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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
Langan said it himself... he tried to stuff entirely too much into this novel.
Still, aside from the awkward dialog, I enjoyed this creepy read.
Still, aside from the awkward dialog, I enjoyed this creepy read.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Man, I'm gonna need John Langan to write more books. My first introduction to him was The Fisherman, and it blew me away. House of Windows was even better. It's a slow-burn horror story with well-developed characters and real human drama to make the crazy, supernatural stuff even more effective. Highly recommended if you're looking for a scary read with some substance to it.
There was no reason to have this framing of a story in a story and sometimes in another story. The character of the author listening to the story adds nothing to the plot. I don’t see why this story couldn’t have been told as it was unfolding.
Aside from way too many mundane details that could have been cut, by having a character tell a story for the entire book felt unnatural. People don’t have that much minute detail packed into whatever they’re telling.
Slogged through it until the end hoping there was a payoff. This book is labeled as a horror but I would not call it that at all
Aside from way too many mundane details that could have been cut, by having a character tell a story for the entire book felt unnatural. People don’t have that much minute detail packed into whatever they’re telling.
Slogged through it until the end hoping there was a payoff. This book is labeled as a horror but I would not call it that at all
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The feel of John Langan's long, detailed, narratively driven Horror novel is very Lovecraftian. Veronica Croydon's tale, she being the younger member of the May/December marriage between herself and the missing professor Roger Croydon, reminds one of a Lovecraft story in which the narrator relates a horrific event or situation that happened to a friend or colleague (or in this case husband) that the narrator witnessed and took part in. Like in Lovecraft stories, the reader is given a glimpse into another, almost indescribably dark reality or dimension that the character(s) have unfortunately opened a way into. Langan doesn't rush the reader through Veronica's tale of her husband's disappearance, but slowly lets the horror build with all its many faceted details. A short excerpt from the book gives you some idea of what I'm talking about. "I had more information than I knew what to do with. Alcoholic painter-shamans; magic formulae for bringing houses to some kind of weird life; malevolent entities offering sinister deals; ghosts trapped who knew where by paternal curses; strange visions and sensations; and, to cap it all off, a spirit map; I wasn't living one horror story; I was the screaming heroine in a B-movie marathon." The reader must me patient because Veronica has a lot of ground to cover, but it's a long, strange trip well worth travelling to its final dark destination.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Is there an editor in the house?
After reading some of Langan’s short fiction and his excellent novel, The Fisherman, this was a big disappointment. Completely bloated and overwritten, this attempt to be a 19th century novel set in modern day was pretty much a failure. The second half of the book was absolutely interminable, so I resorted to skimming and still found it boring.
After reading some of Langan’s short fiction and his excellent novel, The Fisherman, this was a big disappointment. Completely bloated and overwritten, this attempt to be a 19th century novel set in modern day was pretty much a failure. The second half of the book was absolutely interminable, so I resorted to skimming and still found it boring.