Finished this thinking "OP, what does this mean?"
The story was totally grounded until almost the end, and by then I didn't know what to think. I'm actually not sure what I think happened.
One of the cool things about this author's books is that they are perfectly balanced between real and supernatural. You could make a 100% convincing argument either way, with tons of support from the text for both positions. This one, I think, favors the ordinary a bit too much throughout, which makes the last several chapters all the more confusing to me.
There's three ongoing storylines all featuring the same people (in some cases, people playing fictionalized versions of themselves with the same names) which can be a challenge to keep straight.
The script portions were my favorite, and it was frustrating in a good way to only get them piecemeal, like the character does. It was like inverse dramatic irony; I didn't know more than the character in the moment, but I felt like I should. Even worse (aka better), I was also following that same character in a future storyline, so technically he did know more about the script than me!
I will say this is probably the least sad Paul Tremblay book I've come across. Not that it's not sad, but it's pity sad instead of heartwrenching. I didn't have to read through tears (looking at you, Cabin At The End Of The World) but there were some empathetic sighs.
I'm sorry for the cruelty of this picture, but I couldn't see Amina and not share her story. Trigger warning: eye injury (bloody eyes).
Amina Ghanem, 13 years old, says: We were sleeping and we heard the sound of tanks when they came and walked over the caravan in which I, my father and my siblings lived. The tank squeezed us inside the tin all night, and we were ran over, until the morning. And when they finally let us out, I found that my father and my little sister have been killed. Now we've been brought here.
She tells her story in this video with her little brother beside her. They're all on their own. Their mother is outside of Gaza and cannot get in or get them out. They have no way of communication, their father and sister are killed.
I don't begrudge Resident Evil fans the last ten years of Resident Evil inspired indie survival horror games, but I gotta say, some days I'd kill for a mediocre Parasite Eve clone.
Collection of all my lethal company art I've made so far! Hopefully will make more in the future! These loose and very experimental paintings have really been super enjoyable to make and have pushed my style a lot!