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mlkshks's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug abuse and Drug use
jdavis104's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
maismatu's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.75
slug_reads's review
3.0
This book was alright. I got it for like 5 dollars from BAM and I love ghost stories so i figured id pick it up. It wasn’t anything like amazing but definitely not a bad book. I think I wouldn’t mind giving it 4 stars if the ending was a little better. The “scariness” wasn’t too bad, some good descriptions for sure. Felt perhaps a little amateurish but it was originally a reddit story so thats to be expected. So id say I rate this book right in the middle. From 1-5 its a 3. From 1-10 its a 5. Not too bad or too good.
kelly_22's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
adrienne_l's review
3.0
As many other reviewers have noted, Old Country is a good story doomed by poor storytelling. The set-up, the setting in the foothills of the Tetons, and the manifestations of the spirit that haunt the characters are all interesting and, in the case of the manifestations, chilling. However, the writing for most of the book is pretty awful and weirdly casual. For example, a character will "take a shower and shit" or "crush some coffee and breakfast." This jarring, slangy, juvenile way of describing a character's actions in the narrative would catapult me right out of the story and was in no way endearing or informative, if that's what it was meant to be.
As far as any other character development, it's pretty much non-existent. There's no nuance or depth to Harry and Sasha. Harry is flat-out an annoying jackass and just (as another character gratifyingly tells him) stupid. The clearest thing I learned about Sasha is that she has terrible judgement when it comes to her choice in a life partner. Unlikeable characters are not inherently a problem for me. I read Deep Water by Patricia Highsmith right before picking up Old Country and found the awful couple in that novel fascinating. But Harry and Sasha are one dimensional and boring.
The writing does get noticeably better in the last hundred pages or so. It's too bad that whoever wrote the final section didn't go back and revise the entire book. My three star rating is for the story idea (the bear chase is pretty freaking awesome) and those last hundred pages, but this book left me really disappointed.
As far as any other character development, it's pretty much non-existent. There's no nuance or depth to Harry and Sasha. Harry is flat-out an annoying jackass and just (as another character gratifyingly tells him) stupid. The clearest thing I learned about Sasha is that she has terrible judgement when it comes to her choice in a life partner. Unlikeable characters are not inherently a problem for me. I read Deep Water by Patricia Highsmith right before picking up Old Country and found the awful couple in that novel fascinating. But Harry and Sasha are one dimensional and boring.
The writing does get noticeably better in the last hundred pages or so. It's too bad that whoever wrote the final section didn't go back and revise the entire book. My three star rating is for the story idea (the bear chase is pretty freaking awesome) and those last hundred pages, but this book left me really disappointed.
morc35's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.25
unicornheart_books's review against another edition
3.0
"All our lives, every hour, are subject to the whim and caprice of this spirit; we all share that, and in the end, it takes us all."
This book was a decent read but didn’t quite hit the mark in delivering the scares I was hoping for. What really stood out, though, were the characters and the connections between them. I felt surprisingly attached to Dash, Sasha, and Lucy, and loved the mother-daughter-type relationship that blossomed between Sasha and Lucy, as well as the camaraderie between Harry and Dan. And, of course, Dash the dog was a standout with his loyalty and protectiveness that warmed my heart.
Unfortunately, the book fell flat in terms of scares. Most of the spooky events followed the same formula, happening in a repetitive way that made them lose their edge. While the autumn scenes with the scarecrows did manage to creep me out—especially the final one—other than that, I just didn’t feel the tension I was expecting.
I also thought there were some loose ends in the plot that felt too vague or didn’t quite add up, which left me with questions that weren’t fully addressed.
Overall, this story has a great atmosphere and well-developed characters, but beyond that, it didn’t leave a lasting impression for me. It was a nice read, but not as memorable as I’d hoped.
This book was a decent read but didn’t quite hit the mark in delivering the scares I was hoping for. What really stood out, though, were the characters and the connections between them. I felt surprisingly attached to Dash, Sasha, and Lucy, and loved the mother-daughter-type relationship that blossomed between Sasha and Lucy, as well as the camaraderie between Harry and Dan. And, of course, Dash the dog was a standout with his loyalty and protectiveness that warmed my heart.
Unfortunately, the book fell flat in terms of scares. Most of the spooky events followed the same formula, happening in a repetitive way that made them lose their edge. While the autumn scenes with the scarecrows did manage to creep me out—especially the final one—other than that, I just didn’t feel the tension I was expecting.
I also thought there were some loose ends in the plot that felt too vague or didn’t quite add up, which left me with questions that weren’t fully addressed.
Overall, this story has a great atmosphere and well-developed characters, but beyond that, it didn’t leave a lasting impression for me. It was a nice read, but not as memorable as I’d hoped.