Book Review Genre: Horror

Disclaimer: Reading is all about exploring new worlds, but this Book Review does not shy away from spoiling specific scenes as this is more of my free-flowing thoughts about a book.

The Analysis:

This was a book club pick. However, it may be one of the best books ever assigned in one of these groups. But first, follow me on Goodreads.

Here’s The Blurb:

When Alex Easton, a retired soldier, receives word that their childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying, they race to the ancestral home of the Ushers in the remote countryside of Ruritania.

What they find there is a nightmare of fungal growths and possessed wildlife, surrounding a dark, pulsing lake. Madeline sleepwalks and speaks in strange voices at night, and her brother Roderick is consumed with a mysterious malady of the nerves.

Aided by a redoubtable British mycologist and a baffled American doctor, Alex must unravel the secret of the House of Usher before it consumes them all.

Cover Critique:

I love it. Well, as much as you can like a horror cover. I just think this cover really hits the mark with the novel and the genre.

Now The Story:

Book Info:
Pages: 159
Author: T. Kingfisher
Available: Amazon

Right off the back this reads like some classic literature novel that deserves to be on the shelf next to Mark Twain and Shakespeare. By that I mean, the description and setting fully engage all the senses. The world is very lush. However, I’m the rare sort of reader that has never truly taken to that kind of writing. So, it took me a bit to warm up to this novel.

I was certainly helped along by the house itself. It might as well have been its own living entity right next to its decaying owners. There was enough intrigue in between the words for me to continue past my better urges to seek something less taxing.

In true classics format, this book will be talking about stuff that they don’t need to. Picture lengthy diatribes about language and women joining the war. Did I mention this was also a short read? It helps. Thankfully, past the beginning scenes, there wont be too many times where you’ll find yourself wondering why you’re spending time on extraneous details. Once it gets going the story moves at a steady pace.

But I would be remiss if I didn’t say that its weakness is also its strength. Once things get going you are going to love those extra details. The hero telling this tale is thoroughly engaging and even manages to make me laugh. There is a bit of a mystery in this sad tale as we try to learn what’s keeping the inhabitants of this house sick. A house that’s starting to look as bad as the inhabitants.

Quick Summary: An ill woman shoots off a message to her old friend notifying the man of her deteriorating condition. Like a true friend, he not only shows up but stays to try to help. A live-in doctor has already taken up residence in the home. He’s been there longer and he is about as clueless as the friend as to what’s causing the illness. What he has is an educated guess. Both his friend and her brother (that he was both close with) look like they knocking on death’s door. He’s not the smartest person in the world, but he knows how to put the clues together. He meets a woman along the way that can point out the clues and together they solve the mystery of his sick friends. However, randomly, the rabbits around his friend’s land are totally weird. People in the villages are coming up with all kinds of myths and legends to explain it. But it’s the hero that realizes that there might be a connection between the animals and his sick friends.

I’m not sure how to describe one of the biggest anomalies in the book. The rabbits. Their also the image on the front of the cover. They were fun to read about. They were like zombie crackhead rabbits. In one scene, he was shooting one down and things were getting creepy I screamed if you don’t get the hell out of that forest lol. Like he had my nerves shot. The little “innocent” buggers just kept showing up and I was like, nope.

The sister dying was not the end of the story. In fact, it took a turn I hadn’t been expecting. It added another layer to the story that I truly enjoyed it. But, I do find the ending kind of sad. Yet, it also ended perfectly.

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Book Review At A Glance:

Recommendation:  5 out of 5

Book Cover Appeal:

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Story & Narration:

🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓

Romance:

N/A

Character/(s) Personality:

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