The Schwarzschild Radius by Gustavo Florentin
Warning: Contains scenes of graphic violence and mature situations
The Schwarzschild Radius by Gustavo Florentin is a thriller, murder mystery novel with a lot of dark and gritty surprises. The story mainly follows eighteen year old, Columbia University student, Rachel, as she retraces her missing younger sister, Olivia’s footsteps. Unfortunately, her actions make her the killer’s next target. This book is a roller coaster ride full of twists and turns, and the author isn’t afraid to shed light on the darkest of human depravities. And although Rachel is the main character, the story changes perspectives frequently and you never know what’s going to happen next. I want to go into more detail and tell you more about the book, but I feel like I’ll miss something or give something away and I hate spoilers.
What I liked:
The writing. It was crisp, yet horrifically descriptive, painting a gruesome picture of everything that happened. The author grabbed my attention with this first line and didn’t let go until the nail-biting end: “Ancient Greek philosophers used a face-slapping technique to engrain a point in the student’s mind; here, it conveyed the truth that the girl was going to die.”
I had to force myself to put the book down at night so I could catch a couple hours sleep and it takes a lot for a book to do that to me.
The supporting characters. I enjoyed all of them, even the murderers and nasty perverts. The author has a gift for making each character’s voice distinctive, which I really heard throughout the book.
Rachel. This poor, innocent girl went through so much, just to get her sister back. Her reactions to situations felt real, although sometimes I caught myself yelling at her when she took dangerous and stupid risks.
What I wasn’t fond of:
As much as they contributed to the stories and revealed a lot about the characters, all of the graphic torture and sex scenes were difficult to read.
Making the priest a pedophile. While I know there are priests out there like that, I feel like it was an unnecessary stereotype, no matter how well done.
Rachel’s relationship with her parents. After everything that happened to this poor girl, the least the author could have done was take pity on her and make her parents more affectionate.
My ratings: 4.6/5
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 3/5
Dialogue: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Entertainment: 5/5
Thrills and chills 5/5
Kudos to the author for writing a book that I found both horrifying and unputdownable! I had no idea who the killer was until the big reveal, so thank you!
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– Ali
