The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay

NATIONAL BESTSELLER! BEST BOOK OF 2018 (Library Journal, NPR, Buzzfeed) LOCUS RECOMMENDED READING LIST - 2018 JULY 2018 INDIE NEXT PICK! SUMMER 2018 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY PICK! “A tremendous book―thought-provoking and terrifying, with tension that winds up like a chain. The Cabin at the End of the World is Tremblay’s personal best. It’s that good.” — Stephen King “A clinic in suspense, a story that opens with high-wire tension and never lets up from there.” — Michael Koryta "I tore through it in record time. I just couldn’t wait to see where Tremblay was going to take me next.” — Victor LaValle The Bram Stoker Award-winning author of A Head Full of Ghosts adds an inventive twist to the home invasion horror story in a heart-palpitating novel of psychological suspense that recalls Stephen King’s Misery, Ruth Ware’s In a Dark, Dark Wood, and Jack Ketchum’s cult hit The Girl Next Door. Seven-year-old Wen and her parents, Eric and Andrew, are vacationing at a remote cabin on a quiet New Hampshire lake. Their closest neighbors are more than two miles in either direction along a rutted dirt road. One afternoon, as Wen catches grasshoppers in the front yard, a stranger unexpectedly appears in the driveway. Leonard is the largest man Wen has ever seen but he is young, friendly, and he wins her over almost instantly. Leonard and Wen talk and play until Leonard abruptly apologizes and tells Wen, "None of what’s going to happen is your fault". Three more strangers then arrive at the cabin carrying unidentifiable, menacing objects. As Wen sprints inside to warn her parents, Leonard calls out: "Your dads won’t want to let us in, Wen. But they have to. We need your help to save the world." Thus begins an unbearably tense, gripping tale of paranoia, sacrifice, apocalypse, and survival that escalates to a shattering conclusion, one in which the fate of a loving family and quite possibly all of humanity are entwined. The Cabin at the End of the World is a masterpiece of terror and suspense from the fantastically fertile imagination of Paul Tremblay. “Read Paul Tremblay's new novel, The Cabin at the End of the World, and you might not sleep for a week. Longer. It will shape your nightmares for months – that's pretty much guaranteed.” — NPR “Gripping, horrifying, and mesmerizing.” — GQ “A tour-de-force of psychological and religious horror.” — BN.com “A blinding tale of survival and sacrifice.” — Kirkus Reviews “Tremblay has a real winner here.” — Tor.com

This writing style is far from my favorite. Every single line of dialogue is the same (Eric says, Andrew says, she says). It was hard to get through and then left us on a cliff hanger.

I have mixed feelings about this one. It started really strong, and it reminded me a little of older Stephen King short stories in terms of wordiness and character design. One of the antagonists had that creepy otherworldy vibe to him where he appeared human but seemed almost monster like in his actions and phrases. I kept expecting him to morph into something slithery. The first half of the novel kept me engaged and wanting to read more. But after the halfway point, the story seemed to get a bit rambly and long paragraphed and nothing really happened plot-wise. Don't get me wrong, nothing needed to happen, really. It just seemed very drawn out for what it was and like the author didn't know where he wanted it to go with it for a while. There were a whole of questions I had about things that never got answered and usually I would be ok with that if there was some greater meaning to think about but I don't really feel like there was. This book isn't making me ponder or think about things hours later. It just left me with a feeling of “oh, that is it then? huh.”