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frantasticmissfox's review
3.0
Actual rating 3.5.
For the most part, I absolutely loved this book. The imagination that went into it was incredible, I loved the atmosphere, it was scary, it was creepy, and it was a hell of a lot of fun to read. However, there were a few things that I wasn't so keen on which is why my rating is at 3.5 instead of the 4 I probably would've given it.
I loved Soo-Lee and I really liked Lex but they were the only ones. Only liking two of the characters isn't really a problem but, as the story was split into the 6 points of view, when the story was focused on one of the other characters I found myself not really caring about what happened to them. Danielle wasn't in it long enough for me to know what my opinion on her was, although from the way other characters spoke about her it seemed like we were supposed to dislike her because she was a ditzy blonde but that actually made me find her quite endearing. She got killed off fairly quickly though and then we were left with the other five. Creep was one of the most hateable characters I've read about in a long time. I think we were supposed to hate him but because of how annoying and horrible he was it made it even more frustrating that he lasted as long as he did. Chazz could've been a much better character. If the backstory with his stepmother had been explored and developed more then he would've been an interesting character. As it was, he spent most of the book being a boring stereotype of the 'bully jock' with nothing else going for him and his backstory seemed like it was just thrown in at random to try and make him somewhat redeemable. Now onto Ramona, Ah Ramona! The girl that we were so blatantly supposed to root for, the one that was clearly the 'final girl', the one that was practically pushed into our faces with a sign over her head saying 'like me!'. It was way too forced and it was just too much. I didn't find her very likable anyway which, I guess, made it harder for me to understand why she was the one we were supposed to be rooting for but even so it was like she was being forced down our throats like 'YOU WILL LIKE ME'. No wonder Mother Crow felt threatened by her!
The plot itself moved along well for a good portion of the book and then, like a lot of others have already pointed out, in the middle it just lost its flow. Now, that's not to say that there weren't still some excellent scenes and scares during the middle of the book however some of the scenes just felt unnecessary and like a way to just drag out the story longer. I really didn't like how a few of the POV chapters would end with the character in immediate danger with no obvious means of escape and then their next POV chapter would start with them having gotten away somehow. It took me out of the story a bit and annoyed me that we didn't see how they managed to get out of the situation. I understand that the world of Stokes itself doesn't make sense and sometimes the environment would change around the characters in the blink of an eye but sometimes it just felt like a really convenient plot device to get the characters out of the danger so that they wouldn't have to be killed earlier in the story.
Overall, I did really enjoy this book though (although it might not seem like it from my little rant) there were just a few things that I didn't like so much which earned it a slightly lower rating from me. The story was a lot of fun to read and was definitely very entertaining. There were some scenes I absolutely loved, particularly the diner scene with Lex and Soo-Lee and some scenes that truly horrified me, in particular Soo-Lee's rape and I'm very glad I read this book.
For the most part, I absolutely loved this book. The imagination that went into it was incredible, I loved the atmosphere, it was scary, it was creepy, and it was a hell of a lot of fun to read. However, there were a few things that I wasn't so keen on which is why my rating is at 3.5 instead of the 4 I probably would've given it.
The plot itself moved along well for a good portion of the book and then, like a lot of others have already pointed out, in the middle it just lost its flow. Now, that's not to say that there weren't still some excellent scenes and scares during the middle of the book however some of the scenes just felt unnecessary and like a way to just drag out the story longer. I really didn't like how a few of the POV chapters would end with the character in immediate danger with no obvious means of escape and then their next POV chapter would start with them having gotten away somehow. It took me out of the story a bit and annoyed me that we didn't see how they managed to get out of the situation. I understand that the world of Stokes itself doesn't make sense and sometimes the environment would change around the characters in the blink of an eye but sometimes it just felt like a really convenient plot device to get the characters out of the danger so that they wouldn't have to be killed earlier in the story.
Overall, I did really enjoy this book though (although it might not seem like it from my little rant) there were just a few things that I didn't like so much which earned it a slightly lower rating from me. The story was a lot of fun to read and was definitely very entertaining. There were some scenes I absolutely loved, particularly
tin_squid's review against another edition
3.0
Not bad. Follows Curran's signature style. Group of people attacked by an unknown evil, are split up and regrouped a couple times. They sorta win a couple times, sorta lose a couple times. Just about everyone dies at the end, and the people who survive might as well be dead.
Not super memorable, but totally worth reading once for the extremely unique hardcore creepy monsters in this one
Not super memorable, but totally worth reading once for the extremely unique hardcore creepy monsters in this one
charshorrorcorner's review against another edition
4.0
This was a wildly imaginative book. I'm not going to get into the setup since the synopsis already does that. Instead I'm just going to state how this book made me feel.
This book is INSANE! I don't even know where to begin. An old town that doesn't exist now does. Things that don't exist, now do. A few of them? Frankendoll. Spider Mother. The Puppeteer. The Controller. Yeah, think about what those look like. Go ahead, I'll wait.
From the unsettling mind of Tim Curran comes this crazy tale of the town of Stokes, which to most, no longer exists. The occupants of which are mostly animated dolls and mannequins. But there's something much worse in Stokes and this group of 6 friends are soon going to find out who or what that is.
I found this story to be slightly repetitive in the middle portion, but not enough for me to start skimming. (Mostly because I was worried that I would miss something incredibly creative and cool. ) Also, I felt that I didn't get to know a few of the characters as well as I would have liked. Those are the only two complaints I have and they're both minor.
Overall, I thought this book was crazy good. Tim Curran is one imaginative son of a bitch- I don't know how the man sleeps at night. I recommend this book to fans of creepy dolls, wild imaginations and nightmares. This book delivers all that, and it delivers it in spades.
*If you like Tim Curran as much as I do, please tune in to HAD at the beginning of March for my interview with the man!* -Char
*I received this book free from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review. This is it.*
This book is INSANE! I don't even know where to begin. An old town that doesn't exist now does. Things that don't exist, now do. A few of them? Frankendoll. Spider Mother. The Puppeteer. The Controller. Yeah, think about what those look like. Go ahead, I'll wait.
From the unsettling mind of Tim Curran comes this crazy tale of the town of Stokes, which to most, no longer exists. The occupants of which are mostly animated dolls and mannequins. But there's something much worse in Stokes and this group of 6 friends are soon going to find out who or what that is.
I found this story to be slightly repetitive in the middle portion, but not enough for me to start skimming. (Mostly because I was worried that I would miss something incredibly creative and cool. ) Also, I felt that I didn't get to know a few of the characters as well as I would have liked. Those are the only two complaints I have and they're both minor.
Overall, I thought this book was crazy good. Tim Curran is one imaginative son of a bitch- I don't know how the man sleeps at night. I recommend this book to fans of creepy dolls, wild imaginations and nightmares. This book delivers all that, and it delivers it in spades.
*If you like Tim Curran as much as I do, please tune in to HAD at the beginning of March for my interview with the man!* -Char
*I received this book free from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review. This is it.*
lauriereadslohf's review against another edition
I requested this book from Netgalley and I am sad to say that I am going to have to DNF at the halfway mark. It may get better but it may not. All I know for certain is that I am just not having a good time with the story and I’m calling it done and moving on. You readers who revile the DNF review may want to click away now because that’s what you’re about to get here.
The intoxicated driver of a car filled with twenty somethings decides to take a shortcut home. You just know this won’t end well. And it doesn’t. They end up stranded in a town that no longer exists on any map and is inhabited by some very strange animated doll parts.
Sounds good to me and my hopes were high. I loved Curran’s book Blackout. But after a great beginning featuring some extremely well written creepy atmosphere, a diner straight out of hell, and several creatures that will haunt my dreams, it just sort of got stuck in a rut and lost me. I had trouble keeping track of the characters who decided to split up early and investigate and pretty much get what’s coming to them for being such curious creatures. I didn’t get to know any of them well enough to like or dislike them and never felt the tension that comes when a character you love or despise has to face unimaginable horror. And thus I stalled and this is where I part ways with Doll Face. Sorry guys.
The intoxicated driver of a car filled with twenty somethings decides to take a shortcut home. You just know this won’t end well. And it doesn’t. They end up stranded in a town that no longer exists on any map and is inhabited by some very strange animated doll parts.
Sounds good to me and my hopes were high. I loved Curran’s book Blackout. But after a great beginning featuring some extremely well written creepy atmosphere, a diner straight out of hell, and several creatures that will haunt my dreams, it just sort of got stuck in a rut and lost me. I had trouble keeping track of the characters who decided to split up early and investigate and pretty much get what’s coming to them for being such curious creatures. I didn’t get to know any of them well enough to like or dislike them and never felt the tension that comes when a character you love or despise has to face unimaginable horror. And thus I stalled and this is where I part ways with Doll Face. Sorry guys.
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