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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
I'm not sure I'm even going to be able to finish this one. Zero likable characters, navel-gazing literary references that burrow too deep into a small handful of 19th century authors, excessive rambling, disjointed narrative devices that nest narratives within narratives as though people retell stories verbatim. This book has it all.
Huge bummer because I loved The Fisherman.
Huge bummer because I loved The Fisherman.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
John Langan has done it again and cemented his standing as my favorite horror writer. This time, the horror is mixed in with complex family drama but the spookiness never takes a backseat - it actually made everything more realistic because these are real characters, with their own faults and traumas, reacting to these things. And oh boy is there trauma.
My only gripe is that I do wish there was a little bit less time dedicated to the narrator's numerous childhood flashbacks and so on - at one point it did feel like it was holding back the story's progression. I would've appreciated a few more answers too, especially since so much was hinted but never expanded on.
Other than that, it was brilliant and creepy from start to finish.
My only gripe is that I do wish there was a little bit less time dedicated to the narrator's numerous childhood flashbacks and so on - at one point it did feel like it was holding back the story's progression. I would've appreciated a few more answers too, especially since so much was hinted but never expanded on.
Other than that, it was brilliant and creepy from start to finish.
A weighty and densely-spilled haunting (one unlike I've ever read before). Enthralling. Thorough and far-reaching.
Oh, look, me giving a John Langan book a high rating, that's unusual! Wait, that's not it, I meant totally expected. House of Windows is his first novel, but I think the last currently available piece of his work I hadn't yet read. In typical Langan style, the book is thoroughly fleshed out and can get dense at points, and this one referenced a lot of Dickens I've not read (my primary exposure to Dickens thus far is the Muppets Christmas Carol). So, did I miss things, probably? Sure. But it was still an engaging read, with his unusual take on a haunting. Sometimes, it did feel like it was trying to drag just a hair. But otherwise, great book.
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Feels like it has enough for a novella but not for a novel. A lot of meandering, and the hook is unsettling but never quite scary for me.
Read this one a few years back but still remember it well. More of a literary novel than the author’s subsequent works. It’s a haunted house novel but a deeply personal tale about a son and his parent’s strained marriage. It is long and not especially plot-driven, but I remember it being very intelligent and moving otherwise. This seems like it was a serious novel from Langan before he fell into doing more directly genre stuff.