kermit_the_wrong's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Gore, Murder, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, and Death
Moderate: Medical content
silverdragon71's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
midnight_runner's review
I wanted to like this book, I really did. It reads like a first book. The dialogue between the siblings comes across as forced most of the time. Also did not the use of epilepsy/seizures to move the plot forward as someone who has epilepsy. It surprised me, in a gut punching sort of way.
meatyurologist's review
2.0
I read this book because I saw the words "cosmic horror", and figured it was for me. Turns out this book is light on the cosmic horror, and heavy on the PUNCHING!
These characters don't really have much personality, other than the fact that they all like to FIGHT, and they're really good at it, and take any opportunity to PUNCH people. I thought our main guy Jonah might have some depth to him, as when we first meet him, he's gotten divorced and is just moving out of the home he shared with his wife. Travelling with his sister to head back home to Albuquerque, she hints that there's secrets within Jonah that he never revealed to his wife. And what are these secrets? Oh, that he likes to FIGHT and PUNCH PEOPLE and he's really good at it! So no real character development of any real depth there.
I read this book hoping for a smart horror novel, but what I got was an action movie with demons in it. That worked for some people, I see, but it didn't work for me. I did appreciate that at the end of the book Nell is wearing a Vile Creature shirt, as they're a great band and deserved the shout out. Incidentally, I also live in Albuquerque, and have been planning on picking up a Vile Creature shirt, but I don't like to fight and I've never called any of my fellow Burqueños "townies."
These characters don't really have much personality, other than the fact that they all like to FIGHT, and they're really good at it, and take any opportunity to PUNCH people. I thought our main guy Jonah might have some depth to him, as when we first meet him, he's gotten divorced and is just moving out of the home he shared with his wife. Travelling with his sister to head back home to Albuquerque, she hints that there's secrets within Jonah that he never revealed to his wife. And what are these secrets? Oh, that he likes to FIGHT and PUNCH PEOPLE and he's really good at it! So no real character development of any real depth there.
I read this book hoping for a smart horror novel, but what I got was an action movie with demons in it. That worked for some people, I see, but it didn't work for me. I did appreciate that at the end of the book Nell is wearing a Vile Creature shirt, as they're a great band and deserved the shout out. Incidentally, I also live in Albuquerque, and have been planning on picking up a Vile Creature shirt, but I don't like to fight and I've never called any of my fellow Burqueños "townies."
mhuntone's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
orallech's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Reading this book was like eating chips that had gone a little stale. Underwhelming experience but it was fine.
teacherceja's review
1.0
I’m still trying to understand why their calling was to be bar fighters? There has never been a more ridiculous motive for anything in a book ever than this.
I was fully intrigued by the concept of whatever was haunting them, however that never developed and by author choice was supposed to remain a mystery to highlight this silly story about siblings and their calling to start fights at crappy bars.
Awful. Awful. Awful.
I was fully intrigued by the concept of whatever was haunting them, however that never developed and by author choice was supposed to remain a mystery to highlight this silly story about siblings and their calling to start fights at crappy bars.
Awful. Awful. Awful.
jules_withaxe's review
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Gore
gentlemanjeff's review
4.0
Matthew Lyons' second novel blazes across its pages in an inferno of compelling plot and characters. Borrowing elements from some of the most well known horror stories, A Black and Endless Sky manages to establish a distinctive mythology in a comparatively short work. For fans of masters like Blatty and King, this book is an impressive evolution, but fans of modern horror, like Malerman's Black Mad Wheel, will find this book just as essential an addition to the canon.
Told from multiple perspectives, the story revolves around a brother and sister. Nell and Jonah Talbot are on a long road trip back to their childhood home in Albuquerque. They are attempting to repair their fractured camaraderie while dealing with the fallout of Jonah's failed marriage, when a return to old habits leaves both of them in dire circumstances. Not long after this tragic mistake, the two of them are confronted with an ancient power, one that is only too eager for an opportunity such as the one presented by the pair of siblings.
Lyons' prose is crisp, polished and deliberate without compromising the informality and attitude of the story's tone. Characters are even more well developed than in his first, equally haunting novel, The Night Will Find Us, and the mythology is several levels above this previous effort. Not all the loose ends are necessarily tied up in this one, but you couldn't ask for a more satisfying, balanced supernatural thriller. The edgy attitude cultivated by Lyons' characters has been written better, but only by greats like Elizabeth Hand and Kathe Koja. Equal parts shocking and entrancing, A Black and Endless Sky should be a staple for modern horror readers in years to come, hopefully along with more from this rapidly developing author.
A big thank you to Ingram Publishing Services and Edelweiss for the ARC.
Told from multiple perspectives, the story revolves around a brother and sister. Nell and Jonah Talbot are on a long road trip back to their childhood home in Albuquerque. They are attempting to repair their fractured camaraderie while dealing with the fallout of Jonah's failed marriage, when a return to old habits leaves both of them in dire circumstances. Not long after this tragic mistake, the two of them are confronted with an ancient power, one that is only too eager for an opportunity such as the one presented by the pair of siblings.
Lyons' prose is crisp, polished and deliberate without compromising the informality and attitude of the story's tone. Characters are even more well developed than in his first, equally haunting novel, The Night Will Find Us, and the mythology is several levels above this previous effort. Not all the loose ends are necessarily tied up in this one, but you couldn't ask for a more satisfying, balanced supernatural thriller. The edgy attitude cultivated by Lyons' characters has been written better, but only by greats like Elizabeth Hand and Kathe Koja. Equal parts shocking and entrancing, A Black and Endless Sky should be a staple for modern horror readers in years to come, hopefully along with more from this rapidly developing author.
A big thank you to Ingram Publishing Services and Edelweiss for the ARC.