How to Survive Camping: The Ancient Things returns to follow camp manager Kate, who runs a campground that is also a home (or a cage) to otherworldly inhabitants. In an effort to keep her campers safe, Kate has compiled information into rules for a pamphlet that she sends to her campers entitled, "How to Survive Camping." Now the land is turning ancient and the threat is leaving the campground. Kate has every inhuman on her land eager to get rid of her so that they can take control of the land but Kate is going to fight back, hunting those that are after her and killing anything that is a threat. When the ancient land draws an ancient thing to the campground that has it out for a particular inhuman, Kate has to find a way to help that will leave the campground safe before it is too late.
I've loved this series from the start and a lot of that has to do with the writing. This book follows Kate's narration and the tone it takes is so matter-of-fact and no nonsense that it works perfectly to convey her character. This book works because of the tone it takes, it wouldn't work any other way. There's nothing flowery about the language which helps to drive home the fact that this character, Kate, has had to deal with things no one should have had to, and that goes for the inhuman inhabitants of the campground and the residents of the town who know what happens at the campground. This woman has a spine of steel and calculating mind and she needs that, so every word is concise, every reason makes sense, and every move is well thought out and every word in this books shows that. Each book follows the seasons of the year, from when the campground opens until it goes back to out of season and it is separated into parts to show that so everything follows a linear course. Readers get a sample of the "Rules" Kate has put together and as the book unfolds, readers get to see exactly what happened to inspire certain things. All of this just clicks together and feels so well-developed that it's easy to feel like this could be a real place and that the things Kate is telling us could save our lives. Quinn has made something really unique here and I love the research that is so easily woven into each story. I always end up with a few things that I want to research for myself once one of these books is done and this one was no different. I'm still in awe a little with the development that this book had.
As for the characters, I have loved each of them from the start and all the old favorites have returned for this installment. I love Kate, just completely love her, and I know she herself states that she can be difficult but I actually feel that sometimes she has too much patience for what happens on the campground so obviously she and I are two peas in a pod. I love the Old Sheriff and while he wasn't in this book as much, his presence is enough when he does appear, his wisdom and his patience and his genuine affection for Kate making him as important to readers and he is to Kate. I loved how this time around, Quinn gave us a little more about some of our recognizable names from previous books, like Bryan and his pack of dogs and the Children with No Wagon. Quinn has created so many interesting characters that when the time is taken to really delve into them in a book, the impact hits a little harder because we are already familiar with these faces and now we are given more and a lot of the time, what we learn is heartbreaking. This time around we also got to spend more time with Kate's brother, Tyler, and his family, which really shows more about the family dynamic as Kate and her brother were growing up and how they are together in the current timeline. By this point in the storyline, we love these characters and Quinn has developed a well-rounded cast that continues to make every moment of these books worth reading.
As for the plot, Quinn has been moving towards this development, the land turning ancient, for some time now and the way it was dealt with had me turning pages as fast as I could. Besides the fact that land is turning ancient, there are two inhuman inhabitants of the campground that are in a battle and the outcome of that fight will decide the fates for a lot of the inhabitants of the campground and it was fascinating to read. This is where I wanted to do some of my own reading because of the conflict between these two inhumans. I want to know more about this and the fact that Quinn used this folklore was impressive to me. All of the folklore that Quinn uses in these books appeals to me as a reader and sincerely, these books feel like they were made for readers like me. Also, I saw that the book originally had a different subtitle and I understand now why it was changed to The Ancient Things. It works a lot better without giving too much away and a lot of the plot works because of the discovery about the two inhumans and their battle and the whys for the fighting. In the end, I can't wait to see how all of this wraps up with the next book because we have seen and learned so much already and we care so much for Kate and her family that I am counting down the days to see what happens next for them and the campground and the town.
I can't repeat it enough, I LOVE this series. I am planning to read them all again once my Dad starts reading the books so we can go over every detail and just marvel over the world-building and the characters. Read this book if you love folklore, horror and the people who choose to stand between us and the monsters hiding in the dark.
Rating on my Scale: 10 Brilliant Stars!! I can't wait to see what happens next with these characters. Seriously, I'm camping out with my books while waiting for the next one to be released. Here's hoping it's sooner rather than later because I really need to know what happens next.
My thanks to NetGalley, Saga Press Books and Bonnie Quinn for the eARC of this book in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own.
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