The Laws of the Skies

Though clocking in at a short 147 pages, [b:The Laws of the Skies 42372424 The Laws of the Skies Gr??goire Courtois https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1552177777l/42372424.SY75.jpg 52585140] manage to pack punch after punch after punch - literally AND figuratively, to the point where it becomes almost darkly comical. There is no feel good story here, no satisfying conclusion or moral to be learned. It's death, child death, and little more. Saw this reviewed on tiktok, and thought I'd give it a whirl despite the low rating and the obvious subject matter. It doesn't hold back letting you know exactly what type of story it is, and the tension is created knowing the deaths that will occur, leaving you to only guess how they will come about. That tension was punctured with each subsequent incident, however, as it started to come off like The Gashlycrumb Tinies. I'm not sure if this was on purpose, or if it was because there was little to no story to carry them - the tragedies were the story - but it became darkly comedic in a not-funny-ironic sort of way. Even though I don't hate this book, it doesn't add anything to it's genre or really anything, in my opinion. The ending was less than a page long. The other issue that heavily contributed to it's rating was the style of writing. At certain points, it was well-done, but would occasionally devolve into paragraph long spindles of thought that splintered until my eyes glazed over and I lost whatever point author attempted to make. No 7 year old had thought spirals like that, and it only served to add to the heightened absurdity of the entire novella. If you're morbidly curious - feel free to pick this up. But understand it's focus is only on the tragedies, and little else. I regret reading only because it doesn't really serve any purpose except to be depressing.

Rating: 4.63 leaves out of 5Characters: 4/5 Cover: 4.5/5Story: 5/5Writing: 5/5Genre: Horror/ThrillerType: BookWorth?: YesTrigger Warning: GoreHated Disliked It Was Okay Liked Loved FavoritedWhat a book... wow. Such a short read but packed with so much amount of horror. 12 six year olds (1st graders) alone in the woods... that alone is scary enough. I was on the edge of my chair. I love how breaking the 4th wall really worked in this book because it screwed you up and left you feeling like complete shit. Amazing!Now for the spoiling review I wanted to feel bad for Enzo honestly, his parents are dead beat and I don't think that kid really knew what being loved was all about but HE ENJOYED KILLING. Omg... so that boar was due justice I guess. Just... the description of the boar and him. Ugh. Also I felt so bad for the kids, honestly. 6 years old and alone... I can just imagine how scared they were. Another thing, that 4th wall break making us feel like utter crap that we couldn't help. Thanks, Greg. XD

Like others have said, this is a tale of pure brutality. An examination of fear, pain and terror. A story that serves no other purpose than to make you feel what it's like to explore pain and death.
Very well written and translated. Some of the sentences were too long, but other than that, this is a short, well executed book that achieves exactly what it sets out to do.
Don't read if you are squeamish.