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6dan13la's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Suicide, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Vomit and Abandonment
loquaciousleon's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
It also had text that was clearly the author talking to the reader through characters and story, which took me out of it.
All in all, not a stellar read, but not one I regret reading. I can see it being a much better read for other people.
Graphic: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
lizziaha's review against another edition
3.5
And yeah, the reveal was…a bit cheesy.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide and Fire/Fire injury
ambert's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Suicide, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Minor: Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
mandolin77's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
maddie_can_read's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
First part grabbed my attention with the setting up of the mystery but I felt like the second half really dragged and the payoff wasn't as satisfying as the build-up made it seem like it would be.
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Mental illness, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Dementia, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Fire/Fire injury
pkc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
alireads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Confinement, Mental illness, Suicide, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Fire/Fire injury
azrah786's review against another edition
3.5
CW: violence, gun violence, injury, blood, murder, death, child death, fire/injury, suicide, body horror, grief
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It has taken me some time to get my head around wording my thoughts for this book because though it was an engaging read it fell a little flat by the end.
A quick read and a good mashup of genres Binge has written a mind-bending story. Told through the letters of a lost scientist - Harold Tunmore – addressed to his niece, we follow the journey he and a group of fellow scientists took when they were sent to explore a bizarre mountain that had randomly appeared in the middle of the Pacific. The writing successfully conveys all the tension of a real life mountain hike as well as the “what the fuck” feel of everything that goes on during the expedition.
The epistolary format and this being represented in the book as a published collection was really clever however, I feel it was also a hinderance the further you read. The lengthy monology descriptions and anecdotes that the narrator was penning for the reader just felt a bit overkill and slowed the story down for me. Particularly with how fast the primary and more intense mountain plot was.
From about midway on towards the end, the narration started to feel a little monotonous and I found I was able to predict some of what was going to happen which lessened my enjoyment of the big twists and reveals.
Though I will say Binge’s writing does well to bring a range of emotions to the page in those segments of personal reflection when he is unpacking the mysterious past of the protagonist. There was also some interesting and thought provoking discussions on the themes of faith vs science, humanity and autonomy.
And so despite being a bit of a miss for me overall I think this story would make a brilliant mini-series.
Final Rating - 3.5/5 Stars
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Blood, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
ferlintokezeirquizes's review against another edition
4.5
Moderate: Child death, Death, Suicide, and Violence
Minor: Body horror, Blood, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail