bullintheheather's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-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
3.0
lilyn_g's review
3.0
The Isaac Spiders almost did it. It had all the right tones to be a truly creepy and yet somehow different story. The author definitely has some interesting ideas, some of which would be great translated into film! (The black-light stuff had me shuddering.) And if you’re even mildly arachnophobic, portions of this novella will indeed make your skin crawl. Spoiler-free, let’s just say that I described the plot to Gracie and she responded promptly with “Thank you for the nightmare fuel.”
However, The Isaac Spiders suffers from the short-story format that it’s told within. The ideas that Thomas Rose has need fleshed out considerably more than he is able to do in 97 pages. As it was, even though we got a good sense of the characters, we never had time to get attached to them. The deal with the spiders is done with before it really has a chance to get us solidly creeped out. And there was so much potential there that it was doubly disappointing.
Thomas Rose has talent and I would absolutely love to see The Isaac Spiders expanded to a full length novel. (At least an extra 60 pages or so, please!) I don’t know what I’d be too crazy about some of the portal portions of the text, but I need more scenes of terror involving these spiders. To be fair, the portal thing was pretty mind-screwy in it’s own right! The dialogue is great – very believable – and a couple of lines involving the wife had me laughing. The relationship between the arachnologist and his wife was lovely. And their dog was, of course, adorable.
Overall, while The Isaac Spiders didn’t do it for me as much as it had the potential to, it was still a good read. One of those times where the possibilities just make your toes tingle. Though I will say that the author is a very evil man for what happens to Sol. It’s enough to leave you a little sad inside.
However, The Isaac Spiders suffers from the short-story format that it’s told within. The ideas that Thomas Rose has need fleshed out considerably more than he is able to do in 97 pages. As it was, even though we got a good sense of the characters, we never had time to get attached to them. The deal with the spiders is done with before it really has a chance to get us solidly creeped out. And there was so much potential there that it was doubly disappointing.
Thomas Rose has talent and I would absolutely love to see The Isaac Spiders expanded to a full length novel. (At least an extra 60 pages or so, please!) I don’t know what I’d be too crazy about some of the portal portions of the text, but I need more scenes of terror involving these spiders. To be fair, the portal thing was pretty mind-screwy in it’s own right! The dialogue is great – very believable – and a couple of lines involving the wife had me laughing. The relationship between the arachnologist and his wife was lovely. And their dog was, of course, adorable.
Overall, while The Isaac Spiders didn’t do it for me as much as it had the potential to, it was still a good read. One of those times where the possibilities just make your toes tingle. Though I will say that the author is a very evil man for what happens to Sol. It’s enough to leave you a little sad inside.
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