adamsfall's review against another edition
2.0
Man, I’ve really struck out with Malfi so far. I’m just gonna list bullet points of my thoughts:
- main character is lame and a played out trope
- his brother has a disability and it’s handled questionably and is constantly described as fat or large in various degrading ways
- the female character is there to drive the “fulfill your destiny” plot
- the black character has a skin disease and it’s handled really poorly and the descriptions of it seem harmful
- the beginning is strong and the main bad guy seems promising
- the adult sections were a slog and nothing interesting happened
- the book is heavily derivative of IT and the Outsider but doesn’t do any of what it steals well. Honestly… it’s kinda like what he does with the second main bad guy…
SPOILERS
- they kill the main bad off screen halfway through the book and replace him with a different bad guy… but he does mostly the same things but not in a supernatural way? Seriously it’s like if Stephen King decided to kill Pennywise off screen and then have Henry Bowers take the spot as the main antagonist… but like… still wear a clown mask to fake you out… but poorly.
- the “real magic” part is really underdeveloped
- they kill the only likable character in the whole book
- seriously Ronald Malfi seems like he hates fat people
Final Thoughts:
I thought this was a book. It had pages. The prose was very well written, but the plot was a mess and didn’t seem like it did anything worthwhile. The book ended like one of those 80s sitcom drug awareness episodes.
“Hey friends, we all had fun here today. But seriously, drinking and drugs are bad. Don’t drink, smoke, or chew, or go with girls who do.”
- main character is lame and a played out trope
- his brother has a disability and it’s handled questionably and is constantly described as fat or large in various degrading ways
- the female character is there to drive the “fulfill your destiny” plot
- the black character has a skin disease and it’s handled really poorly and the descriptions of it seem harmful
- the beginning is strong and the main bad guy seems promising
- the adult sections were a slog and nothing interesting happened
- the book is heavily derivative of IT and the Outsider but doesn’t do any of what it steals well. Honestly… it’s kinda like what he does with the second main bad guy…
SPOILERS
- they kill the main bad off screen halfway through the book and replace him with a different bad guy… but he does mostly the same things but not in a supernatural way? Seriously it’s like if Stephen King decided to kill Pennywise off screen and then have Henry Bowers take the spot as the main antagonist… but like… still wear a clown mask to fake you out… but poorly.
- the “real magic” part is really underdeveloped
- they kill the only likable character in the whole book
- seriously Ronald Malfi seems like he hates fat people
Final Thoughts:
I thought this was a book. It had pages. The prose was very well written, but the plot was a mess and didn’t seem like it did anything worthwhile. The book ended like one of those 80s sitcom drug awareness episodes.
“Hey friends, we all had fun here today. But seriously, drinking and drugs are bad. Don’t drink, smoke, or chew, or go with girls who do.”
thauge's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
5.0
Definitely reminiscent of It.
spooky_librarian's review against another edition
4.0
3.5/5 stars rounded up to 4 stars for Goodreads!
jules_withaxe's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
pbanditp's review against another edition
5.0
Everyone likes a magic don’t they? A little deception, a little slight of hand? Well how far would you go to advance from trickery to actual magic?
In BLACK MOUTH, outcast friends Jamie, Mia, Clay and Jamie’s disabled younger Dennis befriend a guy living in the woods who is just known as the Magician.
Years later the friends reunite when there are signs that the Magician has returned, seemingly without aging. Reports of children murdering their friends may also be connected.
This coming of age story about people you can believe it. These kids don’t grow up to be the best in their fields. They grow up to be an alcoholic, a small time movie maker, and a social worker all brought together by the lovable Dennis.
Malfi nails this one. Extremely compelling and full of emotion
In BLACK MOUTH, outcast friends Jamie, Mia, Clay and Jamie’s disabled younger Dennis befriend a guy living in the woods who is just known as the Magician.
Years later the friends reunite when there are signs that the Magician has returned, seemingly without aging. Reports of children murdering their friends may also be connected.
This coming of age story about people you can believe it. These kids don’t grow up to be the best in their fields. They grow up to be an alcoholic, a small time movie maker, and a social worker all brought together by the lovable Dennis.
Malfi nails this one. Extremely compelling and full of emotion
kberry86's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
inkedwxtchreads's review against another edition
5.0
I’m not crying… you’re crying. For real though. A book hasn’t brought the tears out of me like this in such a long time. By far my favorite read of the year so far. (Sorry Hex, you were bested). This book just was beautiful in every single way.
Yes this was a work of cosmic horror. I loved it for that. The entire idea of the magician, and what he may have been, really really fascinated me. I loved that the author made you doubt that he was anything “other” than a man, Just to then reveal things that make you think “nah there’s something creepy going on there”. It does this all the way throughout the book, and even though it kinda lets you wonder, it also does in a lot of ways give you an answer as to what it wants you to believe happened at the end.
This book wasn’t horrifying, but it was a creeping sense of dread and horror. Both of the supernatural kind, and the kind that is a lot more human. Aside from the cosmic feel, there is another character in here that you meet about halfway through that has his own history with “the magician” and this character has turned out to be a horrifying person themselves. It was unexpected but I surprisingly enjoyed this storyline.
It’s also a very diverse book, and there is good representation in it, at least in my opinion. We have a character with vitiligo, lgbt+ rep, autism (I believe, if not something like it), and so on!
I know a lot of people compare this to IT by Stephen king, and while I don’t like comparing I will say, to me this story was just so much more my thing, while still somewhat having the same feel as the other book. I also loved the magician in this a bit more than penny wise. The way he worked was just more interesting to me. It’s also a coming of age story without all of the inappropriate bits, which I appreciate. It does also keep that carnival sort of feel to it which was cool. All in all, I just liked it a lot more, both literally and just in the general concepts of these stories.
But man what I loved most of it was the characters in general. Mia, Clay, Jamie, were all damaged but I could see things to like in all of them, and by the end I was rooting for them. I do think clay could have had more development but he still had enough to where that doesn’t ruin my enjoyment of the book. Mia annoyed me sometimes but at the same time I get her. And Jamie I liked pretty much the entire time, because he was real, and I related to alot of his thoughts and feelings (this is an unpopular opinion probably).
BUT THEN THERES DENNIS. Oh man this character just won my heart immediately and he was very intentionally the true star of this story. Like it’s impossible not to love him, and if you say you didn’t I might side eye you a bit. Oh man probably my favorite character of all time. He won and broke my heart so fast. He made me smile and sob, and feel pretty much every emotion.
The ending in general had me an emotional wreck. It was just so good. The cosmic parts were so entertaining and satisfying. But at it’s core, this story simply had heart, and lots of it.
TW/CW: alcoholism (the author put a helpline at the back of the book for substance abuse and I really love that), abuse, animal death (there is reasoning for it), suicide attempt mention, self harm, and possibly some things I’m forgetting. Just be careful.
Yes this was a work of cosmic horror. I loved it for that. The entire idea of the magician, and what he may have been, really really fascinated me. I loved that the author made you doubt that he was anything “other” than a man, Just to then reveal things that make you think “nah there’s something creepy going on there”. It does this all the way throughout the book, and even though it kinda lets you wonder, it also does in a lot of ways give you an answer as to what it wants you to believe happened at the end.
This book wasn’t horrifying, but it was a creeping sense of dread and horror. Both of the supernatural kind, and the kind that is a lot more human. Aside from the cosmic feel, there is another character in here that you meet about halfway through that has his own history with “the magician” and this character has turned out to be a horrifying person themselves. It was unexpected but I surprisingly enjoyed this storyline.
It’s also a very diverse book, and there is good representation in it, at least in my opinion. We have a character with vitiligo, lgbt+ rep, autism (I believe, if not something like it), and so on!
I know a lot of people compare this to IT by Stephen king, and while I don’t like comparing I will say, to me this story was just so much more my thing, while still somewhat having the same feel as the other book. I also loved the magician in this a bit more than penny wise. The way he worked was just more interesting to me. It’s also a coming of age story without all of the inappropriate bits, which I appreciate. It does also keep that carnival sort of feel to it which was cool. All in all, I just liked it a lot more, both literally and just in the general concepts of these stories.
But man what I loved most of it was the characters in general. Mia, Clay, Jamie, were all damaged but I could see things to like in all of them, and by the end I was rooting for them. I do think clay could have had more development but he still had enough to where that doesn’t ruin my enjoyment of the book. Mia annoyed me sometimes but at the same time I get her. And Jamie I liked pretty much the entire time, because he was real, and I related to alot of his thoughts and feelings (this is an unpopular opinion probably).
BUT THEN THERES DENNIS. Oh man this character just won my heart immediately and he was very intentionally the true star of this story. Like it’s impossible not to love him, and if you say you didn’t I might side eye you a bit. Oh man probably my favorite character of all time. He won and broke my heart so fast. He made me smile and sob, and feel pretty much every emotion.
The ending in general had me an emotional wreck. It was just so good. The cosmic parts were so entertaining and satisfying. But at it’s core, this story simply had heart, and lots of it.
TW/CW: alcoholism (the author put a helpline at the back of the book for substance abuse and I really love that), abuse, animal death (there is reasoning for it), suicide attempt mention, self harm, and possibly some things I’m forgetting. Just be careful.
bookswithshayydeniece's review against another edition
3.5
3.5 stars
What if What's Eating Gilbert Grape was a horror novel/movie and it merged with IT and Texas Chainsaw Massacre? You'd get this novel! Very dark and fun but not so much scary which is why I docked some stars.
What if What's Eating Gilbert Grape was a horror novel/movie and it merged with IT and Texas Chainsaw Massacre? You'd get this novel! Very dark and fun but not so much scary which is why I docked some stars.