Review of The Dark Star of the Dorothy Curse

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Laura Ungureanu
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Review of The Dark Star of the Dorothy Curse

Post by Laura Ungureanu »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Dark Star of the Dorothy Curse" by Steven Rood.]
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1 out of 4 stars
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In The Dark Star of the Dorothy Curse, Steven Rood is telling the story of the curse that affected his life, the lives of his family, and even the lives of strangers. The curse began when his grandfather had a child out of wedlock. The author believes that this child, named Dorothy, brought a lot of evil into their family. Whenever Dorothy came into their lives, bad things would happen, and when she wasn’t around, their lives flourished. The curse manifests in the form of bizarre events, such as people getting sick out of a sudden, splitting with their partners, or simply having continuous bad luck.

I picked up this book because I like reading about curses and inexplicable events, so the description appealed to me. At 143 pages, the book was short and easy to get through. The author’s familiar tone felt like he was talking to me directly. However, the flow of the writing was disrupted by an incredible amount of errors. The book is in dire need of some serious editing, as there seems to be none right now. Punctuation errors, unnecessary capitalizations, and misspelled words, such as “were” instead of “where,” are among the most common ones.

Unfortunately, the book had many more flaws that can’t be ignored. I expected an introduction to the author’s family, but there was no such thing. Sparse descriptions and details were offered on the way, making things even more confusing. I recommend adding a family tree for more clarity, as it’s almost impossible to keep track of all the family members, like “my cousin Kevin’s Father’s third wife’s sister.”

The author talks about how the curse affected different people, even those who never met Dorothy. He divided people into categories and then proceeded to talk about each of them. While this sounds good, the author seemed to jump through the years, presenting a lot of events in just a few sentences. The information is too much to process, leading to misunderstandings and confusion. Also, many phrases or even whole events are repeated throughout the book. In this case, you would think that repetition could help the reader understand better, but the events are repeated in the same confusing way, so it’s just more frustrating.

The point of the book was to let the world know about the curse. However, I can’t say the author convinced me entirely. There are thousands of children born out of wedlock, so I would’ve liked a better explanation of why Dorothy would be cursed. What he offered as the ultimate proof could still be debunked, as well as some of his stories. Just because there is no obvious explanation for a disease or a fire, it doesn’t mean it was the devil’s doing. After all, these events happened to other people, so he only recalls their tellings. However, the number of bizarre events and their timing are better arguments that I can’t dismiss. A big section of the book is about people who are supposed to be “the devil’s messengers.” From the author’s descriptions, all those people had problems with alcohol, gambling, or just some other psychological issues. In my opinion, the best solution is to avoid such people, so I didn’t see the need for this section.

The book brought me a lot of negative feelings. This is because it is fully focused on evil. It’s nothing but page after page of horrible events. God is only mentioned two times in this book, while the devil is mentioned on almost every page. This goes further, as the author attributed a woman’s recovery after a bad surgery to the devil. In his perception, she only got better because the devil wanted her to do more of his work. Thus, people with strong Christian beliefs would certainly not enjoy this book.

The only nice thing I can say is that the ending provided some sort of closure as things calmed down. It was pleasant to read about the author’s passion, which is his music. It felt like the only good thing in a sea of evil. I often find myself saved by music, so that part was quite relatable. However, the book’s subject wasn’t music, so it won’t change my opinion.

In its current state, the only rating I can give this book is 1 out of 4 stars. Besides the book needing professional editing, the author also needs to better organize his arguments. I can’t recommend it to anyone until then. I would’ve preferred if the book had a storyline, but other people could relate to the author’s peculiar experiences, provided that the book is properly edited.

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The Dark Star of the Dorothy Curse
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Chinaza Nnabuenyi
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Post by Chinaza Nnabuenyi »

The events in this book make it quite interesting to read. I love the author's style of writing. Great review!
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Edria Dayyinah
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Post by Edria Dayyinah »

The premise of this book is super cool! it is unfortunate that it was executed pretty poorly
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NancyDrew12
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Post by NancyDrew12 »

I also would have picked this book due to my interest in curses and the supernatural. I might have given the book a try if there wasn't so many errors. Thanks for the honest review! :D
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asteel18
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Post by asteel18 »

A great idea but poorly executed. I appreciate the very honest review. Hopefully, the author will revise this because it has potential.
-Amy
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PeterRabitt20
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Post by PeterRabitt20 »

It's too bad that the book has so many issues. Kudos for stick with it and giving us the review, and I hope the author gets a chance to take your advice because the idea of the story sounds interesting. Thanks for your honest review.
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Fareed Regal
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Post by Fareed Regal »

The storyline had so much potential. A real pity that it got spoilt. Excellent review!
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NetMassimo
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Post by NetMassimo »

I got curious about this book and looked on Amazon but it's not available. Looks like this book is cursed too. :D Seriously, it might be interesting it it wasn't so chaotic. Thank you for your honest review!
Ciao :)
Massimo
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Post by Kingsley Emodi »

I'd love to know what the family finally resolved to do to Dorothy being that she brings them a lot of bad luck. Great review.
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Salah bourouba
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Post by Salah bourouba »

a bood with too many errors is like food with too much salt, I laughed when you mentioned the family member, good review, too bad for the book
Recite in the name of your Lord who created [*] Created man from a clinging substance [*] Recite, and your Lord is the most Generous [*] Who taught by the pen [*] Taught man that which he knew not.
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Humera955
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Post by Humera955 »

This crime thriller sounds like a book with supernatural plot.
Great review🍀
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Amy Luman
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Post by Amy Luman »

Thanks for the review. If I was just looking at the cover, I would have decided to read it. Such a negative narrative is of very little interest to me.
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Lisa A Rayburn
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Post by Lisa A Rayburn »

I can't tell whether this was written as fiction or non-fiction. As non-fiction, it would be quite difficult to believe. It's unfortunate that so many flaws occurred in the book. The plot (as fiction) is an interesting one. Thanks for the honest review.
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Post by markodim721 »

I don't think this is a book for me. Thanks for the honest and thorough review.
Shivansh_007
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Post by Shivansh_007 »

The theme of the book seems quite interesting but according to the reviewer it has many flaws. So I won't go in there with it. Thanks for the review.
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