TCCDM Dig and Flip: "The Cabin At The End Of The World" - Paul Tremblay (2018) Book Review

"The Cabin At The End Of The World"
by Paul Tremblay
(2018)
Hardcover, 272 pages

NO SPOILERS:
This “cabin in the woods" horror tale involves an adopted girl and her two dads who spend a weekend at a cabin far removed from cell phones and FaceTime.  While the little girl plays outside, a nice stranger comes along.  This encounter quickly turns into a home invasion.  Up to this point, the story seems very familiar.  But then the uninvited guests throw their strange and frightening agenda into the family's lap and suddenly the story becomes a very different potato.  And it could have really been intense, but for all the flashbacks.  FBs of the two dads.  FBs of the adoption.  Just a lot of filler.  Better to take the cabin invasion for a real thunder ride, but Paul Tremblay never quite puts the pedal to the metal.

Also, the ending is way too ambiguous and thus, unsatisfying.  You can get away with these types of shenanigans in a short story or novella, but for a novel, it just feels lazy and rushed.  And yet for all its flaws, I didn’t hate “The Cabin At The End Of The World.”  The story has its dark moments and surprises.  And the unique idea the author delivers is different enough to keep things interesting.  Overall, the story reads fast, but it just moves way too slow.  For me, a borderline okay.

"Way of the World" - Cheap Trick / "Dream Police" (1979)

Good stuff.

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