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spiralnode 's review for:
The Haunted Hotel
by Wilkie Collins
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Wilkie Collins is, to me, the master of the Victorian mystery story. It might be detectives, reflective whodunits or dark gothics, he creates a spooky atmosphere that plays with the supernatural and keeps the reader holding their breath and shuddering from any stimuli.
Here we follow the a family who has been told that one of their own has died in Venice shortly after his wedding. In the months preceding his death he was disconnected from his family, lived in seclusion, and finding out anything about his circumstances is next to impossible.
This book combines elements of mystery, investigation and even horror. It gave me the chills, and there are even some borderline disgusting details. There are characters who speak in tongues and seem to be hiding something, yet who knows what. You have to untangle the lies from the truth, and the superstitions from the facts. There's visions, apparitions, nightmares, all set in a creepy hotel in Venice at candlelight.
There's a few things that I might normally find irritating or done too much in literature, but surprisingly, here I thought they worked super well. There is a sense of telling rather than showing through monologues and stories within the main story, and some of the dialogue seems to be overdone or too transparent, like that of the Countess even from the very start. Yet here, they somehow work. Quintessential for Victorian literature really. But Wilkie Collins has a superpower and that is writing incredibly intriguing female characters. They arouse so much interest, they are compelling, whether they're positive, negative, innocent or evil. It feels like there is something beyond the pages that you have to discover about these women which makes them incredibly fascinating. Agnes and the Countess couldn't be more different, yet I couldn't wait to read more about them and especially their scenes together.
Very highly recommended, and while you're at it - 'The Moonstone' and 'The Woman in White' are just as amazing!
Here we follow the a family who has been told that one of their own has died in Venice shortly after his wedding. In the months preceding his death he was disconnected from his family, lived in seclusion, and finding out anything about his circumstances is next to impossible.
This book combines elements of mystery, investigation and even horror. It gave me the chills, and there are even some borderline disgusting details. There are characters who speak in tongues and seem to be hiding something, yet who knows what. You have to untangle the lies from the truth, and the superstitions from the facts. There's visions, apparitions, nightmares, all set in a creepy hotel in Venice at candlelight.
There's a few things that I might normally find irritating or done too much in literature, but surprisingly, here I thought they worked super well. There is a sense of telling rather than showing through monologues and stories within the main story, and some of the dialogue seems to be overdone or too transparent, like that of the Countess even from the very start. Yet here, they somehow work. Quintessential for Victorian literature really. But Wilkie Collins has a superpower and that is writing incredibly intriguing female characters. They arouse so much interest, they are compelling, whether they're positive, negative, innocent or evil. It feels like there is something beyond the pages that you have to discover about these women which makes them incredibly fascinating. Agnes and the Countess couldn't be more different, yet I couldn't wait to read more about them and especially their scenes together.
Very highly recommended, and while you're at it - 'The Moonstone' and 'The Woman in White' are just as amazing!