Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked this book overall! The story was at times too slow, at other times felt too fast paced. But overall a quick and interesting read!
holy sh*t
all i can say is that i almost solely read library books or listen to library audiobooks, but i was halfway through the audiobook for this when i was so enthralled by the story that i actually bought it and it was worth the price
all i can say is that i almost solely read library books or listen to library audiobooks, but i was halfway through the audiobook for this when i was so enthralled by the story that i actually bought it and it was worth the price
Review originally published in SCREAM Mag Nov/Dec 2019
The premise of this one goes like this, Felix Allsey writes travelogues of notorious haunted houses. He finds one called, Rotterdam Mansion that’s a little under the radar--not much information on it. Felix decides he will spend thirteen nights in the haunted house with nothing but basic essentials and a trail camera to video everything.
It’s the perfect horror story set up! Two chapters in and I was pretty hooked. I’m always one to show up for a quality haunted house story. Somewhere along the line, the main character’s friend shows up. I wasn’t even entirely sure if I was on board with there being two people spending the night, things felt creepier when it was just the one guy. My skepticism proved correct. Alex’s friend, Thomas is a bit of a chatty-cathy and the two men get into these long conversations about the past and their friendship that made me want to skip ahead. They also play this game several times called “Film Fight”--a movie trivia game that would probably be really cool for horror cinephiles but for someone with basic horror-movie knowledge, those chapters (yes, whole chapters) were boring. The parts are broken into “Night One” and “Night Two” and so on, by Night Six, nothing very eventful has happened in the house. There was one paranormal event that got me all excited but then the men talked about it to death and took all the fun out of it.
Later, the men explore their friendship (again) and the demise of what once was a healthy relationship between them. They reminisce about the old times of when they would hang out--Alex and Thomas and each other wives. Some uncomfortable memories begin to surface creating tension between the two friends. All the while, they are sitting in a haunted house and I was getting impatient with their lack of enthusiasm about their surroundings. Check on that trail camera for crying out loud!
The climax and conclusion could be easily spoiled and I am one who protects reader discovery at all costs so I won’t even hint at what happens towards the end of the book but the story does take a dark and unexpected turn that I really enjoyed. I’m just afraid that it was too little, too late.
2 out of 5 skulls
The premise of this one goes like this, Felix Allsey writes travelogues of notorious haunted houses. He finds one called, Rotterdam Mansion that’s a little under the radar--not much information on it. Felix decides he will spend thirteen nights in the haunted house with nothing but basic essentials and a trail camera to video everything.
It’s the perfect horror story set up! Two chapters in and I was pretty hooked. I’m always one to show up for a quality haunted house story. Somewhere along the line, the main character’s friend shows up. I wasn’t even entirely sure if I was on board with there being two people spending the night, things felt creepier when it was just the one guy. My skepticism proved correct. Alex’s friend, Thomas is a bit of a chatty-cathy and the two men get into these long conversations about the past and their friendship that made me want to skip ahead. They also play this game several times called “Film Fight”--a movie trivia game that would probably be really cool for horror cinephiles but for someone with basic horror-movie knowledge, those chapters (yes, whole chapters) were boring. The parts are broken into “Night One” and “Night Two” and so on, by Night Six, nothing very eventful has happened in the house. There was one paranormal event that got me all excited but then the men talked about it to death and took all the fun out of it.
Later, the men explore their friendship (again) and the demise of what once was a healthy relationship between them. They reminisce about the old times of when they would hang out--Alex and Thomas and each other wives. Some uncomfortable memories begin to surface creating tension between the two friends. All the while, they are sitting in a haunted house and I was getting impatient with their lack of enthusiasm about their surroundings. Check on that trail camera for crying out loud!
The climax and conclusion could be easily spoiled and I am one who protects reader discovery at all costs so I won’t even hint at what happens towards the end of the book but the story does take a dark and unexpected turn that I really enjoyed. I’m just afraid that it was too little, too late.
2 out of 5 skulls
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
First 3/4 of book was okay, not a lot of build up. Last 1/4 was way better as it explained a lot between the two characters.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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:
Complicated
This book was a pleasant surprise honestly! Definitely gave me 1408 vibes, which is personally one of my favorite thriller/ horror movies to date! I loved the banter in this book, & the references! I can’t remember the last time a book genuinely creeped me out! This one got under my skin a few times, & kept me on the edge of my seat! A fast read that I would highly recommend! I think one of the twists could’ve been reworked a tad better, but it didn’t ruin it for me! I absolutely loved this book aside from that! I did call some of the stuff early on, but I do theorize alot as I’m reading!
In this story you follow Felix Allsey , as he travels the world to get the new latest paranormal scoop for his writing. He stumbles across Rotterdam Mansion, with an extremely grim history. Felix convinces the owner to let him stay for 13 nights, which he also uses as an excuse to reconnect with an old estranged friend. With the stay he sets 3 rules: No leaving the premises by any means, Refrain from outside Contact (no cell phones,etc), & Resting during the day only.
This houses ends up bringing many things to light, and slowly Felix’s mind unravels. Question is, what kind of ghosts are haunting Rotterdam?
In this story you follow Felix Allsey , as he travels the world to get the new latest paranormal scoop for his writing. He stumbles across Rotterdam Mansion, with an extremely grim history. Felix convinces the owner to let him stay for 13 nights, which he also uses as an excuse to reconnect with an old estranged friend. With the stay he sets 3 rules: No leaving the premises by any means, Refrain from outside Contact (no cell phones,etc), & Resting during the day only.
This houses ends up bringing many things to light, and slowly Felix’s mind unravels. Question is, what kind of ghosts are haunting Rotterdam?
This is a creepy take on the haunted house trope. Felix, a struggling writer, commits to spending 12 days in a rundown house with a history of violence, depravity, murder and suicide. On day 2 he is joined by his friend, Thomas, with whom he had a falling out last year.
Ocker is very good at writing easy, engaging dialogue and I enjoyed the conversations between the two horror-movie obsessed friends as they tease and quiz each other and slowly reveal the incident that caused the rift in their friendship. Felix is a sceptic and Thomas is a believer in ghosts.
The haunting sightings are scary and I was totally invested in Rotter House slow revelations of horror. I was especially floored by the shocking twist of an ending, raw and bloody and satisfyingly surprising.
Although I own the book, the audiobook was included in Audible membership and it was wonderfully narrated by Matt Godfrey. Godfrey gave Felix just the slightest whiney yet eager pitch to his voice, while giving Thomas a deeper calmness. I FELT both characters.
Ocker is very good at writing easy, engaging dialogue and I enjoyed the conversations between the two horror-movie obsessed friends as they tease and quiz each other and slowly reveal the incident that caused the rift in their friendship. Felix is a sceptic and Thomas is a believer in ghosts.
The haunting sightings are scary and I was totally invested in Rotter House slow revelations of horror. I was especially floored by the shocking twist of an ending, raw and bloody and satisfyingly surprising.
Although I own the book, the audiobook was included in Audible membership and it was wonderfully narrated by Matt Godfrey. Godfrey gave Felix just the slightest whiney yet eager pitch to his voice, while giving Thomas a deeper calmness. I FELT both characters.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
This book was simultaneously not at all, and exactly, what I expected. In a good way. I wanted a spooky story that found a way to expand beyond the common tropes, and this definitely delivered! The story doesn't take itself too seriously until it's too late and you're invested, and then it blows up in your face.
Solid, very enjoyable, will read again.
Solid, very enjoyable, will read again.