The High House

Evenmere Chronicles #1

by James Stoddard

Evenmere, the High House, a Victorian mansion of infinite size, is the mechanism that runs the universe; the lamps must be lit or the stars fail; the clocks must be wound lest Time cease; the Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved of Existence crumbles. When Carter Anderson finds himself Steward of Evenmere, he must learn, before it is too late, the strange rules of the house; he must travel its winding corridors and secret passages to the myriad countries lying within its walls. He has little time to act; the Anarchists are seizing control of the house; the Gnawlings are massing; the Black River is rising; the Eternity Clock is running down. His actions will determine the fate of Reality. But his enemies are strong, and the Room of Horrors is never far from him.

Winner of the Compton Crook/Stephen Tall award, nominated as Best Fantasy of the Year by the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts, and a finalist for the Mythopoeic (Aslan) Award.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, High Fantasy, Magical Realism, Novels, Science Fiction Fantasy

277 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1998

About the author

James Stoddard grew up in the Oklahoma Panhandle. His short stories have been published in professional SF publications such as Lightspeed and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. His first published novel, The High House, won the Compton Crook Award for Best First Novel, and was nominated for several other awards. When he isn't writing or composing music, he teaches Sound Engineering to Really Swell college students.

Reviews

[Jack Tripper · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really loved the setting here: Evenmere, a mansion that contains an entire kingdom within its walls, and sort of exists in another dimension, with endless hallways and stairs and hidden passageways leading to other such houses, not to mention an awesome library. There are lots of magical secrets and creepy shapeshifting creatures as well. Only now there’s an unseen enemy force inside that threatens the entire realm, and in turn the universe itself.

My issue was that I never felt connected to anything that happened, as the characters didn’t seem fully fleshed out, existing merely as ciphers to be moved around the game board. Some of the decisions the protagonist makes were terrible and made no sense other than to create drama or move the plot forward. Yes he’s young and inexperienced, being the new heir to Evenmere, but there was no real insight into his thought processes and motivations during these moments, which was maddening.

The book does pay lovely homage to the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series of the early 70s — which reprinted forgotten and out of print works from back before everyone in the genre started following the same basic Tolkien-esque template — with loads of nods and winks throughout (I’m not experienced enough with that series to have caught them all, but I found it a nice touch). The imagination on display and general vibe of the story here is itself a nod to that series, I think, and overall I’m glad I read it, though I’m not sure I’ll be continuing with the next entry.

I do love that house, however, so who knows? There are many readers who swear by this book, but I may have missed the boat by reading it too late in life, and now I’m possibly just too jaded.

[Fuchsia Groan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esta entretenidísima rareza encantará a los fans de las novelas y autores clásicos a los que homenajea: Gormenghast, Narnia, Terramar, el Orden y el Caos, Entrebrumas, La hija del Rey del País de los Elfos, William Morris, George MacDonald...

Este libro, además de ser una historia de aventuras, fue escrito como tributo a Lin Carter y su serie de fantasía del Signo del Unicornio, editada entre 1969 y 1974. Espero que quienes reconozcan entre estas páginas referencias a tierras retratadas por otros sepan entenderlo como el homenaje que es. En cuanto a mí, puesto que no he pisado nunca ni Nueva York ni Narnia, debo dar crédito por igual a ambas.

Genial la combinación de novela de aventuras y la creación de ese mundo-homenaje a otras novelas de fantasía, que me ha gustado todavía más porque muchas son de novelas que me han encantado.
Parece increíble que a partir de esa mezcla, de que los otros mundos dentro de Evenmere están claramente sacados de otros libros, le haya salido una novela que no suena a ya leída, que tiene su originalidad a pesar de que todo, constantemente, recuerda a mundos conocidos.

La prosa de Stoddard es buena, y me ha gustado la manera de llevar el ritmo, la mezcla de narración lenta, descriptiva, como no podía ser de otra manera teniendo en cuenta las novelas a las que homenajea, con la acción propia de cualquier novela de aventuras.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm about halfway though this one at the moment. How can you not like a book where one of the characters is a talking dinosaur that lives in the attic? High House has some pleasing similarities to the Castle series by John DeChancie but surpasses it in inventiveness.

[Mary Catelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tale of magic and wonders. Set in a mysterious house that has a black river in the basement and kingdoms in its rooms, and a dragon in the attic that is also the last of the dinosaurs and the Behemoth and a serious danger to our hero, Carter.

He was the only son of Lord Anderson's first marriage. His mother dies, and he learns a few things about the house, like the Book of Forgotten Things and the Words of Power, and he sees his father, who is Master, setting out with the Tawny Mantle and the Lightning Sword. Then his father remarries, to a woman named Lady Murmur, who is unkind to him, and positively cruel when his father is gone, especially after her own son is born.

And then the Bobby appears, the leader of the anarchists who hate Law and Chaos equally, because they wish to destroy the universe and make it over again. He tricks Carter into giving him some keys, and locks him in the Room of Horrors. Later, he catches him again and throws him down a well. Lord Anderson, realizing his entrance means there is a traitor helping him, sends Carter away and goes to search for the keys.

Years later, Carter returns as a grown man, with the lawyer Mr. Hope to the reading of his father's will -- his father not having been heard from in many a day. He has been appointed Steward until the new Master appears, and Lady Murmur is bitter.

The rest of the tale involves asking no more than three questions, secret passageways, a porcelain duchess, a guild of burnishers who rule a kingdom, hunting with tigers, Carter's greatest fear, a woman tending her garden, winding clocks, and much more. Fantasy on a grand scale indeed.

[Lonnie Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good book. I would place this book in my top 5 books of all time. I wish Stoddard would put more out.

[Suzannah Rowntree · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, and although I didn't love it, that says (of course) more about my own tastes than it does about the book.

What I loved:
1. The writing. The writing is beautiful. This is a leisurely, atmospheric, eerie book, and the writing is full of brilliant little phrases and metaphors and images. If you love words, you will find plenty to entrance you in this book.
2. The imagination. This book does what good speculative fiction ought to do; namely, it keeps you shaking your head and saying, "Now that is a neat concept." Flesh-eating furniture? A house which is the mechanism that runs the universe? The Words of Power and the way they work? There was plenty to enjoy here as well.

What I didn't like so very much:
1. CS Lewis said of The Lord of the Rings once that "here are beauties that burn like swords", and I suppose that is what I am always looking for, especially in high fantasy. I never quite know exactly why some stories elicit this feeling in me and others don't, though I have been trying for years to identify the particular element or elements in play. When it comes to this book, perhaps it was that the characters and their dilemmas never quite grabbed me. Or perhaps it was a feeling of shallowness in the worldbuilding: not that this wasn't original, but I felt, as Douglas Wilson once said of George RR Martin's Westeros, that "like Kantian ethics, the whole thing just floats, suspended from an invisible sky hook." Where did all these civilisations living in this house come from, and what had shaped their histories, and where were they headed? Or maybe it's unfair to ask a 300-page novel with much ground to cover, to provide a deep sense of realism to the multitude of story worlds across which it roams.
2. I was faintly disappointed by the antagonist and the plot resolution. I liked that we return to the Room of Horrors, and that we see Carter confronting his own fears. But I felt there was a lack of thematic elements in the confrontation. The antagonist turns out to be no one in particular. I couldn't see that he presented Carter with any challenge that related thematically to his purpose in the plot as an anarchist. Why should Carter fight the anarchists? What challenge does the Bobby pose to Carter's specific values, what specific appeal does he make to Carter's weaknesses? I was most disappointed that when Carter finally confronts the Bobby, it plays out as...a brutal slugfest. There's no great revelation about who he is, his goals, or his methods; equally, Carter has no revelation about himself or his own purpose. They fight, and Carter regains what he came for, the end. The only revelation, and it's not a big one, is that Murmur was the one who first joined forces to let the Bobby into the house in a bid to get rid of Carter, and that was evident from the start of the book, anyway.

So those were just a couple of the things that I personally found lacking in the story. Overall, it was a truly beautifully-written, inventive, original fantasy on a rather grand scale, which my innate pickiness prevented me really loving.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

The High House by James Stoddard was an excellent book which came along at an inopportune time. It is chock full of incredible imagery that will stay with the reader. Points also for originality: the underlying concept here is distinctive and though I imagine another author could duplicate it I think it would be the palest of imitations. It is a beautiful fascinating idea I wish I could tell you more about but as my custom is to write reviews without spoilers I will have to demur. This is a great fantasy novel, however, I can tell you that.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

*** 3.6 STARS ***

The High House reminded me of a combination of Deathly Hallows, Alice in Wonderland and Return to Oz. That's a pretty good combo!

I bought this book almost 20 years ago thanks to the dragon on the cover. For whatever reason I'm only getting to it now. And there's 2 more books in the series. So that's good.

The best part of The High House was the house itself. It's very imaginative the various rooms and lands that fill the house. The story kinda reminded me of a 90s JRPG, which is definitely aimed at me. A few of the characters were well developed amongst a large cast of characters. The characters felt like they'd been taken out of a Harry Potter book and dropped into a more mature fantasy book.
The only thing I wasn't keen on was the writing. It certainly wasn't bad, it's just not to my style.

Overall, I liked The High House quite a bit. I'm looking forward to continuing my adventures in Evenmere.

[Simon Mcleish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published on my blog here in January 2000.

Were it not for the prior existence of Peake's Gormenghast trilogy and Crowley's Little, Big, High House would certainly seem far more original than it actually does. Like these novels, its focal point is a huge house which has a strange magical atmosphere. (The Gormenghast novels are far more dark than either of these others.) Like Gormenghast, the High House is full of strange people and places; in High House, these are often allusive.

The High House comes under attack from the Anarchists, who seek to harness its power. When the young child Carter, son of the Master of the House, is tricked into losing the keys - by which the doors which should remain locked are kept locked, and vice versa - he is sent away, to grow up in the normal world in which we live. This is as much for his own protection as for any other reason, but when his father disappears some years later he has to return to search without much knowledge of the house and its customs.

As as the House itself being huge, it groups together a large number of countries which are mostly allied with the Master against forces seeking to disturb the House and through it the entire universe, with which it is mysteriously connected. As well as the dinosaur in the attic and the Room of Horrors which terrifies Carter as a child, these countries are inventive little pieces of fantasy. There are subtle allusions to famous classics of the genre, such as the Narnia series.

To say that High House is like the Gormenghast trilogy is to praise it rather than to put it down; I suspect that, like Peake's work, its riches will be revealed again each time it is re-read.

[Grady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 1998, this is an excellent, relatively recent take on mythopoetic fantasy in the style of George Macdonald, Lord Dunsany, or E.R. Eddison. The language is more accessible - especially compared to Eddison - there are no elves or dwarves, just humans (although some are far from ordinary; for example, one of the characters is the Biblical Enoch, now several thousand years old). The main character is a young man, born and raised in a strange house but sent away in his adolescence, who returns as a possible heir and must set wrongs to right to identify his destiny.

The High House is practically a character itself, linking a set of fantastic countries and characters, all placed at risk by the machinations of the evil 'anarchists'. (As it happens, 'nihilists' would be a more accurate term, but given that this came out the same year as the Big Lebowski, Stoddard was wise or lucky not to have named them that - the Bobby wouldn't be as convincing if readers were constantly imagining him saying, 'Ve are nihilists...Ve believe in nossing.')

One limiting feature of the book is the lack of central, positive female characters - there are a few women, admirable and otherwise, but for the most part, this is mostly a story about men's relationships with one another - mentor, enemy, rival, ally, or brother. The story takes place within a culturally Christian universe, but it is far from clear whether it is theologically Christian, another way in which this book feels more modern than the books written by MacDonald and the writers he inspired (C.S. Lewis, G.K Chesterton). As compared to the multi-volume fantasy sagas now in vogue, this is fresh, engaging, and already complete, so there's no wait of a year or two required for the next volume to emerge. I'm now looking forward to reading the two subsequent books in the High House trilogy.

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beyond it being an excellent descendant of William Morris or George MacDonald, and it possessing a lovely cadence to the writing that demands a read-aloud to an appreciative audience, AND it being set in the most marvelous sprawling TARDIS-interior-like architectural construction that encompasses entire nations and worlds while still having exterior windows conveniently located, this is a book whose deliberately-planned and -deployed literary Easter Egg references are seemingly designed to drive me into a state of nerd paranoia, worried that I might have somehow missed some obscure reference.

The Author's Note mentions the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series, as edited and curated by Lin Carter, as a strong influence and inspiration. Thus, the literary Pokémon here are either BAF books or strongly in that vein, including one obscure mention of a fictional book from The Face in the Frost. And, my knowledge of Lin Carter's aborted high-fantasy-epic cycle has finally found its one purpose: identifying it in a list of fantasy lands.

The joy of reading is in Stoddard's obsession with architectural features in this dimensionally-impossible Winchester Mystery House, a Gormenghast whose hallways contain entire kingdoms. That and reading of Carter's discovery of and working of the many secret doors. And of the magic Words of Power. And of the...yes, you get the idea.

[Christine]

I usually don't write reviews, but this book deserved it. It was recommended to me as a good read for fans of Narnia, Middle Earth, fantasy in general...So many fantasy books that came after Lewis and Tolkien have been essentially imitations, riffing on themes we've seen before, but Stoddard has truly produced an original work here. I was captivated with his rich descriptions of infinite worlds which are also somehow incorporated into the house's architecture (worlds are not just hills and open lands, but are also comprised of furnished rooms and corridors). Each character, even the servants, are developed such that the reader genuinely cares about them. It is an easy read2 yet thought-provoking at every turn. With a lot of fantasies where the lines between good and bad are often overly blurred, it was refreshing to read a classic 'good vs. evil' tale; but don't mistake this for childish simplicity. There are still one or two characters who seem to toe the line between the two forces, who provide subtlety and complexity to the narrative. I would definitely put this on my list of favourite books ever, and it's been a long time since I've added a new read to that list! Can't wait to read the next books!

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most engaging fantasy book I've read in a long time (other than rereading my favorites). The adventures take place a magical mansion that's miles across and wondrously contains several connected countries. I love the house's ancientry and mystery. The book has excellent character development and emotional engagement. The detailed and often visceral descriptions draw you in.

I like how the countries are a strange hybrid of house interior (halls, rooms, etc.) and outdoors (fields, towns, etc.).

The book feels far older than its 1998 publication date, which is a compliment. I wish I'd read it years ago, and I look forward to the sequel.

I read the free ebook from OpenLibrary.

Quote
Carter: "Are we mere puppets, our every action governed by forces beyond our ken?"
Brittle: "Would you settle the question of volition and destiny in one hour, here in this room? I cannot give an answer you would understand. I will say only this: we are free to choose our way, yet all is ordained."

[E.J. Weaver · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a bizarre but wonderful book. The well-read fantasy reader will recognize homages to many favorite books throughout the story.

The story seems like something that George MacDonald might write, though not quite. Recommended VERY highly.

[Miquela · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic imagination has Mr. Stoddard! I am looking forward to reading The False House now.

[Charles Haywood · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The High House” is a startlingly original book. It is, in some ways, young adult fantasy. In other ways, it is fully adult allegory. Naturally, such double effect, whether of allegory or some other adult theme, is the hallmark of all great fiction putatively directed at the young, from the “Chronicles of Narnia” to “Alice In Wonderland.” (This is why I think that in a few decades, nobody will remember Harry Potter—sure, it’s original, in many ways, but it is what it is. There is nothing to unpack.) Much of the allegory in “The High House” is Christian, or rather Judeo-Christian, as well as conservative in its view of reality, aside from religion. But the book is compelling simply as a fiction read, for young adult or old adult.

“The High House” is the story of Carter Anderson, a child at the beginning of the book and a young man at the time of most of the book. He lives in Evenmere, the “High House” of the title. It is a house, to be sure, but it is also connected, through doors sometimes locked and sometimes not, to the rest of the Universe, which consists of extensions to the High House, apparently of infinite size and districts. The House’s ageless (but not deathless) servants perform tasks necessary to keep the Universe running. The lord of Evenmere (who is not its owner, merely its administrator), known as the Steward, is Carter’s father. The Steward is tasked with maintaining the house and defending it and its allied lands from the evils without. Of those evils, the prime, or at least immediate, one is the Society of Anarchists.

These aren’t really anarchists in the modern political sense (you can ignore the bitter complaints of other reviewers that they are being slandered). Rather, they embody the distilled essence of all utopian movements. They promise what the serpent promised Eve, and what every modern political ideology has promised its adherents:

“You think us faceless bombers, madmen bent upon destruction. There is more. [We] anarchists wish to tear down, it’s true, but only to rebuild, to create a better house. Has it never occurred to you that all the universe is wrong? Haven’t you felt it? The world is full of pain, sorrow, injustice. Children go hungry; the poor remain poor while well-meaning governments stand helpless, their leaders corrupted by the love of power and material gain, controlled and coerced by those seeking the acquisition of wealth through hypocrisy, cunning, or brute force. If things were better managed, such indecencies would never occur. We seek not simply to annihilate, but to escape from the bondage of time itself, to give mankind the chance to control its own destiny. Imagine, a world where the ravages of the years caused no harm, where corruption befell no one, where death was abolished, where no accident ever harmed man or beast. A world of flowing rivers, endless summers, never the dropping of a single leaf. Where greed would not win the day, and capricious fate have no hold. A planned world, wholly devised, patterned for the good of all. A universe without ugliness, where all were truly equal not just in vain prattle, but in every way—equal in love, temperament, beauty, intelligence. This house holds the power to arrange it so. We will have to destroy much, rebuild from the ground up, but when we are done, time and space will do our bidding. We are called anarchists, and rightly so, for we rage against the injustice of the universe, against God Himself, if you will, and this reality where so many have suffered so long. You could aid us. Join our cause! Fight no more for the balance, the status quo; be bold, innovative, seek a new thing. Those who are rebels today can become the Founding Fathers of a new age, the patriots of eternal justice. Will you be one of us? Against us, you have only the Room of Horrors; with us you have ultimate authority. Make the pledge and I will set you free.”

It would be hard, and I am certainly not capable of, summarizing one side of modern politics better than this. We know, of course, where this leads, and has led so often.

Against the Anarchists are set the forces of good and reality, led by the Steward. Among his forces are the House’s servants, including Enoch (yes, that Enoch), who lights the lamps, and Chant, who winds the clocks. If these tasks are not done, “suns perish and segments of Creation die.” Others serve the Steward or his purposes throughout the worlds attached to the House: the Firemen of Ooz (who fight fires throughout the worlds attached to the House); Jormungand, a dinosaur, or Leviathan, or dragon, that lives in the House’s ever-shifting attic and also serves, or at least obeys, though with a genie’s cunning and dubious loyalty; the Dusters and Burnishers of the Seven Halls of Kitinthim, who rule their kingdom until their king returns, but when asked when he is expected to return, reply “Why never, of course. Do you think we’re fools?” And many more.

The story, without giving too much away, follows Carter Anderson as he searches for his missing, perhaps dead, father. Bereft of the normal resources given to a new Steward of Evenmere, he must explore the worlds connected to the house, which are under attack by the Society of Anarchists, who have obtained tools that make their conquest of the House possible. The story flows swiftly and compellingly. Characters are drawn incisively. From a mysterious figure who appears to help Carter, of whom Carter asks “Who are you?,” the response is “The Face Outside The Window. The Thing the dog barks at in the night, which it cannot see. I am the Thin Man. In here, quickly.” The reader rapidly becomes invested in Carter’s quest, and, of course, invested in Carter’s view of the world and reality.

While “The High House” is part of a trilogy, its stands completely on its own. It rewards the reader with an enjoyable read, as well as much to think about, if the reader is interested in dwelling on the underlying philosophy of the book. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

[Stephen Case · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a survivor, one of those volumes that has come through multiple bookshelf purges over the years. It was purchased in an age of Brooks and Jordan and Star Wars novels, but it was solid enough that it remains when most of my pulp paperback science fiction and fantasy are gone. I was reminded of it recently by the graphic novel Joe the Barbarian, so I fished it off the shelf and decided to return to Evenmere, the epigrammatic house of the title, for the first time since childhood.

Evenmere is the central idea and the setting for The High House, which is more of a fable than a fantasy novel. The story is of Carter Anderson, a boy who grew up in the country English manor and only now returns to it as a man. The master keys of the house have been stolen by Anarchists, and Carter has to seek the mantle and the sword of his missing father and take his rightful place of Master of the House. This house, however, is more than a rambling mansion. It is a world unto itself, with entire kingdoms and countries within its rooms, corridors, and courtyards. The image of the house itself is enough for Stoddard to hang his tale on, and the concept comes to life with his descriptive language. Evenmere is Gormenghast done brighter (even with the Room of Horrors). It is a more cosmological version of Wolfe’s House Absolute. It is the extension of the house Susan, Lucy, Edmund, and Peter found a wardrobe within. Stoddard takes the idea of finding an entire world in a cabinet and transforms it into a place where a suite of rooms can be a kingdom without ceasing to also be a suite of rooms.

What is it about this kind of rambling, magical house that has such an appeal in fantasy? Stoddard’s house is a Christian house, the house of the created universe. There is an appeal here to a certain type of fantasy writer (and reader): those who believe the universe was indeed created and that we are all living in our Father’s house. It touches on a way of seeing the universe itself. Stoddard has his main character spell it out after a day of wandering empty corridors:

I love these halls, the crannies and endless passages. The secret panels. The promise of adventure. I think there is something wonderful in all the desolate places. It’s like being a child again, walking outside at night, with the wind stirring the trees, and the sudden fear that something would leap out before I reached the house. But beyond the fear there was a question, a mystery of what inhabits a land when no man is there. What do the trees do when they are alone? And the stones? And this is another desolate place. Think of it, year upon year, and perhaps we are the first ones to walk her halls in many lifetimes.

It is the same thought a friend voiced upon viewing a planetarium show on exoplanets: what does it mean that there are these worlds out there with measurable wind speeds and surface temperatures? How is it significant? In a sense, these places are the empty rooms, the barren corridors. For a writer like Stoddard, they are not simply random or wasted space. They are aspects and portions of a created order. Evenmere is a representation of a universe in which every seam and joining of space was crafted. There is meaning or significance to all of it. The characters spend days walking down empty corridors with dusty sconces and threadbare carpet. But even the empty parts were designed. They are part of the plan of the house. As empty or desolate or far away as they may be, as endless, they are still part of a home.

That’s the power of this book, the idea of a house as an entire universe, which reflects the idea of the entire universe as a house. The rest of the work, unfortunately, has not held up as well as it did when this book first captured me. The characters, though likable, are wooden and predictable. Besides their names, it is difficult to tell one from the other. It is a fable, not a character piece. You follow an Everyman on an adventure through the house, an adventure in which there are no deep personal twists or surprises or stakes beyond the survival of the universe itself. The bad guys, including the Wicked Stepmother, are unequivocally bad. The good guys have to wrestle with their own weaknesses but never in a way that transforms how they think. Everyone is on a set trajectory from the novel’s very beginning. In fable though, these are not necessarily weaknesses.

More disappointing reading this as an adult was the realization that the central theme, a house that is a universe unto itself, could have gone so much deeper. Stoddard’s Evenmere is beautiful, but about halfway through the novel I started getting tired of wandering its corridors. The world of the house starts to become simply an endless variation of architecture and decorating along with a network of secret passageways, all painstakingly described. But a house is so much more than that. There’s an entire universe in the plumbing alone, or the chimneys and gas pipes, or a hundred other things that could have been brought into play. Stoddard has written a sequel to this work that I have not yet read, and he is apparently working on a third novel as well, so perhaps these are aspects of the house he will explore in the future.

One final quibble: the dreams. A house that contains entire kingdoms within its walls is dreamlike enough, but a major portion of the action in this book takes place in long, meandering dream sequences that didn’t do much to move the plot along. These made the action drag.

The High House may not be a perfect, tightly executed novel, but it is a wonderbook, a quest through a beautifully rendered world hidden in the hallways of a house as old as time. In this respect it is simultaneously as new and mysterious as a house you’ve never visited and as familiar and comforting as your own hearth.

[Jasm · Rating 2 out of 5]

strong start into a mediocre middle and then just endless pages about wandering through corridors. this is a classic "ideas fantasy" with just a checklist plot. we need characters with real motivation beyond the MC's story. we need the intrigues from the beginning, the wonder and the fantasy. instead it's just another main-questline narrative with a lot of environmental description and very little original story. it reminds of my own writing, which makes me even more disappointed.

[Melissa Koser · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. A huge, old, magic house that leads into unknown regions? I’m in!
I would love to see an adaptation of this, but I doubt it could be done right.

[Josh Bauder · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this so bad. The cover is 5/5. But the writing is dull, the characters wooden, the dialogue sanctimonious, the plot tedious, the ending anticlimactic.

It should have been a video game!

[Skip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Teenage me would have loved The High House, first in the Evenmere Chronicles series. Middle-aged me has seen enough of the classic heroic fantasy genre.

Evenmere is a Victorian mansion of apparently infinite size, containing entire nations within it, somehow linked to the entire universe. Wind the clocks, light the lamps, keep Order and Chaos in check within the house, or else the entire universe suffers the consequences. The son of the Master of the House, Carter Anderson, has lived away from the House but must take over when his father disappears and is presumed lost. He has to find his way and learn the powers he needs to become Master and keep Evenmere safe and secure.

This story is very familiar fantasy, with lots of magic, some fantastic creatures, and mystical forces. It's also a pretty standard "hero's journey" story, with the unready youngster given a trial by fire and emerging heroic. Other than Carter, the characters are largely one-dimensional stereotypes who fill one role with little complexity. The idea of an infinite house is a bit out of the ordinary, but it's divided into nations and regions much like any fantasy world.

Reading through The High House feels almost like deja vu. Hey, this bit sounds like Lord of the Rings. There's a part that reminds me of Narnia. Oh, some strange people that would fit nicely into the Wizard of Oz. Hey, that odd creature could be right out of Alice in Wonderland. And so on. This isn't a bad thing, exactly, it just means that I've read so much of the classic heroic fantasy genre that the story needs something pretty significantly different to stand out. And the infinite-house setting just wasn't enough do it, for me at least.

I didn't dislike The High House by any means, but I wasn't drawn into the story either. It just was too much like other similar series to hold my interest, so I'm in no rush to read the other books. Others who like this kind of fantasy story, particularly those who aren't as prone to compare to the classics as I am, may like it better.

[Andrew Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book one of the award-winning Evenmere series, The High House tells the tale of how Carter Anderson became the Master of the High House, from his time as a small child living within its halls, under the watchful Master’s eye of his father, Ashton, to being exiled for his own safety, to his return and subsequent appointment as Steward. Through many remarkable adventures, Carter discovers something about the nature of the House; it is not merely an abode for humans, but rather seems to contain the whole universe, our world and many others; and beyond that wonder, the house is actually the mechanism that runs the universe! The lamps must be lit, or the stars will go out; the clocks must be wound, else time runs down. But soon after Carter’s return to the House, it becomes evident that the anarchists, a diabolical organization bent on the destruction of the created order, have begun to seize control of the House. They have the Master Keys and have begun to lock doors that should not be locked and unlock doors that should never have been opened. If Carter is unable to take up the duties of the Master, the anarchists will destroy the worlds; but to become the Master, he requires the Lightning Sword and the Tawny Mantel, items which disappeared with his father long ago. A quest is soon begun, to find the Master’s lost artifacts and restore order to the High House.
The first thing to be said is that The High House is a high fantasy that is very original in its storyline, and yet familiar enough that the reader does not feel as though he or she is a stranger. It is a tale of both adventure and philosophy, much like the Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis; it is anchored in the real world, again similar to the Space Trilogy. It is quite obvious from the story that the author is very familiar with that subgenre of fantasy that George MacDonald and Lord Dunsany fit into, as references to works such as theirs abound throughout the tale.
There are times when the book came across almost as a true story, that there really is a House somewhere beyond the thin veneer of reality that keeps the universe running smoothly, that God really has established such a place; and that sense is also in (here comes yet another reference) the Space Trilogy. It is a sign of good storytelling when the reader finds himself believing in the story world, not just while reading the book, but even after being separated from it. There is such a large amount of thought put into developing the rooms of the House, the look and feel of them, which makes it seem real.
That being said, the amount of description can at times be somewhat heavy, and risks detracting from the flow of the narrative. It seems to be a delicate balance between adding enough detail to make the world seem real, and inundating the reader beneath torrents of information. Generally The High House maintains this balance, but there are instances where the detailing of the rooms can become somewhat tedious. It is clear that the author had a good grasp of how he imagined the House.
Another potential issue with the story is the protagonist himself. Carter has been absent from the High House for over ten years when he finally returns; and despite his long absence, he seems to have little trouble with accepting the nature of the House, despite being too young to really understand it when he was exiled. The point is this: Carter even tells another character that people in the outside world who he spoke to about the House did not take him seriously, did not believe his accounts; it would seem that such constant disbelief would have a more tangible impact on the impressionable young Anderson, and that upon his return it would take some rather serious convincing to get him to believe in the true nature of the House. However, it seems almost as though he harbors no doubts whatsoever as to all the strange goings on. Perhaps it is because Carter is indeed a remarkable individual, that he is one of those people possessed of supernatural faith, belief in the Higher Order of Things. And perhaps that is what the author intended; after all, [SPOILER ALERT] Carter is the House’s choice to become the next Master. That is, perhaps, why it is only a potential issue; other characters might cease to believe in the High House once they were gone from it and faced with the skepticism of the “real world”; but Carter, it seems, is made up of sterner stuff.
There are some very good themes present in the book, such as how far-reaching consequences can be for disobedience. Carter takes the Master Keys from his father when he is a child and because of this, the anarchists gain control of them, which is the instigation of the problems that lead to the disappearance of Ashton Anderson, as well as the sudden rise of the anarchists to power. Throughout the book, there is a theme of Carter wondering how much bad will happen because of his theft as a child. In the end, he is forced to atone for his mistakes by facing his deepest fears. This review will go no further than that here, in order to avoid spoiling the story.
Another thing that Stoddard does well is in his portrayal of the antagonist. The leader of the anarchists (at least so far as the reader sees in the first book) is called the Bobby. He is just that, or nearly so; he has the appearance of an English bobby, save that he has no mouth; and this personification of an evil being seems most memorable. Throughout the story there is a sense of fear at his presence; he is a frightening figure, a bogey man. That being said, as the story progresses, he seems to be less a real threat; and by the end [SPOILERS] it is revealed he was no more than a man, a man twisted by the designs of Entropy. In the final confrontation between Carter and the Bobby, there is not much real concern on the part of the reader for Carter; it seems obvious that he must triumph eventually. And while there is real peril involved, the possibility of his failure seems very remote.
Despite its shortcomings, The High House deserves to be among the ranks of those Christian high fantasies Phantastes, Lilith, and The Space Trilogy, as well as other works of less-Christian persuasion, such as The King of Elfland’s Daughter. It fits the high fantasy sub-genre well and it would not be remiss to place this book on the shelf of any fantasy lover.

[Oscar · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘Evenmere: La Gran Mansión’ narra las aventuras de Carter Anderson en esta casa plagada de pasadizos, pasillos, habitaciones y jardines, una casa que contiene un mundo entero. Ante la desaparición del señor de la casa, su hijo Carter ha de enfrentarse a las fuerzas del caos que intentan desequilibrar el orden establecido en el universo, presente en la figura del misterioso policía y sus anarquistas. La novela de James Stoddard es todo un compendio, un homenaje a múltiples obras y autores, destacando entre ellos C.S. Lewis (Narnia) y Mervyn Peake (Gormenghast), pero también están presentes Lord Dunsany, William Hope Hodgson, etc. ‘Evenmere’ es un buen libro de aventuras al estilo más clásico, entre habitaciones imposibles, personajes heroicos y seres imposibles.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book after reading an interesting review in First Things about the Christian themes in Stoddard's fantasy novels. The setting of the novel, an infinitely large Victorian-era house with corridors and rooms containing entire nations, captivated my imagination. However, the prose was clumsy in places and marred by a handful of obvious typos, making me wonder if the book was self-published. It is certainly a fun read as long as you're not expecting C.S. Lewis or Tolkien-level excellence. The High House is the first in a trilogy, and though the first installment did sustain my interest, I doubt I'll invest time in the other two.

[Hannah Belyea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Years after being sent away from Evenmere, a grandiose building made up of thousands of halls and worlds, Carter Anderson returns seeking his father, the lost Master of the house, only to find an evil group known as the Anarchists trying to bring all life in their path to destruction, forcing him to begin a journey to stop their nefarious ways and become the next Master before reality can be destroyed. Stoddard delivers a beautifully descriptive and fantastical tale of heroism built upon Christian themes and history that fantasy fans from all walks of life will devour. Can Carter fend off the impending darkness - and his own growing fears - in order to keep reality from falling apart?

[Ignacio Senao f · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clásica fantasía de grupito que busca algo y para encontrarlo tendrá que pasar pruebas. En este caso el mundo es una mansión. En la que las ciudades son salones enormes, los pasillos caminos llenos de pruebas, las habitaciones cuevas, hay playas y mares enormes… Sí, muy original y atrayente. Pero el tono tan infantil me ha decepcionado, no me lo vendieron como libro juvenil.

Por momentos me recordó muchísimo a la fabulosa película “Dentro del laberinto”.

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all-time favorite books; could not put it down and was sorry to see it end. Then I read it again and again!

[David Greaves · Rating 2 out of 5]

there is some pretty cool worldbuilding early on but my god this book is Tory as hell

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book the way I remember liking some William Morris (e.g., The Well at the World's Inn) or William Hope Hodgson books. The writing is rather baroque, more reminiscent of late 19th century than current 21st century.

The book takes place in a house, Evenmere, that may be the world, or it may affect the world, or something. It has endless rooms and corridors. It's full of marvels, both wondrous, and fearsome. It seems to contain whole countries, oceans, peoples.

Carter Anderson, son of the old Master of the house, was sent away for his own safety years ago. But now he's back! He's battling the forces of chaos that are embodied in the anarchists. The anarchists are led by the Bobby, who in appearance is an English policeman (a bobby, hence the cover illustration.) Carter's father vanished ten years ago, and no one know what became of him.

Can Carter become the new Master of the house? Can he mend fences with his step-mother and step-brother? Can he keep the stars burning and save the far-flung areas of the House?

If you like books like Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, or Morris or Hodgson, you might like this book. I happen to like both real Victorian and pseudo-Victorian prose stylings, so I liked that about the book. The endless tramping through corridors of the house got a bit tedious sometimes. But balance that with lavish descriptions of decorations, clothing, foods, etc.

It's not bad. I read it in smallish chunks. That worked for me.

[Massimiliano · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars would be a fair assessment, but I am going to be hard and round it to 2.
I really wanted to like this book. But sometimes it just does not work.
The premises were all there: an old school but original tale, not as gritty as much of the contemporary high fantasy, paying tribute to the writers I love (Tolkien, Poul Anderson, Clark Ashton Smith, Joy Chant...)
But...but. The story felt a bit thin at times. The characters were often cardboard pieces. I guess that nowadays novels are too much character-oriented to feel comfortable with (contemporary) books that are heavily plot-oriented. In any case, characters should not just behave in a way to justify the plot. And then there is a "frame" issue. There is a world outside the house, which is probably Victorian England. We do not see much of it, though we know that Carter spent many years there and Hope comes from there. Still, it intrudes in the story in a way that afflicts the "suspension of disbelief". It is a common problem with "portal" or "portal-like" fantasies (see "Out of the Silent Planet", "Fionavar", or "The Weirdstone of Brisingamen" for instance).
There interesting bits, the more epic one and the Tolkienian hints of unspoken things and the shadow of the past. Still not enough for me to go on with the series.
Give it a try, your mileage might vary.