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epeolatrist's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Slade House is incredibly well written. However... there were a lot of things missing for me. The novel didn't exactly read like a novel and rather like five intertwined short stories. I felt like there was little character development, other than a small amount for Norah and Jonah at the end. Speaking of the end, I'm quite confused. It seemed a bit abrupt to me. I wish that I had gotten some background on Iris and how she came to be a so-called "astronaut." I did not dislike Slade House. It's a fast and interesting read. I was just left a little underwhelmed toward the end. It's not a book that I think I will pick up again in the future, unfortunately.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Body horror, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Body shaming, Racism, and Sexual content
chelly_reads's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Death
mooshake's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
the last story was a let down but i’ve got to give props to a horror that, yknow, actually scared me lmao
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Body horror, Grief, Murder, and Racism
z_thatsit's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Body horror, Body shaming, Cannibalism, Child death, Cursing, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Kidnapping, and Sexual content
Minor: Car accident, Bullying, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Racism
kylegarvey's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Slade House is the seventh novel by David Mitchell, an author I quite like but haven't yet read much from. It's a book started as a Twitter story (though how much of that was Mitchell himself and how much was his publisher's press dept, either creatively or advertorially, I just don't know), but I kind of wish it had stayed that way for more of its run. In balancing swift intrigue with flat exposition, it seems to me heavy genre mysteries would do well to lean a little toward the funner part. Maybe I just don't have the experience, haven't read enough of this type; and btw, don't listen to sneering elitists like me who supposedly look down their noses at low 'genre' in favor of high 'literary', we don't know much. Supposedly.
And also btw (by another way?), the Twitter thing I started was barely a novel at all, more just a clashing series of stupidities. So Mitchell has me beat pretty squarely already! Personally. Supposedly.
Part 1, before all the exposition's laid out, offers some fun intrigue. The Right Sort it's called. Nathan Bishop is our initial hero, a precocious lad. In the second part, Shining Armor, we get a little fun but mostly some bland details, like when our villains show up, "the man—Jonah—looks at his sister—Norah—with fond smugness. 'For fifty-four years, our souls have wandered that big wide world out there, possessing whatever bodies we want, living whatever lives we wish, while our fellow birth-Victorians are all dead or dying out. We live on. The operandi works.' / 'The operandi works provided our birth-bodies remain here in the lacuna, freeze-dried against world-time, anchoring our souls in life. The operandi works provided we recharge the lacuna every nine years by luring a gullible Engifted into a suitable orison. The operandi works provided our guests can be duped, banjaxed and drawn into the lacuna. Too many provideds, Jonah'" (99).
Sorry if that spoils anything, but I thought i'd quote it, since that just lays everything out in a dry way -- and I mean everything.
Oink Oink, the third part, has a preamble with some paranormal-interested kids investigating the previous Kidnappings, but then their investigations take them to a college party. Or what they think is a college party. You Dark Horse You, the penultimate part, has a lot of promising stuff about death and mortality, but it doesn't cohere into much plot-wise. The last part, Astronauts, concludes nicely with some sociology: "from feudal lords to slave traders to oligarchs to neocons to predators like you. All of you strangle your consciences, and ethically you strike yourselves dumb" (263). It's a decent arrival, but not so skilled of a departure or flight I don't think.
And also btw (by another way?), the Twitter thing I started was barely a novel at all, more just a clashing series of stupidities. So Mitchell has me beat pretty squarely already! Personally. Supposedly.
Part 1, before all the exposition's laid out, offers some fun intrigue. The Right Sort it's called. Nathan Bishop is our initial hero, a precocious lad. In the second part, Shining Armor, we get a little fun but mostly some bland details, like when our villains show up, "the man—Jonah—looks at his sister—Norah—with fond smugness. 'For fifty-four years, our souls have wandered that big wide world out there, possessing whatever bodies we want, living whatever lives we wish, while our fellow birth-Victorians are all dead or dying out. We live on. The operandi works.' / 'The operandi works provided our birth-bodies remain here in the lacuna, freeze-dried against world-time, anchoring our souls in life. The operandi works provided we recharge the lacuna every nine years by luring a gullible Engifted into a suitable orison. The operandi works provided our guests can be duped, banjaxed and drawn into the lacuna. Too many provideds, Jonah'" (99).
Sorry if that spoils anything, but I thought i'd quote it, since that just lays everything out in a dry way -- and I mean everything.
Oink Oink, the third part, has a preamble with some paranormal-interested kids investigating the previous Kidnappings, but then their investigations take them to a college party. Or what they think is a college party. You Dark Horse You, the penultimate part, has a lot of promising stuff about death and mortality, but it doesn't cohere into much plot-wise. The last part, Astronauts, concludes nicely with some sociology: "from feudal lords to slave traders to oligarchs to neocons to predators like you. All of you strangle your consciences, and ethically you strike yourselves dumb" (263). It's a decent arrival, but not so skilled of a departure or flight I don't think.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Kidnapping, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Stalking, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Body horror, and Slavery
Minor: Police brutality
nick13's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I thought this book was a really cool idea and even though I haven't read the book that goes with this one, I still really liked my time spent with it overall. my favorite story is a tie between the second to last one and the last one as they both were told really interestingly and even though the second to last one in the bar is a little bit of a horror trope, I always find it a really cool idea that is always gets me a little race in my heart.
A solid 4, I'm giving bonus points because I really liked how it was written.
A solid 4, I'm giving bonus points because I really liked how it was written.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Body horror, and Drug use
Moderate: Child death, Police brutality, and Racism
mateoj's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.75
obligatory deduction of a few points because of overwhelming and obscene Britishness but damn, that was good. what I wouldn't give for a limited series of this akin to the Haunting series...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Body shaming and Fatphobia
sonyareadsbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gore, Medical content, and Body shaming
Minor: Body horror, Body shaming, Animal death, Suicide, and Xenophobia
noir_novels's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Great little horror piece - I enjoyed the premise and its execution, though I would have liked more time on the house and its description. I love when the setting becomes a character and this didn’t really go there though there was sprinkles of it throughout.
As the story is split into different segments (basically a short story every 9 years), it quite obvious that the fates of these characters are doomed (the direction of the plot is pretty standard in that regard), but that didn’t take away from the story for me as I was intrigued to see how our antagonistic protagonists would get to their endgame. I will say that I appreciated the slight twist in the final pages too and the alluding to more happening after the events of the story. There is also information given to us readers about the backstory and other mysterious groups that could have been developed further, but I like that I was left in the dark with it - the story continues beyond the book but not knowing anything more about the trails left behind feels more satisfying for me as a reader.
I would definitely recommend this to fans of suspense with fantastical supernatural elements or someone looking for a short but intriguing read. I’m keen to look at more books by this author in the future :)
As the story is split into different segments (basically a short story every 9 years), it quite obvious that the fates of these characters are doomed (the direction of the plot is pretty standard in that regard), but that didn’t take away from the story for me as I was intrigued to see how our antagonistic protagonists would get to their endgame. I will say that I appreciated the slight twist in the final pages too and the alluding to more happening after the events of the story. There is also information given to us readers about the backstory and other mysterious groups that could have been developed further, but I like that I was left in the dark with it - the story continues beyond the book but not knowing anything more about the trails left behind feels more satisfying for me as a reader.
I would definitely recommend this to fans of suspense with fantastical supernatural elements or someone looking for a short but intriguing read. I’m keen to look at more books by this author in the future :)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Fatphobia, Death, and Body shaming
Minor: Gore and Body horror
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