The Twisted Ones
Reddit take
AI summary of the Reddit excerpts below — not a quote
The Twisted Ones is widely regarded in horror circles as a highly effective, atmospheric novel that successfully blends folkloric dread with a modern, conversational tone. While it is noted for being genuinely scary and keeping readers awake, it also carries a 'cozy' reputation due to its character dynamics and the explicit reassurance that the dog survives. Most readers appreciate its unique focus on botany and its sense of creeping unease, though a minority find the dialogue style or the specific portrayal of the monsters to be polarizing.
Pros
- Strong atmospheric dread and 'general creepiness'
- Confirmed safety of the dog, which is a major plus for many horror readers
- Engaging inclusion of botany and tree-related facts
- Effective 'found family' vibes and folkloric elements
- Considered a 'cozy' horror experience that still delivers genuine scares
Cons
- The monsters' behavior can feel inconsistent, with some readers finding them too 'sweet' before a late-book shift
- Modern 'chippy' dialogue style may not suit those seeking a more traditional or somber horror tone
Caveats
- The book is frequently recommended as a pair with 'The Hollow Places'; readers often find if they like one, they will like the other
- While scary, the horror is often balanced by a lighter, conversational narrative voice
Best for
- Readers who want atmospheric horror without the 'dog dies' trope
- Fans of folkloric horror and botanical themes
- People looking for 'cozy' horror with modern character dynamics
Avoid if
- You prefer monsters that are overtly and consistently malevolent throughout the story
- You find modern, witty, or conversational dialogue distracting in a horror setting
This summary uses balanced time weighting with about a 122-month half-life. The evidence is based on 19 mentions from r/horrorlit with a median age of approximately 393 days, providing a consistent view of the book's reception among genre enthusiasts.
Sentiment
26 positive (76%) · 1 mixed (3%) · 7 negative (21%)
Trust + time weighted score: +55% · raw score 56%
What redditors said (10 of 34)
*The Twisted Ones* by T Kingfisher would fit.
The Twisted Ones by T Kingfisher has very limited, oppressive locations; both the house and the woods feel dark and scary in different ways.
Personally, I didn’t like The Twisted Ones, but people seem to love it.
Forced myself to finish "The twisted ones" and I hated that every other sentence was a quirky remark or lame ass joke. She destroyed every scene with that. It didnt help that her characters are one-dimensional as hell too
The Twisted Ones is the same thing but a take on Arthur Machens The White People. Both books feel like basically the same story with a few different elements. They're terribly bad, and I don't know how anyone likes them.
any T. Kingfisher horror book is a great option as the narrating voices of her books are always very fun (good options could be The Twisted Ones as well as The Hollow Places
The Hollow Places and The Twisted Ones were both fantastic.
The Protagonist in „The twisted ones“ by Kingfisher is the most insufferable, cornball, tumblr-ass Character i‘ve ever read in a novel. I mean i hate the book and the writing style and I want to talk shit about every Chance i get
I read this and The Twisted Ones and was like am I reading the same book? Single, millennial woman stays in place affected by some supernatural or otherworldly force and faces it with random sidekick she met a day ago but somehow they’re now bffs. Idk I feel like all of her stories are written such a way that they remind me of fan fiction lol.
So much of T Kingfisher but I loved Nettle and Bone, The Twisted Ones and the paladins series, which has Romance but not Marriage and the women are all older and independent
Compare
The Twisted Ones vs Dark MatterThe Twisted Ones vs MiseryThe Twisted Ones vs Books of Blood
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