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directorpurry's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Confinement, Death, and Gun violence
Moderate: Vomit, Cultural appropriation, and Self harm
Minor: Police brutality
50shadesofrae's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Added a .5 for the audiobook cast. It was an absolute slog to get through, and if I had been reading instead of listening it almost certainly would have been a DNF.
Felt like reading an R/NoSleep series with a title like I’m an Editor for a Ghost Hunting Show - You Won’t Believe The Footage I Just Got.
Felt like reading an R/NoSleep series with a title like I’m an Editor for a Ghost Hunting Show - You Won’t Believe The Footage I Just Got.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Child abuse, and Gun violence
Minor: Sexual content, Vomit, Confinement, and Self harm
angie11290's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Grief, Racism, Xenophobia, Death, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexism, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Violence, Gun violence, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Dysphoria, Toxic friendship, and Blood
nadiajohnsonbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I feel like I need to debrief this book with a therapist.
I am a complete sucker for anything with a found-footage flavor, and the paranormal-investigators-locked-in-a-house trope is one of my favorites, so this book was a must read. These paranormal investigators were technically not locked in, at least not physically, but the vibe was 100% right.
The crew of a ghost hunting show called "Fade to Black" is filming their thirteenth episode at a hundred-year-old mansion that was converted into a paranormal research facility called the Foundation House in the early 1970s. The research undertaken there seems to have been a combination of midcentury CIA psy-ops/MK Ultra shit and the sort of run-of-the-mill parapsychological research occasionally undertaken by American universities (and shown in the CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED DOCUMENTARY FILM Ghostbusters).
The team is led by husband and wife duo Matt, a true believer, and Claire, a rational skeptic with a physics doctorate. They are joined by cameraman Jake, cop-turned-ghost-tech-guru Kevin, and Vanessa, a young Black actress and single mom who was pushed by the network as to provide a little energy and diversity but has impressed everyone with her commitment to the bit.
The Foundation House isn't like their typical haunted investigation in that it gives them nothing to work with in terms of phenomena. Not even the creepy sounds of an old house settling or a draft that might move some dust around. Add to that some simmering, unspoken personal drama, and this episode is starting to seem like it's not worth the effort.
But when things get weird, they get SO FUCKING WEIRD, and a generic bit of dubious paranormal television turns into something much greater than any of them bargained for.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes podcasts like the White Vault and the Black Tapes, books like Hell House and I Found Puppets Living in My Apartment Walls, and movies like V/H/S, Noroi: the Curse, and Gonjiam Haunted Asylum. It would also be a great pick for someone who wants something like House of Leaves, but more approachable.
DiLouie definitely captures both the horror and charm of the found footage genre.
I am a complete sucker for anything with a found-footage flavor, and the paranormal-investigators-locked-in-a-house trope is one of my favorites, so this book was a must read. These paranormal investigators were technically not locked in, at least not physically, but the vibe was 100% right.
The crew of a ghost hunting show called "Fade to Black" is filming their thirteenth episode at a hundred-year-old mansion that was converted into a paranormal research facility called the Foundation House in the early 1970s. The research undertaken there seems to have been a combination of midcentury CIA psy-ops/MK Ultra shit and the sort of run-of-the-mill parapsychological research occasionally undertaken by American universities (and shown in the CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED DOCUMENTARY FILM Ghostbusters).
The team is led by husband and wife duo Matt, a true believer, and Claire, a rational skeptic with a physics doctorate. They are joined by cameraman Jake, cop-turned-ghost-tech-guru Kevin, and Vanessa, a young Black actress and single mom who was pushed by the network as to provide a little energy and diversity but has impressed everyone with her commitment to the bit.
The Foundation House isn't like their typical haunted investigation in that it gives them nothing to work with in terms of phenomena. Not even the creepy sounds of an old house settling or a draft that might move some dust around. Add to that some simmering, unspoken personal drama, and this episode is starting to seem like it's not worth the effort.
But when things get weird, they get SO FUCKING WEIRD, and a generic bit of dubious paranormal television turns into something much greater than any of them bargained for.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes podcasts like the White Vault and the Black Tapes, books like Hell House and I Found Puppets Living in My Apartment Walls, and movies like V/H/S, Noroi: the Curse, and Gonjiam Haunted Asylum. It would also be a great pick for someone who wants something like House of Leaves, but more approachable.
DiLouie definitely captures both the horror and charm of the found footage genre.
Content Warnings
Minor: Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Gun violence, and Vomit
saintmaud's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.0
awful. just read the death of jane lawrence instead.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence and Confinement
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Sexual content
kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.5
Very creepy. Very weird. This would be a good movie or TV series. I liked the way it was written as a series of journal entries, film footage transcripts, interviews, and text message threads from the various perspectives of the characters. That and the creepy plot line made the reading fly by.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Confinement, Gore, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Drug use, Bullying, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
ambenicole418's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
3.5
So, I want to preface this review by saying I’m not a ghost story/horror person. In fact the only reason I read this book is because I saw a booktuber I enjoy talking about it and I wanted to switch up the genres I read. That being said….I ATE THIS BOOK UP, but also the ending and the characters kinda pissed me off lol.
This story caught me off guard because it’s not told in a traditional format. It’s told exclusively as if we’re watching found footage from a reality show complete with production notes, film footage, journal entries from the cast, emails/texts from cast mates to family members, and emails with producers. When I noticed this, I was originally nervous about how that would impact the storytelling, but I think it actually worked in the story’s and helped with the pacing of the book. It never felt like the story was dragging and I think the storytelling format had a lot to do with that.
Now I do have to say I’m very conflicted with this book, because the story was really interesting, I was having fun with it, and I was ready to give this book 4-4.5 stars, but then it started to fall into the same pitfall that a lot of horror books/movies fall into for me, which is when characters make really stupid decisions so the horror can take place. What I mean by this is, (minor spoilers ahead) we’ll have things like a character deciding to leave after seeing a ghost because they know it’s too dangerous to continue, then they decide to come back just because, and then spend the rest of the book being scared of said ghosts. What was the point of that? Just let the character leave and stay gone I mean it’s not like that would be an unrealistic thing for them to do. Then there’s the stereotypical character that blatantly puts everyone in danger because for some reason they have decided they know what’s best even though they are dealing with things they don’t understand 🤦🏽♀️. Without giving away any more spoilers, it was just a lot of things like that that pissed me off and truly kept me from loving this book.
All that being said I did have a good enough time with this book to motivate me to read more horror books in the future, so I’m calling that a win for Episode 13. 💖
This story caught me off guard because it’s not told in a traditional format. It’s told exclusively as if we’re watching found footage from a reality show complete with production notes, film footage, journal entries from the cast, emails/texts from cast mates to family members, and emails with producers. When I noticed this, I was originally nervous about how that would impact the storytelling, but I think it actually worked in the story’s and helped with the pacing of the book. It never felt like the story was dragging and I think the storytelling format had a lot to do with that.
Now I do have to say I’m very conflicted with this book, because the story was really interesting, I was having fun with it, and I was ready to give this book 4-4.5 stars, but then it started to fall into the same pitfall that a lot of horror books/movies fall into for me, which is when characters make really stupid decisions so the horror can take place. What I mean by this is, (minor spoilers ahead) we’ll have things like a character deciding to leave after seeing a ghost because they know it’s too dangerous to continue, then they decide to come back just because, and then spend the rest of the book being scared of said ghosts. What was the point of that? Just let the character leave and stay gone I mean it’s not like that would be an unrealistic thing for them to do. Then there’s the stereotypical character that blatantly puts everyone in danger because for some reason they have decided they know what’s best even though they are dealing with things they don’t understand 🤦🏽♀️. Without giving away any more spoilers, it was just a lot of things like that that pissed me off and truly kept me from loving this book.
All that being said I did have a good enough time with this book to motivate me to read more horror books in the future, so I’m calling that a win for Episode 13. 💖
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Murder, Death, and Gun violence
Moderate: Cannibalism, Mental illness, and Self harm
blacksphinx's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
As a lover of horror and the epistolary format, this book was a highly anticipated release for me. While it turned out to be a fun ride and would make a GREAT movie, it stumbled a bit at a basic level that constantly nagged at me. See, the two hardest aspects of the epistolary format are "does this sound like an authentic record a person would make?" and "does it make sense that this information is being recorded in this situation?"
A large portion of this book is journal entries. The reasoning behind having the characters journal (excerpts would be pulled from them for blog posts to promote upcoming episodes of the TV show) is great. But, often these "journal entries" felt like regular first-person narration, of the kind that constantly pinged my brain as "someone is making stuff up in a reddit post." (who the hell is out here writing down conversations word-for-word with quotation marks hours after the event??) While these entries bothered me, there are other aspects that truly shined - I loved the text messages between Jessica and her sister in particular.
The closer we get to the end of the novel, the more it cracked my suspension of disbelief that people in threatening, possibly lethal, situations with a ticking clock would stop every couple of feet and write about their feelings. It's okay for there to be gaps the audience gets to puzzle over! I promise!
Overall, it is still an entertaining book and a solid B horror movie, but it didn't set the genre on fire or anything. I will be checking out the author's back catalog in the future. If you are looking for more epistolary horror, may I recommend the short story collection Among the Lilies by Daniel Mills?
A large portion of this book is journal entries. The reasoning behind having the characters journal (excerpts would be pulled from them for blog posts to promote upcoming episodes of the TV show) is great. But, often these "journal entries" felt like regular first-person narration, of the kind that constantly pinged my brain as "someone is making stuff up in a reddit post." (who the hell is out here writing down conversations word-for-word with quotation marks hours after the event??) While these entries bothered me, there are other aspects that truly shined - I loved the text messages between Jessica and her sister in particular.
The closer we get to the end of the novel, the more it cracked my suspension of disbelief that people in threatening, possibly lethal, situations with a ticking clock would stop every couple of feet and write about their feelings. It's okay for there to be gaps the audience gets to puzzle over! I promise!
Overall, it is still an entertaining book and a solid B horror movie, but it didn't set the genre on fire or anything. I will be checking out the author's back catalog in the future. If you are looking for more epistolary horror, may I recommend the short story collection Among the Lilies by Daniel Mills?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Death, Murder, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Violence, and Police brutality
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, Self harm, Excrement, and Physical abuse
Minor: Death of parent, Cannibalism, Racism, Alcoholism, and Injury/Injury detail
chris_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Child abuse, and Gun violence
Moderate: Blood, Police brutality, and Death
Minor: Gore, Torture, Self harm, Vomit, Cultural appropriation, and Injury/Injury detail
disnelyse's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
4.75
This book was written from such a unique angle. I loved how it was formatted almost like it was in movie form. But... the ending. If it wasn't for the ending, this definitely would have been 5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Confinement