I received a free copy of this book, and I read it as part of the judging effort for the SFINCS3 novella competition. I’m part of Team TBR, but these thoughts are my own and do not reflect the final rating of the team.
From These Dark Abodes
By Lyndsie Manusos
This is one of those weird, creepy little stories where you just know there’s a lot more going on under the surface than you quite catch. It’s a book for gothic rooms, heady wine, and the silent echos of days long gone.
From These Dark Abodes is a tale of two prisoners made to wait on revellers who remove their flesh like clothes and celebrate their immortal decadence as skeletons, in a mansion with no way out.
Always, always, the story provides just enough information to make sense of the moment, and always enough questions to ensure the big picture remains hidden. That said, now that I’ve finished the book, and now that I know what it’s about, I’m convinced there are bits and pieces I didn’t pick up on the first time around. Things I took at face value, because I didn’t know to look deeper, and because, let’s face it, I tend to always miss these things.
So, what we’ve got here is a creepy gothic horror story with heavy mythological undertones. It’s dark, occasionally hopeless, and includes some heavy themes (read the author notes at the beginning for content notes), but most of all, it’s really good.
The despair of our main characters, and the contempt of their keepers, seep through the words and into the reader. It’s all tangible, believable, and real.
What I’ll whine about
It took me a while to get around to writing this review, and today, over a month after I finished the book, I have no memory of whatever complaints I might have had as I read it.
What I’ll gush about
As above, it’s been a while since I finished this, and the details of the story are hazy. What remains are the images in my head from when I read it. A grand old mansion, cracking under the surface, but still pretending at its glory days. The revellers and their insufferable superiority. The basement and the rats. The despair of our two main characters as they keep trying to find a way to escape.
Whatever flaws this book might have had, I only remember the good bits.
Final Words
This is weird, gothic, horror at its best.
