A review by archaicrobin
All Hallows, by Christopher Golden
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, so when I read the synopsis of All Hallows as a nostalgic 80s horror flick set on Halloween night in a small town, I was 100% in! Unfortunately All Hallows fell short for me in a lot of ways.
All Hallows is set in a small town on Halloween night and is told from multiple perspectives from different families in the town. I can see that this was meant to get the reader attached to these characters but unfortunately there were so many that I never felt intrigued or close to any of them. Half the book was all background info on these characters and what felt like unnecessary melodrama; like a cheating husband, a closeted teen, unrequited love, just too many little dramas thrown in that only succeeded in taking away from the main story, but we’re honestly boring.
Along with too many shallow characters, there was very little plot. The creatures aren’t really explained, and are easily defeated leaving you feeling robbed at the end of the book. I don’t know why these creatures are even in this town, where they come from, what made them, or why. And the Cunning Man, who is supposed to be scary, is just lame. There is no build up, there is no reveal, there is no attachments to the characters, and the nostalgia wasn’t even there for me! It didn’t feel like the 80s to me, this could have been set in any time period because there were no iconic 80s references.
All Hallows didn’t hit that Halloween nostalgia or spooky magic vibes in my opinion, and if you’re looking for a good spooky Halloween themed book I would recommend the Dark Harvest, or Autumncrow instead of this one.
All Hallows is set in a small town on Halloween night and is told from multiple perspectives from different families in the town. I can see that this was meant to get the reader attached to these characters but unfortunately there were so many that I never felt intrigued or close to any of them. Half the book was all background info on these characters and what felt like unnecessary melodrama; like a cheating husband, a closeted teen, unrequited love, just too many little dramas thrown in that only succeeded in taking away from the main story, but we’re honestly boring.
Along with too many shallow characters, there was very little plot. The creatures aren’t really explained, and are easily defeated leaving you feeling robbed at the end of the book. I don’t know why these creatures are even in this town, where they come from, what made them, or why. And the Cunning Man, who is supposed to be scary, is just lame. There is no build up, there is no reveal, there is no attachments to the characters, and the nostalgia wasn’t even there for me! It didn’t feel like the 80s to me, this could have been set in any time period because there were no iconic 80s references.
All Hallows didn’t hit that Halloween nostalgia or spooky magic vibes in my opinion, and if you’re looking for a good spooky Halloween themed book I would recommend the Dark Harvest, or Autumncrow instead of this one.