What do you think?
Rate this book
Downside #2
The Ward
Lisa is a plastic surgery addict with severe self-esteem issues. The only hospital that will let her go under the knife is New Hope: a grimy, grey-walled facility dubbed 'No Hope' by its patients.
Farrell is a celebrity photographer. His last memory is a fight with his fashion-model girlfriend and now he's woken up in No Hope, alone. Needle marks criss-cross his arms. A sinister nurse keeps tampering with his drip. And he's woken up blind...
Panicked and disorientated, Farrell persuades Lisa to help him escape, but the hospital's dimly lit corridors only take them deeper underground - into a twisted mirror world staffed by dead-eyed nurses and doped-up orderlies. Down here, in the Modification Ward, Lisa can finally have the face she wants... but at a price that will haunt them both forever.
Farrell is a celebrity photographer. His last memory is a fight with his fashion-model girlfriend and now he's woken up in No Hope, alone. Needle marks criss-cross his arms. A sinister nurse keeps tampering with his drip. And he's woken up blind...
Panicked and disorientated, Farrell persuades Lisa to help him escape, but the hospital's dimly lit corridors only take them deeper underground - into a twisted mirror world staffed by dead-eyed nurses and doped-up orderlies. Down here, in the Modification Ward, Lisa can finally have the face she wants... but at a price that will haunt them both forever.
294 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2012
12 people are currently reading
684 people want to read
About the author
S.L. Grey
17 books198 followersS.L. Grey is a collaboration between Sarah Lotz and Louis Greenberg. Sarah is a novelist and screenwriter and die-hard zombie fanatic. She writes crime novels and thrillers under her own name, and as Lily Herne she and her daughter Savannah Lotz write the Deadlands series of zombie novels for young adults. Louis is a Johannesburg-based fiction writer and editor. He was a bookseller for several years, and has a Master's degree in vampire fiction and a doctorate in post-religious apocalyptic fiction.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
October 10, 2018
fulfilling book riot's 2018 read harder challenge task #5: A book set in or about one of the five BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, or South Africa)
extry points given to me, by me, for choosing a book that has been in my house for more than a year.
extry points given to me, by me, for piggybacking this onto my october is spoooooooky reading goals.
WHAT DO I WIN???
****************************************
this is the second part of a very loosely-related trilogy. you don’t have to have read The Mall to understand this one, but you’ll clock on to what’s happening more quickly if you have.
come, i’ll take you partway there.
like The Mall, this book follows the experiences of two characters who find themselves in a harrowing situation which starts out just south of normal and quickly plummets down to crazytown.
this one takes place in a hospital, and i learned some scary-ass things about the health care system in south africa c. 2012. horror novel’s gonna horror, so i’m sure “no hope” is a little filthier and crueler than the reality, but my casual googling turned up enough shocking reportage that i can see where s.l. grey (i.e. sarah lotz and louis greenberg) drew their inspiration.
i didn’t like this as much as The Mall. some of that is down to character; The Mall’s david and rhoda were flawed but sympathetic characters, whereas here both farrell and lisa were hard to root for - one a shallow misogynist, one a body dysmorphic cosmetic surgery addict drawn to shallow misogynists.
it’s also about the novelty of the situation. reading this one, you already know what the downside is (inasmuch as one can know what the downside is), and the general values and preoccupations and hierarchy of its inhabitants.
you may very well have forgotten many of these details because you a dummy, but you start to remember pretty quickly once characters start talking like a college freshman - using fancy words in a slightly incorrect and stilted manner.
there’s plenty of medical ickiness for those ofyou us who like that sort of thing, and some unexpected developments along the way.
there’s one irritating thing worth mentioning that connects these two books, which is its characters’ tendency to squander opportunities. it makes no sense, in either of these books, to derrrrr back into peril once peril’s in your rearview. stop being dummies, dummies!
but it’s a good book for spoooooky month, and i look forward to reading the final volume.
come to my blog!
extry points given to me, by me, for choosing a book that has been in my house for more than a year.
extry points given to me, by me, for piggybacking this onto my october is spoooooooky reading goals.
WHAT DO I WIN???
****************************************
this is the second part of a very loosely-related trilogy. you don’t have to have read The Mall to understand this one, but you’ll clock on to what’s happening more quickly if you have.
come, i’ll take you partway there.
like The Mall, this book follows the experiences of two characters who find themselves in a harrowing situation which starts out just south of normal and quickly plummets down to crazytown.
this one takes place in a hospital, and i learned some scary-ass things about the health care system in south africa c. 2012. horror novel’s gonna horror, so i’m sure “no hope” is a little filthier and crueler than the reality, but my casual googling turned up enough shocking reportage that i can see where s.l. grey (i.e. sarah lotz and louis greenberg) drew their inspiration.
i didn’t like this as much as The Mall. some of that is down to character; The Mall’s david and rhoda were flawed but sympathetic characters, whereas here both farrell and lisa were hard to root for - one a shallow misogynist, one a body dysmorphic cosmetic surgery addict drawn to shallow misogynists.
it’s also about the novelty of the situation. reading this one, you already know what the downside is (inasmuch as one can know what the downside is), and the general values and preoccupations and hierarchy of its inhabitants.
you may very well have forgotten many of these details because you a dummy, but you start to remember pretty quickly once characters start talking like a college freshman - using fancy words in a slightly incorrect and stilted manner.
there’s plenty of medical ickiness for those of
there’s one irritating thing worth mentioning that connects these two books, which is its characters’ tendency to squander opportunities. it makes no sense, in either of these books, to derrrrr back into peril once peril’s in your rearview. stop being dummies, dummies!
but it’s a good book for spoooooky month, and i look forward to reading the final volume.
come to my blog!
January 19, 2021
**Re-read 10/20**
Holy crap, this was so much better the second time around. Bumping it from 3 stars to 4.5.
Firstly, it made a lot more sense, having already experienced a little of the Downside in The Mall. The place absolutely fascinates me, so this time around I was able to just relax into the utter strangeness of it and really enjoyed how freaky everything was.
This time, the story follows Lisa, a plastic-surgery addict with body dysmorphia, and Farrell, a photographer whose recent fight with his model girlfriend is the last thing he can remember before waking up blind in hospital. Strange things are happening in this hospital, and together, the two are drawn down into a darker world where they will both have to face their darkest fears ...
This was so much creepier than the first book, even already knowing about the freakiness of the Downside. There's something about the vulnerability of being in hospital that amped up the tension, and I really loved how this hospital is just so completely unreliable.
For me, though, the most effective 'horror' aspect to this series is how tempting the Downside actually is. This was particularly strong in this novel, because Farrell is such a jerk he makes the bad guys look like the good guys. I spent so much of this novel rooting for the other side. Lisa is so spineless and pathetic, too, which made me feel so sorry for her, so when she was treated respectfully I really warmed to those characters, and when she stood up for what she wanted, I supported her 100%.
Ever since my first reading of this book seven years ago, the Downside has stuck with me. I'm just so fascinated by this backwards world that values all the things our society looks down on. It's straight up and honest and if you're one of the lucky ones, you're treated with so much respect. The surgical focus of this novel definitely has a lot of questionable activities and freakiness to it, but somehow it just seems okay. The way this novel is written, the Downside seems like a perfectly normal alternative world to be part of. Sure, the unlucky ones don't do so well, but that's just their assigned role. I love the concept, and I love the way it gets me puzzling over it all. This world is an addiction I can't get enough of.
That being said, if you're not expecting the bizarre, this might be a little much. If you haven't read The Mall first, you'll spend a lot of this book trying to work out what exactly is going on. This is not a psychological thriller - this is supernatural horror. This is intriguing weirdness that will draw you in deeper and deeper as you read. I loved it, but it won't be for everyone.
**Original review 10/13**
Really don't know how I feel about this. It held me captivated the entire way through, but for mixed reasons. At the start, it had the makings of a good psychological thriller. About halfway through, it slipped out of reality and had me wondering what exactly it was getting at. Very intriguing ideas, and I loved the character explorations even if the situation was somewhat hard to grasp. Reading some of the other reviews on here it seems this is actually more of a sequel, so I'd probably recommend reading the other book first, as that may lend some more comprehension to the reader. 4 stars for the writing itself, 2 stars for the weirdness factor, thus the three.
Holy crap, this was so much better the second time around. Bumping it from 3 stars to 4.5.
Firstly, it made a lot more sense, having already experienced a little of the Downside in The Mall. The place absolutely fascinates me, so this time around I was able to just relax into the utter strangeness of it and really enjoyed how freaky everything was.
This time, the story follows Lisa, a plastic-surgery addict with body dysmorphia, and Farrell, a photographer whose recent fight with his model girlfriend is the last thing he can remember before waking up blind in hospital. Strange things are happening in this hospital, and together, the two are drawn down into a darker world where they will both have to face their darkest fears ...
This was so much creepier than the first book, even already knowing about the freakiness of the Downside. There's something about the vulnerability of being in hospital that amped up the tension, and I really loved how this hospital is just so completely unreliable.
For me, though, the most effective 'horror' aspect to this series is how tempting the Downside actually is. This was particularly strong in this novel, because Farrell is such a jerk he makes the bad guys look like the good guys. I spent so much of this novel rooting for the other side. Lisa is so spineless and pathetic, too, which made me feel so sorry for her, so when she was treated respectfully I really warmed to those characters, and when she stood up for what she wanted, I supported her 100%.
Ever since my first reading of this book seven years ago, the Downside has stuck with me. I'm just so fascinated by this backwards world that values all the things our society looks down on. It's straight up and honest and if you're one of the lucky ones, you're treated with so much respect. The surgical focus of this novel definitely has a lot of questionable activities and freakiness to it, but somehow it just seems okay. The way this novel is written, the Downside seems like a perfectly normal alternative world to be part of. Sure, the unlucky ones don't do so well, but that's just their assigned role. I love the concept, and I love the way it gets me puzzling over it all. This world is an addiction I can't get enough of.
That being said, if you're not expecting the bizarre, this might be a little much. If you haven't read The Mall first, you'll spend a lot of this book trying to work out what exactly is going on. This is not a psychological thriller - this is supernatural horror. This is intriguing weirdness that will draw you in deeper and deeper as you read. I loved it, but it won't be for everyone.
**Original review 10/13**
Really don't know how I feel about this. It held me captivated the entire way through, but for mixed reasons. At the start, it had the makings of a good psychological thriller. About halfway through, it slipped out of reality and had me wondering what exactly it was getting at. Very intriguing ideas, and I loved the character explorations even if the situation was somewhat hard to grasp. Reading some of the other reviews on here it seems this is actually more of a sequel, so I'd probably recommend reading the other book first, as that may lend some more comprehension to the reader. 4 stars for the writing itself, 2 stars for the weirdness factor, thus the three.
March 4, 2013
Like its predecessor, The Mall (Corvus, 2011), S.L. Grey’s The Ward is a juicy human horror. In The Mall, the ill-fated characters encountered a parallel world known as the Downside, inhabited by the deliciously sociopathic Others, a mirror race to ours who display the worst of their human nature like we would a new pair of shoes.
The Ward is set in a public hospital known as New Hope, a setting many South Africans might find uncomfortably real. It is a place of misery and apathy, where patients would rather take their chances with their injuries than risk entering. New Hope is so horrible, that one of the characters doesn’t realize at first that he’s left the real world and entered the Downside. This nightmarish medical setting was enough to give me enough chills and cringes to last a lifetime.
In this instalment of Grey’s Downside reality, the victims are Farrel, a celebrity photographer that ends up in New Hope due to a clerical error, and Lisa, an emotionally damaged young woman addicted to plastic surgery.
The unlikely duo pair up when it becomes apparent that something evil is stalking the halls of New Hope at night. In a bid to escape, they end up in the Downside hospital, a place that mirrors the bureaucratic indifference of New Hope, but with double the brutality. Some of the scenes are so OMG-did-that-just-happen scary that if I was watching a movie I would have had a pillow in front of my face. If The Ward was a film, it would definitely be a J-Horror.
I decided to test the brilliance of The Ward by giving it to the world’s biggest horror fiction fan – my mother. A day later she called me up to tell me how much she loved it, and to ask if I had any more. I felt like a drug pusher, but there you go.
I’d suggest reading The Mall to get a taste of what the Downside is all about, then follow it up with The Ward. Like my Mom, you’ll quickly find yourself hungry for more.
The Ward is set in a public hospital known as New Hope, a setting many South Africans might find uncomfortably real. It is a place of misery and apathy, where patients would rather take their chances with their injuries than risk entering. New Hope is so horrible, that one of the characters doesn’t realize at first that he’s left the real world and entered the Downside. This nightmarish medical setting was enough to give me enough chills and cringes to last a lifetime.
In this instalment of Grey’s Downside reality, the victims are Farrel, a celebrity photographer that ends up in New Hope due to a clerical error, and Lisa, an emotionally damaged young woman addicted to plastic surgery.
The unlikely duo pair up when it becomes apparent that something evil is stalking the halls of New Hope at night. In a bid to escape, they end up in the Downside hospital, a place that mirrors the bureaucratic indifference of New Hope, but with double the brutality. Some of the scenes are so OMG-did-that-just-happen scary that if I was watching a movie I would have had a pillow in front of my face. If The Ward was a film, it would definitely be a J-Horror.
I decided to test the brilliance of The Ward by giving it to the world’s biggest horror fiction fan – my mother. A day later she called me up to tell me how much she loved it, and to ask if I had any more. I felt like a drug pusher, but there you go.
I’d suggest reading The Mall to get a taste of what the Downside is all about, then follow it up with The Ward. Like my Mom, you’ll quickly find yourself hungry for more.
January 24, 2022
Didn’t like the two protagonists at all, but persevered because I had to know how the story ended. Parts of the story reminded me of the movie Killer Klowns From Outer Space - so much so that I could hear that music that played whenever the Klowns were on the hunt! I digress… I did enjoy the way the story took a poke at medical care and insurance companies. Those parts were good for a chuckle!
Not really a recommendation but not bad either.
Not really a recommendation but not bad either.
December 18, 2022
Loved the first 40% of the book, but then it became a bit of a drag to read. It felt like it would've flowed alot better if the author just cut alot of the filler out and gave a tighter story.
February 18, 2013
THE MALL didn’t scare me. I enjoyed it, but it didn’t get me with the same visceral kick to the guts The Ward did. This time round writing partners Sarah Lotz and Louis Greenberg (the two halves of SL Grey) hit their stride and deliver an overall tighter novel. And, as always, they make me care what happens to two unlikeable characters. Granted, I admit to wanting something really bad to happen to one.
Lisa is a basket case with major self-esteem issues which has led her to attempt to commit suicide in the past. Her body dismorphic disorder means she is never satisfied with her appearance, and will go to great lengths to obtain what she considers the perfect body even if it means having surgery in the worst of the government hospitals. In that sense, she makes a perfect candidate for the Modification Ward.
Farrell shares Lisa’s obsession with outward appearance, though he projects it on to others. His chosen career as fashion photographer pretty much sums up the type of personality one can expect. Shallow and self-centred, he is also a control freak, so when he ends up severely ill, blind and at the mercy of heartless medical practitioners in the New Hope hospital (the distillation of everything that is wrong with government-funded South African health care), readers can only expect things to get worse.
What lies in wait beyond New Hope exists as a dark parody of the medical system, a world where patients are either donors or clients, and medical staff scuttle about like worker ants in a diabolical hive presided over by the scalpel-happy butchers. In a big way The Ward is about people getting their just deserts. Anyone who’s dipped into Clive Barker’s cenobite-populated Hellraiser universe will resonate with the goings on downside as Grey terms it. If you’ve ever had a horrific experience in hospital, it is echoed within the pages of The Ward, offering readers an inevitable downward spiral. Consider yourself duly warned.
Lisa is a basket case with major self-esteem issues which has led her to attempt to commit suicide in the past. Her body dismorphic disorder means she is never satisfied with her appearance, and will go to great lengths to obtain what she considers the perfect body even if it means having surgery in the worst of the government hospitals. In that sense, she makes a perfect candidate for the Modification Ward.
Farrell shares Lisa’s obsession with outward appearance, though he projects it on to others. His chosen career as fashion photographer pretty much sums up the type of personality one can expect. Shallow and self-centred, he is also a control freak, so when he ends up severely ill, blind and at the mercy of heartless medical practitioners in the New Hope hospital (the distillation of everything that is wrong with government-funded South African health care), readers can only expect things to get worse.
What lies in wait beyond New Hope exists as a dark parody of the medical system, a world where patients are either donors or clients, and medical staff scuttle about like worker ants in a diabolical hive presided over by the scalpel-happy butchers. In a big way The Ward is about people getting their just deserts. Anyone who’s dipped into Clive Barker’s cenobite-populated Hellraiser universe will resonate with the goings on downside as Grey terms it. If you’ve ever had a horrific experience in hospital, it is echoed within the pages of The Ward, offering readers an inevitable downward spiral. Consider yourself duly warned.
October 12, 2021
Overall this is much better than the first book. This series has a lot of Clive Barker vibes which is what drew me to the series in the first place. The biggest downside with the trilogy so far is the fact that pretty much every character is completely unlikable. The first book 'The Mall' has a much better setting and the characters are slightly more likable but everything else is much better in 'The Ward'. The book is split up into two parts, the first part starts great and has a fast pace and a really creepy vibe. The second part is a step-down and the pacing falters quite a bit. It's the second part where the unlikable characters really start to drag the story down as nothing really works if you can't connect with any of them.
October 12, 2019
So I can never go to the hospital ever again! The terror is real! What an amazing October/Halloween read! Creepy, twisted and terrifying!
June 15, 2020
Farrell wakes up in a grimy hospital room and can't see properly. He is told that he has suffered a bout of measles and that he is at New Hope, a hospital so bad it's termed "No Hope". Lisa has body dysmorphia and has had so many plastic surgery operations that only New Hope will perform the next one. Both of them find the nurses and doctors oddly evasive about the situation and the doors to the ward they are on are gated and guarded by a security guard. After meeting in one of the corridors, Farrell and Lisa decide to try and escape.
I thought this book worked better than the first one. The main characters were more sympathetic, especially at first, and the sense of menace and disquiet seemed to work better in a hospital setting. So I would rate this one as a definite improvement.
I thought this book worked better than the first one. The main characters were more sympathetic, especially at first, and the sense of menace and disquiet seemed to work better in a hospital setting. So I would rate this one as a definite improvement.
October 3, 2022
This was absolutely disgusting… I loved it.
January 9, 2022
Probably more like 2.5/5 stars. I was very interested in one aspect of the plot of this book - I don't want to spoil it! But the many other aspects of this, the characters, the pacing, the writing itself, just didn't do it for me.
July 12, 2023
This one is a karking hellish experience! The best among the 3 downsides! It's not as creepy as the first one , but more engaging and the story is primo. The characters are not everyone's favourite, however they managed to show different layers. From ridiculously complacency to miserable insecurity , Farell and Lisa, two normal upsiders are dragged down to the Ward of oddities and craziness.
August 16, 2015
11/2 - I'm already getting a disturbing feeling from the idea of this hospital. Full of gruesome patients, nurses who could care less and might kill you if you annoy them and the underlying feeling that something evil is going to happen to you at any moment - just my kind of horror hospital story. To be continued...
12/2 - This would be a great horror movie. It's definitely creeping me out as a horror book. The idea of a disgusting hospital where you go in for a procedure or an emergency and something goes wrong and you end up as an unwilling body part donor to the rich and famous is not a rational fear, but it's hidden deep down at the bottom of my psyche - enough that anything featuring this kind of storyline is quite disturbing. The whole situation really plays into my fears of what can happen while you're under anaesthetic and unaware of what the doctors are doing. South Africa is a perfect setting for this kind of hospital, I think it would be less believable in a city the world sees as more modern and civilised like New York or London or Sydney. I wouldn't be able to suspend my disbelief at the idea of a hospital like this hidden away in a back alley that the media, if not the government, had exposed and closed down. To be continued...
SPOILER ALERT
14/2 - I was surprised by the revelation that aliens were the bad guys as opposed to humans with evil intent or ghosts (sort of House on Haunted Hill style). I was surprised when Lisa and Farrell managed to escape the hospital and there was still 100 or so pages of the book left to go. I expected the final climax of the book to be one escaping and not the other, and so the ending was different to the usual horror-have-to-escape-book/movie that you see in the average storyline. Other reviewers have said that this wasn't quite as good as the author's first book, so since I'm giving The Ward 4 stars, I'm really looking forward to reading their previous book - I'm expecting big things from it now.
12/2 - This would be a great horror movie. It's definitely creeping me out as a horror book. The idea of a disgusting hospital where you go in for a procedure or an emergency and something goes wrong and you end up as an unwilling body part donor to the rich and famous is not a rational fear, but it's hidden deep down at the bottom of my psyche - enough that anything featuring this kind of storyline is quite disturbing. The whole situation really plays into my fears of what can happen while you're under anaesthetic and unaware of what the doctors are doing. South Africa is a perfect setting for this kind of hospital, I think it would be less believable in a city the world sees as more modern and civilised like New York or London or Sydney. I wouldn't be able to suspend my disbelief at the idea of a hospital like this hidden away in a back alley that the media, if not the government, had exposed and closed down. To be continued...
SPOILER ALERT
14/2 - I was surprised by the revelation that aliens were the bad guys as opposed to humans with evil intent or ghosts (sort of House on Haunted Hill style). I was surprised when Lisa and Farrell managed to escape the hospital and there was still 100 or so pages of the book left to go. I expected the final climax of the book to be one escaping and not the other, and so the ending was different to the usual horror-have-to-escape-book/movie that you see in the average storyline. Other reviewers have said that this wasn't quite as good as the author's first book, so since I'm giving The Ward 4 stars, I'm really looking forward to reading their previous book - I'm expecting big things from it now.
June 16, 2016
This was literally the most boring horror book I have ever read. That’s it, that’s all I can really say. Nothing about this scared or shocked me and it certainly didn’t have me on the edge of my seat. I was actually making a face the entire time I was reading it – my dad thought I was lying on something sharp or nursing a sore stomach. I mean I want to say something good because I don’t like being so dismissive about something which clearly people enjoyed but the disjointed language became annoying and repetitive and I didn’t care at all about the characters. I just read on – maybe that’s the positive that I finished it. I did just want to know how it was going to end by 75% point but not because I really cared. Maybe it’s just something I’m missing from not reading the first one (when I bought this I had no idea it was part of a series) but I can safely say I won’t be reading any others
March 27, 2015
I thought i'd read something different from my usual type, the blurb suggested that the story might be an intriguing light horror with a bit of a twisted scenario. I was interested but as soon as I started to read the novel my interest waned, the story was farcical and had very little in the way of a sustained plot or characters that had any sort of depth. I know some of the disjointed language was used to convey a point and show difference but it became excessive and the nuances became increasingly frustrating. After about five chapters I realised that I wasn't going to enjoy the story and just needed to persevere and get through it as soon as possible. Not the worst book i've ever read but it was a bit of a slogfest.
December 26, 2013
Great ideas in this book, but felt I had a lot of moments where I really didn't understand fully what was going on. Wish I knew it was a sequel before I read it! But will read The Mall, so I can understand it better.
November 19, 2012
Hmmm not convinced on this. Enjoyable I think but there was definitely something missing. Not enough was explained come the end as to what was actually going on in The Ward!
January 3, 2026
Synopsis:
Joshua Farrell, a photographer, wakes up in a hospital bed at New Hope Hospital—blind, confused, and with no memory of how he got there. The last thing he remembers is seeing his model girlfriend, Katya, the night before. He’s told by Nurse Nomsa that measles caused his blindness and that it’s temporary, but until then, he must stay.
From the very first night, Joshua senses something deeply wrong—an inhuman presence in his room, strange rules, and unsettling staff.
We’re also introduced to Lisa, another patient admitted because New Hope is the only hospital willing to perform yet another plastic surgery on her face due to her severe body dysmorphia.
As Joshua and Lisa meet and begin talking, they both realise the hospital is hiding something. Lisa encounters a terrifying entity in the shower that writes “RUN” on the walls. When they try to escape, they stumble upon the morgue—filled with hundreds of bodies—only to be caught by the police and dragged back.
What follows is a nightmare:
Lisa undergoes surgery without consent and is transferred to a hidden section called the Wards. Joshua discovers disturbing Polaroids of himself marked like a specimen and learns he’s classified as a “donor.” The truth slowly unfolds—this hospital isn’t about healing; it’s about harvesting skin and organs.
The most horrifying reveal comes when Lisa removes her post-surgery mask… and it’s Katya’s face. The real Katya is found mutilated, faceless, and later revealed to be dead. Lisa takes her place, living with Joshua as Katya, fooling everyone—including Katya’s parents.
But New Hope Hospital always collects its debts.
Joshua had unknowingly signed a contract. Payment isn’t money—it’s people. One by one, lives are taken to settle his debt, until Lisa sacrifices herself. In the final twist, Joshua wakes up back in the hospital, realising the debt is still unpaid—and he belongs there now.
My Review:
This book was creepy, fast-paced, and incredibly gripping. I finished it in one day because I had to know what was going on inside this hospital. I loved how every character felt suspicious and how the setting constantly kept me uneasy.
That said, I do feel some mysteries were left unanswered, which was slightly frustrating—but also makes me wish there was a part two. The spookiness, psychological horror, and body-horror elements were done really well.
Final Thoughts:
If you enjoy dark, unsettling horror with shocking twists and morally disturbing themes, this book is for you. A very engaging read that stays with you even after you finish.
Joshua Farrell, a photographer, wakes up in a hospital bed at New Hope Hospital—blind, confused, and with no memory of how he got there. The last thing he remembers is seeing his model girlfriend, Katya, the night before. He’s told by Nurse Nomsa that measles caused his blindness and that it’s temporary, but until then, he must stay.
From the very first night, Joshua senses something deeply wrong—an inhuman presence in his room, strange rules, and unsettling staff.
We’re also introduced to Lisa, another patient admitted because New Hope is the only hospital willing to perform yet another plastic surgery on her face due to her severe body dysmorphia.
As Joshua and Lisa meet and begin talking, they both realise the hospital is hiding something. Lisa encounters a terrifying entity in the shower that writes “RUN” on the walls. When they try to escape, they stumble upon the morgue—filled with hundreds of bodies—only to be caught by the police and dragged back.
What follows is a nightmare:
Lisa undergoes surgery without consent and is transferred to a hidden section called the Wards. Joshua discovers disturbing Polaroids of himself marked like a specimen and learns he’s classified as a “donor.” The truth slowly unfolds—this hospital isn’t about healing; it’s about harvesting skin and organs.
The most horrifying reveal comes when Lisa removes her post-surgery mask… and it’s Katya’s face. The real Katya is found mutilated, faceless, and later revealed to be dead. Lisa takes her place, living with Joshua as Katya, fooling everyone—including Katya’s parents.
But New Hope Hospital always collects its debts.
Joshua had unknowingly signed a contract. Payment isn’t money—it’s people. One by one, lives are taken to settle his debt, until Lisa sacrifices herself. In the final twist, Joshua wakes up back in the hospital, realising the debt is still unpaid—and he belongs there now.
My Review:
This book was creepy, fast-paced, and incredibly gripping. I finished it in one day because I had to know what was going on inside this hospital. I loved how every character felt suspicious and how the setting constantly kept me uneasy.
That said, I do feel some mysteries were left unanswered, which was slightly frustrating—but also makes me wish there was a part two. The spookiness, psychological horror, and body-horror elements were done really well.
Final Thoughts:
If you enjoy dark, unsettling horror with shocking twists and morally disturbing themes, this book is for you. A very engaging read that stays with you even after you finish.
November 24, 2022
Prepare to wake into a nightmare. Celebrity photographer Farrell did exactly that, his last memory being a fight with his fashion model girlfriend. In No Hope hospital he has woken up alone, needle marks criss crossing his arm and a sinister nurse tampering with his drip, and he has woken up blind!
Farrell persuades Lisa, another patient and plastic surgery addict to help him escape but the dimly lit hospital corridors only take them deeper underground where dead eye nurses and doped up orderlies staff the Modification Ward. Is there any escape?
I didn't know this was part of a trilogy (This is the second book) but it's one that can still be read as a standalone and it's pretty good. It reminded me of the movie Hostel with its grotesque body horror and could've been even better if the ending wasn't so poor but I'm still interested in checking out the other two books in this trilogy, The Mall & The New Girl.
Farrell persuades Lisa, another patient and plastic surgery addict to help him escape but the dimly lit hospital corridors only take them deeper underground where dead eye nurses and doped up orderlies staff the Modification Ward. Is there any escape?
I didn't know this was part of a trilogy (This is the second book) but it's one that can still be read as a standalone and it's pretty good. It reminded me of the movie Hostel with its grotesque body horror and could've been even better if the ending wasn't so poor but I'm still interested in checking out the other two books in this trilogy, The Mall & The New Girl.
October 24, 2021
I liked the continuation of the theme and the still fairly creepy setting. What I find difficult to like is the naivety of the characters/victims and how their mindset is so messed up that they want to belong, the extent to which their acceptability can stretch to suit their needs.
Also, just how, similarly to the first book, they seemed to struggle to understand that they were in a very wrong place despite so so so so so so many hints that things are very wrong.
In a way though, quite a satisfying end, but I still struggled to understand some hints in it, like why did she ask her to tell him she was sorry? Who signed them all up for the operations?
Also, just how, similarly to the first book, they seemed to struggle to understand that they were in a very wrong place despite so so so so so so many hints that things are very wrong.
In a way though, quite a satisfying end, but I still struggled to understand some hints in it, like why did she ask her to tell him she was sorry? Who signed them all up for the operations?
March 8, 2025
trashy horror fiction. the actual cosmetic modification/organ harvesting is poorly explained enough, and made even more confused with the lazily added concept of an “underside” hospital? not sure if it was meant to be a parallel universe (addressed by lisa) or if it was meant to be a monster story, or haunted, or psychological horror. confused itself. farrell was unlikable, deliberately, but so was the other protagonist. no one had redeeming traits. drug/mental health issues were not delved into so they did not feel necessary in the story, which is a shame as they could have been a much better motivation.
November 15, 2021
took me half the book before i got invested.. a really slow build up
Josh is an asshole and a douchebag, little sympathy for him. didn't understand why he didn't get his assistant to come pick him up when he called her
The reveal of Lisa's face at the end..that was really fucked up and creepy but in a way could possibly help her with her body dysmorphia? (need a certified psychologist to answer this lol)
i wish we got more explanation of the Wards though... do clients come in on a voluntary basis? if so how do they get in? how are the donors chosen?
Josh is an asshole and a douchebag, little sympathy for him. didn't understand why he didn't get his assistant to come pick him up when he called her
The reveal of Lisa's face at the end..that was really fucked up and creepy but in a way could possibly help her with her body dysmorphia? (need a certified psychologist to answer this lol)
i wish we got more explanation of the Wards though... do clients come in on a voluntary basis? if so how do they get in? how are the donors chosen?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 14, 2019
I liked it. It was confusing for a little, now after reading some reviews, I see it might be because I haven’t read “The Mall” first and just dove right into this one. But I liked how different it was, I kept expecting it to go one way, and then it’d take a hard right turn. Very interesting. I’m happy I just randomly picked this book up from a local used bookstore on a whim. I recommend if you are looking for something really different and odd, in a good way.
October 26, 2021
To be honest I'd give this 2.5 stars if I could. There's a good story here but I found it heavy going. The story is told by two first person narrators, alternating between chapters. Unfortunately as other reviewers have noted neither of them are likeable so its very hard to care what happens to them. This makes the story seem to drag, although the earlier portions do manage to maintain an air of claustrophobic menace
February 13, 2022
I absolutely love this series. I read the mall and was oddly intrigued (and lost with the odd language from the downside world) but I read the next book (The award) and it starred making more sense. I love the connection of the two books and the “dystopian” vibe. And of corse the blood and gore makes it even better! If you love The Mall and The Ward, you HAVE to read The New Girl! It’s a great wrap-up of the first two novels and helps make sense of the questions that linger.
March 26, 2017
Can't really say what I think about this book. It's odd, a bit repetitive and a lot like the previous book "The Mall." It's supposed to be part two, and in a way they connect on some lever, but not enough to feel like a series. I'll make my finalen judgement after reading book three. I might come together just fine at the end, who knows?
June 11, 2023
What a fascinating story! I'm terrified of watching horror movies, but books? Books I can do. And this is everything I could have asked for in a horror movie, but in book format, so, that's great.
This book was disturbing, confusing, and bizarre in all the best ways.
This book was disturbing, confusing, and bizarre in all the best ways.
August 29, 2025
this one made a little more sense than the first one. I enjoyed it.
some thing(s) I liked:
✅well written
✅gory
✅surreal
some thing(s), not so much:
⭕the MCs were so vapid and awful, I really hoped they were butchered in the end
some thing(s) I liked:
✅well written
✅gory
✅surreal
some thing(s), not so much:
⭕the MCs were so vapid and awful, I really hoped they were butchered in the end
March 28, 2018
Creepy
Wasn't convinced by the Mall until They got to the Mall, but this grips from the start. Nearly missed my train station so many times I was so engrossed
Wasn't convinced by the Mall until They got to the Mall, but this grips from the start. Nearly missed my train station so many times I was so engrossed
April 5, 2018
Well I thought it was better than Volume 1 and in fact the series offers a little more than I first thought. Although I still think it has too little progress for too many words, but that is just me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews