feigndark's reviews
40 reviews

Shiver by Allie Reynolds

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Menace From the Deep by Michael P. Spradlin

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adventurous funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

This book was engaging enough to keep me reading through it to the end; the concept and plot was extremely fascinating and something I'd like to see more of. That said, the writing itself was... too simple? Lacking, I suppose though that's my fault - I'm an adult reading a book for younger readers. When I saw the cover, it's just I thought it would be similar to Roland Smith's books. Written for younger audiences, but in a way that can still make it enjoyable for older readers.

That said, I think this is a great book for younger audiences: it'll be a lot of fun and moves fast enough that it keeps the pages turning! I'd say it's probably ideal for average readers from 8-12.

Count Magnus and Other Ghost Stories by M.R. James, S.T. Joshi

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challenging dark mysterious slow-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? It's complicated

3.25

So, I checked this book out at the library after listening to the first episode of a podcast called "SHADOWS AT THE DOOR". A voice actor I greatly admire is part of that podcast; reads spooky stories aloud, basically, then discusses them. His partner in that endeavour, and he himself, talked about how chilling M.R. James' writing had been, and how much it had shaped them throughout their lives.

I had to check his writing out, obviously. And while I wasn't... disappointed, per se, it definitely didn't live up to the reputation they had given it.

Part of that might simply be my tastes, of course; the writing, as one would expect from a book published in 1904, was extremely dry and verbose, and I found myself constantly having to search words' definitions up (and I have a fairly large vocabulary!), or unable to parse out what a character was saying due to the accent being written phonetically.

That said, the writing was good! And he definitely had a knack for leaving the stories shrouded in mystery; we rarely got a detailed description of the creatures/spirits, only enough to give us an idea that would let our minds run wild. Oftentimes the story finished up with a sort of cliffhanger, which can be good in horror stories. "We never found out what happened" and all that.

So yes: clearly skilled writer, and many of the stories were engaging enough, while slow-paced, to capture my attention. That said, a lot of them began to feel similar after a while - M.R. James obviously had a specific type of character he liked to write, that being the Studious, Well-Educated and Proper Fellow With An Interest In History And Literature; much like himself, actually. While not every story had that type of protagonist, I found myself getting quite burnt out by the last fifty or so pages. Hence why I said 'no' to the diversity question - while no details of skin colour were ever mentioned, the characters were almost entirely well-educated and decently well-off men with similar interests and hobbies. (Golf was mentioned many times, though thank the lord not described in detail.)

Anyhow. Good book, just not really something to my taste, and that's fine! I can definitely see how many think he was the Father of Ghost Stories and how people took inspiration from him going forward.

Below by Laurel Hightower

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I loved the book a lot, and honestly would have given a five star review if not for two points; one is silly on my part, to be fair, but the other is more substantial.

I felt connected to the characters quickly and so when

Spoiler

Mads "spoke" over the radio, I was so relieved he was alive, only to get gut punched again when Addy found out the gory truth. I know I should have expected that

but I was so upset nonetheless haha.

The second issue I had was that I was left with so many questions at the end of it all. I haven't looked to see if there is a sequel - I would love that - but if there isn't, I feel like so much was left unanswered. Like...

Spoiler

What *was* it that Mads and Parker and their bosses were doing? What was with the truck full of bodies? *Did* Mads bring Addy there on purpose (I personally doubt it)? What or who was the grinning man? Who or what was talking to Addy in the lake? What exactly were those creatures? What was Mothman's purpose? Was it him that Addy was walking into the snow with at the end, and also, where did she go/what happened to her in the snow after that? What happened to the truck? Who did Mads and Parker work for?

So yeah haha. I loved the book, highly recommend it, but lord do I want answers haha!

Brother by Ania Ahlborn

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced