This was a fast and intriguing novella with a clever central concept. The mystery creates immediate curiosity, and the short chapters make it very easy to finish in one sitting.

The final reveal reframes much of what came before and explains several recurring details effectively. However, the epilogue adds another layer of uncertainty when the story would have benefited from a cleaner conclusion. Rather than strengthening the twist, it made me question whether I had understood the ending correctly.

The concept was stronger than the execution, but it remained entertaining enough for a solid three stars.

This novella creates immediate paranoia from something as simple as a mismatched headcount. The isolated setting, increasingly uneasy atmosphere, and inability to trust memory made the opening especially compelling.

However, the story introduces several strange details and possible clues without developing or resolving enough of them. Instead of making the central mystery feel richer, these elements eventually made the narrative feel unnecessarily confusing.

Ambiguity can be effective, but here the ending withholds the answer to the book’s primary question. I did not need every supernatural rule explained, but I wanted some meaningful confirmation that the journey had led somewhere.

I read this after enjoying The Other, and the difference was noticeable. The Other had a much cleaner and more linear story, allowing its uncertainty to enhance the horror. The Extra piles uncertainty onto uncertainty until the mystery feels incomplete rather than satisfyingly unresolved.

This was such a quick, creepy, and deeply disorienting read.

The premise immediately creates an unsettling sense that something is wrong, but the story keeps escalating until neither the characters nor the reader can feel completely certain about anything. The isolated setting makes everything even more suffocating because there is nowhere to escape, no one to ask for help, and no reliable way to prove what is real.

What worked best for me was the paranoia. The book takes a simple fear and pushes it into increasingly disturbing territory, forcing you to question how well you can ever truly know another person.

The pacing is fast, the chapters are easy to fly through, and the tension becomes especially strong once the situation fully unravels. I constantly found myself trying to work out what was happening and whether I could trust the conclusions the story was leading me toward.

Then came that ending.

I genuinely finished the final page thinking, “What the fuck was that?” It was creepy and memorable, but also so ambiguous that I was left with more questions than answers.

Still, the concept was strong enough, and the reading experience unsettling enough, that I had a great time with it overall.