Reviews

They: A Sequence of Unease by Kay Dick

bibliovolubile's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

irammy's review against another edition

slow-paced

2.5

A short book but it dragged in, I found it very hard to follow what was going on. An interesting premise though. 

jamontenn's review against another edition

challenging mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

This was an odd book. Perhaps I should have read it all in one sitting because I very time I came back to it I had no idea what was going on. But even when I sat down for a bit to read, I felt like I still had little idea of what was happening. I will have to read it again. I will say though, the “They” described in the book and the cruelty of some of the children was indeed perturbing. 

nory276's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No

3.5

darren0101's review

4.0

The re-issue of Kay Dick's They provides a unique reading experience. I felt it was written in a dream-like state whereby you could never pin down when each passage was taking place or as one reviewer wrote if you are even dealing with the same central character.
The 'They' of the book are gangs who roam the countryside and even cruel children who take pleasure torturing animals. Amongst this are the artists brutalised without much fight, to a point of resolution of this is how life is.
This is a book that will stay with the reader for a week or two and will want you to read again over the next few months just to find a hint of what has happened to get to this state and why.
Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to give an honest review

qofdnz's review against another edition

challenging slow-paced

3.0

sanito's review against another edition

2.5

Inscrutable and dull!

lilwinning's review against another edition

tense slow-paced

2.25

just... not for me. I didn't find it particularly "eerie" or "surprising" or "mysterious". I mostly just found it vague and unclear. I wasn't sure where (or when) we were supposed to be, or who we were really supposed to be paying attention to. I thought the characters lacked personality and distinction, which that made it hard for me to tell when one came or went, and in turn, hard to care. 

but damn, that lady is obsessed with her dog! 

philster666's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

lils333's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

i liked the descriptive imagery of nature and how that contrasted with like the dystopian reality of the world it’s set in, i think that was interesting and i guess maybe showed how normalised it was. very on edge in a weird way like the whole time. i liked how the main character is genderless and nameless as well, i thought that was a kind of cool aspect.