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Slyphic posted:I'm abandoning Thomas Olde Huevelt's Oracle about half way through. It's just too scattershot. There's good scenes and paragraphs, but overall it just can't seem to build tension because it's trying to tell like 5 different overlapping stories with divergent bordering on incompatible forms of horror. I'm changing my opinion to "I'm a fan of Hex, but not of him as a writer". It's like all the problems I had with Echo are back and now it's got a police procedural and adolescent characters tacked on. it felt a little like Choose Your Own Adventure but you don't get to choose
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Jun 10, 2024 18:33
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Like reading a CYOA linearly fits a little too well.
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Jun 10, 2024 19:15
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value-brand cereal fucked around with this message at 17:02 on Mar 26, 2025 |
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Jun 11, 2024 15:36
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It took the dude name dropping the town for a third time for me to remember him, and even then barely. Still, you should read Hex, it's a little like Oracle but way better.
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Jun 11, 2024 22:40
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I recently finished Thomas Olde Huevelt's Echo and did not enjoy it! Too much fricken mountain talk Currently about half way into Crouch's Dark Matter and it is getting reaaaal good
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Jun 12, 2024 14:00
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value-brand cereal fucked around with this message at 17:02 on Mar 26, 2025 |
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Jun 12, 2024 23:05
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how hard does Dark Matter go into science fiction? it's been on my reading list for ages but i'm not super crazy about the genre
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Jun 12, 2024 23:10
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Blake Crouch Dark Matter is a very handwavey science fiction thriller that imo is like, airport fiction tier. It's fine, it's forgettable, I don't really recommend it. Michelle Paver Dark Matter is chilling, atmospheric, and one of the best horror novels I've read in years. And not really sci Fi at all.
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Jun 13, 2024 00:50
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Since I liked Lovely, Dark and Deep by Megan Stockton, I decided to give her most popular book (according to amazon) a shot, so I checked out BlueJay. It's a mash up of Hostel and Eye's Wide Shut and it did not hit for me. She's still good at the character perspective work but this seemed like an attempt at splatter/extreme that didn't fully commit. Her first book that I read was both kinetic and made me care about the characters, but this one felt rushed and flat. Still recommend Lovely, Dark and Deep tho
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Jun 13, 2024 02:30
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MockingQuantum posted:Blake Crouch Dark Matter is a very handwavey science fiction thriller that imo is like, airport fiction tier. It's fine, it's forgettable, I don't really recommend it. i just saw Michelle Paver's is on my list too so maybe i got them confused at some point. hers sounds infinitely better
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Jun 13, 2024 04:09
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R.L. Stine posted:i just saw Michelle Paver's is on my list too so maybe i got them confused at some point. hers sounds infinitely better It's one of the best horror stories I've ever encountered. Beautiful writing, blood-freezing story. MockingQuantum's description of it as chilling and atmospheric is dead on, highly recommended for fans of slow-burn atmospheric horror: if you like things like The Haunting of Hill House, you'll probably like Dark Matter. It has an excellent audiobook adaptation, too.
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Jun 13, 2024 07:27
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I agree that Paver's Dark Matter is outstanding, one of the best horror books I've read in years, up with Between Two Fires imo.
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Jun 13, 2024 09:45
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Lol I was reading superlative reviews for Dark Matter and may have picked up the wrong one - I'm enjoying Crouch's so far in any case
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Jun 13, 2024 15:16
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value-brand cereal fucked around with this message at 17:02 on Mar 26, 2025 |
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Jun 13, 2024 17:53
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value-brand cereal fucked around with this message at 17:02 on Mar 26, 2025 |
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Jun 13, 2024 23:08
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blew through Paver's Dark Matter last night and yeah it's awesome. i haven't read a classic ghost story like it in a long long time, in fact i don't think i've ever read a modern M.R. Jamesian novel that i actually liked until now
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Jun 14, 2024 20:49
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I wish from the bottom of my heart that there were more books like Paver’s Dark Matter, the way I wish for more books like Between Two Fires.
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Jun 14, 2024 20:58
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Kestral posted:I wish from the bottom of my heart that there were more books like Paver’s Dark Matter, the way I wish for more books like Between Two Fires. same, they've both stuck with me ever since I've read them.
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Jun 14, 2024 21:26
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Anyone read Lone Women by Victor Lavalle? I'm about 1/3 of the way through it and... well, I hope it improves or something because so far it's rather dull.
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Jun 14, 2024 22:46
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Finished my first MR James, “Canon Alberic’s Scrap-Book.” Unfortunately found this one hokey, but I’ll gladly try the rest of the stories.
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Jun 15, 2024 14:50
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value-brand cereal fucked around with this message at 17:03 on Mar 26, 2025 |
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Jun 15, 2024 15:54
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Just finished a Canadian novel, An Ordinary Violence by Adriana Chartrqnd, which had some moments but also some major problems. The pace in the first half is glacial and lot of the character-building by flash back is clunky. But Chartrand can really write an eerie scene. The sense of menace and unexplained evil is brilliantly set. But then she'll revert back to clunky writing (how many ways can you describe losing track of time). And I'm all for unexplained forces but the protagonist, Dawn, is completely on the outside and so passive she may as well be a lump. Still, there are some great passages. So I can't recommend it, but I'll keep an eye out for Chartrand's work. Maybe she's better in short story.
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Jun 15, 2024 22:35
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escape artist posted:Anyone read Lone Women by Victor Lavalle? Yeah, lots of conveniences and unearned moments imo. Feels like an ending that wanted a story. I should have dnf’d but I don’t recall it being overly long.
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Jun 15, 2024 23:28
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escape artist posted:Anyone read Lone Women by Victor Lavalle? I finished it recently (did the audiobook since it was included in my Spotify subscription). I doesn't get much more exciting if you're bored. I picked it up because I liked his 'The Ballad of Black Tom' novella well enough (and like it didn't cost me anything extra) but Lone Women probably would have been a lot better as a novella too.
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Jun 15, 2024 23:40
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FPyat posted:Finished my first MR James, “Canon Alberic’s Scrap-Book.” Unfortunately found this one hokey, but I’ll gladly try the rest of the stories. I think that was the 1st short story he ever wrote. Try 'Lost Hearts' next, it's also a very early tale, but much creepier.
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Jun 16, 2024 15:56
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FPyat posted:Finished my first MR James, “Canon Alberic’s Scrap-Book.” Unfortunately found this one hokey, but I’ll gladly try the rest of the stories. Bear in mind that James wrote tales to be recited in front of a fire with the lamps low in a cold night. There's a mood to them.
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Jun 17, 2024 07:57
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I read three Paul Tremblay books this month Disappearance at Devil's Rock was good, about a missing teen and his friends. Almost like a true crime the way stuff is revealed bit by bit A Head Full of Ghosts was very good, I really liked this one, about a possessed teen and the reality show that was filmed about them And his newest book, Horror Movie, about an indie movie from the 90s. This was definitely weirder and I guess scarier than Devil's Rock, and has some interesting scenes. But I think the payoffs are telegraphed a bit more than A Head Full of Ghosts which weakened the overall book. A Head Full of Ghosts def my favorite of the three. None of them were really scary to me, but there are some "ahh god no" moments in all of em
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Jun 17, 2024 22:15
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I was excited about A Head Full of Ghosts after seeing it talked up in this thread, but I had a hard time with it. The dialog was just too quippy and Joss Whedon for my taste. Also, was it ever confirmed if the sister was actually possessed or just mentally ill? Either I forget or it wasn't really made clear.
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Jun 18, 2024 00:17
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i was under the impression i'd never read a Paul Tremblay book until i saw the description for disappearance at devil's rock
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Jun 18, 2024 00:32
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value-brand cereal fucked around with this message at 17:05 on Mar 26, 2025 |
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Jun 18, 2024 00:37
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escape artist posted:Anyone read Lone Women by Victor Lavalle? Holy poo poo, this book is now officially the book I DNFed at the latest part... Let me explain, I've never DNFed a book at 90% before. If I get that far I'll stick it out. But I suffered and suffered and this book ruined my whole weekend. So goddamn boring, I am legit furious.  Somebody spoil the ending for me please. 1/5 tuyop posted:Yeah, lots of conveniences and unearned moments imo. Feels like an ending that wanted a story. I should have dnf’d but I don’t recall it being overly long. What was the ending? I can't finish it.
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Jun 18, 2024 05:42
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just ripped through Dark Matter in an afternoon. outstanding stuff, a true and classic ghost story
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Jun 18, 2024 21:59
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It's always great to see people connecting with Dark Matter in here  I picked up Horror Movie on audio since I needed a book of that length, and while I'm unreservedly enjoying it so far, I was surprised to find that it's actually slightly different from the print version. The sections of the book that are normally a film script are presented as something like a "cast reading" of the film script, complete with the sound of pages turning, people occasionally misreading their lines and having to correct themselves, etc. It's occasionally also transforming into what the audio from the film would be like, which works better than I'd expected. It's definitely less scary this way, but that was to be expected, since aside from M.R. James, horror is almost never as effective when read aloud. I'm not sure which version I prefer, but I'm enjoying it enough to keep going in this format for now.
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Jun 19, 2024 01:54
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Just read Bunker Dogs by Gage Greenwood and drat that might be my fav horror book of the year so far. Synopsis from Amazon:quote:Don't just fear what you're hiding from, fear what you're hiding with. This synopsis does not get close to describing the actual chaos of this book. There are several moments in the first half of the book that made me pause and think, "Wait, what the gently caress? What is this book even about?", but in a good way. It's hard to talk much about these moments without giving too much away, though. On the less good side, the actiony elements of the story get kinda rote in the back half, but sprinkled in there are moments that coax you to reevaluate what you thought was happening earlier. My other complaint is that (moderate spoiler) the design of the bunker doesn't seem like something any rational person would ever construct, and the late book explanation of why is pretty hand-wavy. Also, warning, there's some pretty dark themes centered on loneliness and suicide in there, so be sure you can handle that. On Kindle Unlimited
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Jun 19, 2024 22:45
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Instantly checking out On a Clear Day, You Can Still See Block Island, which seems to be his other well-regarded horror novel, fingers crossed
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Jun 19, 2024 23:10
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Good Citizen posted:Just read Bunker Dogs by Gage Greenwood and drat that might be my fav horror book of the year so far. Synopsis from Amazon: sounds fun and interesting, so i've just bought it for a six-hour flight i've got coming up. can't wait!
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Jun 20, 2024 06:26
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Same, my audiobook slot is still ticking along with Horror Movie, but I need something for print and Bunker Dogs is going straight to the Kobo tonight.
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Jun 20, 2024 08:03
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escape artist posted:Holy poo poo, this book is now officially the book I DNFed at the latest part... Let me explain, I've never DNFed a book at 90% before. If I get that far I'll stick it out. But I suffered and suffered and this book ruined my whole weekend. So goddamn boring, I am legit furious. I barely remember it because I was very bored at that point but the broad strokes were (I think) the protagonist and her friends and bat/demon sister beat the bad guys and go found their own town, and other oppressed women and assorted folks move there and they have a nice little secret community in the middle of nowhere. Not even really a horror ending, imo. Maybe the book was just wildly mismarketed.
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Jun 20, 2024 15:05
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Victor LaValle is a wildly uneven writer in general, IMO. Ballad of Black Tom was fantastic but The Changeling was really hit or miss for me and had long stretches where I had a hard time caring, and The Devil in Silver mostly bored me.
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Jun 20, 2024 15:14
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drat, was really disappointed in Rumfitt's Brainwyrms after I loved her first book. It's got the same too-online style and insane psychosexual abjection, but feels so much more unfocused than the first which really coheres around the haunted house. Linehan and Rowling have TERF standins and the parasite part never feels developed other than for visual gagging and riffing off an infamous internet story. Flashes of Lovecraft would have been great to develop further but again feel too tangential. The experimental riffs felt like filler, no new ground really treaded. It's written to meet a deadline and is an unnecessary addendum. Boo.
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Jun 20, 2024 17:37
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