Creepy Book Club discussion

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This is the second Adam Neville book I am reading. I read The Reddening in 2020. What I notice in this book so far is that there is a lot more focus on the characters which I really appreciate.

This is my first Adam Neville book. I became interested in the story after watching the film, which I loved. I like how so far the characters are given a lot of time for development. By developing a story revolving closely around the characters, this may play a key role later on in the book when stuff starts getting more intense.

I'm coming into this with literally 0 context. I didn't even know the book and movie existed until last month.

So far it's hitting the sweet-spot of my favorite hate-reads, where it's written in an engaging way and I have fun with it, but that is literally the only positive I have to say. It's still early, and there's still hope, but the story needs a BIG TWIST for me to actually unironically like it.

I hate Luke. I assume this isn't controversial, we can't be meant to like him. He's a fatphobic ableist sexist piece of garbage. I get that we aren't meant to like him, but I hate him so much that it bothers me that he'd be the center of a story. I don't even know what the threat is yet, but I already hope it wins, because Luke needs to die (that would be my favorite twist option, for Luke to die halfway through.)
Hutch is just a bad decision maker. He seems so comically incompetent that I think it might be deliberate-- my second option for the twist is that Hutch is actually the Big Bad and he wants to kill the others for the titular ritual.
Dom and Phil also seem to be pretty garbage-people, but I still don't know enough about them. I'm curious about Michelle, there was quite a bit of time dedicated to her, and whatever happens, I'm hoping it actually has something to do with her.

My other main issue is that I don't have even a remote glimpse of why these people became friends in the first place. I get that it was long ago, but it's just ridiculous to me that these people would have agreed to go for a camping trip together.

So yes, overall I'm really disliking everything about the book and loving every second of the reading experience. Excited for the rest!

I'm really enjoying the book so far. I actually haven't seen the movie yet (it's been on my netflix watch list for like 2 years and I never get around to it for some reason lol) I'm looking forward to watching the adaptation after finishing.

Personally, this is hitting 2 spots for me that I love in horror - it's kinda a slow-burn and atmospheric. I agree that the characters are all pretty unlikeable.

Having seen the movie beforehand, the book is quite disconcerting. It’s like there is no background for their relationship (even though pieces of an explanation of some sort are sprinkled through the chapters) or no real reason behind this trip. And I have trouble figuring out Dom and Phil’s personalities, they are interchangeable for me.

But the atmosphere is great and I have a sweet spot for effigies, so it’s not a total waste of time :P

I'm surprised at how quickly this gets right into the nitty gritty compared to the film - which at least gives you a little bit of background before getting into everything.
I'm now wondering if the twist is gonna be the same or what. But so far, I'm liking the reasoning for the gang being in Sweden in the movie more, without giving anything away it makes Luke a more tragic character rather than just an ass. But there's still 2/3 of the book to go, so we'll see!

I really enjoyed the film of this, so have been looking forward to checking out the book. I'm deeply into the atmosphere, the descriptions are bringing out my claustrophobia and I keep having to put it down to take deep breaths.

Is anyone else finding it a fast read? I pick it up and before I know it I've zoomed through more pages that I thought I had.

The beginning definitely goes by quite quickly! I feel like the movie had a bit more set-up, but the book just throws you right in and kinda gives you the character background as the plot moves forward.