Scan barcode
feigndark's reviews
47 reviews
The Vampire Gideon's Suicide Hotline and Halfway House for Orphaned Girls by Andrew Katz
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
From Below by Darcy Coates
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Don't Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enríquez
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
The Wild Path by Sarah R. Baughman
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction
The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Medical content, and Abandonment
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Shiver by Allie Reynolds
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
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.
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
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.
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.