Reviews

Hell's Horizon by Darren Shan, D.B. Shan

neethya's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

unfussymarrow66's review

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

tasharobinson's review

3.0

I almost put this book down just a chapter in, because it opens with a tortured, mutilated, naked woman, and I've had about enough of exploitation-based mysteries. Halfway through the book, when it was developing into an elaborately bizarre and unpredictable fantasy novel, I was really glad I hadn't set it aside. By the end, though, I was wondering if my first instinct had been the smarter one. What starts out as a gumshoe detective novel goes in some fascinatingly unpredictable directions, but by the end it just seems like a wearying Gordian knot of tangled motives and people who lie to the protagonist when they first meet, but empty their guts to him the second. The Big Reveal was pretty obvious and covered up in a frustratingly transparent way, but it was the religious/magical/ritual element that roped me in — until a big climax that's just rushing wildly through the climax of the first novel in this series, with the protagonist of this one passively listening in on a whole bunch of stuff that hugely changes his world, while he does not much at all. It wound up feeling very clumsy and unsatisfying, the way so much of the conclusion of this book relies on events the protagonist has no involvement in or ability to affect. And then it turns out that the motivations behind this entire book, the event that set everything into motion, the ultimate reason behind all this torment and death, is something the author decided to withhold for a later book. I was really drawn into the middle third of this book, but I walked out feeling like the last third was a cop-out and a tease.

jcgreenlee's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.75

kevinweitzel44's review against another edition

4.0

This can't be better than Procession of the Dead, can it?
No of course not...Procession of the Dead was phenomenal
But wait...so was Hell's Horizon
It's impossible right?
Right...
Right.
Right?
Right!
RIGHHT!
______________________________

Yes, this book has driven me to complete madness. It completely blew my brains out by the end, all the pieces fell into place, it was shocking and mesmerizing, I am DYING to read The City of the Snakes
OH WAIT...it's right next to me
<3

austdav's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

woolfardis's review against another edition

3.0

[Short and quick review from memory before I re-read and re-review at a later date:

The thing I remember most is that I won these books...]

jennav117's review

dark mysterious

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

juliacg7's review against another edition

3.0

The first 150 pages were slow and I was going to quit. But then it got so twisty and good I had to finish it. Good for a one time read. Al Jeery is essentially sent on a wild goose chase to figure out a murder. He is not a detective at all but has some military tie-ins. The things he finds out you'd never see coming with the final twist.

jakewritesbooks's review against another edition

3.0

3.5

Pretty much in the same vein as Procession of the Dead but with a weaker ending. Shan tied things too neatly for my taste. Also, the killer seemed very obvious to me. Still a good read and I hope a worthy stage-setter for the book's conclusion.