bunnieslikediamonds's review against another edition
4.0
A little to groovy for me with all the hippies tripping and having visions and slipping to an alternate reality, but still a good read. Weird and wonderful the way Waking the Moon was, but not quite as elaborate. I can't imagine Elizabeth Hand writing anything that isn't somehow interesting and entertaining.
jenipie's review against another edition
dark
slow-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? It's complicated
2.0
heritrix's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Addiction, Drug use, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Animal death and Death
litwrite's review against another edition
3.0
Started out so promising - a secret cult, an underground director a la Andy Warhol and the factory - a massive party with a sinister purpose that could bring about an end to the world as we know it - and yet this didn't really pop as much as fizzle like a bad batch of microwave popcorn for me.
The last two thirds of the book just meandered annoyingly around a protagonist that was neither interesting nor engaging and I felt that the overarching storyline of Gods and Demons got a bit too 'otherworldly' and lost a lot of its appeal. The beginning of the novel promised a kind of grimy, gods amongst mortals doing dirty things storyline, but it just took way too long to get to the climax and once we were there - I felt like as a reader I was just carried along and got lost somewhere in the ether.
I didn't realize that when I picked this up it was written as a prequel to another novel that, judging from the reviews, is better than this one. I'll check that one out and hope for something that better lives up to its promise.
The last two thirds of the book just meandered annoyingly around a protagonist that was neither interesting nor engaging and I felt that the overarching storyline of Gods and Demons got a bit too 'otherworldly' and lost a lot of its appeal. The beginning of the novel promised a kind of grimy, gods amongst mortals doing dirty things storyline, but it just took way too long to get to the climax and once we were there - I felt like as a reader I was just carried along and got lost somewhere in the ether.
I didn't realize that when I picked this up it was written as a prequel to another novel that, judging from the reviews, is better than this one. I'll check that one out and hope for something that better lives up to its promise.
kimu's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this book, but really felt like the ending was incredibly abrupt. At the same time, I didn't feel a huge sense of closure or answers or anything of significance in the ending. It just sort of... ended. I'm glad I read it and I'll read other Hand books, but perhaps wouldn't recommend it as my first choice of her work.
n0rmann's review against another edition
3.0
I really liked the idea of this story and I love the pacing - it's a slow build, but a good slow build. The two main issues I have with it is I didn't like any of the characters. I didn't care what happened to them. The second was a lot of the chapters were ridiculously long - I know that's a personal thing, but it was hard to find points just to put the book down for a few minutes or until the next day.
arekasadara's review against another edition
3.0
Elizabeth Hand writes SFF with folkloric/mystical elements and beautiful prose. This is extremely my jam and I've really enjoyed some of her previous work. HOWEVER, Black Light fell short for me, and I'm not sure why. All the elements I love are still there - Hand's prose is lush yet tense, and Teenage Me would have *loved* all the folklore references - but the second half of the book seemed to take *forever* and I had to force myself to get through it.
Still, I definitely recommended if you like beautifully-written, creepy SFF with folklore references and weird magic. Maybe this will hold up better upon a reread?
Still, I definitely recommended if you like beautifully-written, creepy SFF with folklore references and weird magic. Maybe this will hold up better upon a reread?
dreamofbookspines's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
5.0
Creepy and a slow burn, I find something new almost every time I read it.
Estimated first read between 1997 and 2000, and re-read many times since.
Estimated first read between 1997 and 2000, and re-read many times since.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Adult/minor relationship
bookaneer's review against another edition
1.0
1.5 stars since I don't passionately hate this book but more like disappointed. The book's first chapter was successful in setting the eerie tone of a small village in upstate New York full with beautiful/rich/decadent people in the yore era (late 60s? 70s?). Later, it became a weird acid trip with a dull protagonist (who started out fine, really) who was groped a lot by older dudes, spent most (all?) of her time in a dazed state, and got embroiled in some cultish hullabaloo that confused me until the end. I was ready to give this two stars if the ending was good, but my hope got dashed.
Was it atmospheric? Yes. But then 1/3 of the way the story got so jumbled and I stopped caring about the all characters and wanted everything to end. Some myths and traditions were inserted - like the 16th century Benandanti society - but it's like looking at a bad patchwork where the colors and patterns don't align. I enjoyed [b:Wylding Hall|25010941|Wylding Hall|Elizabeth Hand|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1424799284l/25010941._SY75_.jpg|44682447] much more than this.
Was it atmospheric? Yes. But then 1/3 of the way the story got so jumbled and I stopped caring about the all characters and wanted everything to end. Some myths and traditions were inserted - like the 16th century Benandanti society - but it's like looking at a bad patchwork where the colors and patterns don't align. I enjoyed [b:Wylding Hall|25010941|Wylding Hall|Elizabeth Hand|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1424799284l/25010941._SY75_.jpg|44682447] much more than this.
invisibleninjacat's review against another edition
4.0
Deeply weird and unsettling, and very deeply bound to the drugged Seventies. I really liked Lit's choice at the end.