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biobeetle'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? No
1.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Death, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic
willow_the_wisp's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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? Yes
2.0
Disclaimer: I only listened to the first story; I didn't know it was a collection and not just a novella, but since the title story takes up most of the book l'm still going to count it as read.
The audio book production is really good for this one. The extra sounds of footsteps, crows, rain etc. are at the right level that they add to the atmosphere without making the actual narration hard to hear. It's the perfect audiobook to listen to on a misty fall day. My only complaint about it is that the distortion on the demons voice was really hard to understand.
When I went into this I thought it was about the plague, fno I didn't read the blurb fully, why do you ask)turns out it's actually about the devil, which was a bit disappointing but that's on me. But I do wish we had leaned more into the town and how the residents we affected, explored how the demonic presence was its own plague, instead of the rout it went on.
In the parts when our MCs were still trying to figure things out, I was interested in where the story was going. Sadly its destination wasn't has atmospheric or mysterious as I would hope. The end confrontation dragged on for way to long and was so overly dramatic while taking itself way to seriously that it ended up being a very silly. another reviewer (on goodreads) described it as "catholic anime" and i cant agree more
The twist at the very end was really good and genuinely caught me off guard. Over all I would say it had a lot of potential but was ultimately lackluster.
The audio book production is really good for this one. The extra sounds of footsteps, crows, rain etc. are at the right level that they add to the atmosphere without making the actual narration hard to hear. It's the perfect audiobook to listen to on a misty fall day. My only complaint about it is that the distortion on the demons voice was really hard to understand.
When I went into this I thought it was about the plague, fno I didn't read the blurb fully, why do you ask)turns out it's actually about the devil, which was a bit disappointing but that's on me. But I do wish we had leaned more into the town and how the residents we affected, explored how the demonic presence was its own plague, instead of the rout it went on.
In the parts when our MCs were still trying to figure things out, I was interested in where the story was going. Sadly its destination wasn't has atmospheric or mysterious as I would hope. The end confrontation dragged on for way to long and was so overly dramatic while taking itself way to seriously that it ended up being a very silly. another reviewer (on goodreads) described it as "catholic anime" and i cant agree more
The twist at the very end was really good and genuinely caught me off guard. Over all I would say it had a lot of potential but was ultimately lackluster.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
zarelaeda's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, and War
Moderate: Slavery
Minor: Vomit
_scvvter's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
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
I randomly picked up this Audiobook because it was free with Spotify Premium and it seemed interesting enough. The format of this is a little different. There is a main novella and then two short stories that could be connected to the novella (Don't take my word for it because I don't know for sure). The main linking factor is that all of these take place in Medieval Europe and had a lot of theme of religion and stuff.
But one thing I do have to say is the Audiobook ATE DOWN. Like the narrators put their whole pussy into it, there is background noises and music (in the first two stories). The narrators put on an array of accents and they are all very talented. Cudos to Anna Caparo and Scott Miller.
Now let me talk about these stories individually
His Black Tongue:The main novella of this story. I was invested throughout but I did have my issues with it. The main being that I kinda wished this was a full novel so I could get more invested into everything. Even in hightened moments where I should be worried, I didn't really care because I barely knew anyone in the main cast or even the town except one family. Also the twist with whatever the other nun name is being the devil/demon wasn't good imo. But on some positives, I think the twist that Margot was actually touched by god and not a demon was good and really got me while making sense. The final battle between Remy and The demon was wonderfully written. Overall it's pretty alright.
The Bone Fields:I honestly don't know why but this is my favorite part of this. Like I was lost with the characters throughout a lot of it and got their names mixed up, but this story was pretty iconic. It did hook me with us going from kinda lame god-fearing people to Vickings. Like I was invested into all of them and their saftey from the start and really hoped for their survival.
The Knights of the Non-Euclidean Table:This was my least favorite of all of them. I know little about the tales of Authur the knight, but I feel like people who are a fan would like it. The story did really lose me with some of the dialogue. I can't specifically point out which line it was, but it took me out for most of the rest of the story.
Overall, I say this was descent. This shows me that historical horror could be in my wheel house and that I want to check out more of it.
Final Score: 7/10
But one thing I do have to say is the Audiobook ATE DOWN. Like the narrators put their whole pussy into it, there is background noises and music (in the first two stories). The narrators put on an array of accents and they are all very talented. Cudos to Anna Caparo and Scott Miller.
Now let me talk about these stories individually
His Black Tongue:
The Bone Fields:
The Knights of the Non-Euclidean Table:
Overall, I say this was descent. This shows me that historical horror could be in my wheel house and that I want to check out more of it.
Final Score: 7/10
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Gore
Minor: Child death
50shadesofrae's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I think I was hoping for more horror rooted in how terrifying it would have been to be alive in the dark ages? I wouldn’t really call any of these stories horror, they’re more like DnD meets medieval Christian fanfic.
I enjoyed the third story most and think it would be a rad concept for a DnD campaign, but each story can be summed up as such: 3/4 long winded exposition, one big hellmouth, and a LOT of swordfighting and monologues til a lackluster finish.
I really wanted to like this one, but I don’t find any of the concepts particularly scary and the action scenes really left something to be desired.
I enjoyed the third story most and think it would be a rad concept for a DnD campaign, but each story can be summed up as such: 3/4 long winded exposition, one big hellmouth, and a LOT of swordfighting and monologues til a lackluster finish.
I really wanted to like this one, but I don’t find any of the concepts particularly scary and the action scenes really left something to be desired.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Religious bigotry, War, and Injury/Injury detail
rroseking's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This is a great book! I would recommend the audible version it felt like listening to a movie. The twists and turns are great. The ending? Completely insane in the best way. This introduced me to "medieval horror" and I am hooked. Great for a quick read will be going back in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
tiernanhunter's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
fearsickness's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, and Murder