Review Detail

Harbinger was…strange. That’s honestly the best word I can think of to describe it. I’d say it’s a strange that falls onto the side of good-strange, though.

It took a while for me to really get into the story because I knew there was something more than just a regular ol’ boarding school story there. The only indication of that was the red hands, though and the synopsis had already told me about that. I wanted something more and I just wasn’t getting it. Ask and you shall receive, right? Harbinger definitely delivered on the “different” front by the end.

Sadly, though it was definitely different, it still didn’t quite work for me. It felt a bit like the ending was just kind of thrown at me. Like there wasn’t really much easing into it and then BAM crazy ending. I did appreciate the ending to some degree, though. Before reading I’d heard a lot of people wanting to know whether this was a standalone (it is) which usually means some sort of cliffhanger-like ending and I like my standalone endings to be tied up nicely. I needn’t worry, though, because I ended up being rather satisfied with the ending.

The Nutshell: Harbinger is strange. A sort-of good strange, in my opinion, but incredibly strange nonetheless. If you like strange, dying worlds, and/or reform/boarding schools, you’ll find at least something in Harbinger for you.