emmreadsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
This is ultimately a book about vengeance and deceit. However I feel a bit deceived by this book, as near to none of it took place in Night Vale itself. I loved hearing about the history of The Faceless Old Woman who Secretly Lives in Your Home and the swashbuckling adventure that ensued, however it all felt too normal compared to the zany things that go down in Night Vale. I missed the interludes of podcasts by Cecil and would've liked to see a bit more of Craig and Amarinta. That being said, I can't fault the writing or plot in the least and it did end in a typical Night Vale manner.
serotiny11's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
chicafrom3's review
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The backstory of Night Vale's faceless old woman who secretly lives in your house, from childhood to life as a criminal to old age to death(?) to Night Vale. Interesting ideas but sadly, the pacing is off, the character voices are inconsistent, and the big twists don't land.
poppettun's review against another edition
5.0
I've been a Nightvale fan for years and read both of the other books before this one. As a piece of the Nightvale story it is huge for the worldbuilding of the small desert community. But I enjoyed it more as a standalone book than as a piece of Nightvale history.
The tale of the faceless old women is filled with murder, revenge, love, and confusion. It has pirates on the high seas, the beautiful landscape of the Spanish coast, and works with the long story of betrayal.
The tale of the faceless old women is filled with murder, revenge, love, and confusion. It has pirates on the high seas, the beautiful landscape of the Spanish coast, and works with the long story of betrayal.
eunhyeeeee's review against another edition
4.0
Here is what a book is like.
The parchment, the ink, the cover, the dust collected from years of sitting on shelves and being placed in human hands where skin flakes will crumble and come to rest between the pages.
Each letter alone doesn’t equate to much, but taken together in words, and words put together in sentences, the letters can spell terrible and brilliant things.
Hours of your life will be spent just staring at symbols printed on a page in a carefully designed order.
The edges of the papers will cut your fingers and the hard cover could potentially be used as a bruising weapon.
The story inside will break your heart and the characters will become a part of you forever, living eternally in your mind in their own pocket universe.
And you will never think the same way ever again.
This is what a book is like.
The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives In Your Home is probably the one of the best origin stories I’ve ever read, with an amazing protagonist who grows so much and goes through every single change a character can go through. She’s such a great character in WTNV, I love every moment she appears on the show.
I loved how she never really got a name, yet that didn’t hinder the story at all. I loved all the different characters and individual facets of the story. Pretty much a perfect plot, my only critique being the pacing for some scenes was a little quick. Some really integral parts of the plot went by so quickly that by the time they were done I realized I had to reread since they were pretty important twists.
But I love this book and it’s definitely a great WTNV companion story. Anyone who loves the podcast and its dark and clever writing will love this book, despite most of it not taking place in Night Vale.
I also think anyone who hasn’t ever listened to WTNV (and should start listening to it right now!!) who likes dark and twisting stories will like this book, as you don’t need to know WTNV to understand the story. But there are allusions to the podcast and its characters in here, so you might miss little inside jokes.
4.5 stars, only because the pacing just was off at times, and a few tiny phrases I noticed were kinda repetitive.
The parchment, the ink, the cover, the dust collected from years of sitting on shelves and being placed in human hands where skin flakes will crumble and come to rest between the pages.
Each letter alone doesn’t equate to much, but taken together in words, and words put together in sentences, the letters can spell terrible and brilliant things.
Hours of your life will be spent just staring at symbols printed on a page in a carefully designed order.
The edges of the papers will cut your fingers and the hard cover could potentially be used as a bruising weapon.
The story inside will break your heart and the characters will become a part of you forever, living eternally in your mind in their own pocket universe.
And you will never think the same way ever again.
This is what a book is like.
The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives In Your Home is probably the one of the best origin stories I’ve ever read, with an amazing protagonist who grows so much and goes through every single change a character can go through. She’s such a great character in WTNV, I love every moment she appears on the show.
I loved how she never really got a name, yet that didn’t hinder the story at all. I loved all the different characters and individual facets of the story. Pretty much a perfect plot, my only critique being the pacing for some scenes was a little quick. Some really integral parts of the plot went by so quickly that by the time they were done I realized I had to reread since they were pretty important twists.
But I love this book and it’s definitely a great WTNV companion story. Anyone who loves the podcast and its dark and clever writing will love this book, despite most of it not taking place in Night Vale.
I also think anyone who hasn’t ever listened to WTNV (and should start listening to it right now!!) who likes dark and twisting stories will like this book, as you don’t need to know WTNV to understand the story. But there are allusions to the podcast and its characters in here, so you might miss little inside jokes.
4.5 stars, only because the pacing just was off at times, and a few tiny phrases I noticed were kinda repetitive.
kiayaa's review
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? Yes
5.0
mrgrooves's review against another edition
1.0
I enjoy WtNV. However, I legitimately have a hard time finding good things to write about this book. The characters were not dynamic, the plot was mostly predictable for the second half, and the big reveal was telegraphed from a long ways off. It was just a very frustrating read. I finished it and I probably shouldn’t have but I kept hoping there would be some redeeming element. The humor also didn’t land with me. Just a big disappointment for me.
poisonous_trash_panda's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
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
4.25
this is probably my favourite of the welcome to night vale books. i love the insight into the faceless old woman's backstory and i got really excited when i found out andre was aromantic just because i have so little representation it always makes me scream with joy when i'm not expecting it.
gwimo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0