Reviews

Husk by Rachel Autumn Deering

mh_books's review against another edition

2.0

So not for me. I was never going to like an American Soldier as a protagonist but I knew that when I was going in and I was assured it was only the first chapter and the story and prose made up for it.

However the writing (I won't say prose, there is none) is amateurish and dull, the dialogue unconvincing, and the characters two dimensional and not credible. I rarely give a very harsh review but I honestly think that this author has all the elements of a good novella but absolutely no writing ability to put it together.

In fairness now, my review is contrary to nearly everyone else's and I guess this novella may be lost in translation somewhat and only American audiences get it? That may explain my hate of the dialogue from the get-go? So a book that is very much for others just not for me?

However I still have to say, I will not be reading any more of her work and I am still looking out for good female horror writers. In the vein of [a:Samanta Schweblin|2898936|Samanta Schweblin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1545389695p2/2898936.jpg], [a:Shirley Jackson|13388|Shirley Jackson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1550251468p2/13388.jpg] and [a:Michelle Paver|119755|Michelle Paver|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1243618873p2/119755.jpg].

Apols for the grumpy guss review - I am so in the minority on this one!

sade's review against another edition

1.0

❤
I geniunely believe horror is one of the hardest genre for writers' to pull off. I also geniunely believe that if a book is scary, you will know.
This book is described as "horror fiction" and i don't know if whoever wrote that blurb was having a laugh or the person for real believed that this book...this book i just read is horror.

❤❤
For what purpose this book was written i don't know. If the writer was trying to get across the message of soldiers suffering from PTSD after war this was, i can't even lie, a very weird really weird way to go about it.

❤
If you're looking for a short scary book to read. This isn't the book.
If you're looking for a book with some sort of crazy psychological exploit into the mind of someone suffering from PTSD, again, THIS IS NOT THE BOOK.

Basically me at the end of this book:


The only "horror" in this book is the "horror" of being labelled as one.

kovax's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

mrfrank's review against another edition

4.0

Wow. Rachel Autumn Deering's HUSK is some dark O'Henry-like storytelling. It's the type of story that has you turning the page with interest and anxiety. Though HUSK is a fairly short novella, it need not be longer than it is. It's short and its bitter sweet and that's what it needs to be.

I found myself drawn through this story quickly. At the outset, I turned the pages out of interest in the characters and their relationship. By the middle of the story I was turning the pages, anxious for the monster to reveal itself. In the end, I was turning the pages in horror not wanting to read what I knew was inevitable.

A glorious read. I haven't been whisked though a story out of necessity to find out how it plays out in quite some time. It's a nice feeling and yet the story is dark. This one will definitely dance on my psyche for awhile. I'm sure I'll get the chills when I can feel again.

gay's review

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

bloodinthesigil's review against another edition

4.0

This was a quick and bloody ride! Would have loved more time with the characters but this story had something to say and it wanted it said quick!

casimiera's review

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

echoscreaming's review against another edition

5.0

A soldier returns from Afghanistan, no family, his best friend killed in action. Nothing is the same.

This is a deep, tragic, heartbreaking look into PTSD. Psycholgical horrors manifest physically. Hope is a pinhole, despair engulfs, emotion becomes monstrous.

Rachel Autumn Deering's writing is beautiful, her characters live and breathe. Mid-paragraph POV shifts lend the story an immediacy which verges on stream-of-conscious. I'm very much looking forward to whatever she writes next.

motherhorror's review

4.0

I just turned in my review of HUSK to SCREAM Magazine.
Look for my review, soon!
Recommended for fans of dark, psychological, emotional horror packed into 100+ pages.

amandaquotidianbooks's review

3.0

I loved the characterization and autumnal feeling so much! The horror elements seemed too vague for me and the climax and ending were super rushed in comparison to the lovely, slow beginning. Speaking of climax, those two sex scenes were surprising and kind of threw off the horror tension. I wish we had used those pages to create more horror tension or lore.