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yotca's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ngallion's review
3.0
This book is deeply weird. Though some of that is okay, it’s got multiple plot points that aren’t well telegraphed very clearly early on. The first 3/4 of this book made me think this was clearly one kind of book, but the last 1/4 showed it to be something very different. What it does, it does well, but the weird left turn toward the end was very drastic and only got weirder as the book drew toward its conclusion. I don’t dislike this book, but this will likely be one that I’ll remember as that weird little book that went off the rails as it got going.
meme_too2's review
5.0
WOW!!!!!
That's the only expression I can muster with this book.
If you are looking for a book with a completely unpredictable twist at the end, this is the book for you. It is not for the weak stomached though.
Michael thinks faceless people are out to get him, so he is diagnosed as schizophrenic and locked up in a mental ward. But guess what! The faceless people turn out to be people Michael knows. Don't worry, I haven't given a thing away.
Dan, who are you? and where do you come from? Your mind is very different from the average person's. But man! Can you write an engrossing book! Good on you!
That's the only expression I can muster with this book.
If you are looking for a book with a completely unpredictable twist at the end, this is the book for you. It is not for the weak stomached though.
Michael thinks faceless people are out to get him, so he is diagnosed as schizophrenic and locked up in a mental ward. But guess what! The faceless people turn out to be people Michael knows. Don't worry, I haven't given a thing away.
Dan, who are you? and where do you come from? Your mind is very different from the average person's. But man! Can you write an engrossing book! Good on you!
megwalker's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
rachylynn's review
3.0
I really enjoyed that the main character was schizophrenic. It was so much fun trying to figure out what was real and what was not. I did not enjoy the sci-fi element of this book. I didn't feel like it was written well enough for me to enjoy it, as sci-fi had to be pretty good to make me a fan.
ashleyhoj's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
😭😭
michellewords's review
2.0
The Hollow City was a book club pick. I finished it, looked at the cover, and said,"Oh."
The book is super uneven and feels like three books in one. Book One is a murder mystery. Police are looking for a serial killer who cuts off people's faces. Book Two is Michael and his fight between what's real and what's not. This book is way too long and drawn out. Book Three is the big twist reveal that felt a little too much like Stephen King ending. It felt fast and out of nowhere.
I tell you what. The middle part was a tough power read. I was bored and I wanted to get back to the mystery. 100+ pages of "is he crazy or not?" got pretty old.
I see the themes Wells is trying to share. Of the past meeting the future, natural versus technology. It just didn't deliver very well.
The book is super uneven and feels like three books in one. Book One is a murder mystery. Police are looking for a serial killer who cuts off people's faces. Book Two is Michael and his fight between what's real and what's not. This book is way too long and drawn out. Book Three is the big twist reveal that felt a little too much like Stephen King ending. It felt fast and out of nowhere.
I tell you what. The middle part was a tough power read. I was bored and I wanted to get back to the mystery. 100+ pages of "is he crazy or not?" got pretty old.
I see the themes Wells is trying to share. Of the past meeting the future, natural versus technology. It just didn't deliver very well.
blairconrad's review
3.0
An interesting book, with a novel premise. I enjoyed being lead through Michael's mind - wondering, with him, what was real, who could be trusted, and so on. While I was initially intrigued by the promise of a possibly supernatural horror story mixed with a story of a man's psychosis, I was left a little flat by the end. The twist (I thought) came out of nowhere and the things seemed a little pat. Still, good pacing, and the episodes of doubt along the way were presented really well.
mlhelliwell's review
4.0
This was a lightening fast read - I picked it up on Sunday morning and gorged on it for about two hours when I had no choice but to put it down, then finished it the same night. Dan Wells creates an interesting character in Michael, who has schizophrenia, which is both a curse and a gift. The book opens with a serial killer on the lose, and Michael in the hospital after suffering a black out period of two weeks. He's paranoid, afraid of cellphones and the faceless people he sees everywhere, and he is about to be committed to a mental hospital after being diagnosed with schizophrenia. Are the faceless men real? Is Michael a serial killer? That is the crux of the external plot in The Hollow City - what happens with you hear voices and see things that aren't there...unless maybe some of the time, they actually are real.
Wells does an excellent job of explaining schizophrenia and the myriad of medications used in treatment, and yet he weaves it into the plot in such a way where it never feels like exposition. I've never read a story where the protagonist has this condition, and it's an interesting take on the unreliable narrator, because it meant for me, as the reader, that I was putting the pieces of this story together along with the protagonist, and at the same not entirely trusting what I was seeing through his eyes. I wanted to trust him, however, which, given how the population at large views people with schizophrenia--as untrustworthy and dangerous--says something about Wells' ability to get the read to latch onto and identify with the hero. And Michael is, in my view, a hero. I'm still trying to decide how I feel about the ending, and his sacrifice. A book that lingers like that is always a good thing for me.
I'm not sure how to classify this book, if you are given to genre reading. It's sort of horror, kind of urban fantasy maybe - not sure. But it is definitely a very good read.
Wells does an excellent job of explaining schizophrenia and the myriad of medications used in treatment, and yet he weaves it into the plot in such a way where it never feels like exposition. I've never read a story where the protagonist has this condition, and it's an interesting take on the unreliable narrator, because it meant for me, as the reader, that I was putting the pieces of this story together along with the protagonist, and at the same not entirely trusting what I was seeing through his eyes. I wanted to trust him, however, which, given how the population at large views people with schizophrenia--as untrustworthy and dangerous--says something about Wells' ability to get the read to latch onto and identify with the hero. And Michael is, in my view, a hero. I'm still trying to decide how I feel about the ending, and his sacrifice. A book that lingers like that is always a good thing for me.
I'm not sure how to classify this book, if you are given to genre reading. It's sort of horror, kind of urban fantasy maybe - not sure. But it is definitely a very good read.
flajol's review
4.0
Dan Wells is rapidly becoming one of my favourite authors. Must read everything he's written...
***********
8th June 2019
I recently got a friend to start watching 'Legion', which I love. She's reading 'The Hollow City', and after watching season 1 of 'Legion' told me I should read this: "It's along similar lines". Erm, I think I have read this... Yep - I read it five years ago. I remember that I enjoyed it, but I don't remember anything about the story.
So I sat down to read it again. So glad I did. My poor memory didn't really come to the rescue, so it was like reading it for the first time, and I enjoyed it just as much this time around. This time I did pay more attention to how other characters were interacting with each other, but that's probably down to how I've been watching 'Legion'. I love how unreliable Michael is, and even by the end of the book, I'm still not sure how much of his experience was real.
***********
8th June 2019
I recently got a friend to start watching 'Legion', which I love. She's reading 'The Hollow City', and after watching season 1 of 'Legion' told me I should read this: "It's along similar lines". Erm, I think I have read this... Yep - I read it five years ago. I remember that I enjoyed it, but I don't remember anything about the story.
So I sat down to read it again. So glad I did. My poor memory didn't really come to the rescue, so it was like reading it for the first time, and I enjoyed it just as much this time around. This time I did pay more attention to how other characters were interacting with each other, but that's probably down to how I've been watching 'Legion'. I love how unreliable Michael is, and even by the end of the book, I'm still not sure how much of his experience was real.