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charlieeee's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Homophobia, Sexism, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Alcohol
The first part was fabulous. Some really good examinations of people growing apart; philosophy of life (for male-socialised people anyway); it was tense and had some great metaphors and other strong writing. And then part two happened where I would have sworn I was reading a completely different book altogether! The metaphors were over the top, made no sense in the context of the scene and the characters were really stereotypical - and the less about ‘Surtr’ and the constant repetition about her breasts, body and ‘smell’ of her genitalia the better. Was so disappointed by part two. So so disappointed.bumblebeefarts's review against another edition
It just seems like the author really dislikes both fat people and women. Don’t even get him started on fat women.
On top of all that, it’s way longer than it needed to be. Broken up by some scary moments in the first half that made me hope it would be worth finishing. This hope was unfounded.
On top of all that, it’s way longer than it needed to be. Broken up by some scary moments in the first half that made me hope it would be worth finishing. This hope was unfounded.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Fatphobia, Misogyny, and Sexism
Minor: Alcoholism and Alcohol
archaicrobin's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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? Yes
5.0
Adam Nevill is one of my favorite horror authors and The Ritual is a perfect example why. Nevill has amazing characterizations, suspenseful storytelling, and a plot with so many layers it’s hard to put down!
Four college bros meet up again years later for a holiday weekend hiking in Sweden. The four all have unresolved tensions, which linger over the holiday, and worsen the trip. In hopes of ending it early, they decide to take an uncharted path through the forest. But what once seemed like a good idea quickly darkens as the four realize the forest is off in some way, and much bigger than anticipated. And there’s something following them …..
I love creature features, especially when the creature is based on regional lore. The Ritual has an excellent mix of survival horror and supernatural horror woven into myth and lore native to Norway and Sweden. The descriptions of the unknown creature that lurks in these woods alongside the slowly crumbling friendship of these men is truly horrifying.
Survival horror and Supernatural horror are my favorite genres, so to see the two combined so well was perfect.
If you enjoy dark fantasy, supernatural horror, or survival horror I would recommend The Ritual for its excellent storytelling.
Four college bros meet up again years later for a holiday weekend hiking in Sweden. The four all have unresolved tensions, which linger over the holiday, and worsen the trip. In hopes of ending it early, they decide to take an uncharted path through the forest. But what once seemed like a good idea quickly darkens as the four realize the forest is off in some way, and much bigger than anticipated. And there’s something following them …..
I love creature features, especially when the creature is based on regional lore. The Ritual has an excellent mix of survival horror and supernatural horror woven into myth and lore native to Norway and Sweden. The descriptions of the unknown creature that lurks in these woods alongside the slowly crumbling friendship of these men is truly horrifying.
Survival horror and Supernatural horror are my favorite genres, so to see the two combined so well was perfect.
If you enjoy dark fantasy, supernatural horror, or survival horror I would recommend The Ritual for its excellent storytelling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
stephanieluxton's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
If you haven't read Adam Nevill before, don't start with this book.
In fact, you can skip this book entirely if you want - or just read the first half, which was fantastic and then make up your own ending. I imagine that Adam Nevill himself must not have liked the ending because they totally changed it and other major story elements in the film adaptation (which was for the better).
A lot of people talk about how this book feels like 2 totally different books and it does.
The first half was the brilliance I'd expect from the author. Four university friends re-unite after many years to go on a hiking trip. Their lives have taken different trajectories since the good ol days. Dom and Phil are financially successful and have families of their own but work a lot and are out of shape. Luke is the polar opposite - he never really amounted to anything after school, lives alone, and works at a record store. Hutch is recently married, doing well, and is the glue that holds the group together. Dom and Phil are wildly unprepared for the trip and after Dom hurts his knee, Hutch suggests taking a shortcut through the woods to shave time off their hike. It was a horrible decision.
The first half of the book outlines the friends being lost in thick overgrown woods. The setting itself is unforgiving and terrifying but to make things worse, there's also some kind of malicious presence that seems to be stalking them and poses a physical and mental threat. The author does a great job at making you feel the characters physical exhaustion but on top of that, there's a heavy emotional layer to the group as they realize they have very little in common with the people they were closest to 15 years ago. Tensions build in every aspect and are beautifully written. The survival aspect felt really well done - I've been reading some exploration and survival non-fiction lately and this book felt pretty realistic.
Around the halfway point there were some scenes that I found genuinely scary and I regretted reading so late at night in a house surrounded by forest. Other people say the first half seems repetetive but I think drawing out the struggle works because you feel exhausted, confused, and scared alongside the characters.
Then you pass the halfway point and the story turns into basically a whole new story with almost entirely new characters. The tension, grit, and realism evaporates. I think the second half could have been interesting if it was a totally different story but we didn't need new antagonists. The forest, presence in the forest, and conflict amongst the friends was more effective. The second half is confusing, introduces characters and heightened violence that both feel cartoony and silly. The presence in the forest goes from being a huge threat to feeling like an accessory. The movie is actually way better, which is wild. Nevill also wrote a short story about a similar concept that is also more affective.
Its hard to critique completely without spoiling it so I will put the spoilers below.
Here's my favourite things. The first half of the book includes characters while struggling to survive harsh environment and low morale while slowly being stalked and getting picked off by essentially what I'd consider to be the spirit of the forest. There's also some freaky occult shit in a scary house and nightmares and such but I don't want to focus on that, although it's fun. Hutch is the first to die which is brilliant because he's the glue of the group and it tests the other party members as tensions had been incredibly high between Luke and the others (with Luke even beating Dom up at one point). We find out Dom and Phil are both facing issues at home with their marriages and businesses falling apart, adding a new layer to their characters. Luke, who is the least successful in life is forced to adapt a leadership role, despite earlier plans of wanting to leave the group and go ahead for help as he is in the best physical shape. It's very scary when they camp in a clearing. Dom is keeping watch, Phil is looking for fire wood, and Luke is climbing a tree to look for the way to the edge of the forest. Phil gets taken. Then theres a nice moment where Dom tells Luke to go ahead because he knows hes a burden and he wants Luke to survive. But Luke has a nice character arc and doesn't want to leave his friend. Dom is almost taken but Luke drives the creature away, unfortunately sustaining a head injury in the process. Dom tried his best to treat Lukes wound and keep watch so he can rest. They trudge out the next day, staying close together and reaching peak exhaustion. with no supplies left and knowing if they don't escape the forest today, it'll be the end. Luke only knows Dom is there by hearing/feeling his breathing. But turns out it wasn't Dom. Dom was taken and the creature is right behind him, pretending to be Dom. Scary. Brilliant. I loved it. Luke passes out from exhaustion and being concussed - giving up. Holy shit. After all that, how are we only half way through the book? What more could possibly happen? I have chills!
And if you stop reading there, you'll be happy.
Luke awakens in a grimey bed surrounded by 3 weirdos (teenagers?) in masks and a weird old lady who kind of nurse him back to health with food and water while also treating him like garbage. The 3 people are in a black metal band who no one listens to and they want to be evil and badass. They're all semi-sadistic idiots who Luke doesn't take seriously and neither do we, as the readers. They want the old lady to call the forest god so they can sacrifice Luke and be more badass and evil? The creature just kind of stays away for quite awhile in this section, which is silly because it was meticulously stalking and lurking the whole first half. Luke wants to escape and go to a hospital, but these people wont let him leave. In the first half of the book it was established that Luke has anger issues that can lead to him snapping easily and going into violent frenzies. In the first half he had a good character arc with Dom in which he overcame his anger and chose the path of cooperation/teamwork, and compassion. The climax of the second half of the book involves Luke realizing he needs to kill the band members in order to escape but he also kind of sucks at fighting in this section. I think it could have been more effective if Dom or Phil was still alive and Luke unleashed his anger to save his friend. That message of being capable of violence to protect loved ones could have been powerful. Instead, he kills some of the bandmembers and the creature kills one of them. Then he kills the old lady (who has goat legs?) who has goat legs and also some weird ancient creature in the attic that made no sense to me. Then he drives away in a truck as the creature pursues him and he shoots the creature and walks out of the forest. Wtf.
So Luke started the book feeling alone and essentially ends it being alone but also kind of grateful for what little he does have, even though he's not even safe yet?
What the heck.
Adam Nevill is still one of my favorite horror authors but this one was frustrating because the first half was a 4-5 star read and then it plummeted to a 1. Makes it super hard to rate.
In fact, you can skip this book entirely if you want - or just read the first half, which was fantastic and then make up your own ending. I imagine that Adam Nevill himself must not have liked the ending because they totally changed it and other major story elements in the film adaptation (which was for the better).
A lot of people talk about how this book feels like 2 totally different books and it does.
The first half was the brilliance I'd expect from the author. Four university friends re-unite after many years to go on a hiking trip. Their lives have taken different trajectories since the good ol days. Dom and Phil are financially successful and have families of their own but work a lot and are out of shape. Luke is the polar opposite - he never really amounted to anything after school, lives alone, and works at a record store. Hutch is recently married, doing well, and is the glue that holds the group together. Dom and Phil are wildly unprepared for the trip and after Dom hurts his knee, Hutch suggests taking a shortcut through the woods to shave time off their hike. It was a horrible decision.
The first half of the book outlines the friends being lost in thick overgrown woods. The setting itself is unforgiving and terrifying but to make things worse, there's also some kind of malicious presence that seems to be stalking them and poses a physical and mental threat. The author does a great job at making you feel the characters physical exhaustion but on top of that, there's a heavy emotional layer to the group as they realize they have very little in common with the people they were closest to 15 years ago. Tensions build in every aspect and are beautifully written. The survival aspect felt really well done - I've been reading some exploration and survival non-fiction lately and this book felt pretty realistic.
Around the halfway point there were some scenes that I found genuinely scary and I regretted reading so late at night in a house surrounded by forest. Other people say the first half seems repetetive but I think drawing out the struggle works because you feel exhausted, confused, and scared alongside the characters.
Then you pass the halfway point and the story turns into basically a whole new story with almost entirely new characters. The tension, grit, and realism evaporates. I think the second half could have been interesting if it was a totally different story but we didn't need new antagonists. The forest, presence in the forest, and conflict amongst the friends was more effective. The second half is confusing, introduces characters and heightened violence that both feel cartoony and silly. The presence in the forest goes from being a huge threat to feeling like an accessory. The movie is actually way better, which is wild. Nevill also wrote a short story about a similar concept that is also more affective.
Its hard to critique completely without spoiling it so I will put the spoilers below.
And if you stop reading there, you'll be happy.
Luke awakens in a grimey bed surrounded by 3 weirdos (teenagers?) in masks and a weird old lady who kind of nurse him back to health with food and water while also treating him like garbage. The 3 people are in a black metal band who no one listens to and they want to be evil and badass. They're all semi-sadistic idiots who Luke doesn't take seriously and neither do we, as the readers. They want the old lady to call the forest god so they can sacrifice Luke and be more badass and evil? The creature just kind of stays away for quite awhile in this section, which is silly because it was meticulously stalking and lurking the whole first half. Luke wants to escape and go to a hospital, but these people wont let him leave. In the first half of the book it was established that Luke has anger issues that can lead to him snapping easily and going into violent frenzies. In the first half he had a good character arc with Dom in which he overcame his anger and chose the path of cooperation/teamwork, and compassion. The climax of the second half of the book involves Luke realizing he needs to kill the band members in order to escape but he also kind of sucks at fighting in this section. I think it could have been more effective if Dom or Phil was still alive and Luke unleashed his anger to save his friend. That message of being capable of violence to protect loved ones could have been powerful. Instead, he kills some of the bandmembers and the creature kills one of them. Then he kills the old lady (who has goat legs?) who has goat legs and also some weird ancient creature in the attic that made no sense to me. Then he drives away in a truck as the creature pursues him and he shoots the creature and walks out of the forest. Wtf.
So Luke started the book feeling alone and essentially ends it being alone but also kind of grateful for what little he does have, even though he's not even safe yet?
What the heck.
Adam Nevill is still one of my favorite horror authors but this one was frustrating because the first half was a 4-5 star read and then it plummeted to a 1. Makes it super hard to rate.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, and Classism
This book is more atmospheric than gory. There is some violence in the second half but its not nauseating by any means. Some characters die and their dead bodies are described. The characters are stalked by a creature/presence in the woods. The woods is scary. I don't think this book is graphic enough to really need content warnings.giggles692's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fatphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, and Sexism
owenglasgow's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Sexism, and Violence
cantfindmybookmark's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
This is a book about 4 bros who get lost in the woods. The bros, especially the main bro, is fat phobic and hates women. The best way to survive this horror story? Embrace your primal self and toxic masculinity. . I’m so disappointed my book club picked this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Gore, and Excrement
Minor: Homophobia, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, and Murder
ggcd1981's review
adventurous
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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Eu tinha interesse em ler os livros de Adam Nevill havia um tempo e tendo a perspectiva de assistir à adaptação para filme de The Ritual resolvi ler o livro antes. Em geral achei a obra uma sólida história de terror, porém com alguns problemas. Em primeiro lugar os personagens, os quais eram mais numerosos do que a sinopse deu a entender. Inicialmente se tem os 4 “amigos da universidade”, Luke, Hutch, Phil e Dom que após não se verem por alguns anos resolvem ir juntos em uma viagem pela natureza escandinava no Círculo Ártico, onde acabam tomando um atalho por uma floresta ancestral com entidades antigas e sinistras. Isso dá início ao pesadelo do grupo. Desses 4 personagens iniciais apenas Luke, e talvez um pouco Dom, são mais aprofundados. Luke é o protagonista e gostei dele como personagem, porém alguns diálogos combinados com a narração de David Thorpe fizeram o personagem em alguns momentos parecer choramingar muito, tendo longos momentos de auto piedade. Apesar de gostar de Luke esses elementos desgastaram um pouco o personagem para mim. Os personagens introduzidos na segunda metade do livro, Loki, Fenris, Surtr, e a velha (acredito que nenhum nome foi dado a ela no texto) foram bons vilões secundários, porém foram mal utilizados em alguns momentos. Isso me leva a atmosfera, que foi bastante eficiente em grande parte da narrativa. A floresta antiga e sombria, a impressão de que havia sempre algo os seguindo e os observando. A ideia de que havia todo um povo que servia o que quer que seja que estava na floresta e que a velha era a última desse povo foi assustadora. Contudo, houveram momentos em que o autor quebrou a atmosfera desnecessariamente, deixando a segunda metade do livro mais lenta e menos aterrorizante. Nevill escreveu longos diálogos entre Luke e Loki, entre Luke e Fenris, e até mesmo longos monólogos mentais para Luke. Todos estes fizeram a narrativa perder ritmo e se arrastar quebrando o clima de terror, pois se Luke estava tendo longas conversas racionais com seus captores a situação se torna mais mundana e menos sinistra e assustadora. O terror da metade final do livro teria sido mais eficiente se os diálogos, e no caso de Luke monólogos, tivessem sido mais diretos, menos prolixos. A escrita em geral foi boa, a não ser pelos problemas já citados (diálogos e monólogos longos e desnecessários). O enredo teve reviravoltas inesperadas. Confesso que a mudança de cenário da segunda parte da obra me surpreendeu. Do início ao meio da narrativa foi quando a história fluiu melhor, porém as sequências finais foram interessantes. O final foi cheio de ação apesar da cena de encerramento deixar a história em aberto. A lógica interna a história foi um pouco turva, poucas explicações foram dadas sobre o que era a entidade que caçava na floresta. Menções foram feitas a figura do demônio existente nas Religiões Cristãs, também foi dado o nome de Odin a entidade (apesar que não sei quão fiel é este livro as religiões nórdicas). Durante grande parte do tempo tive a impressão de que a entidade seria algo antigo que não necessariamente tinha um nome e os personagens humanos tentaram encaixa-la em figuras de religiões convencionais. Além disso porque este ser poupou Luke na floresta? Teria sido apenas para que a velha, Loki e os outros, após ter encontrado e trazido Luke para a antiga casa, o entregassem em sacrifício? Burocrática essa entidade. The Ritual teve momentos sólidos de terror e alguns momentos tediosos de diálogos. No geral foi, em maior parte, eficiente como uma história de terror. Dou 3.75 estrelas.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Misogyny, and Sexism
kendrabetweenthelines's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Many reviews of this book mention that it seems like two separate novels, and I agree. The first half, during which the friends get lost in the woods, is ominous and atmospheric. For the first 150 pages, I was really excited to see how the gloomy and bleak atmosphere would develop into the ritualistic horror described in the synopsis. The second half gets into the ritualistic aspect, with a strong side of black metal and satanic panic. The second half of The Ritual was disappointing for me, mostly because the author seemed to throw away the tension and atmosphere developed in the first half. The spookiness of the faceless evil became chaotic and weird instead of scary.
My biggest problem with the book is how the author treated the women. There is a very clear contrast between how Nevill describes the male characters and how he describes the female characters. The story is told by a male character who seems unhappy with his own romantic life, but the descriptions of women went beyond character development. I was completely turned off by the rampant sexism and body shaming, particularly in the second half of this boo
My biggest problem with the book is how the author treated the women. There is a very clear contrast between how Nevill describes the male characters and how he describes the female characters. The story is told by a male character who seems unhappy with his own romantic life, but the descriptions of women went beyond character development. I was completely turned off by the rampant sexism and body shaming, particularly in the second half of this boo
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia and Sexism