Josh

This book has quite the slow and meandering plot, seemingly getting distracted at every turn. The thing is though, that works with the content of the novel. In my mind while reading it I was just imagining this winding road that will eventually get us to our destination, but along the way we have to see the world's biggest ball of yarn, the Winchester Mystery House etc.

So something that would usually bother me quite a bit, does so less even though it's still not my preference of storytelling style. It also helps that I love the premise and I enjoy looking for the allusions towards mythological stories as well as enjoy the one's that are given explicitly. So even when it feels like the plot isn't going anywhere anytime soon, I'm always on the look out for that hidden god or reference to folklore.

Where the novel fails to grab me though is the main character. Shadow doesn't have much of a personality and little presence as a character. He has no pizzazz. No  je ne sais quoi. What you see is what you get and all I see is a “big guy” that takes up space and little else. This is actually commented on within the book itself to some extent, so him being written that way is deliberate and it does serve a purpose within the context of the narrative overall. Even if I recognize that though it doesn't make his perspective anymore exciting. I don't love him and I don't hate him. He's just lukewarm and that's arguably even worse and it does really put a hamper on the enjoyment.

A compelling and thrilling read, which I enjoyed immensely. My only complaint with it would be that there were times when this book felt very slow as it includes a lot of mundane details that are quite dry to read. Sometimes this was purposeful, where as others it felt like it could have been left out with no real loss. None the less I look forward to continuing on with the characters as they solve their next mystery in book 2.

Definitely mind the trigger warning though if it's something you're considering reading. 

I greatly enjoyed The Poppy War and I legitimately thought this series had the potential to go down as one of my all time favourites. It still may, but after reading the second entry I'm not quite so convinced anymore.

I did not greatly enjoy approximately the first two thirds of this book. It feels like the character's, Rin in particular, regressed in development. While this can make sense given her experiences and the circumstances her character goes through there's a balance to walk there between how long a character wallows and how much time it takes before them to start developing again. I don't think that line is walked particularly well here and part of this is imo because of the significantly slower pacing. 

That being said the last third or so of the book is absolutely wonderful with a very satisfying concluding couple of chapters that completely changed my overall opinion of the novel. Given I'd lean towards 2 out of 5 for the first and second third and 5 out of 5 for the last third, 3 stars overall feels right.

A mark of a great author is the ability to take a story you're familiar with and tell it in a way that makes you feel something new. Very well done.

 Not a scary book in the traditional sense, but definitely one that I found very unsettling and the tension runs high reading it. I don't think anyone writes crazy, quite like King does. He's written a lot of nasty bad guys, supernatural boogeymen and antagonists of other sorts in his time, but Annie is definitely up there as one of the most memorable and compelling to me. A bit over the top at times mind you, but overall she's what makes the book work.

If you love psychological horror then this is one I'd definitely recommend.