Stranded: A Novel Hardcover – October 4, 2016

I really wanted to like Bracken Macleod's "Stranded," and for the first half of his debut novel, I was sure I was working through a solid atmospheric horror novel. But then everything kind of went to hell (but not in the good way, like some memorable horror outings)."Stranded" begins as an old-school survival yarn, as the crew of the Arctic Promise - a cargo ship bound to resupply an oil rig in the Arctic Ocean - is pummeled by a monstrous storm and the ship quickly becomes locked in ice. And then the situation becomes even more dire as members of the crew fall ill to a mysterious sickness, and people begin to see moving shadows in the peripheries of their vision.All of these element combine to form a solid setup, and the desolate setting and hostile environment really set "Stranded" apart from the crowd. Unfortunately, after a significant reveal at the midway point, the book begins to fall apart. Though billed as a horror novel, at no point did I find anything in the book terrifying or scary. Outside of the protagonist, the crew members lack distinctive personalities and when the action cranks up toward the end, it becomes very difficult to keep track of who is being killed (or why). And the ending really punts on explaining what's going on or answering some of the more perplexing questions (like - and this is really frustrating - those moving shadows). It's like MacLeod created an incredibly engaging scenario, but couldn't figure out how to resolve it or explain why it happened, so he just...didn't.It's a real shame, because there are multiple sequences in "Stranded" that gripped me in suspense and had me frantically flipping the pages to see what comes next. Unfortunately, suspense has to build toward something that matters, and I turned the final page of "Stranded" in disbelief. I'm all for ambiguity in horror novels, but a book has to earn an ending that leaves so much unanswered. Unfortunately, "Stranded" is not one of those books.

Doppelgängers, shades, and insane father-in-laws oh my! I actually read this novel by candlelight because hurricane Matthew killed my power. Bad decision on my part. Now I'm a grown man who ain't afraid of no ghosts but this book was written by master storyteller who knows how to make a reader jump at shadows. A cargo ship gets stuck in ocean ice, the. The crew faces starvation, freezing to death, dying alone. To make matters worse they start seeing shades dancing at the edges of their vision and it all goes down hill from there. Pick this up in time for winter. Maybe you'll get "lucky" and have the chance to read it when an ice storm knocks out your electricity.

REVIEWED: StrandedWRITTEN BY: by Bracken MacLeodPUBLISHED: October, 2016 by Tor BooksI’m a sucker for Arctic horror stories, whether true tales of survival or fictional encounters of ghosts and monsters, I can’t ever get enough! MacLeod doesn’t let down with a gripping premise that speaks more to suspense and claustrophobic paranoia, than horror, although there’s plenty of gruesome terror as well. Great layering of sub-plots, excellent setting descriptions, and a couple of pitch-perfect twists throughout. Couple things I didn’t like… the main character—I just never found myself rooting for him. He was sometimes whiny, sometimes confrontational, and made confusing choices. Without giving anything away, I also had some questions throughout the ending confrontation scenes; especially after all the beautiful, slow build-up, there was a sudden frenzy of the antagonist doing whatever he wanted (examples omitted due to plot spoilers) without any obstacles. But besides these two quibbles, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. You can tell MacLeod put a lot of research into boat construction and crew member duties and interaction, effects of weather conditions, etc. which kept me vested into the realism of their situation as it grew starker and stranger. Recommended for pretty much anyone who likes horror or weird fiction tales.Four-and-a-half out of Five stars

"In the spirit of John Carpenter's The Thing and Jacob's Ladder comes Stranded -- a terrifying, icebound thriller where nothing is quite what it seems by Bracken MacLeod"That is the byline heading the synopsis for Stranded and I feel it does the book a huge disservice. Note, I understand the need to find a way to connect to your audience, but I haven't ever been a fan of a publisher (or movie studio for that matter) plastering "comparison" titles as a way to catch someone's interest. It tends to give a reader (or watcher) the wrong idea and expectation, it also tends to immediately make me weary and doubtful, which could be the reason it took me nearly a year after publication to read Stranded. How about..."In the spirit of an awesome read and a book you'll think about long after you've set it down comes Stranded -- a terrifying, icebound thriller where nothing is quite what it seems by Bracken MacLeod"That's better. Because Stranded is an awesome read, it is also a book that you will think about after you've set it down. My first Bracken MacLeod read that in turn cemented me as a fan of Bracken MacLeod. A quality cast of entertaining characters drive this surreal narrative where the location holds it's own as a personality to deal with. Those ingredients added to the layers of tension, enough ambiance to drown out the sun, and just enough room for interpretation make for a hell of a reading experience. Stranded, one of my favorite books in recent memory. **Note. I purchased Stranded at another retailer.

I didn’t hate this book but it really didn’t live up to the description and reviews. It was quite well written and for the first half at least was intriguing but once I knew where the story was going it became very predictable, which happened too soon in unfortunately. It had some nasty moments at the end that kind of made up for it though.

Mild spoilers. The first half of the book is quite slow but does set up an intriguing mystery. However, by the time the pace picks up and it moves into it's fiat act the book basically turns into a generic slasher movie. Also a lot of the supporting characters are not well developed and so it was difficult to care about their plight. Finally, although I am not adverse to books ending ambiguously, this book does not even attempt to explain or answer the big central mystery, leaving an ending that does not make too much sense.

A chilling read from one of America's top horror writers. MacLeod brings the reader on board the Arctic Promise and sails north towards the unknown. Fans of Dan Simmons' The Terror, would appreciate the cold setting and gripping narrative.One of my favourite reads from 2017.Not a summer time read, but certainly one to check out when the cold weather swoops in!

If you know my reading preferences or my writing themes, a book like ‘Stranded‘ by Bracken MacLeod seems like a book I’d be all over.Yet, for reasons unknown, it took me some time to get to this from my TBR. Heck, I’d even read ‘Stranded‘ by Renee Miller (frozen setting, survival theme) before this one!A significant amount of people told me to read this and time and time again, I’d say “it’s coming soon.”I’m certainly glad I finally got to it.What I liked: ‘Stranded‘ is a book that tackles a number of themes and MacLeod holds back no punches when letting them settle into the bones of the characters and the marrow of the readers.On the surface, this is purely a winter survival story. We get a group of men working aboard the good ship Arctic Promise, attempting to deliver goods to a vessel. A sudden, violent storm arrives, knocking out the communication systems and trapping the ship in ice. From there, MacLeod keeps the pedal to the metal and the tension sticks to your fingers as you frantically flip the page, wanting to know what happens next.But, this isn’t purely a story of survival. No, we get a look at the depth of despair and grief people go through, how isolation guides decision making and how keeping a singular glimmer of hope can keep someone alive. The idea of second chances and what-ifs really comes into play frequently and I loved how it was used to keep tugging us along.The biggest theme that really permeates the frosty narrative is the toxic masculinity that wraps its hands around this story and won’t let go. I used to be a big-time fan of the TV show ‘Deadliest Catch,’ but the constant bullying, belittling and beatings people would take on the show, from Captains and Crewmen who acted like fools became too much and I found I couldn’t watch it anymore. This was a constant within the story, rearing up time and time again and it worked really well to create distance from the ‘good’ and the ‘bad.’MacLeod crafted a really well done story here, one that kept me wanting to know more and more.What I didn’t like: I put this section here to act as a place where I can mention something I wasn’t a fan of or what other readers might not enjoy. In this case, within the book, there is a very interesting plot point that comes about involving someone from Noah’s past. Reader’s may not enjoy when the book ends that we never truly get answers. The ending left a similar mark on me as ‘The Cabin At the End of the World‘ did, where it’s essentially a fade to black, but it worked so well for me as the reader. I hope it does for you.Why you should buy this: If you haven’t read this already, I highly recommend you give it a shot. MacLeod is a brilliant writer who gives us character depth and story points that unravel and weave much like a ship in wavy water. It was really masterfully put together and was one of those books that, once done, you’ll set it down and smile, knowing you just finished having a blast.Really loved this one.

Senza spoilerare, libro molto bello se non fosse per il fatto del classico "finale aperto" che ormai ha veramente rotto le cucuzze. Andrà bene per hollywood, ma a me resta spesso, non sempre, l'impressione del finale aperto come metodo autoconservativo per l'autore, un pò come il non rischiare prendendo una posizione e pararsi il deretano. Chissà perchè invece quei finali aperti come "the thing" rimangono a mio parere meravigliosi e molti altri ti lascino come dire "ok, quindi?". Peccato, per il resto ottimo libro.