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kris7's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sashas_books's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.25
“When the house laughed, it sounded like the ripple of a storm, the hush and shudder of leaves and sand trickling down a dune.”
Shiver. Shiver. Shiver. What a creepy locked-room murder mystery! There is a haunted house, Rose House, that is also a ghastly AI.
I liked the sci-fi world building here, it is sparse, but the reader can easily fill in the blanks and paint a bigger picture. The world has a dystopian feel, but it’s not a dystopia. It’s just a version of the future, with good things and bad all mixed together. Sci-fi stories rarely wake my sense of wonder nowadays (I have read too much sci-fi, perhaps). This one did!
There are three POV’s in 120 pages, and they were masterfully done. This is not easy to write, I am very impressed. (Oliver’s POV was a respite from all the creepiness.)
How do you explain a dead body in a house to which only one person has access after the owner’s death; and that person has an alibi? The search for answers is very dark and kept me turning the pages.
I do hope that our future AI’s are not going to be like Rose House. This is during its phone call to the police to report a dead body:
“Cause of death,” said Maritza.
“I’m a piece of architecture, Detective. How should I know how humans are like to die?”
Maybe trying to come in is a bad idea, Detective…
“What is a building without doors, Maritza?” Rose House asked her, blandly inquisitive. “Have you opinions?”
“A prison”, Maritza thought, and went back to her car.”
The story grows more and more claustrophobic, you feel like you are getting lost in Rose House and mental fog. I have mixed feelings about the ending: it was anticlimactic and not quite clear, but it did seem fitting.
Shiver. Shiver. Shiver. What a creepy locked-room murder mystery! There is a haunted house, Rose House, that is also a ghastly AI.
I liked the sci-fi world building here, it is sparse, but the reader can easily fill in the blanks and paint a bigger picture. The world has a dystopian feel, but it’s not a dystopia. It’s just a version of the future, with good things and bad all mixed together. Sci-fi stories rarely wake my sense of wonder nowadays (I have read too much sci-fi, perhaps). This one did!
There are three POV’s in 120 pages, and they were masterfully done. This is not easy to write, I am very impressed. (Oliver’s POV was a respite from all the creepiness.)
How do you explain a dead body in a house to which only one person has access after the owner’s death; and that person has an alibi? The search for answers is very dark and kept me turning the pages.
I do hope that our future AI’s are not going to be like Rose House. This is during its phone call to the police to report a dead body:
“Cause of death,” said Maritza.
“I’m a piece of architecture, Detective. How should I know how humans are like to die?”
Maybe trying to come in is a bad idea, Detective…
“What is a building without doors, Maritza?” Rose House asked her, blandly inquisitive. “Have you opinions?”
“A prison”, Maritza thought, and went back to her car.”
The story grows more and more claustrophobic, you feel like you are getting lost in Rose House and mental fog. I have mixed feelings about the ending: it was anticlimactic and not quite clear, but it did seem fitting.
thepurplebookwyrm's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Read for the 2024 Hugo Awards.
Ever wonder what a haunted house, and murder mystery story would look like in a science-fictional setting, where the ghost isn't, in fact, a ghost, but a house-wide artificial intelligence? Well, Ms Arkady's Rose/House offers an answer to that question that I, on the whole, really enjoyed.
I think the novella format was very skilfully utilised here. There was just enough world-building and 'thriller intrigue' (at times bordering on psychological horror) to keep me engaged, and the lack of broader word-building, or properly developed theming (on the nature of the self, consciousness, etc... basically the kind of stuff you'd somewhat expect from an AI-centric story), didn't feel too frustrating considering what I was actually given, in terms of entertainment and single-concept-execution, in the span of about 90 pages.
And as to Ms Arkady's prose: I found it very smooth and decently evocative overall, and certainly fit to give an appreciably immersive sketch of her near-future setting.
All in all, then, this is definitely one of the better, non-theming-rich novellas I've read so far in my life. So yay!
Ever wonder what a haunted house, and murder mystery story would look like in a science-fictional setting, where the ghost isn't, in fact, a ghost, but a house-wide artificial intelligence? Well, Ms Arkady's Rose/House offers an answer to that question that I, on the whole, really enjoyed.
I think the novella format was very skilfully utilised here. There was just enough world-building and 'thriller intrigue' (at times bordering on psychological horror) to keep me engaged, and the lack of broader word-building, or properly developed theming (on the nature of the self, consciousness, etc... basically the kind of stuff you'd somewhat expect from an AI-centric story), didn't feel too frustrating considering what I was actually given, in terms of entertainment and single-concept-execution, in the span of about 90 pages.
And as to Ms Arkady's prose: I found it very smooth and decently evocative overall, and certainly fit to give an appreciably immersive sketch of her near-future setting.
All in all, then, this is definitely one of the better, non-theming-rich novellas I've read so far in my life. So yay!
blacksphinx's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
"Go girl, give us nothing." It's not about any one thing enough to form a coherent thought about. It's certainly not about a plot. It waves its arms in the air a little about AI, architecture, and legacy. In the end I thought it said nothing at all.
kivt's review against another edition
3.0
i definitely didn’t fully get it, but i didn’t like it well enough to really try
abookwormspov's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
As someone who is super into building systems, architecture and AI, I loved this conceptually. Overall I was missing something, and I don't quite know what. But still good overall.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Confinement
maiakobabe's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
3.0
A brief murder mystery set in an fully conscious AI house in the southwest desert. This story feels in conversation with Ray Bradbury's story The Veldt and has many elements I enjoy, but a somewhat unresolved and slightly unsatisfying ending. I'm honestly still simmering on my thoughts, but looking forward to discussing this in book club soon!
teii's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.0
vengefuldime's review against another edition
4.0
A mysterious little piece of fiction that plays with identity and legacy. It has beautiful writing that really stands out in colors and mood, with a prioritization of a soft, hazy atmosphere. The writing tends to be matter-of-fact when focused on characters and how they feel, but remains more obscure in general. I usually want more from characters, but for this book they are of better use as questions. I enjoyed the mysteries interlinking, and I think the book does well in giving suggestions of shape without clear answers. There are a number of repetitious phrases used that felt somewhat distracting (such as so many uses of “haunt” in such a short book), which I understand but did not prefer.
tashalostinbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5