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I think the protagonist is schizophrenic. It’s such a choice to say that she’s been hallucinating her entire life. I guess that would make it hard to know whether they’re actually being haunted.

I stuck with it and now I don’t know whether it’s intentionally hammy because it’s about a mediocre writer? It’s got a Sam Rami quality to it. That is charming but is possibly not intentional.

The premise is interesting, but the dialogue…it’s that kind of modern “clever” that never reads as a real conversation. The author’s desire to move the plot or describe a character shows through the transparent quips. As a result, nothing feels grounded enough to carry the plot. I’ll push on for now.

These poor siblings.

“I said goodbye to everything while running, and that is not a proper goodbye.”

I don’t know how to say this without spoilers. My favorite movie is The Thing. The Haar feels like that movie.

Incredible. It feels like a nightmare, abstract but rooted in reality.

“The less you think about it, the longer you live.”

The majority of this book is profoundly unsentimental. It doesn’t tug the heartstrings. It doesn’t linger on the horrors. It tells the facts of what happened. But every once in a while, it hits you hard, demonstrated by this quote from control room engineer Alexander Yuvchenko. He should have died. He didn’t. Why ask questions?

Loving it so far! The descriptions are so vivid. I see each character clearly in my mind. I don’t want anything bad to happen to them, and I dread what’s coming.

I’m so close to finished. I’m going to drag myself over the finish line, but I don’t think I’ll ever like this book. It has been exhausting.

Just as I got close to quitting, the book got better. These are still the most fragile, whiniest people. Only the evil ones appear sturdy.

If it weren’t for the petty nanny spilling all the family secrets, this would be a pretty short book.

This book makes me feel less crazy. A political insider looking around and bluntly saying, “This is nuts—what is happening?” It doesn’t help, but it bolsters the idea that I’m not merely losing my mind.

I’ve never read a book more clearly written by a cocaine user. He’s all over the place.

Fast paced and manic, the book jumps right into the action. Loving it so far.

“Today, I watched footage of a man kissing his son’s foot as he buried the body, so torn apart by the missiles that the foot was one of the only pieces the father could find in the rubble. Tell me this man doesn’t know love. Hasn’t been made to know it in a way no human being should.”

I had to take a break from this book for a week because it’s so intense. In that week, Ice killed an American citizen. Predictable lies followed. Some celebrated. This book is relevant everywhere.

I take it back. Once the book gets into the details of how these men and woman could be made to confess, it gets really good. The confusing narrative in the beginning clicks into place with the explanation. It’s like the first half is a jumble of puzzle pieces. The second half starts placing them. Really well done.

I like this book. I’m listening to it, and the narrator is pleasant. The story is intriguing. However, I can’t help but feel they’ve gone a little too far in burying the lead. The author chases a lot of rabbits for a long time before circling back to the main gist of the story. The mystery is getting a little exhausting instead of being as suspenseful as I think the author would prefer.

I picked this book up for something to read before bed. It’ll be relaxing, I thought. One short story or essay before sleep each night.

The first author made me so sad, I had a nightmare where my spouse died and couldn’t sleep well after that. I can’t say more without spoilers. I definitely recommend the first story if you want to feel things, but they won’t be pretty things.

I wanted to watch the documentary on this story, but I found that it was not available in my country. Instead, I discovered this book. I’m so glad I went for the book instead. So far, the mystery is very intriguing.

It stars by describing the two missing men, then pivots into following the suspect’s girlfriend. She is a criminal herself, but out of the loop on whatever is happening with the disappearance.

The opening of this book made me cry.

Neil Gaiman werewolf story? Yes please.

Why does it change between past and present tense at random? Was there an editor?

It’s tough to get into this book having read a similar and superior book, The Last of the Wine. I’m glad SoA has magical elements because otherwise the comparison would be insurmountable.

“Safety becomes violence when mixed with fear.”

“In reality, the apocalypse is most likely to be you, alone in a room with the flu.”