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A review by wyntrchylde
The Thing in the Snow by Sean Adams
1.0
The Thing in the Snow
Author: Sean Adams
Publisher: William Morrow - HarperCollins Publishers
Publishing Date: 2023
Pgs: 268
=======================
REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Genre:
Fiction
Horror
Psychological Horror
Mystery
Thriller
Suspense
_________________
The Feel:
In the early chapters, as they are testing the doors, I almost want the Thing in the Snow to eat one of them just to stop the pedantry.
At first I wanted to know what the Thing In The Snow was, but after a hundred or more pages of bureaucratic nonsense and busy work, I want the Thing In The Snow to eat these bastards.
Not sure how I kept reading. The flow and pace of this are horrid. And not in a King anxiety driven horror way, but bureaucracy over life.
Least Favorite Character:
Gilroy is nuts. Was he intentionally left at the Institute?
Cline and Gibbs are cardboard NPCs. The narrator never introduces themselves as we ride along on their internal monologue and interactions with the other characters.
Plot Holes/Out of Character:
The characters don't feel real at all.
Favorite Concept:
I like that we get right to “Do you see that? Out there? In the snow?” Rather than having to do the “it’s your imagination” or “you’ve just been here staring into the snow for too long”. It’s there. They’ve all 3 seen it. Here we go…nice.
Cover and Interior Art:
The cover blurbs lie. This story doesn't resemble what they are describing at all. The blurbs are almost as bad as the text. Saw this referred to as witty…nope, not at all. This isn’t even funny strange. Office satire... ... ...nope.
Hmm Moments:
It’s almost like Gilroy is researching the Backrooms. The Northern Institute is big, empty, and isolated. And he’s doing his research and measurements without instruments. Just wanders the Institute and records his observations. Hmmm.
The Sigh:
How did I keep going in this? Am I doing busy reading? Just reading to keep reading? It is making me feel something, but I don't like it at all. My bullshit alarm is going off, but there are only 50 pages or so left... sigh.
_________________
Pacing:
The pace is slow. It’s a locked room mystery…kind of, so it would by necessity have to be that way.
Last Page Sound:
It is a bit like staring out at snow in a heavy snowfall. IYKYK.
I thought about moving this to DNF and moving on. I finished it, but I'm still really not sure what this was about.
It did keep me turning pages, but I'm disappointed that I didn't follow my instincts and put this down 100 pages in.
Questions I’m Left With:
With the Jack French character as a character in a book within the book who Mary Sues his way to all the answers with management skills, is the author mocking Dirk Pitt, James Bond, both? Or Cussler, Fleming, et al? Those are the ones I immediately thought of when Jack French came up.
Author Assessment:
I won't be returning for other stuff by this author.
Author: Sean Adams
Publisher: William Morrow - HarperCollins Publishers
Publishing Date: 2023
Pgs: 268
=======================
REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Genre:
Fiction
Horror
Psychological Horror
Mystery
Thriller
Suspense
_________________
The Feel:
In the early chapters, as they are testing the doors, I almost want the Thing in the Snow to eat one of them just to stop the pedantry.
At first I wanted to know what the Thing In The Snow was, but after a hundred or more pages of bureaucratic nonsense and busy work, I want the Thing In The Snow to eat these bastards.
Not sure how I kept reading. The flow and pace of this are horrid. And not in a King anxiety driven horror way, but bureaucracy over life.
Least Favorite Character:
Gilroy is nuts. Was he intentionally left at the Institute?
Cline and Gibbs are cardboard NPCs. The narrator never introduces themselves as we ride along on their internal monologue and interactions with the other characters.
Plot Holes/Out of Character:
The characters don't feel real at all.
Favorite Concept:
I like that we get right to “Do you see that? Out there? In the snow?” Rather than having to do the “it’s your imagination” or “you’ve just been here staring into the snow for too long”. It’s there. They’ve all 3 seen it. Here we go…nice.
Cover and Interior Art:
The cover blurbs lie. This story doesn't resemble what they are describing at all. The blurbs are almost as bad as the text. Saw this referred to as witty…nope, not at all. This isn’t even funny strange. Office satire... ... ...nope.
Hmm Moments:
It’s almost like Gilroy is researching the Backrooms. The Northern Institute is big, empty, and isolated. And he’s doing his research and measurements without instruments. Just wanders the Institute and records his observations. Hmmm.
The Sigh:
How did I keep going in this? Am I doing busy reading? Just reading to keep reading? It is making me feel something, but I don't like it at all. My bullshit alarm is going off, but there are only 50 pages or so left... sigh.
_________________
Pacing:
The pace is slow. It’s a locked room mystery…kind of, so it would by necessity have to be that way.
Last Page Sound:
It is a bit like staring out at snow in a heavy snowfall. IYKYK.
I thought about moving this to DNF and moving on. I finished it, but I'm still really not sure what this was about.
It did keep me turning pages, but I'm disappointed that I didn't follow my instincts and put this down 100 pages in.
Questions I’m Left With:
With the Jack French character as a character in a book within the book who Mary Sues his way to all the answers with management skills, is the author mocking Dirk Pitt, James Bond, both? Or Cussler, Fleming, et al? Those are the ones I immediately thought of when Jack French came up.
Author Assessment:
I won't be returning for other stuff by this author.