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princessleopard's review
4.0
Preface: I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
This book was a bit of a first for me - I've always had a passing interest in Lovecraft-esque horror, but rarely actually dive into it. I took a chance, though, and I'm glad I did. This book was delightfully horrific and disturbing. For the most part, it's a very atmospheric, creeping sort of horror, but as the implications and possibilities continue to build, it becomes genuinely very tense. There's a sort of gloomy dread to it that's perfect for the setting - the infamous year without summer.
The characters are strong and likable. I really liked Marcus as a protagonist, but the main girl (Lucy, maybe?) was good too. I found myself rooting for them and fearing for their safety. Even most of the minor characters, though still not incredibly deep, were likable.
The horror elements were strong and ever-present, even when they weren't directly on-screen. The main villain felt a bit lackluster at times, but that's expected from this sort of thing. My one big gripe was that this story went the way most existential horror novels do in the end, where it became disjointed, unfocused, and a bit hard to understand...but, again, that's kinda the point.
Overall, I was very satisfied with this read, and would definitely recommend it to fans of the genre.
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
This book was a bit of a first for me - I've always had a passing interest in Lovecraft-esque horror, but rarely actually dive into it. I took a chance, though, and I'm glad I did. This book was delightfully horrific and disturbing. For the most part, it's a very atmospheric, creeping sort of horror, but as the implications and possibilities continue to build, it becomes genuinely very tense. There's a sort of gloomy dread to it that's perfect for the setting - the infamous year without summer.
The characters are strong and likable. I really liked Marcus as a protagonist, but the main girl (Lucy, maybe?) was good too. I found myself rooting for them and fearing for their safety. Even most of the minor characters, though still not incredibly deep, were likable.
The horror elements were strong and ever-present, even when they weren't directly on-screen. The main villain felt a bit lackluster at times, but that's expected from this sort of thing. My one big gripe was that this story went the way most existential horror novels do in the end, where it became disjointed, unfocused, and a bit hard to understand...but, again, that's kinda the point.
Overall, I was very satisfied with this read, and would definitely recommend it to fans of the genre.
tnau7489's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
3.0
thefancifulreader's review
3.0
FAST FANCIFUL FIX
• I found myself quite intrigued by many aspects of the book
• Lucy was a character I very much enjoyed
• Marcus made for a good, flawed character
• The setting was really atmospheric
• I've never read a book set in 1816, so it was a good experience for me (and I was prompted to do some research about the real historical period which was fascinating)
• Unfortunately, that independent research is probably my favourite take away from the book
• The ending was a bit disappointing, felt like it went in a very strange direction
• Honestly, trying to sum up this book is difficult, it was a very strange combining of different concepts
• I believe it was several chapters too long
• There were a number of mistakes in the book, which I can normally ignore, however sometimes names were mixed up, which led to some confusion until I figured out the mistake
• Despite the mistakes, I quite liked the writing style
☆☆☆
• I found myself quite intrigued by many aspects of the book
• Lucy was a character I very much enjoyed
• Marcus made for a good, flawed character
• The setting was really atmospheric
• I've never read a book set in 1816, so it was a good experience for me (and I was prompted to do some research about the real historical period which was fascinating)
• Unfortunately, that independent research is probably my favourite take away from the book
• The ending was a bit disappointing, felt like it went in a very strange direction
• Honestly, trying to sum up this book is difficult, it was a very strange combining of different concepts
• I believe it was several chapters too long
• There were a number of mistakes in the book, which I can normally ignore, however sometimes names were mixed up, which led to some confusion until I figured out the mistake
• Despite the mistakes, I quite liked the writing style
☆☆☆
aconitecafe's review
4.0
I'll admit, I picked this book up because of it's cover. It gave me a Cthulhu vibe, that I thought would fill the book as well. So if that is why you're also thinking about reading this book, I will just state here at the beginning, Cthulhu isn't in this book, or any creature of the likes.
With that being said, the story does have a very Lovecraft vibe going on leaving me with a 'the real monster is always men/humans' message as my final thoughts.
The story takes place in 1816 with flash forwards to the late 1800's, and the dialogue and actions of the characters all draw you into that time period very well. I enjoyed the format, timeshifts, and POV shifts. They added to the unsettling nature of the tale.
I wrap up was a bit lackluster for me, or I guess didn't really work/wasn't foreshadowed well? But I did love the flash forwards, they really tied the whole story together well.
I received this book via Hidden Gems Books
With that being said, the story does have a very Lovecraft vibe going on leaving me with a 'the real monster is always men/humans' message as my final thoughts.
The story takes place in 1816 with flash forwards to the late 1800's, and the dialogue and actions of the characters all draw you into that time period very well. I enjoyed the format, timeshifts, and POV shifts. They added to the unsettling nature of the tale.
I wrap up was a bit lackluster for me, or I guess didn't really work/wasn't foreshadowed well? But I did love the flash forwards, they really tied the whole story together well.
I received this book via Hidden Gems Books
brucemri's review
5.0
This is a Regency gothic horror, something you don't get to say about a lot of books, set in 1816, the year that there was worldwide bad weather, unusual coolness, and other trouble because of the eruption of Indonesian volcano Mt. Tambora the year before.
Between a prologue in 1851 and an epilogue that spans the years between 1816 and 1851, the bulk of the story takes place in and around Penderbrook, one of the grandest mansions in England.
The current Earl enjoys a great reputation and is responsible for maintaining a cloth mill that employs hundreds of people who'd otherwise be out of work and starving, but is secretly a total scumbag. His elder son, Barnabas, is a scholarly sort, whose interests include the occult as well as the scientific. He's engaged to the daughter of the Earl's trusted long-time comrade and advisor, who it turns out actually fell out with the Earl some time ago. The daughter, Lucy, will (we know from the prologue) go on to be a famous and successful writer of gothics and prototypical weird fiction. The Earl's younger son, Marcus, ran off to join the army, and is home now that the Napoleonic wars are over, having become a successful captain.
Their version of the "year without a summer" is weirder than hours. There are...not sunspots, but things that look like spreading fungal filaments through a telescope. Here on earth, there's a red fungus that's getting into everything and warping the bodies of plants and animals it's gotten into. Things are not right with the mill - a whole lot of people head off to work there, stripping Penderbrook of most of its customary vast staff, and there's no real explanation of what happens to them, or how the mill keeps itself in food. Elder son Barnabas has been killed by a monster, but everyone who saw it has a wildly different account of what happened, and now his body's gone missing. Things go from bad to worse, and then keep going.
Knippling brings together two strains of horror in a really distinctive fusion. On the one hand, there's plant and body horror of the sort you might find in a David Cronenberg movie or one of Laird Barron's supernatural tales. On the other, there's a strong influence from the tale of creeping dread of the sort Robert Aickman excelled at, where being intensely uncomfortable becomes the key to cosmic horror. I've never read a story that put those together in such a successful blend.
It helps that I have an ongoing fascination with the concepts at the heart of what's actually going on, of course. So I loved the opening, loved the development, and then the revelations and resolution, too.
Very highly recommended, and it's a pleasure to have a horror recommendation that doesn't need a disclaimer for sexual violence and such. There is a goodly quantity of violence, so those who need to avoid that will want to steer clear, but what's going on doesn't need sexual degradation and abuse and doesn't get any.
Between a prologue in 1851 and an epilogue that spans the years between 1816 and 1851, the bulk of the story takes place in and around Penderbrook, one of the grandest mansions in England.
The current Earl enjoys a great reputation and is responsible for maintaining a cloth mill that employs hundreds of people who'd otherwise be out of work and starving, but is secretly a total scumbag. His elder son, Barnabas, is a scholarly sort, whose interests include the occult as well as the scientific. He's engaged to the daughter of the Earl's trusted long-time comrade and advisor, who it turns out actually fell out with the Earl some time ago. The daughter, Lucy, will (we know from the prologue) go on to be a famous and successful writer of gothics and prototypical weird fiction. The Earl's younger son, Marcus, ran off to join the army, and is home now that the Napoleonic wars are over, having become a successful captain.
Their version of the "year without a summer" is weirder than hours. There are...not sunspots, but things that look like spreading fungal filaments through a telescope. Here on earth, there's a red fungus that's getting into everything and warping the bodies of plants and animals it's gotten into. Things are not right with the mill - a whole lot of people head off to work there, stripping Penderbrook of most of its customary vast staff, and there's no real explanation of what happens to them, or how the mill keeps itself in food. Elder son Barnabas has been killed by a monster, but everyone who saw it has a wildly different account of what happened, and now his body's gone missing. Things go from bad to worse, and then keep going.
Knippling brings together two strains of horror in a really distinctive fusion. On the one hand, there's plant and body horror of the sort you might find in a David Cronenberg movie or one of Laird Barron's supernatural tales. On the other, there's a strong influence from the tale of creeping dread of the sort Robert Aickman excelled at, where being intensely uncomfortable becomes the key to cosmic horror. I've never read a story that put those together in such a successful blend.
It helps that I have an ongoing fascination with the concepts at the heart of what's actually going on, of course. So I loved the opening, loved the development, and then the revelations and resolution, too.
Very highly recommended, and it's a pleasure to have a horror recommendation that doesn't need a disclaimer for sexual violence and such. There is a goodly quantity of violence, so those who need to avoid that will want to steer clear, but what's going on doesn't need sexual degradation and abuse and doesn't get any.
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