The Book of Accidents

The Book of Accidents

  • Downloads:1830
  • Type:Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date:2021-08-03 08:51:07
  • Update Date:2025-09-06
  • Status:finish
  • Author:Chuck Wendig
  • ISBN:1529101085
  • Environment:PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Summary

A family returns to their hometown - and to the dark past that haunts them still - in this masterpiece of literary horror by the New York Times bestselling author of Wanderers

When Nate's father dies, he leaves behind a final gift for his son: his childhood home。 Married now, Nate decides to move in with his wife, Maddie, and their son, Oliver, seeking peace from the chaos of the city。

But it doesn't take long before things get strange in the night and even stranger by day。

Because Nate was a child being abused by his father, and has never told his family。 Because Maddie was a little girl who saw something she shouldn't have。 Because something sinister, something hungry, walks in the tunnels and the mountains and the coal mines of this town in rural Pennsylvania。。。

And now, what happened all those years ago is happening again, and this time, it is happening to Oliver。 When he meets a strange boy with secrets of his own and a taste for dark magic, he has no idea that what comes next will put his family at the heart of a battle of good versus evil。

Download

Reviews

Dena Riad

3。5 ⭐️

Daisy

2。5 stars; in all honesty I was pretty meh about this one。 It was overly long and I was kind of bored for most of it。 Everyone keeps comparing it to early Stephen King, but I didn't really get that; references to King aren't the same thing。 This is definitely a matter of personal taste, but the little chapter titles annoyed me, as they nearly always do in any book。 Obviously, I'm in the minority as far as not thinking this was amazing。 The premise was interesting, it just。。。took too long to get 2。5 stars; in all honesty I was pretty meh about this one。 It was overly long and I was kind of bored for most of it。 Everyone keeps comparing it to early Stephen King, but I didn't really get that; references to King aren't the same thing。 This is definitely a matter of personal taste, but the little chapter titles annoyed me, as they nearly always do in any book。 Obviously, I'm in the minority as far as not thinking this was amazing。 The premise was interesting, it just。。。took too long to get anywhere that I was actually interested in。 。。。more

Rachel

This book grabbed my attention right away and felt so completely different from Wanderers。 It was dark and had great characters。 My only problem is with the ending。 I was disappointed in how things came together。

Katie

This is not a haunted house story, or even straight horror, though it can be horrific。 It’s also an apocalyptic fantasy with some dimensional sci-fi thrown in, but what none of that captures is that at its heart, it’s about the redeeming love of family, forgiveness, and the destructiveness of inflicted pain。 It’s twisty and disjointed, and a little confusing, but as you go, all of those threads get pulled together into a cohesive web, with lots of little sparkly pop-culture references spread in This is not a haunted house story, or even straight horror, though it can be horrific。 It’s also an apocalyptic fantasy with some dimensional sci-fi thrown in, but what none of that captures is that at its heart, it’s about the redeeming love of family, forgiveness, and the destructiveness of inflicted pain。 It’s twisty and disjointed, and a little confusing, but as you go, all of those threads get pulled together into a cohesive web, with lots of little sparkly pop-culture references spread in to give you a smile in the dark spots。 It’s smart, and I enjoyed it。 。。。more

June Kowalewski

The beginning was great。。 and then the middle happened and I got lost。 Very hard to follow for me。

Lainy

I loved this book。 It was different。 The idea of killing your doppelganger from different realities to restart the world。 I liked it。

Madison

This book scared the crap out of me but I couldn't put it down。 Not surprising, Chuck Wendig is a brilliant, candid, and immensely creative author。 This book scared the crap out of me but I couldn't put it down。 Not surprising, Chuck Wendig is a brilliant, candid, and immensely creative author。 。。。more

Rich Rosell

Wendig earned my eternal admiration for the dark fun of the Miriam Black books。 And Miriam - for my money - is one of THE greatest characters ever。 Now with 'The Book of Accidents' he has gone above and beyond whatever expectations I may have had。 This is big, epic horror - a complex, impending-apocalyptic/serial killer/supernatural thrill ride about the impact of family and what makes us what we are。 I thought with 'Wanderers' that Wendig had taken his writing to brilliant new levels, but with Wendig earned my eternal admiration for the dark fun of the Miriam Black books。 And Miriam - for my money - is one of THE greatest characters ever。 Now with 'The Book of Accidents' he has gone above and beyond whatever expectations I may have had。 This is big, epic horror - a complex, impending-apocalyptic/serial killer/supernatural thrill ride about the impact of family and what makes us what we are。 I thought with 'Wanderers' that Wendig had taken his writing to brilliant new levels, but with 'The Book of Accidents' he has somehow now gone well past that into a new realm。 This is just so fucking great - from start to finish。 No limping across a finish line here, this one hits it and hits it hard through all 500+ pages。Wow。 。。。more

Tom Armbruster

A ghost story inside a haunted house story inside a family story, this one is a great ride。 Touches of everything from Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" to Hayao Miyazaki, the heart is fully present here。 It's scary and uplifting at the same time。 Recommended。 A ghost story inside a haunted house story inside a family story, this one is a great ride。 Touches of everything from Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" to Hayao Miyazaki, the heart is fully present here。 It's scary and uplifting at the same time。 Recommended。 。。。more

Zach Low

Something close to a miracle。

Artee Solava

The beginning of the book started out strong。 By page 300 I felt lost and it felt like it was getting boring。 From page 400-500 it was a blur and I skimmed the last 40 pages, I had high really hopes for this book。 I read good reviews and saw an above 4。0 rating。 I didn’t hate it and I didn’t love it but I sure got lost。 I’m not sure where I got lost here。 It felt very Horror/Sci-fi。 The horror elements weren’t hitting the mark and the a sci-fi elements just fell flat for me。 Who knows, maybe in The beginning of the book started out strong。 By page 300 I felt lost and it felt like it was getting boring。 From page 400-500 it was a blur and I skimmed the last 40 pages, I had high really hopes for this book。 I read good reviews and saw an above 4。0 rating。 I didn’t hate it and I didn’t love it but I sure got lost。 I’m not sure where I got lost here。 It felt very Horror/Sci-fi。 The horror elements weren’t hitting the mark and the a sci-fi elements just fell flat for me。 Who knows, maybe in the future I will give it a reread。 I can’t really even review what it was about except multiple universes and characters from each universe meeting to destroy something or maybe merge universes。 The characters had depth。 The book was written from three perspectives。 I think the book could have been cut from 530 pages down to 400 and it would not have lost me as much。 I think it was just too much。 I loved how elements of the book repeated later explaining a little bit of what the characters were going through at times。 。。。more

Belva

I had high hopes when starting this book and was pumped to read it。 The first third of the book had me glued to it and I was feeling the whole "Stephen King" vibe。 But somewhere along the way, I got bogged down with detail and it seemed to stretch on forever with not much happening。 For me, it never regained the momentum and I lost interest。 My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a galley of this book for review。 I had high hopes when starting this book and was pumped to read it。 The first third of the book had me glued to it and I was feeling the whole "Stephen King" vibe。 But somewhere along the way, I got bogged down with detail and it seemed to stretch on forever with not much happening。 For me, it never regained the momentum and I lost interest。 My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a galley of this book for review。 。。。more

Paul

Horror novels about demons form other dimensions trying to trigger the end of the universe shouldn't make you sentimental, but oh, this one did 。 。 。 between the slightly seedy small-town setting, slightly askew but still intact nuclear family at its heart, and slightly left-of-Christian cosmology, "The Book of Accidents" is literary comfort food for readers like myself, weaned on the sprawling, years-spawning, slowly unspooling early 80's chillers of Stephen King and Peter Straub, writers with Horror novels about demons form other dimensions trying to trigger the end of the universe shouldn't make you sentimental, but oh, this one did 。 。 。 between the slightly seedy small-town setting, slightly askew but still intact nuclear family at its heart, and slightly left-of-Christian cosmology, "The Book of Accidents" is literary comfort food for readers like myself, weaned on the sprawling, years-spawning, slowly unspooling early 80's chillers of Stephen King and Peter Straub, writers with the time and confidence to weave epic backstories into their books about Strange Occurrences Somewhere In The Northeastern US。Slight problem, though 。 。 。Mr。 Wendig isn't quite at the level of a Straub or a King。 He's not far off, but still has a way to go。He's done well with the voices of each member of the Graves (yep, Graves) family。 If you turned to a page with redacted names and pronouns, you'd know who the chapter is about, which is a sign of quality writing。Mr。 Wendig's empathy for his characters, even the scummier ones, heightens the horror。 When someone stabs one of them, you can feel their pain, not just because he's suspiciously brilliant at describing the sensation of having a knife plunged into your gut, but because the people in this book aren't pawns, they're players。 I like that a lot。But 。 。 。Mr。 Wendig admits, in fact he practically brags, in his afterword that he got a lot of things wrong in this book。 He's not 100% clear on exactly what that means, but fairly substantive characters show up at parties and neither leave nor die, and that kind of sloppiness was distracting。There's also his 。 。 。 Jesus, I hate this word 。 。 。 "worldbuilding。" It's not entirely coherent, which is fine, neatness and completeness in a book like "Accidents" can be annoying, but the gaps he leaves are pretty big and not easy for the reader's imagination to fill。 But "The Book of Accidents" is a pretty good time, all things considered。 Embrace the flaws。 。。。more

Kristina

I loved Wanderers so much so I was really pumped to get an ARC of this one。 As I started reading, though, it took me like two months to get through the first 40%。 It confused me because the story checks every box for me and I could sense something good there somewhere but I just didn't seem to care all that much, and I couldn't put my finger on what it is yet。 Once I hit the halfway mark, though, that changed for me。 I started to really get into it and enjoy the story。 It's not without its fault I loved Wanderers so much so I was really pumped to get an ARC of this one。 As I started reading, though, it took me like two months to get through the first 40%。 It confused me because the story checks every box for me and I could sense something good there somewhere but I just didn't seem to care all that much, and I couldn't put my finger on what it is yet。 Once I hit the halfway mark, though, that changed for me。 I started to really get into it and enjoy the story。 It's not without its faults, however。 The store meanders a bit and I would have appreciated more explanation about WHY things work the way they work in this world。 I think this will be one that I'll go back and re-read, knowing what I know now and seeing what else I can pick up。 。。。more

Christopher T。 Bufkin

Loved it。 Huge fan of this type of story and of course I love what Chuck created here。 A real page turner that left me missing these characters and their world when I finished it。

Isabel • The Crime Bookshelf

I’m honestly still not sure how I felt about this one overall so bare with me as I try to form cohesive thoughts 😂As soon as I started this book, I LOVED it and was so sure it was going to be a new favorite of mine。 THE BOOK OF ACCIDENTS reminds me a lot of THE SHINING by Stephen King (one of my favorite books of all time) and IMAGINARY FRIEND by Stephen Chbosky in the best ways possible。 The story telling in this book is absolutely phenomenal and the writing is extremely engaging。 Wendig does a I’m honestly still not sure how I felt about this one overall so bare with me as I try to form cohesive thoughts 😂As soon as I started this book, I LOVED it and was so sure it was going to be a new favorite of mine。 THE BOOK OF ACCIDENTS reminds me a lot of THE SHINING by Stephen King (one of my favorite books of all time) and IMAGINARY FRIEND by Stephen Chbosky in the best ways possible。 The story telling in this book is absolutely phenomenal and the writing is extremely engaging。 Wendig does a fantastic job at making you love the main characters, especially Oliver, and making you root for them throughout the story。 This book is incredibly complex and the plot is quite unique and interesting, which I greatly appreciated 👏🏼Now as for why I’m still unsure about this book; the overall point of this book completely went over my head。 I was so obsessed with this book the first 300 pages and then the last 200 pages went into Sci-Fi territory and lost me。 Quite frankly, I don’t even think I enjoyed the last 200 pages。 I had no idea what was going on and I think the execution was a bit off for me personally, but I’m convinced this was a case of ‘right book, wrong timing’ 🤷🏼‍♀️Majority of this book gets 5⭐️ from me, but the rest gets between a 2-3⭐️ so I’m settling on ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ overall!CW: child abuse, domestic abuse, suicide, bullying, substance abuse, homophobic slurs, death by electric chair, mention of rape 。。。more

Cynthia

Eh, not as engaging for me as other works by Wendig。 This was a weird one, some good ideas but things didn't really seem to completely come together。 Eh, not as engaging for me as other works by Wendig。 This was a weird one, some good ideas but things didn't really seem to completely come together。 。。。more

Rick Brose

The Book of Accidents is the kind of book that had me thinking about it, wishing I could be reading it, whenever I was doing something else。 I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, eager to see where things went next and if everything would come together in a satisfying way。 It did not disappoint。 Wendig writes complex, dark, and disturbing in a way that feels comforting and familiar。 I tend to not write about specifics of a book in my reviews, since you can read the book's page to get a f The Book of Accidents is the kind of book that had me thinking about it, wishing I could be reading it, whenever I was doing something else。 I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, eager to see where things went next and if everything would come together in a satisfying way。 It did not disappoint。 Wendig writes complex, dark, and disturbing in a way that feels comforting and familiar。 I tend to not write about specifics of a book in my reviews, since you can read the book's page to get a feel for it。 If you are curious at all after reading the blurb, I would highly recommend diving into these wonderful pages。 。。。more

Lori Trautwein

Excellent horror story。 Wendig, and I don't say this lightly, is the new Stephen King。 Excellent horror story。 Wendig, and I don't say this lightly, is the new Stephen King。 。。。more

Sue

Thank you to Chuck Wendig and Netgalley for my free copy of The Book of Accidents for my honest review。Sorry, but this just wasn’t a book for me。 I struggled to get through half of the book。 There was a lot of good parts but it did not last long enough for me to keep reading it。

Nicole Shelby

A small bit of what Chuck Wendig wrote about his book: "。。。the story is--one about, well, I dunno。 Cycles of abuse and other versions of ourselves and emotional seawalls。 About spirals, and families, and mistakes, and love, and empathy and and and。。。Well, I guess serial killers and ghosts-that-aren't-ghosts and interstitial liminal voids。。。"This is a book with murder and mayhem, perhaps-haunted dark places, folklore and mythos。 It has the depths of darkness that can lurk within hearts, as well a A small bit of what Chuck Wendig wrote about his book: "。。。the story is--one about, well, I dunno。 Cycles of abuse and other versions of ourselves and emotional seawalls。 About spirals, and families, and mistakes, and love, and empathy and and and。。。Well, I guess serial killers and ghosts-that-aren't-ghosts and interstitial liminal voids。。。"This is a book with murder and mayhem, perhaps-haunted dark places, folklore and mythos。 It has the depths of darkness that can lurk within hearts, as well as the golden light of love。Truly: It is about the impact we have on one another, and the strength to be honest, and the willingness to try to be better。 It is a sweeping tale, and an intimate one of connection。 。。。more

Justin Hall

First, thanks to PRHAUDIO for this complimentary audiobook! I was really digging this book。 It felt like I was reading a Classic Stephen King book。 But in almost the same thread it felt like I was reading a Stephen King book and about half way through I was like。。。 What?! And then the ending kind of left me even more unenthusiastic。 I love Wendigs writing but this one(and he admits it in the end) was a book that really struggled to be a book。 If you read this and feel the same or think I am way First, thanks to PRHAUDIO for this complimentary audiobook! I was really digging this book。 It felt like I was reading a Classic Stephen King book。 But in almost the same thread it felt like I was reading a Stephen King book and about half way through I was like。。。 What?! And then the ending kind of left me even more unenthusiastic。 I love Wendigs writing but this one(and he admits it in the end) was a book that really struggled to be a book。 If you read this and feel the same or think I am way off base I would definitely like to chat about it。 。。。more

julia ☆ [owls reads]

5 stars!* "When is an accident an accident?" I came across The Book of Accidents a few days ago on GR and。。。 it stayed on my mind。 So I had to get the ebook as fast as possible so I could stop thinking about it lol This was a wonderful and engrossing read that had some really spooky moments and always kept me guessing about what was going to happen next。The way the novel was structured was so well done。 There were different perspectives and the non-linear narrative worked so well to 5 stars!* "When is an accident an accident?" I came across The Book of Accidents a few days ago on GR and。。。 it stayed on my mind。 So I had to get the ebook as fast as possible so I could stop thinking about it lol This was a wonderful and engrossing read that had some really spooky moments and always kept me guessing about what was going to happen next。The way the novel was structured was so well done。 There were different perspectives and the non-linear narrative worked so well to build more tension as the plot progressed。 I loved how distinct Nate, Maddie, and Oliver's POVs were。 Wendig did a great job at introducing and developing those characters along with the secondary ones。 I also really liked that all characters had a purpose in this story。 Shoutout to my favorite: Caleb :DThe plot caught me so off guard! I didn't expect it to go in the direction it did and I loved how the puzzle pieces fit together as we got more information about what was going on。 It was a pretty complex story and it was so well written that all of the twists surprised me。 One of the big revelations was a little bit too dramatic for me, but I quickly got over that lolI also really appreciated that the ending happened the way it did。 Everything, and almost everyone, came together to put an end to things。 There was a lot of action and danger and I was on the edge of my seat for it all。 And I personally found it wonderful that it wasn't a happy ending for all。*Series: Standalone。POV: Told mostly from Nate, Maddie, and Oliver's POVs。Content Warnings: (view spoiler)[Torture。 Child Abuse。 Alcoholism。 Mutilation。 Terminal Illness。 Body Horror。 (hide spoiler)] Cliffhanger: No。HEA: (view spoiler)[Nope! It was a hopeful ending, though。 (hide spoiler)] 。。。more

Em Stevens

**Audio**Tense, upsetting, twisty and fun。 Wendig's newest novel moves with brutal efficiency while still managing to delve into the way trauma shapes our lives。 There's a bleakness to the stain abuse can leave on generations, but Chuck manages to show how that same bleakness makes the choice not to succumb all the more brilliant。 One of my favorite horror reads this year。 **Audio**Tense, upsetting, twisty and fun。 Wendig's newest novel moves with brutal efficiency while still managing to delve into the way trauma shapes our lives。 There's a bleakness to the stain abuse can leave on generations, but Chuck manages to show how that same bleakness makes the choice not to succumb all the more brilliant。 One of my favorite horror reads this year。 。。。more

IcaBookLavender

I'm gonna DNF this book for now。 I think I'm the minority here but I was just wasn't feeling it。 It felt more like a fantasy/Sci fi read instead of horror。 It was putting me into a slump。 So for now, I'm gonna put this aside and maybe return to it soon。 I'm sad that I'm doing this since it was an anticipated book for me。 But I have to。 I'm gonna DNF this book for now。 I think I'm the minority here but I was just wasn't feeling it。 It felt more like a fantasy/Sci fi read instead of horror。 It was putting me into a slump。 So for now, I'm gonna put this aside and maybe return to it soon。 I'm sad that I'm doing this since it was an anticipated book for me。 But I have to。 。。。more

Geri

I give this a 3。5。 This is a long book, but the short chapters kept me engaged。 Horror isn’t my favorite genre because there are usually supernatural elements。 It seems I come away from these books with more questions than answers。

Sjgomzi

Another kick ass read from Chuck Wendig。 Great characters and great writing。 Wendig mashes up so many genres here, it gets dizzying at times and the ending kind of fizzled for me。 It’s almost as if too many ideas were being thrown about, and for me, this was distracting。 Don’t want to sound too negative, because, overall, I did love this book and wouldn’t mind a follow up to dig deeper into all of those crazy ideas and directions this story took。 Worth your time!

David

WANDERERS was my first Chuck Wendig novel, and I enjoyed it so much, it rocketed the author up to instant-buy territory for me。 True to my word, I heard about THE BOOK OF ACCIDENTS fewer than two weeks ago, bought it after reading the synopsis—though I'd have bought it sight unseen—and consumed it by squeezing in reading time everywhere I could during one of my busiest weeks of the year。No regrets。 BOOK OF ACCIDENTS could be called BOOK OF SECRETS。 Nate and Maddie, two of our three protagonists WANDERERS was my first Chuck Wendig novel, and I enjoyed it so much, it rocketed the author up to instant-buy territory for me。 True to my word, I heard about THE BOOK OF ACCIDENTS fewer than two weeks ago, bought it after reading the synopsis—though I'd have bought it sight unseen—and consumed it by squeezing in reading time everywhere I could during one of my busiest weeks of the year。No regrets。 BOOK OF ACCIDENTS could be called BOOK OF SECRETS。 Nate and Maddie, two of our three protagonists along with their son, 15-year-old Ollie, had terrible and strange things happen to them during their respective childhoods。 They've never talked about those events, preferring to keep them bottled away and put on strong fronts。This struck me as one of the chief conceits of BOOK: Holding on to painful secrets, or any kind of secrets, can wreak havoc。 Open up to someone, ideally your partner, so that someone can help you carry your burden forward。 Nate and Maddie love and respect each other, but as strange events happen shortly after they purchase Nate's childhood home, where his father abused him and his mother, they double down on secret-keeping instead of opening up。Feeling frustration and sympathy for Nate and Maddie makes the moment where they do finally confide in each other sublimely satisfying。 You like them both by this point—Nate a little more than Maddie, in my case, which I'll explain shortly—and feel happy to see them on the same page。 A united force, stronger together than they could be separately。Oliver, too, is having experiences he doesn't feel comfortable sharing with his parents。 That's part of what makes BOOK so compelling。 It's a horror novel where strange events begin almost right away, and all three family members are experiencing different but ultimately related events。 The page-turning kicks off right away: No matter which chapter you're reading in the first three-quarters of the book, there's something going on to fascinate and, because BOOK is a horror novel, disturb you。My faults with BOOK are twofold。 I love deep dives into characters, and BOOK stumbles here near the end。 The story drags just before the climax, particularly Maddie's chapters。 Maddie is uneven as a character。 She comes off as impatient and harsh toward Nate in the early chapters, and Nate doesn't deserve it。 Maddie is written as a "badass," in her own words, but her treatment of Nate in the beginning is unwarranted; she can tell something is going on with her husband, but rather than asking him to confide in her or suggesting he seek help elsewhere, such as through counseling since she's emotionally unavailable at the time, she effectively tells him to suck it up because his family needs him。It makes her unlikable, and believe me, I spent time asking myself if I, as a man, felt somewhat hostile toward Maddie because she was being "mean" toward a male character。 I grew to like Maddie more as the story unfolded, leading me to conclude I'd feel the same way toward Nate if their behavior in the beginning had been reversed。 It's worth repeating that the scene in which Nate and Maddie open up to one another is satisfying for both characters, and for me as a reader。 I liked seeing the Grave family as a united force, which continued over the rest of the story。But another issue with Maddie reared its head as the story continued。 Her character development felt somewhat uneven compared to Nate's and Ollie's。 She wanders (not a Wendig pun, I promise) while more interesting events occur around Nate and Ollie。 There's a reason for that。 Maddie has a gift that scares her, so she avoids using it。 She's also trying to help her son with a situation that affects their family。 Essentially, she's supposed to be flailing。 Maddie, the badass, is scared, confused, and lost; she needs time to find her way。 Unfortunately, this necessary journey contributes to the pace slowing down when it had moved at a fairly rapid clip from the first chapter。Despite all that, BOOK OF ACCIDENT's strengths outweighed its weaknesses。 It's (almost) equal parts unsettling, suspenseful, disturbing, and thoughtful, and recommended for horror fans looking for a yarn to unravel。 。。。more

eric

3。5

Barbara

Sadly this one was not for me。 Too much horror ~ no build up just unrelenting misery。