oddly's review against another edition
3.0
This novella takes on our strange and enduring fascination with cults to show the insidious nature of religious zealotry.
Cults have long been a topic of great interest in the true crime community—and beyond. The People’s Temple, the Branch Davidians, Charles Manson, Heaven’s Gate, the list goes on of cults, cult personalities, and cult disasters. We can't get enough of them! Why do people join? What makes them so appealing? And how do they go so horribly wrong?
But when I see them iterated in movies and books, there really has to be something different or special to make a narrative about cults stand out. Too often it feels like cult narratives are just an amalgamation of the more interesting bits of real-life cults, and that is what Church felt like to me.
The leader of the cult (obviously a charming and charismatic male) seems to have other plans than just alternative religion from the beginning, so even if you weren’t sure that cult = bad, it is clear very early on.
On the other side of the story is a Christian guy who just wants to save this girl who is wrapped up in the cult. The way he was written about was no more favorable than the cult. He seems a bit thick and is so enamored with and lost in the swathes of his own religion that he can’t see the danger until it’s too late, always soothing himself with the thought that God would never put him in harm’s way. (Eyeroll.)
This characterization made me feel like the book was attempting to be a satire about religion in general, since it didn’t highlight the cult leader or the Christian in a good light. I love a good satire, but this didn’t seem to push far enough for that to be clearly the point, so I might be misinterpreting.
This quick read was fun, but not incredibly engaging. I didn’t feel that it had anything new to offer the subgenre of cult horror fiction, but if you’re into cult narratives you’ll probably still get a kick out of it.
Cults have long been a topic of great interest in the true crime community—and beyond. The People’s Temple, the Branch Davidians, Charles Manson, Heaven’s Gate, the list goes on of cults, cult personalities, and cult disasters. We can't get enough of them! Why do people join? What makes them so appealing? And how do they go so horribly wrong?
But when I see them iterated in movies and books, there really has to be something different or special to make a narrative about cults stand out. Too often it feels like cult narratives are just an amalgamation of the more interesting bits of real-life cults, and that is what Church felt like to me.
The leader of the cult (obviously a charming and charismatic male) seems to have other plans than just alternative religion from the beginning, so even if you weren’t sure that cult = bad, it is clear very early on.
On the other side of the story is a Christian guy who just wants to save this girl who is wrapped up in the cult. The way he was written about was no more favorable than the cult. He seems a bit thick and is so enamored with and lost in the swathes of his own religion that he can’t see the danger until it’s too late, always soothing himself with the thought that God would never put him in harm’s way. (Eyeroll.)
This characterization made me feel like the book was attempting to be a satire about religion in general, since it didn’t highlight the cult leader or the Christian in a good light. I love a good satire, but this didn’t seem to push far enough for that to be clearly the point, so I might be misinterpreting.
This quick read was fun, but not incredibly engaging. I didn’t feel that it had anything new to offer the subgenre of cult horror fiction, but if you’re into cult narratives you’ll probably still get a kick out of it.
n0rmann's review against another edition
4.0
Another excellent read from cousin Renee? Isn't Renee Miller really my cousin? I doubt it. However, since I know no one on the Miller side of my family, I've decided to adopt her as a cousin so I can brag about having a talented cousin. The rest of my cousins are horrible!
exorcismofemilyreed's review against another edition
5.0
"Damned before you have a chance to live. How right does that sound to you?"
Church is a novella that really packs a lot into a small amount of pages. This was my first time reading a book by Renee Miller, and I loved it. This book is incredibly bleak, and it's sad to read about these people giving up everything for something meaningless. It's an unfortunately familiar setting.
At a very different time in my life, I worked at & was way too involved in a church. This story brought back a lot of anxious feelings and anger (maybe brought back isn't correct - probably intensified since those feelings don't really go away). The story accomplished what it was supposed to - it showed the horror of a realistic situation (at its core - some parts are extreme, but the heart of Church is very familiar to me). It was stressful to read at times, but it makes for a fantastic horror story. Church made me want to scream at someone, and it was an effective story for me. I don't know if that expresses my feelings well or not, but that's the best way I can describe it.
I'm going to give warnings to potential readers for rape / lack of consent, torture, drugging, and suicide. There's a lot going on in this story, so just know that it's on the heavier side. This is not a happy book, and it's not a happy topic.
If you enjoy cult horror, Church is definitely one to pick up. This is a grim and haunting story, and I plan to reread it again later on. I'll be thinking about this book for a while. Renee Miller did a great job at capturing a disturbing setting, and I can't wait to read more from her.
Church is a novella that really packs a lot into a small amount of pages. This was my first time reading a book by Renee Miller, and I loved it. This book is incredibly bleak, and it's sad to read about these people giving up everything for something meaningless. It's an unfortunately familiar setting.
At a very different time in my life, I worked at & was way too involved in a church. This story brought back a lot of anxious feelings and anger (maybe brought back isn't correct - probably intensified since those feelings don't really go away). The story accomplished what it was supposed to - it showed the horror of a realistic situation (at its core - some parts are extreme, but the heart of Church is very familiar to me). It was stressful to read at times, but it makes for a fantastic horror story. Church made me want to scream at someone, and it was an effective story for me. I don't know if that expresses my feelings well or not, but that's the best way I can describe it.
I'm going to give warnings to potential readers for rape / lack of consent, torture, drugging, and suicide. There's a lot going on in this story, so just know that it's on the heavier side. This is not a happy book, and it's not a happy topic.
If you enjoy cult horror, Church is definitely one to pick up. This is a grim and haunting story, and I plan to reread it again later on. I'll be thinking about this book for a while. Renee Miller did a great job at capturing a disturbing setting, and I can't wait to read more from her.
hellbound's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
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