#dead voices

[libraryspectre]

It feels like Katherine Arden is so good at writing seasonal vibes that she decided to flex and that's how we got the Small Spaces quartet. Like she wrote The Bear and the Nightingale and everyone was so impressed with the winter setting that she was like "that's nothing." And wrote a middle-grade seasonal horror series where every book DRIPS with the season it's set in. She even pulled off spring-centric horror without bringing any kind of fertility ritual thing into it. No, that would be too obvious. It's about BOATING. Incredible.

[i-hope-we-both-die666]

reading a book/ watching a show and loving it only to find out there isnt any fanbase <<<

[howifeltabouthim]

'Who are you?' 'I think you know,' he said. She did. She didn't want to. She didn't want it to be true. But it was, and she did.

Katherine Arden, from Dead Voices

[heyyyharry]

I’M SOOOOO EXCITED!!! BEEN WAITING ALL YEAR FOR THIS BOOK!!!!!

[covermore]

“Even bad things can lead to good. Maybe in sad times, it helps to think of that.”

 ― Katherine Arden, Small Spaces

~Reviews for Small Spaces and Dead Voices now up on Goodreads~

[virtualcoffeetable]

For I would go to this impossible land that lay east of the sun and west of the moon.

East by Edith Pattou

Luckily, I always travel with a book, just in case I have to wait in line for Santa, or some such inconvenience.

Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

I believe in memory. I believe in remembering someone you love so well that it becomes kind of like a ghost.

Dead Voices by Katherine Arden

[brightbeautifulthings]

Dead Voices by Katherine Arden

"'I need my bones,' whispered the girl again. 'I can't get out of here without my bones.'"

Year Read: 2021

Rating: 3/5

About: There are spoilers ahead for Small Spaces. After outwitting the Smiling Man and escaping from the world behind the mist, Ollie, Brian, and Coco have become inseparable. They're excited to take a family ski trip in the mountains, but a massive snowstorm traps them there almost as soon as they arrive. Mount Hemlock Resort is creepy, and Ollie is haunted by dreams of a ghost girl looking for her bones. When another guest arrives claiming to be a ghost hunter, he promises to help them look into the hauntings at the resort. But Ollie's watch, which helped them find their way out of the mist, has a new message for them: BEWARE. Trigger warnings: death/child death (off-page), injury, threats.

Thoughts: This is a perfectly fine follow-up to Small Spaces, and it has most of the things I liked about it: creepy atmosphere, brave and clever main characters, and evocative writing. The ghostly specter of a girl looking for her bones is nicely terrifying, but it's one of the only images that really stands out. The Other Motherly matron who haunts the resort and keeps the frozen ghost girls in line lacks the terror of the Smiling Man, and a horror novel is typically only as good as its villain. The pacing also feels a bit slower, and despite the fact that it's middle grade (or perhaps because of it), I struggled to stay engaged.

The character development also takes a backseat here, particularly with Ollie and Brian, as the friendships are already established. Coco's is pretty good though, and since we have perspectives alternating between Coco and Ollie, we get a better idea of her character. She's constantly underestimated for her size, but she's braver than anyone gives her credit for and an excellent strategist. The cold, snowy atmosphere is as distinct as the spooky autumn weather of Small Spaces (but let's face it, I'm an October girl down to my horror movie heart, and that book is a whole Halloween mood). My favorite part of the novel was the thing I didn't expect, but it ventures into spoiler territory. Happy to discuss in the comments!

[roseunspindle]

What I Read in March 2020

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35009957-star-wars?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=BnWqKCHihT&rank=1

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8145137-sakura-taisen-vol-1?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=mTQZm18yvT&rank=1

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36959639-small-spaces?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=cFX5Cvi4Q9&rank=1

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43069601-dead-voices?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=Z87aAWMceU&rank=1

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41940388-the-test?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=AOWipfLwrP&rank=1

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43575115-the-starless-sea?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=a7SJcfkYu4&rank=1

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36595887-sal-and-gabi-break-the-universe?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=UBwaCjTxN2&rank=1

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27247275-star-wars?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=65U3eQ6FxX&rank=1

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25454056-sword-of-destiny?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=qQmw5ZMor3&rank=1

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1188297.xxxHolic_Vol_11?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=M9rfiI811V&rank=1

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/857243.D_N_Angel_Vol_10

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28016727-star-wars?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=yB7dQMn0iW&rank=1

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6235902-clover?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=jVg1mM1xwO&rank=1

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34927.Star_Wars

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6043781-blood-of-elves?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=CM5cl4Q8EW&rank=1

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34966859-dragon-pearl?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=91Ddi8wXNg&rank=1

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/780845.Black_Cat_Volume_01