Review: Hollow City

Hollow City by Ransom Riggs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First and foremost, I do not recommend reading this on an eReader -- at least not a little first edition one like mine. The photographs (which are a huge part of Riggs' writing) barely show up. I was able to view them on the electronic version on my laptop, but I still don't think that did them justice. That, of course, is not the author's fault, but mine.

However, I think I enjoyed the first book (and its photographs) more. This second book in the series does not contain the same creepy, Gothic feel as the first Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. The photographs do not seem as "creepy" as before. And the reason is because the characters are not new, therefore not as startling to us. The novelty has somewhat worn off.

I still love the idea of his found photographs. I wonder if he creates the story around those photos, or has the story and adds photos later, or what kind of process it is.

Hollow City is still a good read. The plot takes a turn even I did not expect (actually two turns), so I was impressed by that. Along with book #1 and The Night Circus, I think this will be one I need to own a hard copy of for its visceral, physical qualities.

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