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fridasunde's review against another edition
dark
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? It's complicated
1.0
I am so disappointed. The story was see-through. Only one part of the book was slightly intriguing, and that was the visit to Joe’s family. The story had so much potential.
delslibrary1313's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
4.0
amullally's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4.5/5 - this is the first book with this outcome to actually spook me. I wish it was a little longer.
mmajer's review against another edition
1.0
I was immediately intrigued by the premise of this book. Creepy mental asylum story with a seemingly incurable patient who terrifies everyone who comes into contact with him? Sign me up!
I initially liked the format of this book- via a blog, an inexperienced doctor recounts his time at a mental hospital, focusing around his dealings with a particular patient. I soon grew irritated when at the start of each new chapter/ blog entry, Parker would say things like, “Whew. All right, this one I have to write quickly, otherwise I’ll never finish it. Gonna have a killer hangover, but f*** it.” What? Why do you need to say that, it has nothing to do with the story and does absolutely nothing to further the plot. It’s one thing to respond to comments from readers, or talk about how people are responding to his blog (I had no problem with that), but just little comments like writing quickly or “I’m not going to summarize where we are,” become a repetitive nuisance. (Uhh why would you summarize what’s happened if we’ve already been reading the story?) I think that just added to my dislike for Parker.
This book could have been so much more- it was too rushed and I didn’t feel like I got to know much about Joe at all. If that was expanded on, it would have been a stronger story, and for me there would be an actual element of psychological horror. Although, this still wouldn’t have saved the ending. The only reason I pushed through was to see the resolution with Joe, and it was wildly disappointing.
Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy via BookishFirst.
I initially liked the format of this book- via a blog, an inexperienced doctor recounts his time at a mental hospital, focusing around his dealings with a particular patient. I soon grew irritated when at the start of each new chapter/ blog entry, Parker would say things like, “Whew. All right, this one I have to write quickly, otherwise I’ll never finish it. Gonna have a killer hangover, but f*** it.” What? Why do you need to say that, it has nothing to do with the story and does absolutely nothing to further the plot. It’s one thing to respond to comments from readers, or talk about how people are responding to his blog (I had no problem with that), but just little comments like writing quickly or “I’m not going to summarize where we are,” become a repetitive nuisance. (Uhh why would you summarize what’s happened if we’ve already been reading the story?) I think that just added to my dislike for Parker.
This book could have been so much more- it was too rushed and I didn’t feel like I got to know much about Joe at all. If that was expanded on, it would have been a stronger story, and for me there would be an actual element of psychological horror. Although, this still wouldn’t have saved the ending. The only reason I pushed through was to see the resolution with Joe, and it was wildly disappointing.
Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy via BookishFirst.
joy_b's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
heathi13's review against another edition
2.0
This was so bad.
The only characters I felt bad for were the poor cat and Jocelyn, who just happened to love the presumptious ass of a narrator and is now quite likely a demon carrying a demon spawn.
The only characters I felt bad for were the poor cat and Jocelyn, who just happened to love the presumptious ass of a narrator and is now quite likely a demon carrying a demon spawn.
kmparsons's review against another edition
2.0
It was a good book, but it was so short. Near the end, everything just kind of happened all at once. I feel like it should have been more drawn out with a better explanation. The explanation was so convenient.
It was relatively scary, the author created a great sense of horror. Overall, it was okay, but nothing I am going to remember for long.
It was relatively scary, the author created a great sense of horror. Overall, it was okay, but nothing I am going to remember for long.
kennycaw's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
justinkhchen's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars
Probably worked just fine on a Reddit forum (the story's origin), but extremely unpolished as a published novel; The Patient has some interesting ideas, but they are clouded by surface-level development and amateur quality control.
I have not been this distracted by spelling and grammatical mistakes for a long while, but The Patient has extremely noticeable amount of them; which is odd because the author acknowledged he has revised and expanded on the original Reddit submission prior to publication, and there was clearly an editor attached judging from the acknowledgment — so it's a little baffling why the final product still feels like it was copied and pasted from an online forum, without the refinement of a publishing house.
The writing is 'enthusiast' level rather than professional, with a 'made-up-as-we-go-along' quality to its plot; the characters are plagued with unrealistic reaction and stiff dialogs (most of the arguments among medical professionals come across as childish whining of 'I'm right and you're wrong'). The genre-switching mechanic in its final act shows potential, but the current execution is deeply flawed with some obvious inconsistencies, making it easy to question its logistic, without appreciating the bold choice.
I think context really hindered my experience with The Patient; if I have encountered this in an online forum, I would've enjoyed it as an above-average #creepypasta. But by removing it from the interactivity, anonymity, and questionable authenticity (is it actually a true story?) of that environment, it is just an ill-conceived, under-written draft of a story that got printed way before its due date.
Probably worked just fine on a Reddit forum (the story's origin), but extremely unpolished as a published novel; The Patient has some interesting ideas, but they are clouded by surface-level development and amateur quality control.
I have not been this distracted by spelling and grammatical mistakes for a long while, but The Patient has extremely noticeable amount of them; which is odd because the author acknowledged he has revised and expanded on the original Reddit submission prior to publication, and there was clearly an editor attached judging from the acknowledgment — so it's a little baffling why the final product still feels like it was copied and pasted from an online forum, without the refinement of a publishing house.
The writing is 'enthusiast' level rather than professional, with a 'made-up-as-we-go-along' quality to its plot; the characters are plagued with unrealistic reaction and stiff dialogs (most of the arguments among medical professionals come across as childish whining of 'I'm right and you're wrong'). The genre-switching mechanic in its final act shows potential, but the current execution is deeply flawed with some obvious inconsistencies, making it easy to question its logistic, without appreciating the bold choice.
I think context really hindered my experience with The Patient; if I have encountered this in an online forum, I would've enjoyed it as an above-average #creepypasta. But by removing it from the interactivity, anonymity, and questionable authenticity (is it actually a true story?) of that environment, it is just an ill-conceived, under-written draft of a story that got printed way before its due date.