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carn17's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-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? It's complicated
4.5
ogrezed's review
3.0
I thought the blurb did a better job of introducing the story than the story did. The story jumps right in, and hardly bothers to do any kind of setup for the situation, even later on. The horror scenes are very good, but I never really cared about any of the characters, so they ended up falling flat.
I ended up with a 3 rating because I put the book down too often, and was never anxious to get back to it.
I ended up with a 3 rating because I put the book down too often, and was never anxious to get back to it.
mikekaz's review
4.0
This book is a collection of six novellas, all by Lebbon. The stories are each centered around the disintegration of society and the sources of hope which people find. "White" and "From Bad Flesh" both exist in the same continuity, a world where the devastation is called the Ruin. Hence the title of the book. All of the stories are excellent, extremely well told. The chaos and horror of "Hell" and "Mannequin Man and the Plastic Bitch" was a bit much and could be considered overdone, but at the same time Clive Barker has described worse. I think they stand out because the other stories aren't quite as severe. If all the stories had been equally intense, I wouldn't have noticed.
"White" - A group of people are stuck in a house by never-ending snow and something out in the snow.
"From Bad Flesh" - A man hunts for a cure to a deadly virus while trying to keep his morality.
"Hell" - While trying to escape his feelings and depression over losing his daughter, a father finds his daughter.
"The First Law" - Five survivors of a boat crash land on an island that epitomizes Darwin's law.
"The Origin of Truth" - A family tries to escape the end of the world but discovers the knowledge of humanity.
"Mannequin Man and the Plastic Bitch" - Two artificial beings seek out love.
"White" - A group of people are stuck in a house by never-ending snow and something out in the snow.
"From Bad Flesh" - A man hunts for a cure to a deadly virus while trying to keep his morality.
"Hell" - While trying to escape his feelings and depression over losing his daughter, a father finds his daughter.
"The First Law" - Five survivors of a boat crash land on an island that epitomizes Darwin's law.
"The Origin of Truth" - A family tries to escape the end of the world but discovers the knowledge of humanity.
"Mannequin Man and the Plastic Bitch" - Two artificial beings seek out love.
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