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thisislauraw's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
3.0
This was a fast-paced novella with a fun concept. I didn’t find it too well executed, unfortunately. The idea of a war between the elder and younger of the strange earworm beings is pretty epic, but the story felt quite small scale.
After a good start that intrigued me, I found it slowed down and started to lose me for a while. Fortunately, it did pick up again, with only a couple of slower moments.
Honestly, I skipped most of the poorly written ‘garlic’ article the MC reads. I assume the writing style was that bad on purpose, to show the type of online conspiracy theorist writing it, but unfortunately I found it overly long and irritating.
The description of chicken farming was also difficult to read, for different reasons, and I don’t think it was necessary to the story.
I liked the use of the earworm songs as storytelling devices and clues about what was to come, but wasn’t too keen on the song lyrics at the end of each chapter. These seemed to bleed into the text and I was often halfway into the lyrics before realising the chapter was over and it wasn’t part of the story.
This was an interesting read, something I can imagine fans of 80s horror (think Brain Damage, or The Deadly Spawn) enjoying. It was a fun way to pass a couple of hours.
My thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with a copy to review.
My thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with a copy to review.
arthur_ant18's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
blatdriver's review against another edition
5.0
WOW This book is something special. I loved it!
It is heart-warming, funny and a bit gross in spots, the writing is smooth and very easy to read, so much so It felt more like a close friend just telling you a story, the characters are likeable and well developed, with lots of relatable pop culture references that I loved.
It has a very similar feel to Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton, or if you prefer a movie comparison, Stand By Me from 1986.
I highly recommend this book, It's brilliant and it deserves to be known.
It is heart-warming, funny and a bit gross in spots, the writing is smooth and very easy to read, so much so It felt more like a close friend just telling you a story, the characters are likeable and well developed, with lots of relatable pop culture references that I loved.
It has a very similar feel to Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton, or if you prefer a movie comparison, Stand By Me from 1986.
I highly recommend this book, It's brilliant and it deserves to be known.
eggcatsreads's review against another edition
3.0
A huge thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Blood Bound Books for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
An interesting concept with the idea that all of human history and beliefs are actually one single entity that is attempting to take over the world. A very cosmic horror tale where you can't trust anyone, and need to watch your back from everyone.
The concept for this novel was fascinating, and I think overall the plot was well-done. Unfortunately, I did not like our main male character, nor did I like how every chapter randomly ended with a stanza from a song with no warning.
I understand this novel is called “earworm” but I don’t think this gimmick was necessary, as we already have multiple chapters where our main character is already spending the entire chapter with a song in his head. Also, many times it was hard to tell where the chapter ended and the song began, and it greatly disrupted the flow of my reading. There was also an irritating part where our main character gets the song “You Got a Friend in Me” stuck in his head, and instead of just a line or two we get a whole random paragraph of the entire song. Unnecessary.
Ripley was not a character I particularly liked, which isn’t necessary for me to like a book. However, many times it felt like the author was begging me to like him based on how “good” of a person he “really” was. There were multiple instances where Ripley would mentally go “I’m a feminist” or “I’m not sexist” or xyz before describing a woman in the most blatant sexist offensive terms ever. And to be honest, this wouldn’t have bothered me if it wasn’t POINTED OUT to me as a way of self-acknowledgement from him that he just HAS to describe this woman in this way, really, it’s nothing to do with sexism. Personally, I’d have rather he just be sexist than to read “I’m a feminist, so this isn’t being sexist, but *describes a woman in unnecessarily rude terms* but it’s okay, I’m married to a woman and thought another woman was attractive. It’s just a personal gripe of mine, but I feel I’d rather he be a flawed character with some sexist characteristics rather than a sexist character who keeps insisting he’s not “because he’s a feminist.”
In the same tune, I also didn’t like Bogart for many similar reasons. There’s an entire conversation between the two about him having sex with Ripley’s wife in VERY unflattering terms, and I was just like “really? Is this what I’m reading right now?” Also, he very much ruined a soft moment between him and Ripley where Bogart is trying to help Ripley’s self-esteem by going full “but no-homo” on him. Overall, I felt the two characters were kind of surface level with many jokes and exchanges that fell flat.
Complaints aside, the overall plot was short and sweet enough to give us a glimpse into this world with these parasites, and how humanity can try to defeat them. This was very much a cosmic horror novel, and it accomplishes its goal fairly well. If you were looking for a short cosmic horror novel and are fine with some cringy internal dialogue then I think this novel would work for you.
An interesting concept with the idea that all of human history and beliefs are actually one single entity that is attempting to take over the world. A very cosmic horror tale where you can't trust anyone, and need to watch your back from everyone.
The concept for this novel was fascinating, and I think overall the plot was well-done. Unfortunately, I did not like our main male character, nor did I like how every chapter randomly ended with a stanza from a song with no warning.
I understand this novel is called “earworm” but I don’t think this gimmick was necessary, as we already have multiple chapters where our main character is already spending the entire chapter with a song in his head. Also, many times it was hard to tell where the chapter ended and the song began, and it greatly disrupted the flow of my reading. There was also an irritating part where our main character gets the song “You Got a Friend in Me” stuck in his head, and instead of just a line or two we get a whole random paragraph of the entire song. Unnecessary.
Ripley was not a character I particularly liked, which isn’t necessary for me to like a book. However, many times it felt like the author was begging me to like him based on how “good” of a person he “really” was. There were multiple instances where Ripley would mentally go “I’m a feminist” or “I’m not sexist” or xyz before describing a woman in the most blatant sexist offensive terms ever. And to be honest, this wouldn’t have bothered me if it wasn’t POINTED OUT to me as a way of self-acknowledgement from him that he just HAS to describe this woman in this way, really, it’s nothing to do with sexism. Personally, I’d have rather he just be sexist than to read “I’m a feminist, so this isn’t being sexist, but *describes a woman in unnecessarily rude terms* but it’s okay, I’m married to a woman and thought another woman was attractive. It’s just a personal gripe of mine, but I feel I’d rather he be a flawed character with some sexist characteristics rather than a sexist character who keeps insisting he’s not “because he’s a feminist.”
In the same tune, I also didn’t like Bogart for many similar reasons. There’s an entire conversation between the two about him having sex with Ripley’s wife in VERY unflattering terms, and I was just like “really? Is this what I’m reading right now?” Also, he very much ruined a soft moment between him and Ripley where Bogart is trying to help Ripley’s self-esteem by going full “but no-homo” on him. Overall, I felt the two characters were kind of surface level with many jokes and exchanges that fell flat.
Complaints aside, the overall plot was short and sweet enough to give us a glimpse into this world with these parasites, and how humanity can try to defeat them. This was very much a cosmic horror novel, and it accomplishes its goal fairly well. If you were looking for a short cosmic horror novel and are fine with some cringy internal dialogue then I think this novel would work for you.
xombieky's review against another edition
5.0
What a fun, bizarro, what the hell is happening read! I LOVED the humour in this book, I laughed out loud multiple times. I also love the bizarro genre so it had me invested even though I sometimes lost track of what in the world was going on.
Overall, fantastic and fun read!
Overall, fantastic and fun read!
colorfulleo92's review against another edition
3.0
Got this book for review on netgally.
It was definitely a weird story but unfortunately not really working for me. It was interesting but it just felt off somehow and I couldn't really get invested. It was around 2.5 stars rounded up.
It was definitely a weird story but unfortunately not really working for me. It was interesting but it just felt off somehow and I couldn't really get invested. It was around 2.5 stars rounded up.
jantonichuk's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
4.25
Initially while reading this books I was uncertain if I was going to like it. But as the story progressed I became more and more enraptured with it.
I loved all the pop culture references and how of the time the references made the novel feel.
The culmination of Ripley dying but not really made me love the book even more
My only negatives were some parts were definitely written more for the male perspective and it was what made me question if I would enjoy the book or not as well some sections were a little choppy in structure and I found myself rereading parts to get the timeline straight in my head.
Overall a really good concept and a very fun read
I loved all the pop culture references and how of the time the references made the novel feel.
The culmination of Ripley dying but not really made me love the book even more
My only negatives were some parts were definitely written more for the male perspective and it was what made me question if I would enjoy the book or not as well some sections were a little choppy in structure and I found myself rereading parts to get the timeline straight in my head.
Overall a really good concept and a very fun read
mistressviolet's review
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.0
This is a weird book to review. The tone is blunt and snarky. It walks a very thin line between being acceptable vs offensive (especially early in the book). The main character is a bit of jerk, not lovable, but also not irredeemable. And the target audience for this book is definitely male. ...And yet, despite all this, I was unable to put the book down. And the longer I read it, the more it grew on me.
There was a surprising amount to love about this book. It has a compelling story, with tension, action and intrigue. The secondary character is one of the most unique that I've come across. I couldn't help but love him, despite his very unusual (and not entirely healthy) relationship with the main character. And, something which I found equally delightful, is that this book has some very intriguing and obscure points of knowledge that tie in nicely with the plot of the book. You get a bit of esoteric education to go along with the pure entertainment value of the book.
All in all, this one was a winner.