wjlongiii's reviews
107 reviews

Coming into House of Leaves, I had little concrete information aside from the internet's collective declarations that the book was weird, unsettling, and unique. That glowing endorsement and the fact that it had been credited with inspiring one of my favorite stories of all time, Control, I couldn't stay away.

As usual, I will avoid most of the plot points here, but suffice it to say that this novel has taught me a few things about just how strange and creative a narrative can be crafted. As I explained to my wife, you, the reader, are an active participant in the novel. You read a book compiled by one character based on research collected and commented upon by another about a documentary filmed by a photojournalist who buys a house that grows stranger as he and his family settle into it.

How strange? Let's say the interior of the house is 1/4 inch longer than the exterior, and that's only the beginning of the oddities in store on Ash Tree Lane.

At its core, it's not the creepy, ever-changing mystery house that held my interest but the oddly personal way the tale was told. What I found myself obsessed with were the many flawed characters and the various ways in which the stresses of the house directly, or the notions that reached through the more removed scenarios, amplified, and later, preyed upon those flaws.

I have heard this book referred to as a terrifying read or as a pretentious piece of post-modern drivel, and yes, to a degree, it is both, but it is somehow neither at the same time. I have never read another novel like this, and just when I thought I had felt everything I could, Mark Danielewski snuck in one final gut punch; a section of letters written by a character's embattled mother to her estranged son had me in tears at 6 am on a Sunday morning when everyone else in my home was sleeping peacefully.

After closing the book, my first read-through done, I could only declare my intention to ride this rollercoaster at least one more time. But until I summon the courage to face those cold, dark, malleable halls again, House of Leaves will stay with me.

This novel is not in my preferred genre wheelhouse. I'll say that first. The level of...spice wasn't a problem for me, but the format was.

Honestly, aside from a darker more savage form of erotica, I'm not sure the plan was thought or ironed out as well as it could have been.

I hate to write this, because I was ensnared for the majority of the story. The initial 60% of the book, puts the reader exclusively in the head of the main character, Alexis, and she is a colorful, willful and admittedly indecisive main character. I very much enjoyed her and the real world struggles she was forced to confront while creepy monster sought her...affections...from the shadows.

She had agency and drive in that first half or so, but the story swiftly shifts into full-on fantasy land for the back %40 that robs her character of all that To be fair, that could have worked for me if it didn't also jump between multiple characters who until then had basically been just monster archetypes personifying Alexis's desires.

More allusions to this or earlier shifts to separate characters could have made this change work in my eyes, but only if Alexis maintains power over the story. As it stands, she was thrown into the backseat and I find that unforgivable.

I came by this novel on Twitter, breaking that most cardinal of rules, judging it a fun and light-hearted read by it's cover. That turned out to be mostly true.

Angela Sylvaine has sculpted a cozy, believable small town complete with poorly kept secrets and discontent youths, and into this well-realized setting she drops a fairly unique alien conundrum.

Make no mistakes, this novel is the equivalent of the type of B-movies that once effortlessly earned their place on the front shelves of any Blockbuster. It is fun and dark and surprisingly savage both which it's characters' emotions and with the flesh and blood of its townsfolk.

The stakes here are real even when the novel takes surreal turns and I was enthralled. If you are a fan of stories in the vein of Critters, Night of the Creeps, or Stranger Things, pick up Frost Bite and a few boxes of your favorite movie snack.

I first read this novel when I was 12 (I'm currently 43), and I had a very different view of Jurassic Park then than now. Partially, the movie blended with that long-ago memory to the point that reading the novel again has been quite the eye-opening experience.

First, Crichton's novel is much darker than I remembered, and that is a spectacular discovery. Much of the character relationships are different and, in some ways, simpler. The dinosaurs are far less mystical and dangerous here, not to mention they are barely the focus of what is truly important in the story.

I did find Jurassic Park far more suspenseful and gruesome, and I loved that fact. Plus, Crichton allows Malcolm to go on deep and long tirades about exactly why John Hammond's endeavors were doomed to failure, making the novel so much more philosophical than I remembered.

If you can't tell, I loved it, and I will definitely be diving back into The Lost World very soon. 4.5/5

I have to say that my memory of this book was far better than the reality. I was disappointed in how lifeless The Lost World is following Jurassic Park. Gone are the themes overflowing in the first story as, ultimately, this book isn't about anything. It feels more like a primer for the eventual script that was to come.

Even Ian Malcolm, who was a standout in the first book, seems rather flat here. Generally, it simply vanished in the shadows of a far superior predecessor.

Overall, it is still a completely serviceable book, just a bit shallow which is made all the worse in comparison to Jurassic Park. Ultimately, it just feels tacked on, and I was hoping for more.

I have been a fan of this series for some time and each book absorbs me into the seedy underbelly of London in a new way. Being from the States, I am oblivious to a great many British intricacies, but that has never stopped me from becoming invested in the story and, most especially, the characters.

Lethal White takes its time setting up the primary plot in ways I find both refreshing and different than expected in this fourth novel. I found myself more invested in the early lead-in from a bit of a cliffhanger ending in Career of Evil and didn't really want to leave it to start the A-plot of this book.

My excitement to read about Robin and Strike's everyday tribulations makes even what some might call slower moments every bit as interesting as the sleuthing that a good detective novel is known for. All the subterfuge, clue gathering, and big reveals are here as well, and they are well paced, well thought out, and expertly executed, but to me, they seem to take a backseat to the personal drama chewing up our character's lives away from the job. It's almost as if tracking murderers is a vacation from the stress and headaches they deal with off the clock.

That and the continuing swell of chemistry and tension between our leads draw me forward. For that reason, I have already ordered Book 5, and I suspect it will arrive today.

I found this world and story interesting. It read with the same loose understanding of the world mythology often presents. Maia was a pawn of forces beyond herself and thus is subject to their whims more so than her own decisions. Normally, that would be against the rules of good storytelling, but like the protagonists of myth, the events of her life are not hers to choose but to endure and that's refreshingly honest.

I do have to say that the book ends oddly, and it took me a while to actually close it out after the main action of the plot concludes. Pacing-wise, it crashes to a halt, but understandably so. Regardless, taking the time to answer long-held questions does leave the story in a fulfilling place heading into Epilogue/sequel tease.

Brittannia as it E. M. Kkoulla renders it, is a world I will be revisiting very soon.

Arcadia Falls has a solid setup and begins with decent premise, but it trips itself up juggling too many characters, social buzzwords and collapses under the weight of trying to do too much.