Scan barcode
sorinahiggins's review against another edition
5.0
Follow my Charles Williams blog, The Oddest Inkling, for more context on this book and (later) a summary and other thoughts.
mary_juleyre's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism
adamrshields's review against another edition
3.0
Short Review: This is Charles Williams' last book. Set (and written) just after WWII. A woman and her friend die in a plane accident and leaving her husband and others behind. The story takes a little while to get fully presented. And once it is presented it is pretty straight forward guy trying to take over the world story.
This is a ghost story with a clear christian worldview. This is pre-'christian' fiction era. So it doesn't have a lot of the weaknesses of modern Christian fiction. It is a somewhat odd book, but so many have described Williams' books as odd that All Hallow's Eve did not seem super odd to me.
Frankly I though it read like a Jim Butcher novel.
While I don't think it was a great book (3.5 star probably) I did think it was interesting and I liked it well enough to read another one of his books.
My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/all-hallows-eve/
This is a ghost story with a clear christian worldview. This is pre-'christian' fiction era. So it doesn't have a lot of the weaknesses of modern Christian fiction. It is a somewhat odd book, but so many have described Williams' books as odd that All Hallow's Eve did not seem super odd to me.
Frankly I though it read like a Jim Butcher novel.
While I don't think it was a great book (3.5 star probably) I did think it was interesting and I liked it well enough to read another one of his books.
My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/all-hallows-eve/
sloatsj's review against another edition
3.0
I read this for a college theology class and thought it was terrific, and what a genre - the Christian Thriller. Maybe a precursor to The DaVinci Code? Not really, although gripping, it's much more interested in actual theology. I should probably give it four stars, but hey, I'm anti-inflation.
windwhispers7's review against another edition
2.0
Williams is, admittedly, a creator of fascinating stories, and I found this book nigh on impossible to put down once I passed the first couple of chapters. However, All Hallow's Eve did not prove delightful to me. While the book was neatly written and presented fascinating reflections on the power and abuse of language, it struck me as spiritually unhealthy--often overly fascinated with the mystery of evil, but less persuasive in its depiction of the conquering power of good, which seemed rather a rather ambiguous force in the book.
newishpuritan's review against another edition
4.0
Not a perfect book, but a highly distinctive and original one.
hstapp's review against another edition
4.0
This is Charles Williams' finest book. It is the culmination of all his other novels. It contains elements of all of them into a true masterpiece. The only downside to this is it lacks the creativity, the newness of his other great novels. If I had read this book first it would have 5 stars, and indeed it may change to have them, because it is an excellent book. This book is one of the easier of his books to read, not a difficult read like some of his others. Well written as always this is a superb book.
nightmarekitty13's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ldegough's review against another edition
2.0
I did not enjoy this book. I didn't understand it, first of all. Nothing made sense to me. And second of all, the grammar is horrible. I don't know if Charles Williams just doesn't know how to use punctuation correctly or if it's just this copy that's messed up—but I know that it can't be intentional.
I find it very strange that we're even studying this book in my Inklings class, because it doesn't seem to be very well-written, in my opinion. And everyone else in my class says the same.
- Lacie
I find it very strange that we're even studying this book in my Inklings class, because it doesn't seem to be very well-written, in my opinion. And everyone else in my class says the same.
- Lacie
rachellinnmartin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Confusing, interesting, funny