johnlynchbooks's review against another edition
5.0
With A Place for Sinners, Aaron Dries has crafted an exceptionally well written novel that defies being placed into a horror sub-genre. There are a lot of elements of horror on display here, and instead of becoming a dumpster fire, Dries manages to craft a masterpiece.
A Place for Sinners follows Amity and Caleb, two siblings who decide to break the chains holding them back in their Australian hometown. What better way to to do this than go to Thailand. An awesome adventure turns into the vacation from hell. The writing in this book is phenomenal. Dries has written a book that is equal parts beautiful, atmospheric, brutal, and disgusting. This book starts of simple enough, but the further in the book you go, the more complex it gets. Dries writes with a voice that weaves together all of these elements to the story, different sub-genres within horror, and multiple plot threads in such an immaculate fashion that he makes it look easy, yet a lesser writer could have easily botched this. There are plenty of gross out moments here, more gore than you could ask for, and savagely violent scenes that will leave your jaw hanging. After reading this novel, I’m not sure that I want to travel to other countries ever again.
Another slam-dunk for Dries are the characters. All of the characters in this book are well developed. They have layers upon layers of depth and feel like real people, whether you love them or hate them. The characters here have real flaws and deal with emotions the way you’d expect people to. Susan Sycamore may be one of the most terrifying characters I’ve read in a long time.
What Aaron Dries has done with A Place for Sinners is written a masterpiece. This book has some of the best written prose I’ve ever seen in the genre. There are times when the story gets complex, and instead of losing the story Dries weaves an intricate tapestry of horror excellence. A Place for Sinners has made Dries a must buy author for me.
5/5 Stars
A Place for Sinners follows Amity and Caleb, two siblings who decide to break the chains holding them back in their Australian hometown. What better way to to do this than go to Thailand. An awesome adventure turns into the vacation from hell. The writing in this book is phenomenal. Dries has written a book that is equal parts beautiful, atmospheric, brutal, and disgusting. This book starts of simple enough, but the further in the book you go, the more complex it gets. Dries writes with a voice that weaves together all of these elements to the story, different sub-genres within horror, and multiple plot threads in such an immaculate fashion that he makes it look easy, yet a lesser writer could have easily botched this. There are plenty of gross out moments here, more gore than you could ask for, and savagely violent scenes that will leave your jaw hanging. After reading this novel, I’m not sure that I want to travel to other countries ever again.
Another slam-dunk for Dries are the characters. All of the characters in this book are well developed. They have layers upon layers of depth and feel like real people, whether you love them or hate them. The characters here have real flaws and deal with emotions the way you’d expect people to. Susan Sycamore may be one of the most terrifying characters I’ve read in a long time.
What Aaron Dries has done with A Place for Sinners is written a masterpiece. This book has some of the best written prose I’ve ever seen in the genre. There are times when the story gets complex, and instead of losing the story Dries weaves an intricate tapestry of horror excellence. A Place for Sinners has made Dries a must buy author for me.
5/5 Stars
urlphantomhive's review against another edition
2.0
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
Maybe I'm to blame for this one. It was a while since I got this book, and didn't remember what it was about any more and the cover is misleading. However, I don't believe it is just me, since the change in A Place for Sinners was so sudden, from a nice holiday in Thailand to doomsday kind of situations, that I actually had to go back and reread to make sure that was what was really happening.
It is also what continues on the second half. I like a good horror, and I understand there is some build-up where everything seems fine, but here it really was about half the book. With all the changing POVs (many of them delusional) and the non-stop action after the turning point I got lost and found it difficult to connect to the remaining protagonist.
Not for me, I'm afraid.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Maybe I'm to blame for this one. It was a while since I got this book, and didn't remember what it was about any more and the cover is misleading. However, I don't believe it is just me, since the change in A Place for Sinners was so sudden, from a nice holiday in Thailand to doomsday kind of situations, that I actually had to go back and reread to make sure that was what was really happening.
It is also what continues on the second half. I like a good horror, and I understand there is some build-up where everything seems fine, but here it really was about half the book. With all the changing POVs (many of them delusional) and the non-stop action after the turning point I got lost and found it difficult to connect to the remaining protagonist.
Not for me, I'm afraid.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
punkersfictionreads's review against another edition
3.0
Wow, I still have no idea what I just read. I don’t think I have ever read a book so brutal and bat shit crazy in my life. This book will take you on one hell of a roller coaster ride.
I loved the beginning of this book. It started off strong and broke my heart right off the bat. However it started to go down hill for me when so many different character’s point of views were introduced. Some of them did nothing for the story. It started to get really slow towards the end for me. But that ending was wow.
The writing in this book is beautiful and really complex. I wouldn’t suggest this book to just anyone. You have to be able hand brutally and gore on a whole other level to stomach this book.
3/5 stars for me
I loved the beginning of this book. It started off strong and broke my heart right off the bat. However it started to go down hill for me when so many different character’s point of views were introduced. Some of them did nothing for the story. It started to get really slow towards the end for me. But that ending was wow.
The writing in this book is beautiful and really complex. I wouldn’t suggest this book to just anyone. You have to be able hand brutally and gore on a whole other level to stomach this book.
3/5 stars for me
biancarosesmith's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. Rounded up to 3 for goodreads.
“Little girls aren’t supposed to get hurt.”
The book opens up with the search for 7 year old Amity Collins. You sense the family’s anguish and desperation as they frantically search for her. From here further tragedy unfolds. It then fast forwards to years later where Amity and her brother are teenagers and travel to Thailand for what they think will be a fun holiday but it soon descends into the shedding of blood.
This book gets brutal and dark really quickly. It’s not for the faint hearted. Aaron’s writing is distinct and I cannot compared it to anything else that I’ve read. I found it rather poetic.
One thing I really loved is the distinct Australian symbols which Aaron weaves through the novel such as the lantana, Eucalyptus and the harsh landscapes. This was a very minor part of the novel as most of it is set in Thailand but I still loved it.
It also keeps you guessing. I can’t say that anything happened in this book that I expected or anticipated.
A couple of minor complaints - I felt the book went off on some weird tangents that weren’t really necessary and also had a large group of characters than weren’t really needed. If anything it seemed to make the narrative more convoluted and took away from the main storyline. It complicated things unnecessarily.
As a whole, a really gripping story of survival horror.
“Little girls aren’t supposed to get hurt.”
The book opens up with the search for 7 year old Amity Collins. You sense the family’s anguish and desperation as they frantically search for her. From here further tragedy unfolds. It then fast forwards to years later where Amity and her brother are teenagers and travel to Thailand for what they think will be a fun holiday but it soon descends into the shedding of blood.
This book gets brutal and dark really quickly. It’s not for the faint hearted. Aaron’s writing is distinct and I cannot compared it to anything else that I’ve read. I found it rather poetic.
One thing I really loved is the distinct Australian symbols which Aaron weaves through the novel such as the lantana, Eucalyptus and the harsh landscapes. This was a very minor part of the novel as most of it is set in Thailand but I still loved it.
It also keeps you guessing. I can’t say that anything happened in this book that I expected or anticipated.
A couple of minor complaints - I felt the book went off on some weird tangents that weren’t really necessary and also had a large group of characters than weren’t really needed. If anything it seemed to make the narrative more convoluted and took away from the main storyline. It complicated things unnecessarily.
As a whole, a really gripping story of survival horror.
enchantressreads's review against another edition
4.0
I read A Place for Sinners after hearing Aaron Dries be interviewed by Glenn from @thehellbound_heart on the Does the Dog Die In This? podcast. I believe that added to the overall experience of the book, and I greatly recommend you check out the podcast (all the episodes!).
If 2020 were a book... this would be it. Amity Collins and her brother Caleb travel to the Philippines for a few months to escape their home life. Things do not go as planned. And I mean that in the worst way possible. Instead of a "cry count" for this book, I actually have a "I almost vomited" count, and that is 3.
If 2020 were a book... this would be it. Amity Collins and her brother Caleb travel to the Philippines for a few months to escape their home life. Things do not go as planned. And I mean that in the worst way possible. Instead of a "cry count" for this book, I actually have a "I almost vomited" count, and that is 3.
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