This felt like a love letter to all things cosmic horror and Lovecraftian. I read it in a day. Once I started I just kept coming back to it and that is something. I don't want to say anything that has spoilers in it so I will say this is a horror with elements of cosmic, infectious, and isolationist terror in it while hitting notes of uncanny as well. The characters are well written and I look forward to reading more from this author.

DNF at page 42.

Beautiful cover art and a compelling synopsis can't save the prose on this one. The Deading reads more like a dry academic textbook on oyster farming and birding than a horror novel, and it didn't take long for boredom to outweigh my patience. Moving onto my next read...

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC, in exchange for an honest review!

DNF
Unfortunately, this book just wasn’t for me. The ‘horror’ parts were lacking detail and explanation, so I found myself confused instead of unnerved. In addition, there were so many scientific and bird-related details, that I felt like I was reading a biology textbook. This felt unnecessary; I wish the details were more aimed at plot and atmosphere building. Overall, this book was not for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Erewhon books for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review

1.5

Enticed by the premise of the synopsis noted below:
"In a small fishing town known for its aging birding community and the local oyster farm, a hidden evil emerges from the depths of the ocean. It begins with sea snails washing ashore, attacking whatever they cling to. This mysterious infection starts transforming the wildlife, the seascapes, and finally, the people."

Finally, an-infection horror book, I was excited to begin reading it. I empathize with Belardes' passion for ornithology that is well-noted by extensive passages regarding these wonderful creatures. However, I found it difficult to progress in the book as the focus mostly relied upon the environment and a variety of self-examining. This could have been executed better, in a sense that maybe it should have been written as a non-fiction commentary rather that poorly masking it with a horror fiction and poorly distinguished point of views.

I appreciate the synopsis, it does help draw reader's interest for sure, but certainly could be better if it followed up on it's promise.

Like so many others stated, this one was a miss for me. After trying so hard to get through it, I had to eventually DNF. There was just too much random moments of facts about birds and such that it completely takes away from the story itself. What a shame, the premise sounded so good.

The Deading read like a YA to me, with it's simple fast pace and healthy amounts of dialogue (there is a lot more than just dialogue I just mean it feels like that). It was a really interesting story, I think I was just to squeamish to fully enjoy it.

Premise was amazing however this book was extremely slow and difficult to follow along. I get the multiple view points but it was so slow to the point. Hard to get through and the premise was lost in the writing. I’m so sorry to leave a bad review.

I tried to get into this one, but I really struggled with the dialogue in the beginning. I am still really thankful to Quirk Books, Nicholas Belardes, and Netgalley for granting me advanced digital access to this one before July 23, 2024.

3.5 stars rounded up.

I can definitely see where the other reviewers are coming from. But the reasons others gave this 1 or 2 stars were the reasons that I liked this novel. Different strokes for different folks.

The POV changes, from different characters to first, second, and third person, and going back and forth between all of these different modes of storytelling, can be really jarring and off-putting. But strangely, I liked them. Each different POV gave different insights into the microcosm that was the town of Baywood. I really liked how it gave a well-rounded view on this alien invasion/pandemic story.

It wasn't very difficult for me to discern between the characters because each POV was written well enough that you could tell who was speaking. Sometimes I couldn't tell what was going on, but honestly, it added to the book's atmosphere because most of the characters also had no idea what was going on.

I feel terrible for saying this, but the one thing that really turned me off was the constant talk about bird species. I love when people talk about their passions, and I was really into birds when I was younger, but this felt like the author cornering me and mowing me down with facts about every single bird they've ever seen. It was so overwhelming.

I think if you like bizarre horror, you might enjoy this. If not, then maybe skip this.

Thank you to Erewhon Books and NetGalley for this arc.

I managed to get through 40% of this book.
This book feels like a grandfather writing about a teen/writing YA. 30% of this book so far has talked about birds and their rarities which didn't add much to the story (imo). It is nice to see a character have interest in a certain thing but it felt like there was only talked about bird spotting at some point.
The author used slang and puns in his narration, I think this might be a personal preference but it is something I really did not enjoy.
The blurb and idea of this book had much potential but wasn't executed well. It would've been beter if it was shorter as there was alot of unnecessary detailing.

I really thought I would enjoy this more because the premise is unique and interesting. However, the book is very slow and bogs down the premise with not great characters and not great writing unfortunately.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion!

Truthfully, I didn't really enjoy this novel at all. The premise, while so interesting and engaging when read as a synopsis, is not at all what this book contains. I, like many other reviewers, feel like the author was trying to do so much that it ended up being TOO much. I didn't feel connected to any of the characters, possibly because of all of the POVs present throughout the novel, and honestly almost didn't finish the novel because of the slow pacing.

The premise is a good one but the execution was lacking. I got 30% in and it just wasn't grabbing me. It's a DNF for me.

There's a lot going on in this mournful, atmospheric horror novel where nature seems to be turning on humanity, causing all sorts of disturbing rituals, corrosion of society, and a sickness that seems to manifest itself in both mental and physical ways. Strange, dark, and intricately constructed horror.

This ended up taking a bit longer than I thought it would to read, but as it turns out, it also took the plot a hot minute to cohere together, so it's all well. This is Belardes' first novel, and he chose a hell of a neat intersection to tackle - the hobby of birding, and pandemic. The novel does feel a bit unfocused at first, but it does eventually focus in on the intersection of class interaction, the hobby of birding, and how a horror pandemic starts originating in the birds. I did lose the plot a few times admittedly, and the cult did seem a bit extraneous, but honestly, this was a hell of a swing for a first novel, and even though it doesn't fully land for me, I liked what I read and I'm interested from more from Belardes in the future.

“It’s already in you. And it will spread. You know this. Your world will never be the same. An unexplainable terror begins slowly unraveling around you. The deading is here. Even the tiny birds will lies still, as if dying has become a greeting, and mourning is a welcome.”

I had such high hopes for this debut eco-horror novel about a small coastal town where a mysterious contagion wreaks havoc on the local population (mollusks, birds and people alike). Think 28 Days Later meets The Bay and add a bit of the Lovecraftian. With a synopsis like that, and a cover to match the vibes perfectly, I couldn’t wait to get into this story.
Unfortunately, it didn’t deliver what I hoped it would.

What I liked:
It’s clear from the start, as well as the acknowledgement in the back, that the author and I are fascinated by the same brand of horror. Eco-, cosmic-, biological, teetering on the edge between speculative/sci-fi and horror. Bonus points for adding in an ocean-element too. In short; read the synopsis of The Deading, and you have basically the description of my ideal horror-novel. As awful as it sounds, I wanted to read that book, just not in the way that Belardes chose to tell it.

What I didn’t like:
There are quite some things I could critique, but I’m narrowing it down to the most “objective” ones that bothered me the most.
First things first: one of the key factors in a story like this is memorable characters that can hook you into the story and make you care for their safety as events progress. After having read this entire book (parts of it twice because it wouldn’t stick), I cannot tell you a single characteristic of any of our protagonists. They are flat, unmemorable and barely discernable from each other on page. This is compounded by the fact that the author often jumps from one POV to another without clearly marking the shift, which makes for a jarring and disjointed reading-experience.
Disjointedness is my second major critique of the book as a whole. Many cosmic horror novels employ this “disorienting” technique of presenting the story, and in some cases it adds to the horror. Think of Annihilation or House of Leaves, which use fragmented narratives to convey the sense of disorientation their characters feel. The difference being that Vandermeer and Danielewski chose to tell their stories in a fragmented way, yet they have a firm grip on them and know where they’re taking the reader. With The Deading it often feels the author lacks that control, and let the story meander away from him, failing to tie it all back together.
That leads to my final, most all-encompassing point: this book tries to do waaaay to much. Had it been focused on just a small cast of characters in a fishing village, dealing with an unknowable contagion, Belardes probably could’ve pulled off something intense and gripping. Instead, there are far too many secondary plotlines and themes railroaded in. The book tries to do eco-horror, zombies, government-surveillance, religious-/cult-horror, cosmicism and more and spreads itself so thin there’s barely any substance left. In the end, there are no resolutions and far too many open ends to make for a satisfactory conclusion to the story. I’m not a reader that needs every answer spelled out for them. In fact, some of my favourites (like aforementioned Annihilation and House of Leaves), leave quite some room for interpretation. Yet at least in those stories, it feels the author knows the answers. In The Deading, it feels like the author was just as lost on how to wrap everything up as I was.
Overall, I’m truly sad I didn’t love this book. I’d be happy to check out the authors next work, as their interests are clearly close to mine. The execution just wasn’t quite there yet in this debut…

Many thanks to Erewhon Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This is my review for the Deading this is a book I was looking so forward to reading so much so I read it much sooner than I normally would have and I must admit I was truly disappointed. Although not a bad book per se I believe it’s not the book that was advertised. Unless I am reading nonfiction or the news I really am not into learning about the environment social issues ET see having said that despite the whole preamble to the book being exactly that I soldiered on because I was super excited to read the book. No the story whip Geraldo the fisherman was very interesting he was the first guy who dies but as the chapters go on the head of these dream sequences or fanciful thinking that went on for pages and I get that maybe that’s an analogy for what the environment is doing to the world because of what we’ve done to the environment I just could’ve live without it. I just wish it would’ve been a straightforward story and would’ve focused on Gerardo his crew and those issues I found funny moments in the book and creepy ones the only reason I am not giving it a better rating but every time I found myself getting into the story there would be something else to break up the flow that went on and on and I have to be honest I almost DNF this book in the seventh chapter in twice after it really would’ve been a great story and since the book isn’t being released until July maybe the author can take out The pointless dribble the book would definitely be better for it also I didn’t feel a lot of it was explained the way it should’ve been and maybe they had too many characters. I also didn’t like the way the chapters would start and you wouldn’t know who exactly that chapter was about. Do I recommend this book I don’t know read it at your own risk. I want to thank the publisher for my free ARC copy via NetGalley please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

DNF at 22% in, I simply cannot.

This book is marketed falsely. You’re promised something along the lines of a horror, or at the furthest, a sci-fi, which the premise gives. Instead, most of what I read was about birds and bird watching, oysters and crabs, things that aren’t seemingly relevant to the beginning prologue of the story.

The way the story is told is strange as well, alternating between 1st and 3rd pov, yet never clarifying which characters are which, so you’re confused and slightly disoriented for the most part.

I won’t say it’s badly written because the writing for the most part IS strong, there’s a heavy potential in it, as well as the author’s idea, it just…isn’t delivered to its best nor fullest.

Or perhaps this simply was not for me, and that is okay as well.

I really wanted to like this book and then I got to a point where I really wanted to DNF it but in the end I ended up skimming the latter part of it.
The premise was great and the prologue really captured my attention but it became preachy very fast.
I read for entertainment or to learn and I love when the learning is carefully woven into the story but I felt like I was being yelled at for most of the book.

The best part of this book is the prologue, and then everything just stops moving at all for an unnecessary amount of time and it just becomes preachy and annoying. I was very disappointed because it did seem like it was going to be very interesting in the beginning.