A review by chuckstafer
Where the Dead Wait by Ally Wilkes

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I so wanted this novel to be a blockbuster but, unfortunately, it fell short for me. The concept sounded like a doozy: crew resorting to cannibalism when they are shipwrecked in the Arctic with only a few survivors. The captain being called back to rescue his friend who has gone missing in those same ill-fated waters as before, and ice ghosts trying to stop them. Spooky stuff indeed. 

But this novel just felt really convoluted. I commend the author for her writing style and really doing a great job of writing this novel from the point of view of a late 19th-century guy, but that made the story hard to follow in parts due to the strange verbiage and the over-explanation of things.

There were for sure parts of the novel that were intriguing and captivating, but a large part of the novel felt very slow and uneventful, and the conclusion to the story was very unsatisfying. 

This novel felt less like a horror novel and more like a grief and guilt-stricken man being haunted by his past and trying to overcome his personal demons en route to saving his friend. Just not what I was hoping for. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings