Reviews with content warning for Gore - Pines

I've seen the TV version of this a couple of times through and thought it was finally time to read the books. It's such a thrilling weird sci-fi story and the payoff at the end of this first one is SO GOOD. You just don't see it coming and it gives you that same Planet of the Apes / Twin Peaks unsettling-oh-shit vibe. Drags uh some parts like the show but really really fun.

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bbducki's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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kelanor's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.5

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midwichtriffid's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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ladawson's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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eat_sleep_read's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

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rachelunabridged's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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lilifane's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book is basically a Black Mirror episode. Or a combination of several Black Mirror episodes.
It's super fast paced, action packed, mysterious, scary, reads like a video game most of the time.
I liked the premise, I liked the protagonist, I liked the mystery a lot! The way you don't know what is going on most of the time, was really cool. I absolutely loved the ending. And although I know it's a series, it can totally be read as a standalone. I think I even prefer it that way and don't think I will read the other books anytime soon.
Two things that bothered me: I didn't care for the war flashbacks. I understand why they are there but I really didn't like them. And more importantly (and also the reason this isn't a 5 star for me), it was too violent. I was okay with most of the violent scenes because I get their purpose but the bonfire scene was just too much for me. It was really brutal, wish I could unread it tbh.

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