Wednesday, September 12, 2018

The Cabin at the End of the World; Paul Tremblay


AUTHOR: Paul Tremblay
PUBLISHER: William Morrow
PUB. YEAR: 2018
SETTING: New Hampshire
FORMAT:  - Library
RATING: 3.5/5 stars

Andrew, Eric and their 7 year old daughter Wen are vacationing at a remote New Hampshire cabin near the Canadian border.  Hoping for a peaceful vacation away from it all, there isn't even any cell service or internet.  As the two dads relax on the back deck, Wen, their curious, daughter, who the couple adopted from China, is busy collecting grasshoppers and naming them in the tall grasses in front of the house.  Suddenly, a big man, with a friendly face appears. He tells Wen his name is Leonard and begins helping her catch grasshoppers. Wen knows about stranger danger, but Leonard is so kind and helpful but, yes, he has another agenda. Soon Leonard 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."

All the above happens within the first 20+pages of this gripping, at times heart-pounding, novel.  The remote setting, a home invasion, and what follows had me quickly turning pages, even though it became clear, early on this was a book that was making me uncomfortable and, yes,  there are aspects of the story that were quite disturbing, I had to see how the story played out.  Can't say I'm sorry I tried this one but overall, I did have my issues with this one.

22 comments:

  1. I've read a lot of mixed reviews about this one so I'm on the fence about trying it.

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    1. I read it very fast for me. I was curious and it wasn't very long.

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  2. I enjoyed the suspense at the beginning but flipped through to the end when I realized this was a sci-fi, fantasy type of story.

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    1. Im not a sci-fi or fantasy fan either so that turned me off a bit for sure.

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  3. I normally don't read this genre, but the part you shared sounds good.

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    1. It's a great early hook that makes you want to find out good.

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  4. I've got this in one of my reading piles, so I appreciate reading your thoughts on it.

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    1. I don't like sic-fi and fantasy but this still held my interest.

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  5. I've read another book by the author and it's already on my list. I did read the blurb a while back and wondered...think I might try it sooner rather than later. It would be a good RIP pick - is it on your list for that?

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  6. Sounds intriguing but too dark for my taste. I'm not sure about the sci-fi angle mentioned in the comments. Is it horror, mystery thriller, or sci-fi? Or all of it in one giant ball of darkness?

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  7. Too bad this one wasn't as good as the blurb made it sound.

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    1. I would have liked a little more story before the terror started, but, it hits so fast.

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  8. Oh well, it's too bad only 20 or so pages were really good.

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    1. Well, more was interesting than that but still far from ideal.

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  9. I enjoy some sci-fi, so maybe I'd like this a little more than you? It sounds like a heartpounder!!

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  10. It had some issues but at the same time, for how isolated the characters were and how their dilemma was presented, I was pretty pulled in. I wanted to spend more time with the family before it all went down. I think it would have made us care for them a little more.

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