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cabrera_bre's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Blood, Vomit, Car accident, and Murder
nicekweenreads's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.5
I'm not sure if this is the writer's or translators fault, but the writing was difficult to get through. From typos, to multiple plage long paragraphs, to randomly switching characters mid-paragraph, the story was a mess to follow. This doesn't include how the book randomly breaks the 4th wall by talking ti the reader directly, assigning large complex vocabulary to 6 year Olds only to have them crying for their moms moments later, or immediately ruins any suspense by letting you know there is no hope.
I adore horror books but this book felt like a fantasy of violence rather than an actual story.The last 10 pages or so detail the death of the 'villian' in grotesque vision that I was gagging. The villain, who murdered others, was also a 6 year old abuse victim. It felt odd to spend so long in such a short book detailing this death..
All in all, this is a bad knock-off of Battle Royale with 6 year Olds.
I adore horror books but this book felt like a fantasy of violence rather than an actual story.
All in all, this is a bad knock-off of Battle Royale with 6 year Olds.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Gore
Moderate: Child abuse
gknott's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism, Sexual assault, and Alcohol
mikeroderique's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Murder, and Abandonment
yourfavavery's review against another edition
dark
fast-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
3.5
So I wanted to read this because I heard it billed as Lord of the Flies but with six-year-olds. That's sort of what it is, but instead of factions with some bullies and some victims, it mostly has one psychopathic kid and a series of deadly misfortunes that can happen to scared kids when they're alone in the woods.
It has a moral of life being messy, not having a "happy ending" or a "moral" or "theme", that sometimes bad things just happen and there isn't always hope to be gleaned from a terrible situation.
Overall, it's a good novella - I breezed through it in one night - but don't look here for any warm and fuzzies.
It has a moral of life being messy, not having a "happy ending" or a "moral" or "theme", that sometimes bad things just happen and there isn't always hope to be gleaned from a terrible situation.
Overall, it's a good novella - I breezed through it in one night - but don't look here for any warm and fuzzies.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Car accident, and Murder
dosxhime's review
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
When people said that The Laws of the Skies are brutal, believe them.
This comes to a close second in terms of darkest books I ever read. First is of course, Hogg. If you're not a fan of children getting un@lived, I would highly recommend to skip this.
3.5 / 5 C-
This comes to a close second in terms of darkest books I ever read. First is of course, Hogg. If you're not a fan of children getting un@lived, I would highly recommend to skip this.
3.5 / 5 C-
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Stalking
winsomefish's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Torture, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Excrement, and Injury/Injury detail
splatteredbastard's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
CWs: gore, violence (especially against children), death, abuse, alcohol, graphic descriptions. (This may not be an all-encompassing list, so please research TWs for yourself as well.)
I had pretty high expectations for this book and I think that may be why I felt so disappointed. It kind of reminds me of what I remember of Lord of the Flies (a book I had to read in middle school and didn’t like at the time—I haven’t given it another chance as an adult, though I probably should), but everyone is dead by the end. You know this from the beginning, just reading the description of the book.
I personally did not like the writing style. It was very wordy and confusing, but I will admit that it added to the chaotic effect, which actually makes it better. You are switching between different perspectives, at times rapidly, so it may take a bit of backreading to realize that you have switched from one group to another. I also really did not like the breaking of the fourth wall and using second person POV, as that’s just something I despise, but others have found that section to feel more personal and gruesome, so again, it’s totally personal preference. Part of me found it difficult to believe that these were a group of 6 year olds based on the thought processes and actions detailed, but I tried to consider that anything is possible when you’re out in the woods with a young boy who was abused and traumatized. It definitely seems like the children were written as too mature, especially as someone who has worked with Kindergarteners.
The actual story itself was interesting, but I did take off for the writing style (just as a personal preference, others have loved the book) and the repetition (there are really only so many ways that a 6 year old can murder other 6 year olds and adults). Overall, I would definitely recommend the book, I just had some things I personally didn’t like about it. I think with how hyped it was on Booktok as well, I had higher expectations that just weren’t met, so that’s also something to consider. The ending sequence was excellent and had such detailed gore, which eventually led to the most bleak ending to the story.
Video review on Tiktok, also spoiler free: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR3WTAY3/
CWs: gore, violence (especially against children), death, abuse, alcohol, graphic descriptions. (This may not be an all-encompassing list, so please research TWs for yourself as well.)
I had pretty high expectations for this book and I think that may be why I felt so disappointed. It kind of reminds me of what I remember of Lord of the Flies (a book I had to read in middle school and didn’t like at the time—I haven’t given it another chance as an adult, though I probably should), but everyone is dead by the end. You know this from the beginning, just reading the description of the book.
I personally did not like the writing style. It was very wordy and confusing, but I will admit that it added to the chaotic effect, which actually makes it better. You are switching between different perspectives, at times rapidly, so it may take a bit of backreading to realize that you have switched from one group to another. I also really did not like the breaking of the fourth wall and using second person POV, as that’s just something I despise, but others have found that section to feel more personal and gruesome, so again, it’s totally personal preference. Part of me found it difficult to believe that these were a group of 6 year olds based on the thought processes and actions detailed, but I tried to consider that anything is possible when you’re out in the woods with a young boy who was abused and traumatized. It definitely seems like the children were written as too mature, especially as someone who has worked with Kindergarteners.
The actual story itself was interesting, but I did take off for the writing style (just as a personal preference, others have loved the book) and the repetition (there are really only so many ways that a 6 year old can murder other 6 year olds and adults). Overall, I would definitely recommend the book, I just had some things I personally didn’t like about it. I think with how hyped it was on Booktok as well, I had higher expectations that just weren’t met, so that’s also something to consider. The ending sequence was excellent and had such detailed gore, which eventually led to the most bleak ending to the story.
Video review on Tiktok, also spoiler free: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR3WTAY3/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
enchantressreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Excrement, Vomit, and Car accident
Minor: Animal cruelty and Child abuse
ismerene's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
Though clocking in at a short 147 pages, The Laws of the Skies manage to pack punch after punch after punch - literally AND figuratively, to the point where it becomes almost darkly comical. There is no feel good story here, no satisfying conclusion or moral to be learned. It's death, child death, and little more.
Saw this reviewed on TikTok, and thought I'd give it a whirl despite the low rating and the obvious subject matter. It doesn't hold back letting you know exactly what type of story it is, and the tension is created knowing the deaths that will occur, leaving you to only guess how they will come about.
Unfortunately, that tension was punctured like a balloon with each subsequent incident, as it started to come off like The Gashlycrumb Tinies. I'm not sure if this was on purpose, or if it was because there was little to no story to carry them - the tragedies were the story - but it became darkly comedic in a not-funny-ironic sort of way. Even though I don't hate this book, it doesn't add anything to it's genre or really anything, in my opinion. The ending was less than a page long.
The other issue that heavily contributed to it's rating was the style of writing. At certain points, it was well-done, but would occasionally devolve into paragraph long spindles of thought that splintered until my eyes glazed over and I lost whatever point the author attempted to make. No 7 year old has thought spirals like that, and it only served to add to the heightened absurdity of the entire novella.
If you're morbidly curious - feel free to pick this up. But understand it's focus is only on the tragedies, and little else. I regret reading only because it doesn't really serve any purpose except to be depressing.
Saw this reviewed on TikTok, and thought I'd give it a whirl despite the low rating and the obvious subject matter. It doesn't hold back letting you know exactly what type of story it is, and the tension is created knowing the deaths that will occur, leaving you to only guess how they will come about.
Unfortunately, that tension was punctured like a balloon with each subsequent incident, as it started to come off like The Gashlycrumb Tinies. I'm not sure if this was on purpose, or if it was because there was little to no story to carry them - the tragedies were the story - but it became darkly comedic in a not-funny-ironic sort of way. Even though I don't hate this book, it doesn't add anything to it's genre or really anything, in my opinion. The ending was less than a page long.
The other issue that heavily contributed to it's rating was the style of writing. At certain points, it was well-done, but would occasionally devolve into paragraph long spindles of thought that splintered until my eyes glazed over and I lost whatever point the author attempted to make. No 7 year old has thought spirals like that, and it only served to add to the heightened absurdity of the entire novella.
If you're morbidly curious - feel free to pick this up. But understand it's focus is only on the tragedies, and little else. I regret reading only because it doesn't really serve any purpose except to be depressing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Violence, and Murder