and depictions of self harm with razors. It felt more gratuitous than essential to the story.
Do not recommend.
ainiali's review
2.0
I dont know what to make of the story. It began with a new nurse went for her first day on the job at a sanitarium/psychiatric hospital. There she saw a lot weird stuff happening and confused herself. One thing positive that I could say about this graphic novel is the art matches with the atmosphere and vibe of the story, which was supposed to be horror.