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A review by lorenalo95
Echo by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Echo was...eh. Ok in the beginning. A bit better in the middle. But the last act was very disappointing. I was disappointed by Nick's conclusion, with the Maudit's abilities, with the villagers, with the constant reference to H.P. Lovecraft, with Sam's whole thing, and with the ending. This book would have been a much better experience without Sam. If it was just Nick and him finding out about the history of the Maudit and what he could do to get rid of the spirit of the mountain, the book would no doubt be a 5 star read. No doubt. Instead, we get a jumbled mess of a story that entangles too many human stories in a man v. nature dynamic. It felt too long. Hell, Nick's manuscript would have been enough with just a few tweaks. The people in this book made this force of nature incredibly boring and eye-rolling. Maudit stopped being a scary thing in the third act and that's a damn shame because it was the only thing keeping me from completely giving up.
But to be a little positive, one of the highlights of this book was the relationship between Sam and Nick, despite my utter hatred for Sam he was tolerable when he interacted with his partner. He made Nick vulnerable and gave him more depth other than the horror Nick was faced with. But the language Sam constantly used and how his narrative voice was written, was cringe inducing and highly annoying. It constantly took me out of the book, and I will never forgive him for that.
I was really looking forward to Echo, but I do have trust in Thomas Olde Heuvelt's writing abilities and will read his next book. When the POV wasn't on Sam, the writing was great--beautiful even. He is able to make me feel anxiety and fear and surprise. He is good at what he does, but Sam was his biggest mistake here.
But to be a little positive, one of the highlights of this book was the relationship between Sam and Nick, despite my utter hatred for Sam he was tolerable when he interacted with his partner. He made Nick vulnerable and gave him more depth other than the horror Nick was faced with. But the language Sam constantly used and how his narrative voice was written, was cringe inducing and highly annoying. It constantly took me out of the book, and I will never forgive him for that.
I was really looking forward to Echo, but I do have trust in Thomas Olde Heuvelt's writing abilities and will read his next book. When the POV wasn't on Sam, the writing was great--beautiful even. He is able to make me feel anxiety and fear and surprise. He is good at what he does, but Sam was his biggest mistake here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Suicide