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A review by sashas_books
Rose/House by Arkady Martine
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.