Eric
To be overly brief, this book was pretty good, the setting was immersive, but the story was overlong. 400-450 pages would've been plenty. We don't need nearly so many examples of the obscene alcoholism of these young intellectuals.
The promotional summary gives an impression that the professor is somehow manipulating/masterminding his students' actions, but that is misleading -- I'd say you could literally remove him as a character and the story would be the same. Other details in the novel itself are presented as if they're clues, but are never mentioned again (e.g. the padlocked closet in Henry's bedroom, when Richard is recuperating there after his frozen winter). Which is to say, the novel is pitched as a suspense or mystery, but the story, its motives and perpetrators are all rather straightforward. There is no "twist" -- so if you're not into the story halfway through, you won't be rewarded by some big, final climax for sticking with it.
Worth reading as an archetype of the "dark academia" genre: campus as fishbowl, "town vs. gown" relations, superiority/entitlement of students from wealthy families, students who think their intellect is infallible, etc.
To be overly brief, this book was pretty good, the setting was immersive, but the story was overlong. 400-450 pages would've been plenty. We don't need nearly so many examples of the obscene alcoholism of these young intellectuals.
The promotional summary gives an impression that the professor is somehow manipulating/masterminding his students' actions, but that is misleading -- I'd say you could literally remove him as a character and the story would be the same. Other details in the novel itself are presented as if they're clues, but are never mentioned again (e.g. the padlocked closet in Henry's bedroom, when Richard is recuperating there after his frozen winter). Which is to say, the novel is pitched as a suspense or mystery, but the story, its motives and perpetrators are all rather straightforward. There is no "twist" -- so if you're not into the story halfway through, you won't be rewarded by some big, final climax for sticking with it.
Worth reading as an archetype of the "dark academia" genre: campus as fishbowl, "town vs. gown" relations, superiority/entitlement of students from wealthy families, students who think their intellect is infallible, etc.