Unable to give feedback as title didn't want to downland to the netgalley shelf app. I'm not sure if this is an error in my part or if the app is just not the best working app.

Thanks to NetGalley and Erewhon Books for the audio ARC. This novel features three different narrators: Luis Moreno, Robb Moreira, and June Angela.

The Deading, which the kids totally started first and then the adults started copying, is a phenomenon where people just drop wherever they are and play dead. Men, women, animals, it can happen to anyone.

What sounds like a somewhat interesting idea, unfortunately ends up being an incredible mess. It’s almost as if someone took the creepy idea behind Bird Box or Your Shadow Half Remains, those unseen but unstoppable changes in people, and instead just made it about people planking? At the start they kind of just play dead like hysteria fueled pranksters…and later it just evolves into shaking and spitting on the ground?

The deading is also started by sea snails, that are also alien, that are also a hive mind absorbing all in their path? It was far too confusing to me, eradicating anything scary or creepy that could have been. It also starts in a bay where they are harvesting oysters, a huge focus of the opening chapters, which I thought would be a big thing, but it’s not at all.

The novel features more than one character that is a bird watcher, and at one point early on in the novel there is literally several chapters in a row where they are just naming bird species? It just felt so strange, like nothing else at all. Perhaps the author is a big bird watcher? The audio narrators all take a separate piece of the pie. The woman doing the section that features an older woman, one of the bird watchers. The younger male voice gives the arc of the kids that don’t dead. They meet at night in a kind of Midnight Club YA-feeling resistance that does not pan out. The older male voice does everything else, and none of the three mesh together at all. I thought perhaps they would converge in the end, but they didn’t.

I would perhaps have not shared my thoughts if I DNF’d, however with it being an arc I wanted to push on through. This felt disjointed, confused, and lacking a strong developmental edit. It’s really hard to write a book, and after all that work, I’d never want to hear that it was bad, but this really lacked direction.

DNF @ 50%
For a book with such an intriguing blurb, a badass horror cover, and great marketing it’s incredible disappointing to give up on it. But I cannot read another repetitive, useless, cyclical descriptive paragraph, or run-on sentence, again. There are so many issues with this story sadly.
Here are the big ones that stand out to me:
1) I never know who is talking at the beginning of the chapter! I need names please, or immediate orientating of which characters POV I’m getting. It’s very annoying (and distracting) to try and figure out whose thoughts I’m reading.
2) The extended descriptive, repetitive prose is unnecessary. I don’t need five different examples of birds being unable to fly or humans lying on the grass. This book could be less than half its size if the prose was cut down and made short, sweet, and impactful.
3) The actual plot has been lost inside the descriptions and constant discussion of birds. I do not care this much about bird watching! The Deading could have been a cool opportunity to get people interested in birdwatching. Instead it will bore you into looking for birds; anything to keep you distracted from reading more on the page in front of you.
4) The isolation of the town is illogical at times. Apparently no one was visiting when the quarantine was imposed? No one is missing family members who were travelling, all the kids have all their parents and friends in town at the moment of isolation? It’s strange that this assumption is put into place when it could have setup an interesting plot point about who is where and how the virus attacks locals versus tourists different. Huge lost opportunity in my opinion.
5) I’m sooo bored. I do not care at all what is happening in the bay, with the animals and humans, etc. I went and crept on some other reviews and read a lot of the same complaints I have. And so I’m DNFing this one because it doesn’t seem worth it to carry on if it doesn’t get any better (which according to other reviewers it doesn’t).

It’s always disappointing to be unsatisfied by a book, but to be downright annoyed, bored, and disinterested takes a fair bit of work (ironically). The Deading needed a heavy handed editor, some story boarding to map out who is where, when and why, and some focus on the point of the story or at least a sense of where it’s headed. Thus I concede, I’m beat and ready to move on get or into something that (hopefully) doesn’t include anything about birdwatching.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for granting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest rating.

There are so many great things about this book. It is an eco horror story, using elements of cosmic horror to illustrate the urgency of climate change. I have often wondered, what if Mother Nature goes full Lovecraftian and decides enough is enough from humanity. I also enjoyed the multiple POVs featuring such diverse characters, from teenagers to retirees with a passion for bird watching, from relatively privileged people to ones struggling against the system, thus giving insight into various communities of different socioeconomic situations.

However, I am not that interested in oyster farming and bird watching. There is sooooooo much fluff on the mundane daily lives and hobbies of all the POVs that I kept getting bored in a book that promises thrill and horror. It really could have been significantly tightened and trimmed.

I listened to this and the audiobook itself is stellar, with three narrators to bring the multiple POVs to life, each with their own distinctive voice and personality.
Thank you to the author, RBmedia and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

2/5 Stars

First off, I want to say thank you for giving me an ARC of this audiobook to listen to.

I wanted to like the book so much. I was so excited after reading the premise, but the execution left a lot to be desired. I feel like there are too many different P.O.V.s. It causes the story to become disjointed and makes the reader feel as though they're being yanked around without getting any time to become invested in the characters. The diversity of the characters (age, ethnicity, etc.) was very well done though. I appreciated being able to see the town spiral, but sticking to just a couple P.O.V.s would have helped more in my opinion.

I think my favorite scene in the entire book was actually in the beginning where we watch the snails changing two characters into something other than human. That scene was so beautifully done. The creepiness factor was at a high point. However, that scene set an expectation for me that just wasn't followed through on in the majority of the book.

I also want to add that the narrators did a wonderful job. Without them, I'm not sure if I would have finished this book. They definitely added a lot to it.

I really enjoyed the concept of this book...a foreign conscious that starts to take over a whole area through snails, potentially. These people affected seem to die, then after a minute they get up and are changed but still themselves. They go to another place, and many like it there. This book is told from multiple POVs. While I can appreciate the attention to details of the birds and sea life (some of the characters are bird watchers), sometimes it got in the way of the momentum of the story. I absolutely loved this idea; however I am not sure it landed on its mark.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!

WOW! What a great book! This book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Great writing style! My first by this author but will not be my last!

Reminded me of the movie the happening and the mist with elements from the last of us and under the dome thrown in. Took a while to get invested in the story. There does seem to have extra things thrown in. I did enjoy it. Felt like it had an abrupt ending. It was interesting to see all the elements of body horror, zombie, and dystopian all coming together in this one.

A fascinating eco-horror book, The Deading provides a healthy dose of anxiety to the reader. I think I'll be feeling this for days to come. Nicholas Belardes is quite the storyteller, painting a picture of things that are not so far fetched. My main criticism is that we had so much beautiful description of birds at the beginning, and then they kind of disappeared. I want more of that language, it could have been beautiful to draw in more obviously throughout the book.

The Deading
Nicholas Belardes

Ok, so ...

The Deading was another book I didn't enjoy, unfortunately.

This book has a great concept. Great ideas. Nicholas Belardes is clearly a talented writer, and knows his subject matter. And this book did have some important and interesting things to say ... It just felt like the author had too many pots boiling all at once.
I personally felt the story tried to do too many things, and by doing that, didn't perfectly nail down anything, IMO. The writing felt scholarly at times. I had to read several parts a couple times, and still didn't fully understand what I'd read.
There were elements of the story that we never fully circled back to ...
And I really didn't feel it contained much horror.
It had some good moments, and the concept is horrifying ... but in a book this ... dense with information ... I would have preferred more horror to spruce up the lesson plan.
Lastly, I didn't really feel like I could get connected to the characters ... I honestly I can't say if they weren't that developed, or if my brain was just tired at that point ... and I struggled to keep up with the POV's. They switch up on you with little to no distinction as to who's who.

Although maybe you'll enjoy this book a lot more than I did!
Don't let my review sway you. If you like eco-horror (at least horror adjacent) you might really dig it.

I did enjoy the narration during my time listening to some of it audibly.
😊

2.5 / 5

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for this ARC eBook in exchange for honest feedback.

I don't know how I feel about this one. It was a bit monotone but the plot was wild.

I love books like this but it felt a little unanimated. I needed a bit more excitement in the tone. I don't think it was the narrator, it was just the tone of the book, wasn't right for me but I did love how it ended

3 stars

Overall: ⭐️
Writing: ⭐️
Plot: ⭐️
Characters: ⭐️
POV: Multiple, 1st & 3rd Person


The Praise: The premise was interesting.

The Critique: The premise was cool but the execution left A LOT to be desired. The story was confusing and just downright boring. There were too many characters and the POV kept shifting which made it hard to keep up with. The writing was almost…self-aggrandizing which made it annoying to slog through. And even after finishing the book, I don’t feel like I know what happened.

Final Thoughts: The premise of The Deading was wasted on this book.

TW/CW: Language, gore, drinking, toxic family relationships, racism, sexism

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
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.

Once infected, residents of Baywood start “deading”: collapsing and dying, only to rise again, changed in ways both fanatical and physical. As the government cuts the town off from the rest of the world, the uninfected, including the introverted bird-loving Blas and his jaded older brother Chango, realize their town could be ground zero for a fundamental shift in all living things.

Soon, disturbing beliefs and autocratic rituals emerge, overseen by the death-worshiping Risers. People must choose how to survive, how to find home, and whether or not to betray those closest to them. Stoked by paranoia and isolation, tensions escalate until Blas, Chango, and the survivors of Baywood must make their escape or become subsumed by this terrifying new normal.
Release Date: July 23rd, 2024
Genre: Horror
Pages: 304
Rating: ⭐

What I Liked:
1. Cover
2. The synopsis sounded good

What I Didn't Like:
1. Deading mentioned 121
2. Didn't care for the writing style
3. Story is all over the place

Overall Thoughts:
{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}

Take a drink everytime deading is mentioned.

Wtf?
Final Thoughts:
I am so completely sorry but I just could not get into this book. It jumps from thought to thought and you never really have a sense of what you're even reading because we're on to another person or another subject. It just seems like this book lacked focus.

There were so many times when I was reading that I would zone out because I no longer found myself caring about what I was even reading about. The characters were not interesting. It just sounded like a bunch of whiny kids going off about how adults are pretending to get the dreading. I guess back in my day we would have called them posers. I guess in these kids minds they think adults are throwing themselves into the road pretending to have it so that they could have their legs run over and get a totally different personality. I don't even know.

I got halfway into the book before I decided I could no longer carry on. I really tried I did. It just was so boring and unfocused.

IG | Blog

Thanks to Netgalley and Erewhon Books for the ebook. Thanks to Recorded Books for the audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I found this book to be fairly interesting. It felt very futuristic pandemic. I did find that the timeline felt a bit jumpy, which wasn't bad, but a bit disorienting for an audiobook.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to listen to this book.

Never before in my life would I imagine bird-watching be this interesting and confusing.

The atmosphere of the unknown being very present through-out this book. Personally, I love the use of an ocean based virus being the source of the infection. It's a take that I haven't seen before when it comes to apocalyptical/end of humanity genre.

Additionally, the characters were well written and very dimentional given that it is a standalone novel.. Shorter books have a bigger struggle compared to series given that there is more time, and pages, for characters to grow. For this alone, I give props to the book.

Unfortunately, I was confused the majority of the time how this virus spread. It felt that every time I was beginning to understand how it works, I'm right back to being unsure. This could be because I didn't listen to the audiobook consistently; even though I finished this in two days. I may try to revisit this book later on as an ebook to see if I can get a better understanding because I really enjoy the premise. But for now, it would remain as a 3 star....

Let me preface with I listened to the audiobook. Thank you to Netgalley, RBmedia Recorded Books, and Erewhon Books for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Deading had great potential. The coastal town of Baywood is transformed by an evil that comes of the deep as the ocean warms. It starts in the snails that come to feast upon the oysters at the oyster farm. They infect the wildlife, and soon all of Baywood is experiencing the same phenomenon. They all find themselves "deading," falling to the ground, writhing in pain until they die, only to rise once again. The government severs the community from the rest of the world, leaving Baywood isolated besides the drones that bring supplies and food. A cult of "Risers" forms, and those few who do not "dead" must either find a way to escape or conform. A unique premise.

I don't see a lot of eco-horror, and I liked the idea that this illness - contagion? - came from rapidly warming waters. The whole concept reminded me of the "brain-hijacking" trematode that we see in snails. I thought that was the direction the book was going. It was not. The snails quickly fade from focus. There was a lot of talk about birds, but I felt like the birds were not utilized enough for the plot to warrant the amount of information we were given. Maybe the author just really enjoys birds?

Despite some very odd things happening in the town, I did not feel that this was truly a horror novel. There were some moments, but the most of the audiobook dragged and even the tense moments fell flat. I think the narrators did a decent job trying to bring more emotion to the story. Unfortunately, the writing just wasn't there. A lot of it felt like I was listening to a textbook. It was dry. I honestly really liked the idea but not the execution for this one.

I thought the premise of this one was interesting but I quickly found myself struggling to focus on the narration. I think this might work better for me as a physical book so I will try to track down a copy to read instead.

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

First time reading Nicholas Belardes, Enjoyed book. Good plot, pacing, and characters. Will be reading more from Nicholas Belardes. #TheDeading #NetGalley

Oh, this one was tricky. I nearly put The Deading down permanently, but I decided to trust the process and see where it led.

The creepy aspects provided a hook that kept me invested. I kept waiting for the big reveal, as there seemed to be a lot of twisty options, but they didn’t really amount to much.

The diversity of the characters, especially in their ages, was impressively done and believable. I appreciated experiencing the town's tailspin from different generational perspectives, which was definitely my favorite aspect.

I wish some of the more burdensome areas, like the bird watching, had been edited down. If the time spent on those sections had been devoted to the storyline and spooky elements, this could have been epic. As it stands, I’m not sure I’d recommend it.

Thank you Nicholas Benares, RBmedia, and NetGalley for my advanced review audio copy!

Plot - 2
Writing and Editing - 2
Character Development - 4
Narration - 4
Personal Bias - 2
Final Score - 2.8