saintghost's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Moderate: Vomit, Fatphobia, Murder, and Body shaming
Minor: Addiction, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Toxic friendship, Religious bigotry, and Homophobia
kyra_joy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Body shaming, Blood, Death, and Fatphobia
cantfindmybookmark's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Excrement, and Gore
Minor: Homophobia, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Murder, and Religious bigotry
elijah9715's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Homophobia and Fatphobia
asaintsheaint's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Fatphobia, Gore, Misogyny, and Violence
miranda_redmond's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Gore, Misogyny, and Blood
Moderate: Fatphobia, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Religious bigotry
ggcd1981's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Spoiler
Os personagens introduzidos na segunda metade do livro, Loki, Fenris, Surtr, e a velha (acredito que nenhum nome foi dado a ela no texto) foram bons vilões secundários, porém foram mal utilizados em alguns momentos. Isso me leva a atmosfera, que foi bastante eficiente em grande parte da narrativa. A floresta antiga e sombria, a impressão de que havia sempre algo os seguindo e os observando. A ideia de que havia todo um povo que servia o que quer que seja que estava na floresta e que a velha era a última desse povo foi assustadora. Contudo, houveram momentos em que o autor quebrou a atmosfera desnecessariamente, deixando a segunda metade do livro mais lenta e menos aterrorizante. Nevill escreveu longos diálogos entre Luke e Loki, entre Luke e Fenris, e até mesmo longos monólogos mentais para Luke. Todos estes fizeram a narrativa perder ritmo e se arrastar quebrando o clima de terror, pois se Luke estava tendo longas conversas racionais com seus captores a situação se torna mais mundana e menos sinistra e assustadora. O terror da metade final do livro teria sido mais eficiente se os diálogos, e no caso de Luke monólogos, tivessem sido mais diretos, menos prolixos. A escrita em geral foi boa, a não ser pelos problemas já citados (diálogos e monólogos longos e desnecessários). O enredo teve reviravoltas inesperadas. Confesso que a mudança de cenário da segunda parte da obra me surpreendeu. Do início ao meio da narrativa foi quando a história fluiu melhor, porém as sequências finais foram interessantes. O final foi cheio de ação apesar da cena de encerramento deixar a história em aberto. A lógica interna a história foi um pouco turva, poucas explicações foram dadas sobre o que era a entidade que caçava na floresta. Menções foram feitas a figura do demônio existente nas Religiões Cristãs, também foi dado o nome de Odin a entidade (apesar que não sei quão fiel é este livro as religiões nórdicas). Durante grande parte do tempo tive a impressão de que a entidade seria algo antigo que não necessariamente tinha um nome e os personagens humanos tentaram encaixa-la em figuras de religiões convencionais. Além disso porque este ser poupou Luke na floresta? Teria sido apenas para que a velha, Loki e os outros, após ter encontrado e trazido Luke para a antiga casa, o entregassem em sacrifício? Burocrática essa entidade.Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Blood, Body shaming, Confinement, Bullying, Death, Car accident, Kidnapping, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Stalking, Torture, Toxic friendship, Violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Misogyny, and Sexism
corruptednatz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Spoiler
oh my god the way the monster took Hutch and Don will stick with me forever. It shocked me. It was quick and easy 😭</spoilerGraphic: Cursing, Gore, Physical abuse, Murder, Blood, Fatphobia, Death, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, and Vomit
maggie_t's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
Having watched the movie before reading, I personally think the first half of the book holds up better than the script, but the movie handles the latter half more coherently. Doesn’t necessarily take away from its reading value, just changes how it reads. Instead of a story about something inherent within the character/s or the baggage they carry it becomes more so an arena of uncaring hostiles forcing the characters through the grinder.
The author’s snide disdain for anything feminine or fat stains his writing. It goes beyond one or two character’s personal world view as it permeates the entire book. The main character often remarks on how feminine, or femininely beautiful, other male characters are; sometimes as out of pocket observations, other times with a sneering judgment that’s hard to miss. The fat characters are determined by the story as sweaty, wheezing losers, unpleasant companions that unjustly lash out against the main character due to bitterness of his “freedom”. The wives of the fat guys are then framed almost as ‘befitting’ partners to their unpleasantness: a depressed mother of a sickly child and an unstable gold-digger. And the fat girl doesn’t crop up without the author reminding you how her body looks, which he justifies as relevant because the girl is usually naked.
To his credits, he writes paranoia and that gut-drop sensation of realizing something is hiding in plain sight very well. Chapters with the monster are compelling and tense, with memorable moments of you catching up to the character as he realizes he’s not as alone as he seems. The conflict near the end (before the climax confrontation) is pretty satisfying to read, unlike other books that put the characters through hell with no vindication.
Overall I would have rated this higher had the author not imparted so much misogyny and fatphobia into this, but it was an easy fast read with some high points.
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Animal death, and Gore
Moderate: Misogyny, Body shaming, and Fatphobia
Minor: Addiction, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Homophobia
samankins's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Misogyny