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challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really wanted to like this, but my interest fizzled out after part 2. I admire the author’s enthusiasm for medieval history and the creative energy he put into researching the cultural and religious aspects of 14th century france, but this felt like him rushing to cram history, fantasy, and religious horror together in a way I didn’t find very effective. the premise is so cool and ambitious, but sadly wasn’t engaged by the characters or story.
the writing isn’t awful, but the confusing dialogue/POV nagged me. buehlman randomly switches between first names, full names, titles, or no names of new and core characters which was so distracting! as for the horror, I think the genre’s tropes work best when we get to dwell on them and build a sense of dread, so I was surprised to read that each scary scene wraps up pretty neatly by the end of its chapter. you could read most of the chapters with scares and fever dream sequences out of order without messing up the sense of continuity. but if you don’t care about chapters feeling like vignettes it might not bother you as much as it did me… on to the next I guess 🥲
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Cursing, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, War
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Grief, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Pregnancy
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content
Minor: Kidnapping, Stalking, Alcohol
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I fell somewhere in the middle on this horror classic. I knew going in it wouldn’t have a fast-paced plot about the strange happenings in Hill house, but it was so repetitive and took too long to reach the climax.
Shirley Jackson is a great writer, but the character relationships in this really brought it down for me. Other than Theodora, the rest of the characters felt too distant for me to care. I get why Eleanor feels flat because she’s trying to find any way to be likable and interesting, but I didn’t personally enjoy reading SO much about this dynamic with the other characters.
I don’t regret reading it, but I think I like Jackson’s dreamy, surreal type of dialogue and plotting better in her short stories because ~200 pages was stretching the limits of my attention. The off-balance, unsettling atmosphere was there, but I wanted more perspective from Hill House itself to get an equal blend of real spookiness and character study.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Suicide
Minor: Blood, Abandonment
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this happens to be a rare case where I slightly prefer the movie over the book, and it’s because the latter definitely aged worse over time. the amount of fatphobic language and cultural references of its time never really let up, it was almost distracting 🥴
however, everything else about this hits the perfect mix of serial killer chills and thrills. I love how much hannibal indulges writing letters to his friends, and never in my life have I read a more TERRIFYING chapter in a book than the chapter describing a basement.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder
Moderate: Death, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Grief
Minor: Homophobia, Stalking
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness
Minor: Death
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Racial slurs
Moderate: Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racism, Blood, Classism
Minor: Violence
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
the pushkin edition of the 4 interconnected stories reads more like weird (not scary) vignettes about people who read ‘the king in yellow’ play and lost their minds in different ways. this isn’t poorly written, but a little boring for psychological horror and skippable even if you were interested in the inspiration behind true detective like I was.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Mental illness, Violence
Minor: Death, Suicide