Kallia

Honestly it's a bit of a hodge podge. A fun read the way a bad movie can be fun, but that's about all the merit I can give it. The plot is all over the place and doesn't seem to have been incredibly well thought through. The actions of the characters often seem motivationless, even when the author is clearly trying to portray their motivations. The story manages to feel all over the place and predictable at the same time, just vaguely interesting enough to get through it. Also, the "romance" in this book is dismal, forced, and unnecessary in an egregious way. The most compelling bits are the small stories within the story.

A wonderful cap to the first two books. Explains enough about what's going on to feel satisfying, without laying out a blueprint of the whole idea. Leaves plenty of mystery at the edges, plenty of things to still wonder about and turn over. But not so much that you feel left hanging by the story. A better delve into a lot of the characters and a beautiful look at the world Vandermeer has created.

An atypical haunted house story with an ending you've seen coming for so long, it works its way back around to being a blunt shock by the finish. No ceremony no fluff. I think where this book really shines is as a commentary on the violence of casual human social cruelty. A harsh story about an anxious woman who's never been made to feel welcome, killed by the ease with which people are content to leave one another out. And maybe, just maybe, a house that wants blood - and induces madness to get it. All I'm all a great quick read, and a book that leaves you turning over its implications in your head.

Excellently told, amazing how the author was able to get together so many accounts and weave them into the best understanding of this event were likely to have. Secondarily, I think maybe we should stop thinking of Nantucket and America's whaling history as a heartwarming story of human triumph, and more like a dark stain on human history. These men should not be respected or hailed as heroes for the work they were doing when tragedy struck them.