Scan barcode
siaolin's review against another edition
1.0
One of the worst books I've ever read. EVER.
I remember reading this as a young teen (around 13/14) and absolutely hating it from start to finish. Silk was pretty much the entire 2004-2007 Myspace "scene" community distilled into 300+ pages: poorly executed with very unlikable characters.
I remember reading this as a young teen (around 13/14) and absolutely hating it from start to finish. Silk was pretty much the entire 2004-2007 Myspace "scene" community distilled into 300+ pages: poorly executed with very unlikable characters.
robberbaroness's review against another edition
4.0
Review originally written for Pandemonium Books and Games
Caitlin R. Kiernan’s Silk is a great counterculture novel, set in the midst of young southern goths and punks, but there’s something deadly at the center of it. Are you afraid of spiders? Are you afraid of witches? Are you afraid of loneliness? Kiernan has you covered in any of those cases; she is the queen of gothic lyricism and weird monster biology. It can take a lot to send chills down the spine of a dedicated horror buff, but Kiernan manages it every time.
Caitlin R. Kiernan’s Silk is a great counterculture novel, set in the midst of young southern goths and punks, but there’s something deadly at the center of it. Are you afraid of spiders? Are you afraid of witches? Are you afraid of loneliness? Kiernan has you covered in any of those cases; she is the queen of gothic lyricism and weird monster biology. It can take a lot to send chills down the spine of a dedicated horror buff, but Kiernan manages it every time.
nixieish's review against another edition
4.0
Read when it was first published, at a time where I near-perfectly fit the demographic of the characters involved, and remember how it stuck with me for quite some time. Due for a re-read.
heyhawk's review against another edition
4.0
https://www.danscanon.com/2020/09/silk-by-caitlin-r-kiernan.html
the_bookubus's review
4.0
If you're looking for some serious 90s gothiness then look no further! Silk is about several characters from various different subcultures. We have the aloof and alluring Spyder; musician Daria with her drug-addict boyfriend; and Niki is new in town, running from her past.
The beginning is mostly a series of character studies as we get to know our players, and the story slowly builds as their individual stories meet. Kiernan's writing is beautiful and I am keen to read more of her work after Silk. I loved how the music scene was described, especially in regards to the character of Daria. There was also some very effective atmosphere and creepiness dotted throughout. There is definitely horror here but maybe also dark fantasy and/or magical realism? The story is rather ambiguous and there were elements I'm not sure I fully understood, but it didn't bother me too much because overall I really enjoyed the story and her writing.
Also, I loved the reference to The Cipher by Kathe Koja in a mention of an industrial club called The Funhole :)
The beginning is mostly a series of character studies as we get to know our players, and the story slowly builds as their individual stories meet. Kiernan's writing is beautiful and I am keen to read more of her work after Silk. I loved how the music scene was described, especially in regards to the character of Daria. There was also some very effective atmosphere and creepiness dotted throughout. There is definitely horror here but maybe also dark fantasy and/or magical realism? The story is rather ambiguous and there were elements I'm not sure I fully understood, but it didn't bother me too much because overall I really enjoyed the story and her writing.
Also, I loved the reference to The Cipher by Kathe Koja in a mention of an industrial club called The Funhole :)
mcbenzie's review against another edition
3.0
I read this years ago based on its inclusion in the reading list for a roleplaying game book about werespiders. It was the only work of fiction. And it's...well, it's pretty weird. And good. I should read some of her other stuff.
grace_mae's review
Another read on my quest to recreate the trance of Lost Souls by poppy z brite and a second chance for CRK after the bad dream that was The Red Tree.
Nastier, more mature, and less fantastical than PBZ but a clear inheritor of that style - character-driven and abrasive, and almost nothing actually happens (this is a neutral statement) . Pretty dated and so godforsakenly miserable but I think I enjoyed it, and it definitely got me closer to what I wanted.
Nastier, more mature, and less fantastical than PBZ but a clear inheritor of that style - character-driven and abrasive, and almost nothing actually happens (this is a neutral statement) . Pretty dated and so godforsakenly miserable but I think I enjoyed it, and it definitely got me closer to what I wanted.
celestialcass's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
3.5
some of the tension got lost in the writing and it was hard to figure out what was happening in dramatic scenes because it was so indirect. but i loved the premise, the characters, the story itself. good read
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Incest, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic relationship
cherryactually's review
dark
tense
slow-paced
2.5
that was a fucking trip — a boring one for the most part, but still a trip