Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

All Hallows by Christopher Golden

5 reviews

mishmashreads's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Not a terrible book. But definitely not a good book either. 

The writing was good… ? I loved the feel of the neighborhood. Gave me Donnie Darko vibes. I love getting to know the characters and seeing their lives intersect. But also, the writing was bad. The phrase “hitched his/her breath” was used so many times it was distracting. One chapter literally spent pages building a climatic situation and then ended with the full sentence “And he died.” Also the whole Ruth and Zack storyline is super weird and I did not like it. Are we supposed to be learning about monsters among us? Cuz very bad job of pulling that metaphor off, if so.

There are a lot of characters with each chapter focused on one of them. Don’t put it down for too long or you will forget who is who. 

The book does not actually get anywhere close to action until 150+ pages in. Thank goodness the chapters were short. Christopher Golden should skip horror and just write fiction novels. I liked his characters. I liked his writing when it wasn’t in the “spooky” part of the book. The horror part of the book (aka the second half of the book) is not good.

3 stars, but if I was rating based on horror alone, it would have been 2. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Infidelity, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Vomit, Pedophilia, Violence, Murder, Homophobia, Death of parent, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Racial slurs, Misogyny, Outing, Racism, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Self harm and Suicidal thoughts

bloomandgloom's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

2.5

I had such high hopes for this book. It gave me the closest vibe of the Trick r' Treat movie and I appreciate it. The different stories and paths weaving together was a great way to tell a Halloween story. That's really the best part of this book. There isn't any horror to this story, at all. It's set in the 1980s in mid east Massachusetts. I appreciated the landmark references since I know the area and understand the forest behind the house vibes it was going for. 

I didn't care about any of the characters in this story, no one had enough development to make me root for them. The Cunning Man was not scary or interesting since we know nothing about him. The book would have seemed much better if there had been a local legend or a story people told young children to scare them but no one believes it. It could have done with some references of missing children on Halloween in different locations across the country or world. Overall, it just needed a little more mystery and lore to make it more believable. A family member also could have known someone that went missing to tie it together. 

I am not an author so I'm not going to pretend like it would have been easy or quick to add all of that in. 

Sadly, this was disappointing and not something I'd recommend as a Halloween read. I wouldn't even recommend it to someone younger because they might find it scary since there are a lot of adult topics discussed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Homophobia, and Misogyny

Moderate: Alcohol, Outing, Alcoholism, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Infidelity, Violence, Sexism, Pedophilia, and Kidnapping

lostinworlds's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, Death of parent, Blood, Body horror, Violence, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Alcohol, Lesbophobia, Racial slurs, Homophobia, and Racism

Minor: Kidnapping and Suicidal thoughts

amandaakerman's review

adventurous challenging 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Grief, Gore, Death of parent, Cursing, Sexual assault, Racism, Pedophilia, Outing, Kidnapping, Violence, Child death, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Lesbophobia, Blood, Alcoholism, Murder, and Addiction

sdsmith80's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• 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? It's complicated

5.0

<strong>Creepy Halloween Tale</strong>

I love Halloween. My whole family does really. Right from the first few pages, I identified with the Barbosa family. My husband has an extensive history in the haunt industry, and I helped him run the makeup room for a season at one as well. So reading about Chloe and her dad setting up their home haunt in the woods behind their house, I was immediately hooked. 

The story picks up quickly, weaving the stories of the different neighbors' lives wonderfully. The author wastes no time with the creepy elements showing up even as he is giving us the backstory of each character, and the small (or large) dramas going on in their lives. 

Very soon we're off and running, with twists and turns around every page. I was kept guessing as each element was introduced, making for a thrilling read. The thing I enjoyed the most though was Christopher Golden's creation of the mythology in this world. I'm very curious to know how much is based on actual lore, if any. 

This book is absolutely perfect for anyone who loves Halloween, and the stories that surround it. 

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Body horror, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Death, Blood, Cursing, Hate crime, Child death, Child abuse, Gore, Murder, Homophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Physical abuse and Racism

Minor: Racial slurs