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The Thing in the Snow
From the critically acclaimed author of The Heap, a thought-provoking and wryly funny novel--equal parts satire and psychological thriller--that holds a funhouse mirror to the isolated workplace and an age of endless distraction.
At the far reaches of the world, the Northern Institute sits in a vast expanse of ice and snow. Once a thriving research facility, its operations were abruptly shut down after an unspecified incident, and its research teams promptly evacuated. Now it's home to a team of three caretakers--Gibbs, Cline, and their supervisor, Hart--and a single remaining researcher named Gilroy, who is feverishly studying the sensation of coldness.
Their objective is occupy the space, complete their weekly tasks, and keep the building in working order in case research ever resumes. ( never touch the thermostat. never, ever go outside.) The work isn't thrilling--test every door for excessive creaking, sit on every chair to ensure its structural integrity--but for Hart, it's the opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to hone his leadership skills and become the beacon of efficiency he always knew he could be.
There's just one obstacle standing in his a mysterious object that has appeared out in the snow. Gibbs and Cline are mesmerized. They can't discern its exact shape and color, nor if it's moving or fixed in place. But it is there. Isn't it?
Whatever it might be, Hart thinks the thing in the snow is an unwelcome distraction, and probably a huge waste of time. Though, come to think of it, time itself has been a bit wonky lately. Weekends pass in a blur, and he can hardly tell day from night. Gravity seems less-than-reliable. The lights have been flickering weirdly, and he feels an odd thrumming sensation in his beard. Gibbs might be plotting to unseat him as supervisor, and Gilroy--well, what is he really doing anyway?
Perplexed and isolated--but most certainly not alone--Hart wrestles for control of his own psyche as the thing in the snow beguiles his team, upends their work, and challenges their every notion of what is normal.
At the far reaches of the world, the Northern Institute sits in a vast expanse of ice and snow. Once a thriving research facility, its operations were abruptly shut down after an unspecified incident, and its research teams promptly evacuated. Now it's home to a team of three caretakers--Gibbs, Cline, and their supervisor, Hart--and a single remaining researcher named Gilroy, who is feverishly studying the sensation of coldness.
Their objective is occupy the space, complete their weekly tasks, and keep the building in working order in case research ever resumes. ( never touch the thermostat. never, ever go outside.) The work isn't thrilling--test every door for excessive creaking, sit on every chair to ensure its structural integrity--but for Hart, it's the opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to hone his leadership skills and become the beacon of efficiency he always knew he could be.
There's just one obstacle standing in his a mysterious object that has appeared out in the snow. Gibbs and Cline are mesmerized. They can't discern its exact shape and color, nor if it's moving or fixed in place. But it is there. Isn't it?
Whatever it might be, Hart thinks the thing in the snow is an unwelcome distraction, and probably a huge waste of time. Though, come to think of it, time itself has been a bit wonky lately. Weekends pass in a blur, and he can hardly tell day from night. Gravity seems less-than-reliable. The lights have been flickering weirdly, and he feels an odd thrumming sensation in his beard. Gibbs might be plotting to unseat him as supervisor, and Gilroy--well, what is he really doing anyway?
Perplexed and isolated--but most certainly not alone--Hart wrestles for control of his own psyche as the thing in the snow beguiles his team, upends their work, and challenges their every notion of what is normal.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 3, 2023
105 people are currently reading
6856 people want to read
About the author
Sean Adams
8 books61 followersSean Adams is a graduate of Bennington College and the Iowa Writers' Workshop. His fiction has appeared in Electric Literature's Recommended Reading, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, The Normal School, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, The Arkansas International, and elsewhere. He lives in Des Moines, Iowa with his wife, Emma, and their various pets.
The Heap is his first novel.
The Heap is his first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 392 reviews
December 30, 2022
I don't think I'm smart enough for this book. I just didn't get it.
I'm obviously the wrong reader and not who this book is written for. I like answers--this book has none. I like explanations--this book has very few and not the ones I wanted to know.
I debated for a long time whether or not to read this one, and I should have just gone with my gut.
If you like strange, claustrophobic reads that leave a lot up to your own personal interpretation, then this might be for you.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
I'm obviously the wrong reader and not who this book is written for. I like answers--this book has none. I like explanations--this book has very few and not the ones I wanted to know.
I debated for a long time whether or not to read this one, and I should have just gone with my gut.
If you like strange, claustrophobic reads that leave a lot up to your own personal interpretation, then this might be for you.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
February 16, 2023
I completely understand the low rating on this novel because the feel is the mundane, the grey everyday. It has a slow plot and just when it got really thrilling and I hoped to get answers, it ended. But I loved it. The psychological aspect of this, the slow mystery and the want to understand what's going on. Or if it's something like psychosis. I felt like the madness slowly but surely crept in at the same time feeling like I might not have got the full picture. But I hope there will be. Book two!
January 4, 2023
This was an unusual and baffling book that kept me mainly engaged. It was a slow-paced, frustrating, and humourous satire about the workplace. I hope for a clear outcome even when the characters remain without all the answers. The unique psychological study of isolation within a claustrophobic setting and workplace drama discomforted me but kept me turning the pages. Themes include unquestioned loyalty to outside bureaucratic orders, mundane, repetitious tasks that seem useless, the toll of monotony and isolation, distractions, and inefficient leadership.
The setting is the Northern Institute, somewhere in the frozen Arctic wasteland. The building is seven stories high, and the first two stories are permanently buried in snow. It was once a busy workplace studying cold and climate, but the numerous workers were suddenly evacuated without warning or explanation.
Hart, Gibbs, and Cline were hired to take care of the empty building under the orders of an outside director, Kay. There is also an unbalanced former scientific worker on the premises who has no time for the others. Hart, Gibbs, and Cline have been told that their task is to keep the empty building running smoothly in case it is reopened and fully staffed again. They must never touch the thermostat or go outside. There is supposed to be unquestioned obedience to authority without thinking for oneself.
Hart is pleased that he was given a position of authority over the other two workers. He feels they do not show him the respect he deserves. He fears that Gibbs wants to usurp his position, and he is losing confidence. He studies a series of novels where the fictional boss always saves the day. He hopes to duplicate this heroism with his leadership.
A helicopter drops provisions and their weekly work schedule on the roof every week. Their work consists of monotonous tasks of little purpose, such as sitting on every chair in the building to determine if they are steady, checking each door to see if they creak, and establishing if the tables are level. Reports must be submitted of their daily work. Hart has started a coffee and discussion group to begin each work day and establish a cooperative atmosphere. Unfortunately, the attempts at conversation are just as dull as their work days.
Their life goes on routinely until a mysterious object is spotted outside in the snow. They cannot tell if it is moving or stationary, and Cline and Gibbs become obsessed and distracted. They believe it is causing strange vibrations within the building, interrupting their routines despite Hart's desire to stay on task. Eventually, Hart loses his sense of place and time amidst all the concern and confusion. I expect readers will be divided in their response to this unusual book.
The setting is the Northern Institute, somewhere in the frozen Arctic wasteland. The building is seven stories high, and the first two stories are permanently buried in snow. It was once a busy workplace studying cold and climate, but the numerous workers were suddenly evacuated without warning or explanation.
Hart, Gibbs, and Cline were hired to take care of the empty building under the orders of an outside director, Kay. There is also an unbalanced former scientific worker on the premises who has no time for the others. Hart, Gibbs, and Cline have been told that their task is to keep the empty building running smoothly in case it is reopened and fully staffed again. They must never touch the thermostat or go outside. There is supposed to be unquestioned obedience to authority without thinking for oneself.
Hart is pleased that he was given a position of authority over the other two workers. He feels they do not show him the respect he deserves. He fears that Gibbs wants to usurp his position, and he is losing confidence. He studies a series of novels where the fictional boss always saves the day. He hopes to duplicate this heroism with his leadership.
A helicopter drops provisions and their weekly work schedule on the roof every week. Their work consists of monotonous tasks of little purpose, such as sitting on every chair in the building to determine if they are steady, checking each door to see if they creak, and establishing if the tables are level. Reports must be submitted of their daily work. Hart has started a coffee and discussion group to begin each work day and establish a cooperative atmosphere. Unfortunately, the attempts at conversation are just as dull as their work days.
Their life goes on routinely until a mysterious object is spotted outside in the snow. They cannot tell if it is moving or stationary, and Cline and Gibbs become obsessed and distracted. They believe it is causing strange vibrations within the building, interrupting their routines despite Hart's desire to stay on task. Eventually, Hart loses his sense of place and time amidst all the concern and confusion. I expect readers will be divided in their response to this unusual book.
January 8, 2023
My first "weird" book of the year in which I have no idea what happened but still liked it.
December 30, 2022
This is a story about the absurdity of work. The Northern Institute, located in a remote part of the world and surrounded by ice and snow, was once a bustling research facility. But following an incident — the nature of which is unclear — its staff has been reduced to three people: Gibbs, Cline, and their supervisor, Hart. Their responsibilities are limited: keep the Institute operational in the event that research is ever to resume there. Each week, they receive a set of tasks from Kay, the Institute’s leader, via helicopter. And each week, Hart must report on their progress on the tasks as well as if any of them are suffering from the mysterious snow sickness.
The tasks are mundane — checking if the doors make unusual noises when they open or whether the floors in all of the rooms of the Institute are flat — but Hart, finally in a leadership role, takes them very seriously, even if he suspects Gibbs and Cline don’t always respect him. Then, outside the windows of the Institute, they spot something: a thing in the snow. Gibbs and Cline are obsessed with the thing in the snow, even though they can’t tell what exactly it is or if it may be moving. At first resistant, Hart begins to cater to their obsession, spending increasingly more time focused on the thing. But sometimes it is hard to tell how and whether that time is passing. And he can’t tell if the thing may be a prank being played by Gilroy, the one remaining original researcher still at the facility, or something quite serious. As the thing in the snow occupies more and more of his attention, Hart feels his control, over his time, his job, and even his own mind, may be slipping away.
This was an unusual, in the best way, book — highly engaging and thought-provoking as it explores the inanities of what is both a singular and universal workplace.
This book is, at its heart, a story about work: the ways people can allow work to define them and the ways they tend to tell themselves stories about the importance of that work — even when, objectively, the tasks seem inconsequential or even ridiculous. In this respect, this novel — frequently absurd and often quite funny — is one of the most trenchant and incisive examinations of the nature of work in the modern age. To Hart, being the leader of the small team is central to his identity and he creates an elaborate narrative about his role, his relationship to his direct reports and his boss, and his leadership that seems to exist mostly in his head. Nevertheless, he remains stubbornly attached to it, interpreting all evidence, even that which would seem to undermine his beliefs, in a way that furthers his narrative.
The book also adeptly portrays how, in the absence of information, Hart, Gibbs, and Cline develop increasingly outlandish theories that they convince one another are plausible about the thing in the snow. The author excels at capturing how this dynamic is fueled, in part, by Hart’s growing feelings of disorientation as the passage of time becomes increasingly elusive for him, all while building a sense of dread about what is really happening at the Institute. Finally, I appreciated the running gag about the series of novels that Hart was reading in his spare time — about a former top executive trying to write a book about leadership that finds himself regularly in the center of dangerous and unbelievable situations where he needs to save the day. This touch captures the humor of the book and how the author uses it to highlight the absurdity of both Hart and his situation.
Highly recommended!
The tasks are mundane — checking if the doors make unusual noises when they open or whether the floors in all of the rooms of the Institute are flat — but Hart, finally in a leadership role, takes them very seriously, even if he suspects Gibbs and Cline don’t always respect him. Then, outside the windows of the Institute, they spot something: a thing in the snow. Gibbs and Cline are obsessed with the thing in the snow, even though they can’t tell what exactly it is or if it may be moving. At first resistant, Hart begins to cater to their obsession, spending increasingly more time focused on the thing. But sometimes it is hard to tell how and whether that time is passing. And he can’t tell if the thing may be a prank being played by Gilroy, the one remaining original researcher still at the facility, or something quite serious. As the thing in the snow occupies more and more of his attention, Hart feels his control, over his time, his job, and even his own mind, may be slipping away.
This was an unusual, in the best way, book — highly engaging and thought-provoking as it explores the inanities of what is both a singular and universal workplace.
This book is, at its heart, a story about work: the ways people can allow work to define them and the ways they tend to tell themselves stories about the importance of that work — even when, objectively, the tasks seem inconsequential or even ridiculous. In this respect, this novel — frequently absurd and often quite funny — is one of the most trenchant and incisive examinations of the nature of work in the modern age. To Hart, being the leader of the small team is central to his identity and he creates an elaborate narrative about his role, his relationship to his direct reports and his boss, and his leadership that seems to exist mostly in his head. Nevertheless, he remains stubbornly attached to it, interpreting all evidence, even that which would seem to undermine his beliefs, in a way that furthers his narrative.
The book also adeptly portrays how, in the absence of information, Hart, Gibbs, and Cline develop increasingly outlandish theories that they convince one another are plausible about the thing in the snow. The author excels at capturing how this dynamic is fueled, in part, by Hart’s growing feelings of disorientation as the passage of time becomes increasingly elusive for him, all while building a sense of dread about what is really happening at the Institute. Finally, I appreciated the running gag about the series of novels that Hart was reading in his spare time — about a former top executive trying to write a book about leadership that finds himself regularly in the center of dangerous and unbelievable situations where he needs to save the day. This touch captures the humor of the book and how the author uses it to highlight the absurdity of both Hart and his situation.
Highly recommended!
December 12, 2025
This is a workplace comedy set in a very atypical workplace: an Arctic (or Antarctic, maybe) research station. The description of it as ‘equal parts satire and psychological thriller’ isn’t quite accurate: it is, I suppose, a satire of a certain style of management thinking, but a thriller? Hardly. (Somehow, in my own to-read list I’d managed to mark it down as horror, which it is also certainly not. Probably just because of the – unavoidably evocative – juxtaposition of the words ‘the thing’ and a snowbound research station.) Instead, it’s cosy, banal and absurd; it reminded me a bit of Several People Are Typing, except without the unique formatting. And I had the same reaction I have to so many comic novels: while great fun at first, the effect quickly wore thin. At the beginning I felt there was really strong momentum here – I assumed we were hurtling towards a proper confrontation with the ‘thing in the snow’, which would usher in some greater drama. But that never happens. There’s nothing wrong with the story The Thing in the Snow tells, it’s just not the story I was expecting.
February 16, 2023
Imagine you work in a place somewhere cold and covered by snow, with two coworkers plus another person who behaves quite sus. You are tasked with caretaking duties such as testing every door hinge and chair in the whole building. You can't go out apart from getting the weekly assignment, food, and supplies from the rooftop. You work, talk to yourself, overthink about everything, sleep, rinse, repeat. You see a thing in the snow and try to figure out what it is.
As several reviewers noted, the book is not for everyone. While I quite enjoyed the first half of the book, my attention began to wane because nothing is really happening and the pace is very slow. The whole thing sounds like a nightmare to me (as someone who likes her job and colleagues but still very much looks forward to bidding kthxbye at the end of a work day).
Thank you for the ARC I received in a Goodreads giveaway. Publication date: January 2023.
As several reviewers noted, the book is not for everyone. While I quite enjoyed the first half of the book, my attention began to wane because nothing is really happening and the pace is very slow. The whole thing sounds like a nightmare to me (as someone who likes her job and colleagues but still very much looks forward to bidding kthxbye at the end of a work day).
Thank you for the ARC I received in a Goodreads giveaway. Publication date: January 2023.
March 16, 2023
Well, after reading some reviews where people said things like, “I must not be smart enough for this book…” I immediately borrowed the audio because, hey, I’m smart.
I listed to the whole thing, waiting. Waiting for the twist. Waiting for the reveal.
I’m done. And I’m still waiting.
Apparently, I’m not smart enough for this book either.
I listed to the whole thing, waiting. Waiting for the twist. Waiting for the reveal.
I’m done. And I’m still waiting.
Apparently, I’m not smart enough for this book either.
December 2, 2022
I received this book through the goodreads' giveaways.
I am not sure, what to say about this story - it was very slow and long burning, and I was truly waiting for something to happen...
...and things happened - but more of the slow, "playing with your mind" things...
And speaking of things:
Yes, a thing appeared from the snow, and as the reader, we are very curious about it - so is the "left over crew", seeming to be hired to maintain a 7 story building in the snow, in the middle of nowhere.
This is more of a psychological novel than anything else - no sci-fi/fantasy/thriller - but as pure as psychological novels could be.
I was actually looking forward to something life-changing, exciting to happen...but when it came to the last pages, I was completely lost.
I have questions - many questions !
And that's all I can say at the moment...because I am still thinking what actually happened (or not) and it kinda scares me...
I am not sure, what to say about this story - it was very slow and long burning, and I was truly waiting for something to happen...
...and things happened - but more of the slow, "playing with your mind" things...
And speaking of things:
Yes, a thing appeared from the snow, and as the reader, we are very curious about it - so is the "left over crew", seeming to be hired to maintain a 7 story building in the snow, in the middle of nowhere.
This is more of a psychological novel than anything else - no sci-fi/fantasy/thriller - but as pure as psychological novels could be.
I was actually looking forward to something life-changing, exciting to happen...but when it came to the last pages, I was completely lost.
I have questions - many questions !
And that's all I can say at the moment...because I am still thinking what actually happened (or not) and it kinda scares me...
September 22, 2022
The Thing in the Snow is filled from the very first page with a pervasive sense of dread and fear. Three people, two men and a woman, are caretakers in a large multi story research facility so far in the north the first two floors are always under the snow. Their only contact is a weekly helicopter landing on the roof with food, supplies and their weekly assignment. They have never been told why hundreds of researchers were all suddenly evacuated or when, if ever, they will return. Their assigned tasks are mundane and boring. One week they have to check every floor tile in the huge building to see if any need replacement. They are forbidden to go outside for any reason. But when they see a large dark object out in the snow, they become obsessed with it and begin to argue with each other about what it is, where it came from, and whether or not they should go out in the snow to find out. And the reader knows that is a very bad idea.
March 26, 2023
I laughed while screaming on the inside. No plot, no answers, just the slow march of dread and tedium and absurdity. Absolutely my kind of thing, lol.
January 6, 2023
This one was interesting but wasn't really my thing. It was a little too slow and I didn't get the payoff I wanted. But I think others will enjoy it.
Thank you so much to the author/publisher for the gifted copy.
Thank you so much to the author/publisher for the gifted copy.
April 24, 2023
A quirky novel which was the December, 2022 selection from The Nervous Breakdown Book Club. I find it hard to describe though I was immersed the whole time I was reading it.
Somewhere in the far reaches of the world, amid relentless snow and wind and life-threatening cold, three people slowly become unraveled. They were hired to be caretakers of The Northern Institute, a research facility shut down for reasons unknown to the caretakers.
As these three characters slowly give in to the mysterious circumstances around them, including a "thing in the snow" that appears one day, the story examines the tedium of work, the ways corporate culture keeps its workers in the dark, the way continued cold breaks a person down.
It is quite brilliantly done as well as funny with a tinge of horror. I am always happy to read a novel that steps outside the usual plots of popular fiction. Such novels give me hope for the future.
Somewhere in the far reaches of the world, amid relentless snow and wind and life-threatening cold, three people slowly become unraveled. They were hired to be caretakers of The Northern Institute, a research facility shut down for reasons unknown to the caretakers.
As these three characters slowly give in to the mysterious circumstances around them, including a "thing in the snow" that appears one day, the story examines the tedium of work, the ways corporate culture keeps its workers in the dark, the way continued cold breaks a person down.
It is quite brilliantly done as well as funny with a tinge of horror. I am always happy to read a novel that steps outside the usual plots of popular fiction. Such novels give me hope for the future.
January 12, 2023
I don’t know if I’m just not smart enough for this book, but I don’t get it.
Nothing happened the entire time, yet my eyes were glued to the page. Im cool with open endings but this was just… not it.
Nothing happened the entire time, yet my eyes were glued to the page. Im cool with open endings but this was just… not it.
January 11, 2023
Not for all tastes. Franz Kafka meets Monty Python
This book will leave many unsatisfied - it is more about the journey than the destination. There are many - most- questions left unanswered. The story is about isolation, bureaucracy, tedium, psychology and group dynamics, all with an overlay of mystery that isn't resolved. I did find it very entertaining and funny! I would routinely laugh out loud.
The story has some elements of The trial and The Castle by Franz Kafka- the bureaucracy and absurdity of the situation the characters find themselves in. The dialogue reminds me of the best of Monty Python, Joseph Heller, and P. G. Wodehouse.
Pervading all is a mystery about the setting - an abandoned research facility in the far north which has strange happenings and "something in the snow."
This book will leave many unsatisfied - it is more about the journey than the destination. There are many - most- questions left unanswered. The story is about isolation, bureaucracy, tedium, psychology and group dynamics, all with an overlay of mystery that isn't resolved. I did find it very entertaining and funny! I would routinely laugh out loud.
The story has some elements of The trial and The Castle by Franz Kafka- the bureaucracy and absurdity of the situation the characters find themselves in. The dialogue reminds me of the best of Monty Python, Joseph Heller, and P. G. Wodehouse.
Pervading all is a mystery about the setting - an abandoned research facility in the far north which has strange happenings and "something in the snow."
February 2, 2023
A modest tongue-in-cheek comedy that satirizes dead end jobs, officious supervisors clinging to their scrap of authority, insular scientific research communities, and perhaps, it can be said, the literature of unnamable and ancient existential dread embodied in my consciousness by HP Lovecraft.
A large research institute in a polar region has been abandoned and its scientists extricated - save for one mysterious presence. Sent in by the corporate board is a three person team of caretakers who are given weekly tasks, communicated by helicopter drop. These tasks include: opening all the doors to check for appropriate door opening volume. Sitting in all the chairs and making reasonable movements in them to check for stability. Placing golf balls on all tables to check for levelness. Etc.
Hart, the supervisor, treats these tasks with the utmost seriousness and conscientiousness. He is also quite keen to assert his small amount of authority over the other two. A source of humor, but: people generally want to find meaning in their work and avoid the feeling of alienation from their labor, as difficult as this may be in many categories of employment in modern society. It is hard not to feel empathy with him, with each of them, when his construction of meaning is punctured by seeing it through the eyes of an outsider (the remaining scientist):
The caretaking team has been warned to never leave the building, as strange effects have been discovered to happen to people who do. Outside is a flat landscape of pure white snow in all directions. But then something is seen from a window, that had not been there before. What is it? Where did it come from? Is it stationary or moving? Is it interfering with the building’s electricity? Is it affecting their minds and their sanity?
Well, the answer here is definitively not Lovecraftian. Alas! The book winds up its humorous satire of modern work through use of an extraordinary setting that, in the end, is just another example of corporate interest at work. No ancient horror, just a Board of Directors. Best treated by modern lampoon.
A large research institute in a polar region has been abandoned and its scientists extricated - save for one mysterious presence. Sent in by the corporate board is a three person team of caretakers who are given weekly tasks, communicated by helicopter drop. These tasks include: opening all the doors to check for appropriate door opening volume. Sitting in all the chairs and making reasonable movements in them to check for stability. Placing golf balls on all tables to check for levelness. Etc.
Hart, the supervisor, treats these tasks with the utmost seriousness and conscientiousness. He is also quite keen to assert his small amount of authority over the other two. A source of humor, but: people generally want to find meaning in their work and avoid the feeling of alienation from their labor, as difficult as this may be in many categories of employment in modern society. It is hard not to feel empathy with him, with each of them, when his construction of meaning is punctured by seeing it through the eyes of an outsider (the remaining scientist):
I feel suddenly embarrassed. The efficiency with which we’ve arranged the chairs, sat upon the chairs, and shifted our weight upon the chairs - a system of which, moments ago, I’d felt exceedingly proud - suddenly seems so stupid, so trivial. These tasks feel crucial, because all involved treat them as such. But Gilroy is not a part of that system, and his continued presence recasts everything. They’re just chairs, and we’re just sitting in them. That is my job this week: I sit, professionally.
The caretaking team has been warned to never leave the building, as strange effects have been discovered to happen to people who do. Outside is a flat landscape of pure white snow in all directions. But then something is seen from a window, that had not been there before. What is it? Where did it come from? Is it stationary or moving? Is it interfering with the building’s electricity? Is it affecting their minds and their sanity?
Well, the answer here is definitively not Lovecraftian. Alas! The book winds up its humorous satire of modern work through use of an extraordinary setting that, in the end, is just another example of corporate interest at work. No ancient horror, just a Board of Directors. Best treated by modern lampoon.
December 19, 2022
This hypnotic mind-bender is sophisticated fun, masked by a generally stark and monotonous setting reminiscent of The Overlook. Fans of psychological horror like The Shining and the Southern Reach trilogy will revel in Sean Adams' atmospheric tension and self-referencing narrative.
The Thing in the Snow is a deceptively simple story that manages to simultaneously invoke elements of philosophy, science, fantasy and horror. Despite the broad scope of the narrative, the characters and events feel fully developed and authentic. Where VanDerMeer's Annihilation was intriguing but obtuse, this story is humorous and transparent. Where King's The Institute was unpolished and inconsistent, The Thing in the Snow is as smooth as a snowdrift. Where Malerman's Inspection was cynical and abrupt, this book portrays hope and an indefinite conclusion to the events described in its pages.
The plot itself involves some elements of fantasy juxtaposed against the tedious reality of office work, albeit a comically distorted reality. This aspect, as well as the story's strong philosophical content, reminded me of Haruki Murakami's brilliant fantasy adventure Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, though this one stays more firmly in reality.
Clock out early and bundle up with a glass of fortified wine for your stay at the Northern Institute.
Big thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for the ARC!
The Thing in the Snow is a deceptively simple story that manages to simultaneously invoke elements of philosophy, science, fantasy and horror. Despite the broad scope of the narrative, the characters and events feel fully developed and authentic. Where VanDerMeer's Annihilation was intriguing but obtuse, this story is humorous and transparent. Where King's The Institute was unpolished and inconsistent, The Thing in the Snow is as smooth as a snowdrift. Where Malerman's Inspection was cynical and abrupt, this book portrays hope and an indefinite conclusion to the events described in its pages.
The plot itself involves some elements of fantasy juxtaposed against the tedious reality of office work, albeit a comically distorted reality. This aspect, as well as the story's strong philosophical content, reminded me of Haruki Murakami's brilliant fantasy adventure Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, though this one stays more firmly in reality.
Clock out early and bundle up with a glass of fortified wine for your stay at the Northern Institute.
Big thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for the ARC!
January 29, 2024
Definitywnie książka nie dla każdego. Bardzo, bardzo dziwna, specyficzna a zarazem intensywna. Powolna akcja, dająca odpowiedzi na nic. Myślę, że dotrze ona do grona tych osób, które odczuwają, myślą o tym „czymś”. Ciężko jest mi cokolwiek więcej napisać.
Czemu tyle gwiazdek? Być może zrozumiałam sens tego co historia ma „dawać”. Możliwe. Być może jestem w pewnym stopniu w tym samym miejscu co bohaterowie. Zakończenie nie daje nic a zarazem pozostaje dalej to „coś”.
Jestem w nielicznym gronie, która kupiła ten koncept autora, choć wydaje się on być nijaki.
To coś w śniegu to historia niezmiernie bardzo, bardzo dziwna i bardzo specyficzna. Ta lektura to taka sprzeczność w sprzeczności. Brzmi to nieco absurdalnie i taki(chyba)był zamysł autora.
Poznajemy ludzi pracujących w pewnym ośrodku pośrodku niczego, otacza ich mróz i śnieg. Co tydzień dostają dziwne zadania do wykonania od szefowej np. sprawdzenie krzeseł, okien i czy one sprawnie funkcjonują. Spisują raporty i tak im mija tam czas. Nie mogą wychodzić na zewnątrz.
Pojawia się „coś” w śniegu i kiedy to dostrzegają to „coś”, które zaczyna na nich w pewien sposób wpływać.
Czytając pierwszą połowę czułam się dziwnie, bo tak myślę do czego to niby zmierza? Powolna akcja na nic nie wskazywała. Kartka po kartce i zaczął do mnie docierać sens. Jaki? Sens niczego, a jednak czegoś.
Druga połowa mnie tylko utwierdziła w tym, że książka nie jest dla każdego przez swoją stanowczą inność.
Ta połowa jest bardziej dynamiczna.
Dla wielu czytelników To coś w śniegu będzie książką nudną, bez celu i bez morału(wiele czytałam takich opinii). Sporo osób napisało „jestem za głupi na nią”.
Nie ujęłabym tego w ten sposób, po prostu to lektura która powinna wpaść w odpowiednie ręce, w odpowiednim czasie.
Poczucie humoru lub jego brak. Można tkwić w próżni nicości lub być szczęśliwym. Samotność, izolacja. Natarczywe myślenie doprowadza do różnych zbiegów i zabiegów, ale to jest to „coś”. Dręczy i żyć nie daje.
Ja pomysł autora kupiłam, ale jestem w stanie zrozumieć dlaczego ktoś ma odmienne zdanie lub dlaczego ktoś nie odnajduje w niej odpowiedzi.
Dla mnie książka podchodzi pod literaturę absurdu, prozę psychologiczną. 🤭
Czemu tyle gwiazdek? Być może zrozumiałam sens tego co historia ma „dawać”. Możliwe. Być może jestem w pewnym stopniu w tym samym miejscu co bohaterowie. Zakończenie nie daje nic a zarazem pozostaje dalej to „coś”.
Jestem w nielicznym gronie, która kupiła ten koncept autora, choć wydaje się on być nijaki.
To coś w śniegu to historia niezmiernie bardzo, bardzo dziwna i bardzo specyficzna. Ta lektura to taka sprzeczność w sprzeczności. Brzmi to nieco absurdalnie i taki(chyba)był zamysł autora.
Poznajemy ludzi pracujących w pewnym ośrodku pośrodku niczego, otacza ich mróz i śnieg. Co tydzień dostają dziwne zadania do wykonania od szefowej np. sprawdzenie krzeseł, okien i czy one sprawnie funkcjonują. Spisują raporty i tak im mija tam czas. Nie mogą wychodzić na zewnątrz.
Pojawia się „coś” w śniegu i kiedy to dostrzegają to „coś”, które zaczyna na nich w pewien sposób wpływać.
Czytając pierwszą połowę czułam się dziwnie, bo tak myślę do czego to niby zmierza? Powolna akcja na nic nie wskazywała. Kartka po kartce i zaczął do mnie docierać sens. Jaki? Sens niczego, a jednak czegoś.
Druga połowa mnie tylko utwierdziła w tym, że książka nie jest dla każdego przez swoją stanowczą inność.
Ta połowa jest bardziej dynamiczna.
Dla wielu czytelników To coś w śniegu będzie książką nudną, bez celu i bez morału(wiele czytałam takich opinii). Sporo osób napisało „jestem za głupi na nią”.
Nie ujęłabym tego w ten sposób, po prostu to lektura która powinna wpaść w odpowiednie ręce, w odpowiednim czasie.
Poczucie humoru lub jego brak. Można tkwić w próżni nicości lub być szczęśliwym. Samotność, izolacja. Natarczywe myślenie doprowadza do różnych zbiegów i zabiegów, ale to jest to „coś”. Dręczy i żyć nie daje.
Ja pomysł autora kupiłam, ale jestem w stanie zrozumieć dlaczego ktoś ma odmienne zdanie lub dlaczego ktoś nie odnajduje w niej odpowiedzi.
Dla mnie książka podchodzi pod literaturę absurdu, prozę psychologiczną. 🤭
August 31, 2023
This book has a lot of great vibes and a mysterious tone that I find very attractive to read about. If you work in an uninteresting soul crushing job, a lot of the book might appeal to you or make you feel seen. I do think that this is a book with a lot of vibes but I'm doubtful it is a book that will stay with me. I also found the ending not very satisfying. To be clear: I think it's an ending that works very well for this kind of story but I just don't find these kinds of endings satisfying
Read
June 27, 2023Sorry, but DNF - maybe to revisit in the future. I'm fast suspecting that there will be no answers - just a bit of unfunny absurdism. Just not for me.
January 21, 2023
I was so interested until the very end. I was so disappointed that there was no explanation to the thing in the snow. No closure what-so-ever. :(
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 11, 2023
I feel like I should reread this at some point in a physical form, just to delve deeper into all the hidden meanings and satirical jokes that may have gone over my head listening to this on audiobook (which I would still recommend btw, the voice actor does a great job!).
This was definitely very weird. And clever. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but I feel like this may have been a bit of a take on how isolation and menial, pointless work leaves your brain free to develop increasingly unlikely scenarios and even make you a tad bit paranoid.
The real cleverness, though, shines in the subtle yet straightforward digs at todays work culture. I found the perspective of Hart a very intriguing choice, because he's so committed. Even objectively he doesn't know that his job is pointless and meaningless, choosing to see both his obviously unnecessary and unchallenged position of supervisor and the menial, repetitive jobs he and his team are expected to perform every week as important and, in fact, utterly vital to his personal wellbeing. His personality, even. He's willing to isolate himself, even thinks it necessary to keep a "professional" distance to his colleagues, even though they're only three people in the middle of nowhere, with nothing to do. He's so convinced that he's better than his team, that he's perfectly suited to this supervisor position, that even drinking coffee together in the mornings is actually a privilege they get to enjoy because he's such a lenient supervisor.
It is ridiculous!
He's, to me at least, the perfect embodiment of a workaholic. His whole personality is based on his (superior) position to the other characters. If they're not around and he has no job to do, he ceases to exist, going so far as to think he's losing time on the weekends if he's not spending them reading this ridiculous series about a fictional supervisor being a superhero. Nothing matters to him except his work and how he's perceived by his subordinates and boss.
The other characters are also a bit out there. We have this slightly unhinged scientist, who's always busy and utterly obsessed with the cold; there's the painter we don't ever get to see actually be artistic; the pretty normal woman who's supposedly trying to take the MC's job and there's also a health check woman utterly unprepared for the Institute, which is incidentally also unprepared for her.
Together they create moments of hilarity where they barely manage to communicate at all (because their personalities are so different), or the artist makes some absolutely ridiculous claims (he's seen still-lives too *dirty* to describe), or the pretty normal woman acts like a normal person to the utter bewilderment of our MC.
I also really liked the digs at capitalism, maybe best portrayed by the health check lady whose service can be divided into 3 tiers, of which only one is free of charge to the characters personally, even though they didn't hire her.
And even though the team is living in this utterly empty hellscape, they have to pay for any and all entertainment or distractions they might want themselves.
Living in Germany right now where saving energy and gas and whatever because of the whole Russia/Ukraine situation by working spaces only being allowed a certain temperature and so on, I could also relate a bit too much to the fact that the team isn't allowed to know where the thermostat is so they can't ever change the temperature (which is too low).
The thing in the snow was actually maybe the least intriguing part of the story, which is why the open ending didn't bother me quite so much. Like I said above, to me it's more of a nod towards the amount of misinformation and, dare I say it, conspiracy theories that have been sweeping through the world because of, I can only assume, the isolation that came with the several lockdowns. If you have nothing to occupy your mind with, your brain will find something.
Tbh I don't like anything I've written in this review so far, my brain is just mush for some reason atm, and it feels like I've barely managed to make the points I wanted to make, so I'll stop here. Definitely enjoyed the book more than I thought I would. It's funny and a bit unsettling, but overall interesting and satirical in an understandable way. Would recommend to people who can stand open endings (I usually can't but this one's okay), weird storylines and kinda unlikeable characters. Bonus if you like criticism of certain aspects of society and capitalism.
This was definitely very weird. And clever. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but I feel like this may have been a bit of a take on how isolation and menial, pointless work leaves your brain free to develop increasingly unlikely scenarios and even make you a tad bit paranoid.
The real cleverness, though, shines in the subtle yet straightforward digs at todays work culture. I found the perspective of Hart a very intriguing choice, because he's so committed. Even objectively he doesn't know that his job is pointless and meaningless, choosing to see both his obviously unnecessary and unchallenged position of supervisor and the menial, repetitive jobs he and his team are expected to perform every week as important and, in fact, utterly vital to his personal wellbeing. His personality, even. He's willing to isolate himself, even thinks it necessary to keep a "professional" distance to his colleagues, even though they're only three people in the middle of nowhere, with nothing to do. He's so convinced that he's better than his team, that he's perfectly suited to this supervisor position, that even drinking coffee together in the mornings is actually a privilege they get to enjoy because he's such a lenient supervisor.
It is ridiculous!
He's, to me at least, the perfect embodiment of a workaholic. His whole personality is based on his (superior) position to the other characters. If they're not around and he has no job to do, he ceases to exist, going so far as to think he's losing time on the weekends if he's not spending them reading this ridiculous series about a fictional supervisor being a superhero. Nothing matters to him except his work and how he's perceived by his subordinates and boss.
The other characters are also a bit out there. We have this slightly unhinged scientist, who's always busy and utterly obsessed with the cold; there's the painter we don't ever get to see actually be artistic; the pretty normal woman who's supposedly trying to take the MC's job and there's also a health check woman utterly unprepared for the Institute, which is incidentally also unprepared for her.
Together they create moments of hilarity where they barely manage to communicate at all (because their personalities are so different), or the artist makes some absolutely ridiculous claims (he's seen still-lives too *dirty* to describe), or the pretty normal woman acts like a normal person to the utter bewilderment of our MC.
I also really liked the digs at capitalism, maybe best portrayed by the health check lady whose service can be divided into 3 tiers, of which only one is free of charge to the characters personally, even though they didn't hire her.
And even though the team is living in this utterly empty hellscape, they have to pay for any and all entertainment or distractions they might want themselves.
Living in Germany right now where saving energy and gas and whatever because of the whole Russia/Ukraine situation by working spaces only being allowed a certain temperature and so on, I could also relate a bit too much to the fact that the team isn't allowed to know where the thermostat is so they can't ever change the temperature (which is too low).
The thing in the snow was actually maybe the least intriguing part of the story, which is why the open ending didn't bother me quite so much. Like I said above, to me it's more of a nod towards the amount of misinformation and, dare I say it, conspiracy theories that have been sweeping through the world because of, I can only assume, the isolation that came with the several lockdowns. If you have nothing to occupy your mind with, your brain will find something.
Tbh I don't like anything I've written in this review so far, my brain is just mush for some reason atm, and it feels like I've barely managed to make the points I wanted to make, so I'll stop here. Definitely enjoyed the book more than I thought I would. It's funny and a bit unsettling, but overall interesting and satirical in an understandable way. Would recommend to people who can stand open endings (I usually can't but this one's okay), weird storylines and kinda unlikeable characters. Bonus if you like criticism of certain aspects of society and capitalism.
March 5, 2025
3.5? This was a 4 until the last 3rd of the book. I love the deep feelings of unease & dread I had while reading this. I was unsettled constantly. However I felt the last 3rd resolved a lot of the tension & answered questions that would have served the story better to remain unanswered. I really enjoyed the writing & odd characters, & hope there will be a 2nd book.
April 27, 2023
‘The Thing in the Snow’ by Sean Adams sucks.
I have copied the book blurb:
”From the critically acclaimed author of The Heap, a thought-provoking and wryly funny novel—equal parts satire and psychological thriller—that holds a funhouse mirror to the isolated workplace and an age of endless distraction.
At the far reaches of the world, the Northern Institute sits in a vast expanse of ice and snow. Once a thriving research facility, its operations were abruptly shut down after an unspecified incident, and its research teams promptly evacuated. Now it’s home to a team of three caretakers—Gibbs, Cline, and their supervisor, Hart—and a single remaining researcher named Gilroy, who is feverishly studying the sensation of coldness.
Their objective is simple: occupy the space, complete their weekly tasks, and keep the building in working order in case research ever resumes. (Also: never touch the thermostat. Also: never, ever go outside.) The work isn’t thrilling—test every door for excessive creaking, sit on every chair to ensure its structural integrity—but for Hart, it’s the opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to hone his leadership skills and become the beacon of efficiency he always knew he could be.
There’s just one obstacle standing in his way: a mysterious object that has appeared out in the snow. Gibbs and Cline are mesmerized. They can’t discern its exact shape and color, nor if it’s moving or fixed in place. But it is there. Isn’t it?
Whatever it might be, Hart thinks the thing in the snow is an unwelcome distraction, and probably a huge waste of time. Though, come to think of it, time itself has been a bit wonky lately. Weekends pass in a blur, and he can hardly tell day from night. Gravity seems less-than-reliable. The lights have been flickering weirdly, and he feels an odd thrumming sensation in his beard. Gibbs might be plotting to unseat him as supervisor, and Gilroy—well, what is he really doing anyway?
Perplexed and isolated—but most certainly not alone—Hart wrestles for control of his own psyche as the thing in the snow beguiles his team, upends their work, and challenges their every notion of what is normal.”
The book blurb is more interesting than this dry, tongue-in-cheek book. It was a waste of my time. Which is exactly what the book was satirizing - through corporate hive culture as seen by worker bees, so to speak.
Three people, Hart, Gibbs and Cline, are hired by Kay, who is a boss, to be caretakers of an abandoned research facility, the Northern Institute. The Institute is somewhere far north where it is cold all of the time, with deep snow on the ground. When people go outside, apparently they become nauseated. Hart, Gibbs and Cline have been warned to never go outside. The building is seven stories tall, but the first two floors are entirely buried under the snow. The three employees live on the sixth floor. The Institute has no one else living there except a weird researcher, Gilroy, who for some reason is still doing research despite that the building has been stripped of everything except office furniture.
Hart, Gibbs and Cline are given tasks in Manila folders every week left on the roof in a box by a helicopter on Fridays. On Mondays, Hart opens the folders to see what tasks they have been given to do. The first week they are tasked with opening and shutting doors to see if they make much noise. They are to write down if any repairs are necessary. The second week they are to sit in every chair in every room and move around on each chair. If it seems unsteady, they are to make note of it. Next week, Hart finds three golf balls in a bag with the folders. The team is to check out all surfaces to see if they are flat. If the balls roll, they are to write a report about each uneven spot, where and how far the ball rolls.
The team is behind the work by the week of the golf ball assignment. They have been distracted by a thing out on the snow. It is too far to see what it is. Their curiosity led them to disrupt their assigned work to write a description of the thing in order to place it in the rooftop box for the helicopter to take their question to Kay.
When the assignment to pull the blinds up and down on every window comes, the team is seriously behind in their weekly tasks. Hart is losing it because he feels Gibbs has taken over the team. He resents this because Kay made him the boss, not Gibbs. Gentle reader, even though Hart is narrating the story, it is obvious Gibbs is better at organizing and leading, and she appears to be more emotional stable than Hart. Hart is an unquestioning martinet with very little imagination. He has a lot of resentments about no one respecting him. But as the weeks go by, he is no longer able to act the boss the way he wants with Gibbs and Cline. But they all feel obliged to perform the tasks they are assigned, Hart especially. He does try to mold them into a team, having a little meeting every Monday for coffee before he opens the work assignment folders left by the helicopter, distribute supplies and notes from Kay, make small talk. He is not very good at small talk. What he wants to be like is a character in a set of books he brought with him to the Institute to read on their weekends. The main character in the novels is sort of a superhero corporate manager who resolves a lot of executive management issues with staff.
The three bees bumble around the rooms more and more, staring at the thing outside in the snow, stopping to look at stuff the researchers left, becoming a little frightened and a lot distracted because of odd things going on in the building.
What is that thing out there? WHAT is it? Is it moving?
‘The Thing in the Snow’ is a satire, theoretically. I was bored in reading this novel, but the story drew me onward despite myself. The ending, while not exactly satisfying, did make me smile cynically.
Maybe you’ll like ‘The Thing in the Snow’. I think it would have been really good if it had been structured as a short story or a novella. The character of Hart, with maybe Asperger’s syndrome, unavoidably droned on much too long in describing the meaningless busywork for me to like the book. I read some professional critic reviews, and they like it.
Below is an Economist Magazine review by a professional critic who enjoyed it.
https://www.economist.com/culture/202...
I have copied the book blurb:
”From the critically acclaimed author of The Heap, a thought-provoking and wryly funny novel—equal parts satire and psychological thriller—that holds a funhouse mirror to the isolated workplace and an age of endless distraction.
At the far reaches of the world, the Northern Institute sits in a vast expanse of ice and snow. Once a thriving research facility, its operations were abruptly shut down after an unspecified incident, and its research teams promptly evacuated. Now it’s home to a team of three caretakers—Gibbs, Cline, and their supervisor, Hart—and a single remaining researcher named Gilroy, who is feverishly studying the sensation of coldness.
Their objective is simple: occupy the space, complete their weekly tasks, and keep the building in working order in case research ever resumes. (Also: never touch the thermostat. Also: never, ever go outside.) The work isn’t thrilling—test every door for excessive creaking, sit on every chair to ensure its structural integrity—but for Hart, it’s the opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to hone his leadership skills and become the beacon of efficiency he always knew he could be.
There’s just one obstacle standing in his way: a mysterious object that has appeared out in the snow. Gibbs and Cline are mesmerized. They can’t discern its exact shape and color, nor if it’s moving or fixed in place. But it is there. Isn’t it?
Whatever it might be, Hart thinks the thing in the snow is an unwelcome distraction, and probably a huge waste of time. Though, come to think of it, time itself has been a bit wonky lately. Weekends pass in a blur, and he can hardly tell day from night. Gravity seems less-than-reliable. The lights have been flickering weirdly, and he feels an odd thrumming sensation in his beard. Gibbs might be plotting to unseat him as supervisor, and Gilroy—well, what is he really doing anyway?
Perplexed and isolated—but most certainly not alone—Hart wrestles for control of his own psyche as the thing in the snow beguiles his team, upends their work, and challenges their every notion of what is normal.”
The book blurb is more interesting than this dry, tongue-in-cheek book. It was a waste of my time. Which is exactly what the book was satirizing - through corporate hive culture as seen by worker bees, so to speak.
Three people, Hart, Gibbs and Cline, are hired by Kay, who is a boss, to be caretakers of an abandoned research facility, the Northern Institute. The Institute is somewhere far north where it is cold all of the time, with deep snow on the ground. When people go outside, apparently they become nauseated. Hart, Gibbs and Cline have been warned to never go outside. The building is seven stories tall, but the first two floors are entirely buried under the snow. The three employees live on the sixth floor. The Institute has no one else living there except a weird researcher, Gilroy, who for some reason is still doing research despite that the building has been stripped of everything except office furniture.
Hart, Gibbs and Cline are given tasks in Manila folders every week left on the roof in a box by a helicopter on Fridays. On Mondays, Hart opens the folders to see what tasks they have been given to do. The first week they are tasked with opening and shutting doors to see if they make much noise. They are to write down if any repairs are necessary. The second week they are to sit in every chair in every room and move around on each chair. If it seems unsteady, they are to make note of it. Next week, Hart finds three golf balls in a bag with the folders. The team is to check out all surfaces to see if they are flat. If the balls roll, they are to write a report about each uneven spot, where and how far the ball rolls.
The team is behind the work by the week of the golf ball assignment. They have been distracted by a thing out on the snow. It is too far to see what it is. Their curiosity led them to disrupt their assigned work to write a description of the thing in order to place it in the rooftop box for the helicopter to take their question to Kay.
When the assignment to pull the blinds up and down on every window comes, the team is seriously behind in their weekly tasks. Hart is losing it because he feels Gibbs has taken over the team. He resents this because Kay made him the boss, not Gibbs. Gentle reader, even though Hart is narrating the story, it is obvious Gibbs is better at organizing and leading, and she appears to be more emotional stable than Hart. Hart is an unquestioning martinet with very little imagination. He has a lot of resentments about no one respecting him. But as the weeks go by, he is no longer able to act the boss the way he wants with Gibbs and Cline. But they all feel obliged to perform the tasks they are assigned, Hart especially. He does try to mold them into a team, having a little meeting every Monday for coffee before he opens the work assignment folders left by the helicopter, distribute supplies and notes from Kay, make small talk. He is not very good at small talk. What he wants to be like is a character in a set of books he brought with him to the Institute to read on their weekends. The main character in the novels is sort of a superhero corporate manager who resolves a lot of executive management issues with staff.
The three bees bumble around the rooms more and more, staring at the thing outside in the snow, stopping to look at stuff the researchers left, becoming a little frightened and a lot distracted because of odd things going on in the building.
What is that thing out there? WHAT is it? Is it moving?
‘The Thing in the Snow’ is a satire, theoretically. I was bored in reading this novel, but the story drew me onward despite myself. The ending, while not exactly satisfying, did make me smile cynically.
Maybe you’ll like ‘The Thing in the Snow’. I think it would have been really good if it had been structured as a short story or a novella. The character of Hart, with maybe Asperger’s syndrome, unavoidably droned on much too long in describing the meaningless busywork for me to like the book. I read some professional critic reviews, and they like it.
Below is an Economist Magazine review by a professional critic who enjoyed it.
https://www.economist.com/culture/202...
August 21, 2023
Trippy, confusing, weird. I know I've only understood maybe a third of this, but darn it if I didn't try!!!
Reminds me of several people are typing ....Maybe more boring though lol
I want to like this but I keep falling asleep or totally zoning out ugh!!!!
Giving piranesi/ several people are typing vibes. That being said I don't know if this book would be as well received as those two were. I can see many people not getting along with the very off center plot. It's a little less rooted in reality than those.
For some reason I've fallen asleep like 10x listening to this book and there's something about this book that consistently puts me in a trance and makes me zone out and want to fall asleep. I don't know what it is lol.
Slow. Boring. Psychosis state. Nothing happens at alll....that was the point? **** Is this extremely deep or just complete nonsense ****
Everyone is saying in their review it's a commentary of the modern workplace and... okay... but I wish the conclusions it was trying to draw could have been more clear.
This book reads like how seasonal depression feels.
.
.
.
Synopsis: We follow four workers who live At the far reaches of the world in a research facility in a vast expanse of ice and snow. Their objective is simple: occupy the space, complete their weekly tasks, and keep the building in working order. There’s just one obstacle standing in their way: a mysterious object that has appeared out in the snow.
Reminds me of several people are typing ....Maybe more boring though lol
I want to like this but I keep falling asleep or totally zoning out ugh!!!!
Giving piranesi/ several people are typing vibes. That being said I don't know if this book would be as well received as those two were. I can see many people not getting along with the very off center plot. It's a little less rooted in reality than those.
For some reason I've fallen asleep like 10x listening to this book and there's something about this book that consistently puts me in a trance and makes me zone out and want to fall asleep. I don't know what it is lol.
Slow. Boring. Psychosis state. Nothing happens at alll....that was the point? **** Is this extremely deep or just complete nonsense ****
Everyone is saying in their review it's a commentary of the modern workplace and... okay... but I wish the conclusions it was trying to draw could have been more clear.
This book reads like how seasonal depression feels.
.
.
.
Synopsis: We follow four workers who live At the far reaches of the world in a research facility in a vast expanse of ice and snow. Their objective is simple: occupy the space, complete their weekly tasks, and keep the building in working order. There’s just one obstacle standing in their way: a mysterious object that has appeared out in the snow.
April 3, 2025
This was a weird one, very claustrophobic and meandering. Yet, I enjoyed the journey along the way. It's super open ended and I wish we could have gotten more answers, though I know that the lack of cohesion and answers is kind of the point with a story like this. The only thing I wish could have been changed was the sheer freaking amount our main character's beard tingled. That started to get old real fast. Though it may play some significance in the overall weirdness it was just getting on my nerves at some point.
Overall, a solid read to me. In terms of horror leans more A24 than Blumhouse. It was the perfect length and gave just enough away without giving you anything at all. Perfect read for an isolated stay at a cabin or something.
Overall, a solid read to me. In terms of horror leans more A24 than Blumhouse. It was the perfect length and gave just enough away without giving you anything at all. Perfect read for an isolated stay at a cabin or something.
May 20, 2023
This is an unusual, imaginative, and bazaar story. Three employees are paid to inhabit an abandoned research institute in case the building is mustered for use again in the future. It is a large building in a god-forsaken landscape of snow with no other inhabitants and in fact nothing at all anywhere in sight. The landscape is perfectly flat and so cold that they are forbidden from going outside. Their work assignments are dictated by a far-off administrator with instructions flown in each Friday on a helicopter for the upcoming week. These assignments consist of menial tasks such as sitting on each chair in the building for at least 10 seconds to test the chair’s stability. The unique circumstances in which they live and work give way to an obsessiveness about the details of the building and their interactions in it. For instance, Hart becomes convinced that one of the other two want his job as supervisor. When the thing in the snow appears outside of their window one day, it consumes their time and thoughts. Eventually they go against the rules and go outside to examine it. The absurdity of this book is what makes it so entertaining.
January 15, 2023
3.5 stars.
January 31, 2023
This book is about the slow descent into madness. It was strange and weird, the character interactions with each other seemed very affected by the place they were in this unknown artic local.
And while I liked it, I felt like it never really went anywhere, it travelled in an almost straight line with no spikes, no escalation, and no climax.
This book was neither good nor bad, it just was.
And while I liked it, I felt like it never really went anywhere, it travelled in an almost straight line with no spikes, no escalation, and no climax.
This book was neither good nor bad, it just was.
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