Scan barcode
A review by nadiajohnsonbooks
A Man Among Ghosts by Steven Hopstaken
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up
CW: substance abuse, mental illness, suicide, murder, infidelity
I'm obsessed with haunted house stories, and the haunting in this book satisfied all my cravings for eerie atmosphere and grotesque surprises.
The protagonist, David, is an affluent depressive with few friends who decides to invest in a house to give his life a bit of direction. He buys a somewhat dilapidated turn-of-the-century house in a run down neighborhood, planning to restore it, but he immediately sees signs of the house's dark history. Soon, ghastly apparitions follow him everywhere, not just in the house. With the help of his friends and neighbor, David sets out to figure out whether these visions are the result of genuine supernatural activity, a complex hoax, or his own neurological illness.
Many of the ghosts appear to David as people he recognizes - both friends and virtual strangers - and David starts to believe that they are sending him a specific message.
This book was a really fun ride, but I'm almost not sure how to rate it. The scares were excellent, and the concept was very fun, but character development left something to be desired. Since the narrative focuses on David's perspective, I don't expect to have a clear window into the side characters' minds, but there were definitely moments where I was completely at a loss as to their motivations, and I'd have liked to see them fleshed out more as people rather than plot devices. Along the same lines, some side plots (like with David's father, or with Cassy and Fitz) felt largely extraneous to the overall plot, which could have been moved forward more concisely through other means.
That said, I definitely had fun reading it and will recommend it to other horror lovers (if only so I can have someone to talk through my book feelings with!)
I'd absolutely be down to read more of this author's work.
CW: substance abuse, mental illness, suicide, murder, infidelity
I'm obsessed with haunted house stories, and the haunting in this book satisfied all my cravings for eerie atmosphere and grotesque surprises.
The protagonist, David, is an affluent depressive with few friends who decides to invest in a house to give his life a bit of direction. He buys a somewhat dilapidated turn-of-the-century house in a run down neighborhood, planning to restore it, but he immediately sees signs of the house's dark history. Soon, ghastly apparitions follow him everywhere, not just in the house. With the help of his friends and neighbor, David sets out to figure out whether these visions are the result of genuine supernatural activity, a complex hoax, or his own neurological illness.
Many of the ghosts appear to David as people he recognizes - both friends and virtual strangers - and David starts to believe that they are sending him a specific message.
This book was a really fun ride, but I'm almost not sure how to rate it. The scares were excellent, and the concept was very fun, but character development left something to be desired. Since the narrative focuses on David's perspective, I don't expect to have a clear window into the side characters' minds, but there were definitely moments where I was completely at a loss as to their motivations, and I'd have liked to see them fleshed out more as people rather than plot devices. Along the same lines, some side plots (like with David's father, or with Cassy and Fitz) felt largely extraneous to the overall plot, which could have been moved forward more concisely through other means.
That said, I definitely had fun reading it and will recommend it to other horror lovers (if only so I can have someone to talk through my book feelings with!)
I'd absolutely be down to read more of this author's work.