PositiveThe New York Times Book ReviewThe draw of Exiles is the plot, which is pacey and taut. The story strikes a savvy balance between the cold, hard protocol that’s been drilled into Gold and her compatriots and the raw animal terror they experience as soon as they set foot on Mars ... Coile’s prose is evocative and chilling ... But what of our human lead? Gold is a mixed success ... So little of this lean novel is devoted to Gold’s personality and motivations that she teeters between enigmatic and underexplored ... Coile wields genre conventions with a practiced and confident hand ... He’s particularly good at exploring how the mind plays tricks and conjures outlandish possibilities under extreme stress ... Even if Exiles isn’t reinventing the extraterrestrial thriller, it’s still a standout example of the form: satisfying, entertaining and emphatically human.
MixedThe New York Times Book ReviewThe third timeline...is where the novel shines brightest. Beatrice’s reminiscences...are lyrical and melancholy, and her voice blooms with elegance and Gothic flair ... Moreno-Garcia has a deep knowledge of, and affinity for, the history of horror and the Gothic, and she seems most comfortable working in that mode ... She’s also a very visual writer, with a talent for developing atmosphere and a sharp eye for sensory detail ... Unfortunately, the novel too often errs on the side of heavy-handedness and over-explanation. The author doesn’t seem to trust readers to retain plot details from chapter to chapter, often hammering the same bits of foreshadowing multiple times ... Pacing is a problem throughout ... The connection between the witches of Massachusetts and those of Mexico is never satisfactorily explained or explored ... As for Minerva herself, I reached the end of the novel without a clear sense of who she is or what motivates her ... At its best, The Bewitching is a lush Gothic tale of women and witches, of dark magic and death. But the story is hamstrung by its execution ... I was left more bewildered than bewitched.
Paul Tremblay
RaveThe New York Times Book Review\"Horror Movie delights in prodding the manipulation inherent to artistic creation, the slippery give-and-take between auteur and audience ... Horror movies do have rules, yes, as do horror novels, and both Tremblay and the fictional filmmakers delight in finding out exactly how far those rules can bend, and how far the audience will bend with them ... Tremblay is often (and rightfully) recognized as one of the great contemporary horror writers, in terms of both technical talent and storytelling ability. As I read Horror Movie, I found myself marveling at its high-wire act ... It takes bravado and skill to layer overlapping narrative frames like this without sacrificing tension, but Horror Movie never once loses its momentum or its way. It’s a smart book, smartly told, and should establish Tremblay as not just one of our great horror writers but one of our great fiction writers, full stop.\
Elizabeth Hand
RaveThe New York Times Book ReviewShot through with...witchy sacrifice ... There are some direct echoes of Jackson’s novel here ... For the most part, though, Hand is responding to the source material on a deeper level, echoing Jackson’s structure, characterization and storytelling beats rather than relying on superficial similarities ... And, above all, it’s scary. Hand’s facility with language and atmosphere and use of short, propulsive chapters work their own dark magic on the reader. It’s a compelling and frightening novel, but did it need to take place in Jackson’s universe? Probably not — and that’s why it works.
