Reviews

The Ritual by Adam L.G. Nevill

maziarzl_5736's review

tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

1.0

zemthings's review

2.0

Well. That was certainly a book I read.

joelipsett's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

cameronpetrovich's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• 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

2.75

It says a lot about an author’s faith in their audience to interpret their writing(s) when you spend multiple chapters in a row with minimal to no dialogue or story in favor of describing rooms and scenery. It’s definitely not the worst, but doing all that just to have an ambiguous ending feels disjointed. 

I’d also like to add I’m not sure if the misogyny and fat phobia are characteristics of the characters or the author, but you can’t write that without projecting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Fatphobia

alexboutilierreed's review

dark tense medium-paced

4.0

I loved the first half, the second half was hard to get into. 
<Edited> after watching the movie and further reflecting on the book, changing it to a 4.

a_gillie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.0

Though I thought it was perhaps too long, I was very impressed. The writing is confident and imaginative, and Nevill’s way of setting a scene is sometimes genius. 
It was a highly original spin on a usually well-trodden genre and was packed with enough mystery to keep me hooked throughout. 
Sometimes it’s a creature-feature, other times it’s got Wicker Man vibes, but by the end it has carved something unique for itself. 
And full credit to David Thorpe for perhaps the best audiobook narration I’ve ever heard. 

jguthrie's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

meganbharrison2's review

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

gabbyduncan's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.75

katiemay58's review against another edition

Had to stop at chapter 57 after being unable to get over the fact that the author thinks that it's believable for a character to be able to smell a woman's vagina while she's beating the shit out of him after having his face gutter stomped and nose smeared across his face. 

This is after a few dubious descriptions of said woman's breasts.

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Content Warnings

Dude cannot write female characters.