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Deadfall Hotel
The Deadfall Hotel is where our nightmares go, it’s where the dead pause to rest between worlds, and it’s where Richard Carter and his daughter Serena go to rediscover life - if the things at the hotel don’t kill them first.
Think of it as the vacation resort of the collective unconscious. With the powerful prose that has earned him awards and accolades, Steve Rasnic Tem explores the roots of fear and society’s fascination with things horrific, using the many-layered metaphor of the Deadfall Hotel. Drawing inspiration from literary touchstones John Gardner and Peter Straub, Tem elegantly delves into the dark corners of the human spirit. There, he finds not only our fears, but ultimately our hopes.
Cover art by John Kenn Mortensen.
Think of it as the vacation resort of the collective unconscious. With the powerful prose that has earned him awards and accolades, Steve Rasnic Tem explores the roots of fear and society’s fascination with things horrific, using the many-layered metaphor of the Deadfall Hotel. Drawing inspiration from literary touchstones John Gardner and Peter Straub, Tem elegantly delves into the dark corners of the human spirit. There, he finds not only our fears, but ultimately our hopes.
Cover art by John Kenn Mortensen.
Audible Audio
First published March 27, 2012
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About the author
Steve Rasnic Tem
468 books310 followersSteve Rasnic Tem was born in Lee County Virginia in the heart of Appalachia. He is the author of over 350 published short stories and is a past winner of the Bram Stoker, International Horror Guild, British Fantasy, and World Fantasy Awards. His story collections include City Fishing, The Far Side of the Lake, In Concert (with wife Melanie Tem), Ugly Behavior, Celestial Inventories, and Onion Songs. An audio collection, Invisible, is also available. His novels include Excavation, The Book of Days, Daughters, The Man In The Ceiling (with Melanie Tem), and the recent Deadfall Hotel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 157 reviews
September 28, 2012
a favorite fantasy: i inherit a sprawling and eerie mansion, preferably on a cliff or overlooking a lake, somewhere remote. it can be populated by eccentric characters but preferably it will be virtually empty. i spend most of my days exploring the various rooms, discovering passageways, musing on the mansion's mysterious history. i spend most of my nights by a fireplace, reading a book from the impressive library, hearing the wind howl, wondering if the various dangers will be able to break in. or maybe they are in the mansion already? maybe they live here, in secret places. bits of Gormenghast and the Overlook (minus the child-killing) and other strange estates combine into one delightfully sinister place. i want! i assume this fantasy springs from over two decades of life in sunny, un-mysterious california. do people fantasize about living in california? hard to imagine. although i suppose i do love it here.
so that's why i picked up this book. the promise of the cover and - rather less so - the description on the back spelled out a premise that automatically intrigues me, a place where i can send my mind to for a little while. alas, my mind did not find much of interest at the Deadfall Hotel.
ok, quick synopsis: after experiencing a tragedy, Sad Sack and his precocious daughter are invited to live at the Deadfall Hotel. he is the new manager. and what he is managing is a sprawling, mysterious, eerie place where ghosts go, where supernatural beings come to live but mainly die, a final stopping-off point of sorts.
i wanted to like this one, i really did. and for a short while, the elegance and occasional charm of the writing lured me in. Tem is an accomplished professional, no doubt about it. he has a gift with words and with the odd phrase or off-kilter image. he also has a somewhat poetic hand at reinvention: the novel is in six parts, and three of them revisit the werewolf, the vampire, and the zombie in surprising and original ways. good display of ambition, author. but, sadly, in the end it felt half-baked and i was left disappointed. actually, not "in the end" but approximately a third of the way in.
i grew tired of Sad Sack constantly putting his daughter in danger. ridiculous! like watching those tired scenes from a horror film when the group splits up and gets picked off one by one. my eyes rolled many times. this is a surreal and fantastical novel, but it became an increasingly aggravating itch to see that poor girl thrust into danger again and again by her father and the annoyingly eccentric former manager. irresponsible Sad Sack! complacent former manager! characters act like they are lobotomized! for fook's sake, the girl gets mauled repeatedly by demonic cats and still gets sent right into the thick of them to try and save the day. she's a little kid, dumbasses! and dad & daughter continue to live there, no matter how much danger she's put in. i don't care if something is trying to be surreal and dream-like... but when the logic breakdown is this complete, it is time to get out of the vehicle and find a new ride. just. too. ridiculous.
and, nearly as bad, the surreal and the dream-like parts were (1) not the point of the novel - they felt more like self-indulgent flourishes; (2) distracting - it grew wearisome watching reality disintegrate yet again and then whaddyaknow, next chapter we're back in reality; (3) ...silly. super-silly.
alas!
so that's why i picked up this book. the promise of the cover and - rather less so - the description on the back spelled out a premise that automatically intrigues me, a place where i can send my mind to for a little while. alas, my mind did not find much of interest at the Deadfall Hotel.
ok, quick synopsis: after experiencing a tragedy, Sad Sack and his precocious daughter are invited to live at the Deadfall Hotel. he is the new manager. and what he is managing is a sprawling, mysterious, eerie place where ghosts go, where supernatural beings come to live but mainly die, a final stopping-off point of sorts.
i wanted to like this one, i really did. and for a short while, the elegance and occasional charm of the writing lured me in. Tem is an accomplished professional, no doubt about it. he has a gift with words and with the odd phrase or off-kilter image. he also has a somewhat poetic hand at reinvention: the novel is in six parts, and three of them revisit the werewolf, the vampire, and the zombie in surprising and original ways. good display of ambition, author. but, sadly, in the end it felt half-baked and i was left disappointed. actually, not "in the end" but approximately a third of the way in.
i grew tired of Sad Sack constantly putting his daughter in danger. ridiculous! like watching those tired scenes from a horror film when the group splits up and gets picked off one by one. my eyes rolled many times. this is a surreal and fantastical novel, but it became an increasingly aggravating itch to see that poor girl thrust into danger again and again by her father and the annoyingly eccentric former manager. irresponsible Sad Sack! complacent former manager! characters act like they are lobotomized! for fook's sake, the girl gets mauled repeatedly by demonic cats and still gets sent right into the thick of them to try and save the day. she's a little kid, dumbasses! and dad & daughter continue to live there, no matter how much danger she's put in. i don't care if something is trying to be surreal and dream-like... but when the logic breakdown is this complete, it is time to get out of the vehicle and find a new ride. just. too. ridiculous.
and, nearly as bad, the surreal and the dream-like parts were (1) not the point of the novel - they felt more like self-indulgent flourishes; (2) distracting - it grew wearisome watching reality disintegrate yet again and then whaddyaknow, next chapter we're back in reality; (3) ...silly. super-silly.
alas!
September 19, 2013
I stumbled across this book at work the other day, and it called to me with a sweet siren song of potential. This edition comes replete with charcoal illustrations, ribbon bookmarks (always classy) and is published by Centipede Press -- centipede!! Eww! Awesome, right? Plus it's about a scary ass hotel. I'm thinking Overlook, I'm thinking House of Leaves, Hill House, Hell House... well, it's none of these. The Deadfall Hotel has such potential, but it never really fires up all its engines and VROOOMS, you know? Some of the language is great. There are several moments where the atmosphere is suitably creepy. But it's just not enough to sustain over 300 pages.
Plus it's not really scary. It's very old-fashioned. Very English. Very childlike too. Not childish, but like a classic Grimm's fairy tale almost, complete with an eleven year old girl. Now, give the guts of this story to Neil Gaiman or Guillermo del Toro? Then you'd have something. I'd be all over that baby.
Charcoal drawings (Do not be fooled. They are awesome. This book is not)
March 1, 2018
THE DEADFALL HOTEL is a beautifully written story, but difficult to describe with any kind of clarity. To vaguely set the scene: a recently widowed man accepts a job as caretaker at a somewhat remote hotel, bringing along his young daughter. The current, elderly caretaker is the one who recruited him, and will be available for on the job training, in the hopes that he will soon be able to retire.
Anyone going into this book expecting something like King's THE SHINING, or Matheson's HELL HOUSE, is probably going to be disappointed. While the Deadfall does have some ghosts hanging around, the story isn't really about them. Then again, it's not really about the living people at the hotel either. (Remember when I said this is a difficult story to review with clarity?)
Here's how I viewed it, (or tried to view it), and that was by looking at each chapter as its own separate story; connected only by their setting. King of the Cats, for instance. Yes, living people were in the tale, but it was mostly about the cats and the hotel. The Craving-yes the caretaker in training was part of the story, but only incidentally.
In these little vignettes, the author really shines, (especially in regards to the werewolf and the vampire), but when it came to the living people, the narrative didn't work as well for me. I enjoyed the characters, but they did a LOT of things that weren't believable. Towards the end, a few of their confusing actions were explained, (like why they went there in the first place), but the father repeatedly putting his daughter into danger was something that was not explained to my satisfaction.
Aside from these issues, I truly enjoyed this story. I've long been a fan of Tem's writing, but other than his novel UBO, (which I loved), I've not read any of his longer works. I pulled over in my car, so I could bookmark this quote from the audio:
"Fall is but a whisper in these environs. With so much death and decay on display year-round, we hardly notice the autumn and so it truncates, crawling off sullen and insulted by our lack of attention."
As I said above, I listened to this story, and I loved the narration-especially the voicing of Jacob, the elder caretaker. Most chapters started off with quotes from his journals over the years and I think those were my favorite parts.
Even though DEADFALL HOTEL wasn't quite what I was expecting, it did grow on me, and I did end up enjoying it. I would go there for a visit...as long as I didn't have to go near that godawful swimming pool. (Trust me, that pool was SCARY.)
Highly recommended for fans of dark fantasy, and/or weird tales!
*I received the audio of this book free of charge from the narrator with no strings attached. I chose to review it anyway. Furthermore, I consider the narrator to be a friend, even though we've never met in person. That fact did not affect this, my honest review.*
Anyone going into this book expecting something like King's THE SHINING, or Matheson's HELL HOUSE, is probably going to be disappointed. While the Deadfall does have some ghosts hanging around, the story isn't really about them. Then again, it's not really about the living people at the hotel either. (Remember when I said this is a difficult story to review with clarity?)
Here's how I viewed it, (or tried to view it), and that was by looking at each chapter as its own separate story; connected only by their setting. King of the Cats, for instance. Yes, living people were in the tale, but it was mostly about the cats and the hotel. The Craving-yes the caretaker in training was part of the story, but only incidentally.
In these little vignettes, the author really shines, (especially in regards to the werewolf and the vampire), but when it came to the living people, the narrative didn't work as well for me. I enjoyed the characters, but they did a LOT of things that weren't believable. Towards the end, a few of their confusing actions were explained, (like why they went there in the first place), but the father repeatedly putting his daughter into danger was something that was not explained to my satisfaction.
Aside from these issues, I truly enjoyed this story. I've long been a fan of Tem's writing, but other than his novel UBO, (which I loved), I've not read any of his longer works. I pulled over in my car, so I could bookmark this quote from the audio:
"Fall is but a whisper in these environs. With so much death and decay on display year-round, we hardly notice the autumn and so it truncates, crawling off sullen and insulted by our lack of attention."
As I said above, I listened to this story, and I loved the narration-especially the voicing of Jacob, the elder caretaker. Most chapters started off with quotes from his journals over the years and I think those were my favorite parts.
Even though DEADFALL HOTEL wasn't quite what I was expecting, it did grow on me, and I did end up enjoying it. I would go there for a visit...as long as I didn't have to go near that godawful swimming pool. (Trust me, that pool was SCARY.)
Highly recommended for fans of dark fantasy, and/or weird tales!
*I received the audio of this book free of charge from the narrator with no strings attached. I chose to review it anyway. Furthermore, I consider the narrator to be a friend, even though we've never met in person. That fact did not affect this, my honest review.*
November 20, 2017
DEADFALL HOTEL, by Steve Rasnic Tem started out with an intriguing premise: a hotel where the "dead" can rest between travels. At least, that's the idea that I came away with. While there were some very interesting and detailed scenes, overall, the book just had too slow of an approach for me. Aside from those few moments, there seemed to be a remarkable lack of tension or surprise to much of what WAS encountered. I also never really felt that I got to "know" the new caretaker as well as we did the old.
It may have just not been the book I needed to read at this time.
It may have just not been the book I needed to read at this time.
December 24, 2014
An extraordinary work of macabre fantasy set within the most unusual hotel you'll probably ever read about. The section - The Craving - was my personal favourite. One of those novels in which I am just happy to wallow in the author's strange imagination.
January 12, 2024
Pretty mixed on Deadfall Hotel, a surreal story I struggled with at first, but Tem packed enough bizarre into it to keep me going. The titular hotel is located somewhere north (the winters are brutal); an old, maybe ancient, edifice comprised of many additions and styles, it may have hundreds of rooms. Why may? Well, the hotel changes all the time, with rooms coming and going, hallways redirected, etc. Further, if the nature of the hotel did not indicate supernatural foo, its long term occupants surely did, as they hovered somewhere between alive and dead.
Ostensively, the story follows Richard Carter and his young daughter Serena as he assumes the job of manager of the Deadfall Hotel and his trials and tribulations there. The former manager, Jacob, now serves as a handyman of sorts while training Richard at his new post. Each chapter focuses upon some strange and bizarre event that occurs at the old hotel. That stated, the real story is the hotel itself and each chapter elucidates some odd facet of the old place, its history, etc.
While Richard may be the main protagonist, he is not really developed in any detail. Each chapter begins and ends with an excerpt from Jacob's diary from the time Richard arrived and I found this the best part of the novel. The events each chapter focuses upon range from a plague of killer cats, a vampire guest, an odd religious cult that convened there, 'living' dreams, etc. You really have to just suspend your disbelieve and roll with this one as Tem just piles on the bizarre. It felt more like a collection of short stories than a novel; or more precisely, each chapter was like an episode of a show. YMMV, but do not go into this expecting a haunted hotel story! 3 strange stars.
Ostensively, the story follows Richard Carter and his young daughter Serena as he assumes the job of manager of the Deadfall Hotel and his trials and tribulations there. The former manager, Jacob, now serves as a handyman of sorts while training Richard at his new post. Each chapter focuses upon some strange and bizarre event that occurs at the old hotel. That stated, the real story is the hotel itself and each chapter elucidates some odd facet of the old place, its history, etc.
While Richard may be the main protagonist, he is not really developed in any detail. Each chapter begins and ends with an excerpt from Jacob's diary from the time Richard arrived and I found this the best part of the novel. The events each chapter focuses upon range from a plague of killer cats, a vampire guest, an odd religious cult that convened there, 'living' dreams, etc. You really have to just suspend your disbelieve and roll with this one as Tem just piles on the bizarre. It felt more like a collection of short stories than a novel; or more precisely, each chapter was like an episode of a show. YMMV, but do not go into this expecting a haunted hotel story! 3 strange stars.
September 24, 2012
This is a tough one. Tem is a capable writer. He is a craftsman. There are devices he uses that I'm not a fan of, like placing the direct object first and then subordinating the subject. It's just a little trick used to sound Dickensian (something Dickens never really did, making it a poor imitative device) or make a sentence sound literary when it might have been written in plain syntax form. It's a halting thing and a little lame. BUT, that's his style and that's OK with me.
Tem, in my opinion is simply not a good novel-length story teller. He lacks the ability to surround the reader with a convincing world and deep characters. He is, I think, a short story writer primarily. I would pick up a short story collection of his before I would attempt another novel. In terms of craft he is a four point five, but that is not the whole of the novel-writing process. You must tell a good story and take me away somewhere using that unique talent of perfectly organized language to do it.
Without getting into the plot, the book basically fell into three parts, all of which were incongruous and never got us to place of "all-in" with the characters. His descriptions of places were wonderful, but felt like "descriptions" and not involvement. That sounds weird, but a writer of Tem's skill should be able to do it. The characters were flat, but that is partially due to the short-story style and intentional lack of history. That's fine, I guess, just don't expect me to love the story.
My biggest complaint is that of the accolades on the cover (along with the totally lame, cartoonish, and inappropriate cover art) from Dan Simmons, fearnet, and a few others who offered praise that made the book seem more like a horror or suspense work rather than a literary exploration of a fantastical world. Nothing about the book is suspenseful. In fact the one thing Tem seems unable to do is hold a reader in any amount suspense. It's too bad for him.
I really wanted to love this book, but I didn't. Great writing, in this case, did not help the story. (See what I did there? That is the kind of clumsy sentence construction he uses too often.)
HOWEVER, I would recommend it. Just don't think your getting a suspense, horror, or fantasy book. Read it as a long-form short story in three parts. If you're a writer you do need to read it, because it is an important work in terms of rhythm and description, just not story-telling.
It's a conflicted review, I know, but that's what it is because fuck you, that's why.
Tem, in my opinion is simply not a good novel-length story teller. He lacks the ability to surround the reader with a convincing world and deep characters. He is, I think, a short story writer primarily. I would pick up a short story collection of his before I would attempt another novel. In terms of craft he is a four point five, but that is not the whole of the novel-writing process. You must tell a good story and take me away somewhere using that unique talent of perfectly organized language to do it.
Without getting into the plot, the book basically fell into three parts, all of which were incongruous and never got us to place of "all-in" with the characters. His descriptions of places were wonderful, but felt like "descriptions" and not involvement. That sounds weird, but a writer of Tem's skill should be able to do it. The characters were flat, but that is partially due to the short-story style and intentional lack of history. That's fine, I guess, just don't expect me to love the story.
My biggest complaint is that of the accolades on the cover (along with the totally lame, cartoonish, and inappropriate cover art) from Dan Simmons, fearnet, and a few others who offered praise that made the book seem more like a horror or suspense work rather than a literary exploration of a fantastical world. Nothing about the book is suspenseful. In fact the one thing Tem seems unable to do is hold a reader in any amount suspense. It's too bad for him.
I really wanted to love this book, but I didn't. Great writing, in this case, did not help the story. (See what I did there? That is the kind of clumsy sentence construction he uses too often.)
HOWEVER, I would recommend it. Just don't think your getting a suspense, horror, or fantasy book. Read it as a long-form short story in three parts. If you're a writer you do need to read it, because it is an important work in terms of rhythm and description, just not story-telling.
It's a conflicted review, I know, but that's what it is because fuck you, that's why.
October 18, 2017
Great story
Love this story by Steve Rashid Tem. I'm a big fan of his writing style...the characters are well developed and the descriptives are so beautiful. I would certainly recommend this to any of my horror friends :)
Love this story by Steve Rashid Tem. I'm a big fan of his writing style...the characters are well developed and the descriptives are so beautiful. I would certainly recommend this to any of my horror friends :)
October 11, 2012
This is really a story about loss and the human condition.
Told in six parts, this story relates the journey of a family trying to get over the lost of a mother. Tem has a dark tone, but it is a different dark tone than that which is usually found in horror. It is gothic, but somehow, in someway, humane. It is an understanding mirror.
Told in six parts, this story relates the journey of a family trying to get over the lost of a mother. Tem has a dark tone, but it is a different dark tone than that which is usually found in horror. It is gothic, but somehow, in someway, humane. It is an understanding mirror.
April 23, 2018
** I received this audiobook in exchange for a honest review**
Matt Godfrey did a great job narrating this strange tale. The production quality was great, I had no problems with it. and I absolutely love the cover art. The story, however, was so strange. the word I keep coming back to when thinking about how to describe it, is disjointed. The character's acceptance of the hotel and it's guest was unbelievable. the hotel is very interesting but I don't think we got enough about it. Maybe there will be sequels? There was probably a deeper meaning to the hotel but I really couldn't get into this story.
Matt Godfrey did a great job narrating this strange tale. The production quality was great, I had no problems with it. and I absolutely love the cover art. The story, however, was so strange. the word I keep coming back to when thinking about how to describe it, is disjointed. The character's acceptance of the hotel and it's guest was unbelievable. the hotel is very interesting but I don't think we got enough about it. Maybe there will be sequels? There was probably a deeper meaning to the hotel but I really couldn't get into this story.
April 30, 2012
So, if a book blurb tells me a certain book is like King, Kafka, and Poe wrapped up on one, I am there, first in line, sign me up. This book lives up to its jacket, but it's heavy on the Kafka, middling on the Poe and includes a whiff of Shirley Jackson. The story itself is creepy like something King may write, but with an ending that is fitting its readers without a myriad of scrambling characters to keep up with. At first, upon opening this book, I didn't really know what I'd gotten myself into. But then I just kind of threw myself into the superb writing and went along for the ride, and then I liked it and then I remembered the Kafka reference, and I liked it even more.
This book may not be for everyone, but if you do like really good, stylized writing on the gothic/horror side, you will adore and love it. It's about a man who has lost his wife in a fire and his name is Richard. He answers a rather obscure ad in the paper for a caretaker of a hotel and is interviewed by a man named, Jacob. Richard takes along, Serena, his young daughter who is on the brink of teenagerhood to live in this very interesting place, the Deadfall Hotel. It's vague and sometimes more nondescript than I would have liked, but nonetheless, the hotel is enchanting and scary in its own way. There are creatures and people who live or come to stay in the hotel who would rather stay to themselves and sometimes they do mix in with Jacob, and Richard who is learning the ropes, and Serena. The lines blur and come back into focus and things get stranger and stranger and then come back into focus and that's how I found this book throughout. I am also sure it's worth another read. If if gets confusing for you as a reader, have another sip of wine and keep reading.
Jacob keeps a diary throughout the book and I really enjoyed his take on the happenings. He's been at the Deadfall since the sixties and he's used to the way it changes shapes and how certain rooms and areas open up and then go away. He's also used to the strange inhabitants that are sometimes more alluded to than uncovered entirely. There are some very strange visitors that one gets to know, shall we say a little more intimately, than others. I will let Steve Rasnic Tem tell you about them when you read the book, as I could not do justice with a description. There are also strange ritualistic things that need be done each year around the hotel and Jacob explains them to Richard in ways that say, 'they just need to be done,' and for good measure.
Then there is the underlying theme of dealing with loss and love and life and family. This book covers a gambit with expertly written prose. I don't know, but I learned to love it. It's just well written and it's very different, which makes me think the book is like fresh air, well maybe not fresh because it is the Deadfall Hotel where nightmares and the like reside, but different and unique, and again...think Kafka. It's really about going on your way in life, getting to the brink of something disastrous, coming back and getting on track again and hopefully, in the best light possible.
This book may not be for everyone, but if you do like really good, stylized writing on the gothic/horror side, you will adore and love it. It's about a man who has lost his wife in a fire and his name is Richard. He answers a rather obscure ad in the paper for a caretaker of a hotel and is interviewed by a man named, Jacob. Richard takes along, Serena, his young daughter who is on the brink of teenagerhood to live in this very interesting place, the Deadfall Hotel. It's vague and sometimes more nondescript than I would have liked, but nonetheless, the hotel is enchanting and scary in its own way. There are creatures and people who live or come to stay in the hotel who would rather stay to themselves and sometimes they do mix in with Jacob, and Richard who is learning the ropes, and Serena. The lines blur and come back into focus and things get stranger and stranger and then come back into focus and that's how I found this book throughout. I am also sure it's worth another read. If if gets confusing for you as a reader, have another sip of wine and keep reading.
Jacob keeps a diary throughout the book and I really enjoyed his take on the happenings. He's been at the Deadfall since the sixties and he's used to the way it changes shapes and how certain rooms and areas open up and then go away. He's also used to the strange inhabitants that are sometimes more alluded to than uncovered entirely. There are some very strange visitors that one gets to know, shall we say a little more intimately, than others. I will let Steve Rasnic Tem tell you about them when you read the book, as I could not do justice with a description. There are also strange ritualistic things that need be done each year around the hotel and Jacob explains them to Richard in ways that say, 'they just need to be done,' and for good measure.
Then there is the underlying theme of dealing with loss and love and life and family. This book covers a gambit with expertly written prose. I don't know, but I learned to love it. It's just well written and it's very different, which makes me think the book is like fresh air, well maybe not fresh because it is the Deadfall Hotel where nightmares and the like reside, but different and unique, and again...think Kafka. It's really about going on your way in life, getting to the brink of something disastrous, coming back and getting on track again and hopefully, in the best light possible.
May 26, 2012
There's so much I want to say about this book, and none of it is good. In fact, a large part of it is just angry spluttering.
So the concept of Deadfall Hotel sounded really awesome. From the way that the description was written, I expected it would either be really good or ridiculously cheesy. (Okay, let's be honest -- the description basically consisted of three run-on sentences. I was banking on ridiculously cheesy.) I love both of these things, though, so I figured this was a win/win.
I WAS SO WRONG.
Rasnic Tem's main character is not remotely likeable. Some authors can get away with this through sheer narrative force (I'm looking at you, F. Scott Fitzgerald). Rasnic Tem cannot. His storytelling is clunky and disjointed; I felt the entire time as if something vital was missing. The book seemed aimless, ambling through scenes that Rasnic Tem desperately wanted to convince us were important. He was also entirely too caught up in trying to sound deep and clever, but never quite managed it.
I finished this book from sheer force of will. It felt like grinding out 20 levels in WoW -- with none of the rewards.
--
Rating: One (Half-Hearted) Evil Cat
Favourite Quote: I AM NOT EVEN GOING TO ATTEMPT TO DIG FOR A NICE QUOTE HERE. IF ONE EXISTS, I DO NOT CARE ENOUGH TO FIND IT.
Recommend: As if it really needs to be said -- absolutely not. Stay far away.
So the concept of Deadfall Hotel sounded really awesome. From the way that the description was written, I expected it would either be really good or ridiculously cheesy. (Okay, let's be honest -- the description basically consisted of three run-on sentences. I was banking on ridiculously cheesy.) I love both of these things, though, so I figured this was a win/win.
I WAS SO WRONG.
Rasnic Tem's main character is not remotely likeable. Some authors can get away with this through sheer narrative force (I'm looking at you, F. Scott Fitzgerald). Rasnic Tem cannot. His storytelling is clunky and disjointed; I felt the entire time as if something vital was missing. The book seemed aimless, ambling through scenes that Rasnic Tem desperately wanted to convince us were important. He was also entirely too caught up in trying to sound deep and clever, but never quite managed it.
I finished this book from sheer force of will. It felt like grinding out 20 levels in WoW -- with none of the rewards.
--
Rating: One (Half-Hearted) Evil Cat
Favourite Quote: I AM NOT EVEN GOING TO ATTEMPT TO DIG FOR A NICE QUOTE HERE. IF ONE EXISTS, I DO NOT CARE ENOUGH TO FIND IT.
Recommend: As if it really needs to be said -- absolutely not. Stay far away.
July 20, 2013
Better classified as 'weird' rather than 'horror', since most of the horror readers may be disappointed that there's nothing overtly graphic presented here. Sort of a combination of Bradbury if he was in THE OCTOBER COUNTRY and DANDELION WINE modes simultaneously, and some nods towards Edward Gorey and Charles Addams.
June 7, 2012
My selection of "read" is misleading. I actually gave up halfway through. These days I only finish a book I dislike if it would be a good addition to my odd books site. This book was not odd enough.
There was something about the style Tem uses that I found strangely muffled. A widower father has taken his small daughter to a dreadful hotel so he can learn to be its new caretaker. It is a place where horrific creatures live. The current caretaker keeps assuring the father that his daughter will be safe there when it is manifestly clear she isn't. And even though the father knows this to be the case, he keeps taking the caretaker at his word. No idea why but then again, nothing was explained well.
The man's dead wife has also followed him to the hotel, a carping, nasty spirit, and so muffled is the tone that I never felt the man's grief, his despair at hearing his dead wife's disapproval from the grave, his daughter's pain at being left motherless.
This muffled style of writing is most irritating in the scene I'll call "The King of Cats Wages War." There is some incredibly violent and gory imagery, some of it involving kittens. I think my aversion to reading fictional torture of animals is well-known by this point but this was so... nothing, so bland, so removed, that it didn't bother me.
This flat, bloodless way of writing seems to be a trend. I mostly see it in literary fiction and edgy memoirs. I suspect there are some who really like this type of writing but I am not one of them and it's a curious method to tell a horror story of a widow and his little girl in a hotel where literal nightmares live.
There was something about the style Tem uses that I found strangely muffled. A widower father has taken his small daughter to a dreadful hotel so he can learn to be its new caretaker. It is a place where horrific creatures live. The current caretaker keeps assuring the father that his daughter will be safe there when it is manifestly clear she isn't. And even though the father knows this to be the case, he keeps taking the caretaker at his word. No idea why but then again, nothing was explained well.
The man's dead wife has also followed him to the hotel, a carping, nasty spirit, and so muffled is the tone that I never felt the man's grief, his despair at hearing his dead wife's disapproval from the grave, his daughter's pain at being left motherless.
This muffled style of writing is most irritating in the scene I'll call "The King of Cats Wages War." There is some incredibly violent and gory imagery, some of it involving kittens. I think my aversion to reading fictional torture of animals is well-known by this point but this was so... nothing, so bland, so removed, that it didn't bother me.
This flat, bloodless way of writing seems to be a trend. I mostly see it in literary fiction and edgy memoirs. I suspect there are some who really like this type of writing but I am not one of them and it's a curious method to tell a horror story of a widow and his little girl in a hotel where literal nightmares live.
December 26, 2013
REVIEWED: Deadfall Hotel
WRITTEN BY: Steve Rasnic Tem
PUBLISHED: April, 2012
Deadfall Hotel is a rather sweet, at times sad, at times scary, novel which is more fantasy than horror. It includes the familiar monster tropes, but they are all fused with human pains, made believable in whatever condition ails the character, sending them to convalesce and, most likely, eventually perish in the namesake hotel. I wouldn’t call this book a “page-turner” as it is slow and sentimental, but that is what I enjoy about this author; he captures the subtleties of emotion – fear, sadness, hope – as masterfully as any “literary” writer, while at the same time building a compelling supernatural environment. A few of the sections seemed to go on for too long, such as the King of the Cats, while other sections, I wanted to learn more of, such as the actual history of the house, the pool that only occasionally appears, and the several of the other background “inhabitants” that make brief cameo appearances, but never again materialize. Deadfall Hotel is best read in a leisurely pace, ideally in a windowed nook with gloomy rain falling outside, and a nice mug of chamomile tea.
Four and a quarter out of Five stars
WRITTEN BY: Steve Rasnic Tem
PUBLISHED: April, 2012
Deadfall Hotel is a rather sweet, at times sad, at times scary, novel which is more fantasy than horror. It includes the familiar monster tropes, but they are all fused with human pains, made believable in whatever condition ails the character, sending them to convalesce and, most likely, eventually perish in the namesake hotel. I wouldn’t call this book a “page-turner” as it is slow and sentimental, but that is what I enjoy about this author; he captures the subtleties of emotion – fear, sadness, hope – as masterfully as any “literary” writer, while at the same time building a compelling supernatural environment. A few of the sections seemed to go on for too long, such as the King of the Cats, while other sections, I wanted to learn more of, such as the actual history of the house, the pool that only occasionally appears, and the several of the other background “inhabitants” that make brief cameo appearances, but never again materialize. Deadfall Hotel is best read in a leisurely pace, ideally in a windowed nook with gloomy rain falling outside, and a nice mug of chamomile tea.
Four and a quarter out of Five stars
August 3, 2014
I've read a lot of negative reviews (from readers, very few from critics, whatever that means, if anything) for this book, all of them fair and all of them well considered (even from the ones who couldn't get through the book).
I would like to present this book in a slightly different light that, without negating what the negative reviews have said, might be more encouraging to potential readers.
Managing the Deadfall is mundane. It's almost boring.
We the readers can't possibly think so because the idea of a hotel for supernatural guests holds some excitement to it, right? Not here. This is more of a respite home for those who really can't get away from who they are. I really think that the brilliance of this book lies in that and comparisons to the Overlook and the book it inhabits really did this book a disservice.
Deadfall Hotel is written as a series of vignettes over a long time span. I believe it's written this way in order to reflect the fact that these fantastic events are not the usual, that they are exceptional. Each story works well as a stand alone tale in this world, as long as you've been introduced to the characters. I would even recommend reading them periodically, revisiting the characters every once in a while because although they come to some kind of a conclusion, you don't need to speed through the story. The characters are very real and fully fleshed out and not unlike the various guests, are tired of their condition and are doing what they can to get out of it.
I loved this book. I understand the criticism but I hope more and more people give it a shot because I do feel this book has potential to be a classic of the genre.
I would like to present this book in a slightly different light that, without negating what the negative reviews have said, might be more encouraging to potential readers.
Managing the Deadfall is mundane. It's almost boring.
We the readers can't possibly think so because the idea of a hotel for supernatural guests holds some excitement to it, right? Not here. This is more of a respite home for those who really can't get away from who they are. I really think that the brilliance of this book lies in that and comparisons to the Overlook and the book it inhabits really did this book a disservice.
Deadfall Hotel is written as a series of vignettes over a long time span. I believe it's written this way in order to reflect the fact that these fantastic events are not the usual, that they are exceptional. Each story works well as a stand alone tale in this world, as long as you've been introduced to the characters. I would even recommend reading them periodically, revisiting the characters every once in a while because although they come to some kind of a conclusion, you don't need to speed through the story. The characters are very real and fully fleshed out and not unlike the various guests, are tired of their condition and are doing what they can to get out of it.
I loved this book. I understand the criticism but I hope more and more people give it a shot because I do feel this book has potential to be a classic of the genre.
March 26, 2018
Deadfall Hotel by Steve Rasnic Tem
“You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave...”
Richard has lost his wife and in his grief, has accepted a job offer at a very unique hotel. It is one of mysteries and wonder, and where the dead can walk the halls with the living. It is a place where dreams can take shape and pets can mutate into monsters.
This book is an interesting read with some odd directions, and for the most part, I found it highly enjoyable. Now I’ll say that with the caveat that I do not feel like many others will like this book. It has an odd detached tone to it while things are happening and it leaves the reader like you are never fully brought into the secrets of the hotel. I enjoyed that because our main character often never feels like he has fully been brought into the fold.
It also does not have a straight central story line where it leads to a massive climax that gets resolved. Instead, the book introduces us to the main character, we have a few adventures with him and his daughter and then the story is over and we are left saying goodbye. I’m okay with that, however the end isn’t fully explained and we’re left not fully understanding what changed. It is the ending that keeps me from rating this book higher.
I did listen to this as an audiobook and the narrator did a fantastic job. In fact, the next audiobook I am going to listen to, by pure coincidence, is also narrated by him and I am looking forward to it.
Rating 4/5
“You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave...”
Richard has lost his wife and in his grief, has accepted a job offer at a very unique hotel. It is one of mysteries and wonder, and where the dead can walk the halls with the living. It is a place where dreams can take shape and pets can mutate into monsters.
This book is an interesting read with some odd directions, and for the most part, I found it highly enjoyable. Now I’ll say that with the caveat that I do not feel like many others will like this book. It has an odd detached tone to it while things are happening and it leaves the reader like you are never fully brought into the secrets of the hotel. I enjoyed that because our main character often never feels like he has fully been brought into the fold.
It also does not have a straight central story line where it leads to a massive climax that gets resolved. Instead, the book introduces us to the main character, we have a few adventures with him and his daughter and then the story is over and we are left saying goodbye. I’m okay with that, however the end isn’t fully explained and we’re left not fully understanding what changed. It is the ending that keeps me from rating this book higher.
I did listen to this as an audiobook and the narrator did a fantastic job. In fact, the next audiobook I am going to listen to, by pure coincidence, is also narrated by him and I am looking forward to it.
Rating 4/5
August 3, 2021
There's a touching autobiographical work here buried beneath a facade of Edward Gorey/Charles Addams-esque pastiche. It's a series of stories built around a recently widowed father and his pre-teen daughter who, grieving, begin working at a strange, amorphous hotel for the supernatural. Ghosts wander the halls and unseen abominations scurry in corners, but really everyone just wants to be left alone, to their own terrors, their own hideaways from the world. It's a collection of stories instead of a consistent narrative in which larger themes are addressed: new friends, new pets, brief romances, and professional experiences. All are under a semi comic gothic monster lense, the manager Jacob is a character I really liked, a sort of cursed perpetual outsider concealing a sad heart. This may all sound very good and in some ways it is, for a certain audience this will be a very beautiful book. But there's just no story, it's a mood piece too ambiguous. A couple of the stories work on their own, the cat one being the obvious highlight and something Neil Gaiman fans would probably love, and there's a brief romance for the father I thought was a very nicely written and sad tale. But it's all just more of a tapestry, a melancholy walk around an ever changing mansion, that takes a lot more effort to get through than it should. I would read a chapter and wait a few weeks and read another. It was a nice journey, and the occasional artwork is very cool too. It's just, as a whole, it feels rather like an important piece is missing.
August 18, 2022
This was (un)interesting book... it took me so much too read due to the lack of interest of the first two chapters... after that it was a ride but never an interesting. A duality of opinions within my being with no true wining.
The story is simple.. the ordeal through which a man and its child must overcome the loss of a wife/mother. The man is recruited to take care of an odd hotel (deadfall hotel) and from that moment on nothing is at seems. The hotel changes its indoor appearence to suit each visitor. its a sentient being if you much.. of course each visitor/resident is unique as well. The book its divided in long named chapters, and in my opinion it could have succeeded better in a short story format.
Each chapter, as I said its a story in its own but also follows the main plotline I told before.
It was an accomplished tale overall but at the same time most of the chapters fail to capture my attention. The only one I can remenber vividly is The King of the Cats.
I think i can understand all the chapters meanings and we could feel the husband passing from each stage of lose of someone, within each chapter.
A read with reservations. Reccommend to must people who like character centered novels. To people who like horror novels.. meh.
To the ones who liked The Shining? Its psychological horror of a different kind. Its like in football. Barcelona playing style or english style? It depends on each person...
The story is simple.. the ordeal through which a man and its child must overcome the loss of a wife/mother. The man is recruited to take care of an odd hotel (deadfall hotel) and from that moment on nothing is at seems. The hotel changes its indoor appearence to suit each visitor. its a sentient being if you much.. of course each visitor/resident is unique as well. The book its divided in long named chapters, and in my opinion it could have succeeded better in a short story format.
Each chapter, as I said its a story in its own but also follows the main plotline I told before.
It was an accomplished tale overall but at the same time most of the chapters fail to capture my attention. The only one I can remenber vividly is The King of the Cats.
I think i can understand all the chapters meanings and we could feel the husband passing from each stage of lose of someone, within each chapter.
A read with reservations. Reccommend to must people who like character centered novels. To people who like horror novels.. meh.
To the ones who liked The Shining? Its psychological horror of a different kind. Its like in football. Barcelona playing style or english style? It depends on each person...
November 27, 2012
Deadfall Hotel works on several levels: a haunted house story, a coming of age narrative, a family's struggle with death, loss and grief. It is a damn good narrative - mysterious, creepy and occasionally terrifying (though not in the bloodletting tropes found in most modern horror novels). Psychological terrors - driven not as much by ghosts and ghouls (though some do reside within the hotel's walls) - are what really haunt the Deadfall's mortal residents.
The hotel is not really an "evil" place it is more of a way-station for not only the supernatural, but also individuals lost within the struggle of their own lives. The book is much more than an attempt to raise the hairs on the back of your neck (though it does that too); it is an examination of parental love, friendship grown from shared trauma, the passage from childhood and overcoming loss and grief.
And lest you think that all is serious doom and gloom there is also a dry wit that underlies everything as the author quietly skews many standard horror cliches.
All in all a fantastic read.
Oh and you will never look at cats the same way again...
The hotel is not really an "evil" place it is more of a way-station for not only the supernatural, but also individuals lost within the struggle of their own lives. The book is much more than an attempt to raise the hairs on the back of your neck (though it does that too); it is an examination of parental love, friendship grown from shared trauma, the passage from childhood and overcoming loss and grief.
And lest you think that all is serious doom and gloom there is also a dry wit that underlies everything as the author quietly skews many standard horror cliches.
All in all a fantastic read.
Oh and you will never look at cats the same way again...
November 15, 2019
This was a solid 4 to 4.5 star book for me. Mr. Tem has such an exquisite imagination and writing style that I was instantly drawn into the Deadfall Hotel, much like poor Richard and Serena. However, I would not say that this is a horror novel, though there are horrifying images and implications within its pages. For me, it was more reminiscent of Gormenghast with a hint of a more mature, and serious Beetlejuice vibe. Dark fantasy done right.
November 21, 2025
I think I gave it a good go, getting to page 100, 33% of the way through, before letting go.
I had hopes it would be my next "Shadowland" by Stroub, or "Somethign Wicked This Way Comes" by Bradbury, but no, it appears to be the next "Welcome to Night Vale" which I couldn't get through. While the writing itself is fine (sentences, paragraphs, pages), it's not coming together as something that delights me. I'm okay with weird (I loved "The Unconsoled," "The Hearing Trumpet", and "The Land of Laughs"), but I want the weirdness to make sense, I don't want it to be random and unexplained.
In this case the characters have moved into an unusual hotel, but they seem to accept that the denizens are ghosts or monsters or weirder than that, there's no discussion or evident normal human reaction to this, and I just feel that if anything could happen then it's not interesting. You need to know the rules in order to be surprised.
If there was some compelling character drama, I might have been able to put up with it, but no. You don't really get to know anyone (in 100 pages the protagonist hasn't changed at all or evinced any characteristics. He has a name but no personality). I'm not sensing low-key dread from the book, it's more like a comedy (which I don't think it's supposed to be, though maybe I'm wrong. If it's a comedy, then it needs to be funnier).
So I've stopped. Moving on! More books to try.
(5* = amazing, terrific book, one of my all-time favourites, 4* = very good book, 3* = good book, but nothing to particularly rave about, 2* = disappointing book, and 1* = awful, just awful. As a statistician I know most books are 3s, but I am biased in my selection and end up mostly with 4s, thank goodness.)
I had hopes it would be my next "Shadowland" by Stroub, or "Somethign Wicked This Way Comes" by Bradbury, but no, it appears to be the next "Welcome to Night Vale" which I couldn't get through. While the writing itself is fine (sentences, paragraphs, pages), it's not coming together as something that delights me. I'm okay with weird (I loved "The Unconsoled," "The Hearing Trumpet", and "The Land of Laughs"), but I want the weirdness to make sense, I don't want it to be random and unexplained.
In this case the characters have moved into an unusual hotel, but they seem to accept that the denizens are ghosts or monsters or weirder than that, there's no discussion or evident normal human reaction to this, and I just feel that if anything could happen then it's not interesting. You need to know the rules in order to be surprised.
If there was some compelling character drama, I might have been able to put up with it, but no. You don't really get to know anyone (in 100 pages the protagonist hasn't changed at all or evinced any characteristics. He has a name but no personality). I'm not sensing low-key dread from the book, it's more like a comedy (which I don't think it's supposed to be, though maybe I'm wrong. If it's a comedy, then it needs to be funnier).
So I've stopped. Moving on! More books to try.
(5* = amazing, terrific book, one of my all-time favourites, 4* = very good book, 3* = good book, but nothing to particularly rave about, 2* = disappointing book, and 1* = awful, just awful. As a statistician I know most books are 3s, but I am biased in my selection and end up mostly with 4s, thank goodness.)
January 3, 2018
Deadfall hotel by Steve Rasnic Tem
End to a year and a start of a new, happy 2018 folks :) sorry for the wait, it has been a busy year end and I haven't had much reading time. Anyway onto my review.
The Deadfall Hotel as stated On The cover is a hotel where nightmares go, essentially to rest and be themselves away from society.
The story follows Richard and his daughter who sought a new life after Abby, mother and wife of the family, died in a house fire. Richard finds himself carting his daughter off with him to work in a secluded hotel deep in the mountains, a hotel that attracts some interesting guests to say the least, the big bad wolf, the king of cats, and a vampire queen. It is safe to say that their life became anything but ordinary.
The book itself felt as though it would do well in a younger demographic with imagery that felt somewhat Tim Burton-esque.
However in regards to the story itself, I found the book missing something that built it up to a final grand climax. Each chapter seemed to address the rise and fall of a great story, however this left it feeling like a book compiled of short stories instead of a well rounded novel. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing but it did leave me uninterested in reading the last few pages.
The main theme of DH I feel had to do with loss, the ability to learn to deal with loss, and ultimately the acceptance to move on. One can analyse each respective chapter in regards to this, however the most predominant aspect of all the chapters, focuses on Richards viewpoint and his immersion into a world he is no longer used to and coming to terms with all the changes he is forced to deal with.
Overall I enjoyed the book but would recommend it to a younger teen demographic and perhaps to someone looking for a lighter way to deal with loss.
Superficially I really enjoyed the imagery this book conveyed.
.
End to a year and a start of a new, happy 2018 folks :) sorry for the wait, it has been a busy year end and I haven't had much reading time. Anyway onto my review.
The Deadfall Hotel as stated On The cover is a hotel where nightmares go, essentially to rest and be themselves away from society.
The story follows Richard and his daughter who sought a new life after Abby, mother and wife of the family, died in a house fire. Richard finds himself carting his daughter off with him to work in a secluded hotel deep in the mountains, a hotel that attracts some interesting guests to say the least, the big bad wolf, the king of cats, and a vampire queen. It is safe to say that their life became anything but ordinary.
The book itself felt as though it would do well in a younger demographic with imagery that felt somewhat Tim Burton-esque.
However in regards to the story itself, I found the book missing something that built it up to a final grand climax. Each chapter seemed to address the rise and fall of a great story, however this left it feeling like a book compiled of short stories instead of a well rounded novel. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing but it did leave me uninterested in reading the last few pages.
The main theme of DH I feel had to do with loss, the ability to learn to deal with loss, and ultimately the acceptance to move on. One can analyse each respective chapter in regards to this, however the most predominant aspect of all the chapters, focuses on Richards viewpoint and his immersion into a world he is no longer used to and coming to terms with all the changes he is forced to deal with.
Overall I enjoyed the book but would recommend it to a younger teen demographic and perhaps to someone looking for a lighter way to deal with loss.
Superficially I really enjoyed the imagery this book conveyed.
.
October 16, 2018
I really enjoyed this book. Deeply disturbing, like a languid nightmare. The horror isn't in the hotel so much as it is in the people inhabiting the hotel. It is a refuge of horror from the horrors we live with everyday, yet it also presents dangers of its own.
If you are looking for visceral, graphic horror, this novel may not be for you. But if you find yourself indulging in disturbing, distracted daydreams, the Deadfall Hotel is ready for you to check in.
A solid 4 /5.
If you are looking for visceral, graphic horror, this novel may not be for you. But if you find yourself indulging in disturbing, distracted daydreams, the Deadfall Hotel is ready for you to check in.
A solid 4 /5.
Read
March 10, 2018DNF. I admit defeat at 75%. This book seems aimless and rambling. There is no plot as such, well none that I can figure out anyway!! It almost seems like a bunch of short stories flung together to make a book. It just didn't work at all.
November 2, 2019
I used to hate literature classes where the teacher asked you what the author meant by things in a story/book: Why were the curtains blue? Why did he walk on the left side of the street? Maybe that's why I didn't really enjoy this book that much. I think that the author was trying to say things through the story, but I am not sure what he was trying to say.
The main character, Richard Carter, is a recent widower after his wife, Abby, dies in a tragic fire. He is at loose ends and trying to raise his 10 year old daughter, Serena. When he sees an ad in the paper for a job as a Hotel Manger at a remote Hotel, he applies even though he knows nothing about managing a hotel. In fact, I never figured out what he had done as a career before this job.
A man named Jacob comes to interview him and immediately offers him the job. Richard accepts without really knowing what he will be doing.
Without going into too much detail, I found this book to be extremely weird and hard to follow most of the time. First of all, Richard is a true wimp and allows his young daughter to be put into dangerous situations after their arrival at the Hotel. The first story involves a werewolf (I think) who smells Serena's menstrual blood and comes after her (TMI if you ask me!). But, instead of taking Serena and running for safety, Richard just seems to go along with the flow.
Then, he becomes involved with a vampire and still stays at this creepy place. Every time he asks Jacob what is going on, he gets some vague/philosophical answer. "There's death of the body and then there's death of the spirit." "Sometimes a mirror is just another door."
You also have Abby's ghost floating around the Hotel and Richard isn't sure whether he wants to be around her or not. As I read this book, I kept thinking of all the "B" horror movies I have seen and found myself wanting to slap him for staying in this place.
The book is classified as horror, but to me it was more of a fantasy/psychological tale, with much of the book being dreams/hallucinations (you never really know what is "Real"). Sure, there are werewolves, vampires, evil cats, ghosts and other unnamed creatures, but they were more creepy and dreamlike than horrid.
The most interesting part of the book IMHO were the journal entries from Jacob, as he related the history (in part) of this Hotel. I think that this story had a lot of potential, but just fell short for me. The narrator, Matt Godfrey, does a good job and held my interest. All in all, I just wanted the whole thing to be over and done. The chapters were very long and I think that they were first written as short stories, then put together (in a way) for this book.
I was given the chance to listen to the audiobook version of this book through Audiobook Boom! and chose to review it.
I used to hate literature classes where the teacher asked you what the author meant by things in a story/book: Why were the curtains blue? Why did he walk on the left side of the street? Maybe that's why I didn't really enjoy this book that much. I think that the author was trying to say things through the story, but I am not sure what he was trying to say.
The main character, Richard Carter, is a recent widower after his wife, Abby, dies in a tragic fire. He is at loose ends and trying to raise his 10 year old daughter, Serena. When he sees an ad in the paper for a job as a Hotel Manger at a remote Hotel, he applies even though he knows nothing about managing a hotel. In fact, I never figured out what he had done as a career before this job.
A man named Jacob comes to interview him and immediately offers him the job. Richard accepts without really knowing what he will be doing.
Without going into too much detail, I found this book to be extremely weird and hard to follow most of the time. First of all, Richard is a true wimp and allows his young daughter to be put into dangerous situations after their arrival at the Hotel. The first story involves a werewolf (I think) who smells Serena's menstrual blood and comes after her (TMI if you ask me!). But, instead of taking Serena and running for safety, Richard just seems to go along with the flow.
Then, he becomes involved with a vampire and still stays at this creepy place. Every time he asks Jacob what is going on, he gets some vague/philosophical answer. "There's death of the body and then there's death of the spirit." "Sometimes a mirror is just another door."
You also have Abby's ghost floating around the Hotel and Richard isn't sure whether he wants to be around her or not. As I read this book, I kept thinking of all the "B" horror movies I have seen and found myself wanting to slap him for staying in this place.
The book is classified as horror, but to me it was more of a fantasy/psychological tale, with much of the book being dreams/hallucinations (you never really know what is "Real"). Sure, there are werewolves, vampires, evil cats, ghosts and other unnamed creatures, but they were more creepy and dreamlike than horrid.
The most interesting part of the book IMHO were the journal entries from Jacob, as he related the history (in part) of this Hotel. I think that this story had a lot of potential, but just fell short for me. The narrator, Matt Godfrey, does a good job and held my interest. All in all, I just wanted the whole thing to be over and done. The chapters were very long and I think that they were first written as short stories, then put together (in a way) for this book.
I was given the chance to listen to the audiobook version of this book through Audiobook Boom! and chose to review it.
I used to hate literature classes where the teacher asked you what the author meant by things in a story/book: Why were the curtains blue? Why did he walk on the left side of the street? Maybe that's why I didn't really enjoy this book that much. I think that the author was trying to say things through the story, but I am not sure what he was trying to say.
The main character, Richard Carter, is a recent widower after his wife, Abby, dies in a tragic fire. He is at loose ends and trying to raise his 10 year old daughter, Serena. When he sees an ad in the paper for a job as a Hotel Manger at a remote Hotel, he applies even though he knows nothing about managing a hotel. In fact, I never figured out what he had done as a career before this job.
A man named Jacob comes to interview him and immediately offers him the job. Richard accepts without really knowing what he will be doing.
Without going into too much detail, I found this book to be extremely weird and hard to follow most of the time. First of all, Richard is a true wimp and allows his young daughter to be put into dangerous situations after their arrival at the Hotel. The first story involves a werewolf (I think) who smells Serena's menstrual blood and comes after her (TMI if you ask me!). But, instead of taking Serena and running for safety, Richard just seems to go along with the flow.
Then, he becomes involved with a vampire and still stays at this creepy place. Every time he asks Jacob what is going on, he gets some vague/philosophical answer. "There's death of the body and then there's death of the spirit." "Sometimes a mirror is just another door."
You also have Abby's ghost floating around the Hotel and Richard isn't sure whether he wants to be around her or not. As I read this book, I kept thinking of all the "B" horror movies I have seen and found myself wanting to slap him for staying in this place.
The book is classified as horror, but to me it was more of a fantasy/psychological tale, with much of the book being dreams/hallucinations (you never really know what is "Real"). Sure, there are werewolves, vampires, evil cats, ghosts and other unnamed creatures, but they were more creepy and dreamlike than horrid.
The most interesting part of the book IMHO were the journal entries from Jacob, as he related the history (in part) of this Hotel. I think that this story had a lot of potential, but just fell short for me. The narrator, Matt Godfrey, does a good job and held my interest. All in all, I just wanted the whole thing to be over and done. The chapters were very long and I think that they were first written as short stories, then put together (in a way) for this book.
I was given the chance to listen to the audiobook version of this book through Audiobook Boom! and chose to review it.
I used to hate literature classes where the teacher asked you what the author meant by things in a story/book: Why were the curtains blue? Why did he walk on the left side of the street? Maybe that's why I didn't really enjoy this book that much. I think that the author was trying to say things through the story, but I am not sure what he was trying to say.
The main character, Richard Carter, is a recent widower after his wife, Abby, dies in a tragic fire. He is at loose ends and trying to raise his 10 year old daughter, Serena. When he sees an ad in the paper for a job as a Hotel Manger at a remote Hotel, he applies even though he knows nothing about managing a hotel. In fact, I never figured out what he had done as a career before this job.
A man named Jacob comes to interview him and immediately offers him the job. Richard accepts without really knowing what he will be doing.
Without going into too much detail, I found this book to be extremely weird and hard to follow most of the time. First of all, Richard is a true wimp and allows his young daughter to be put into dangerous situations after their arrival at the Hotel. The first story involves a werewolf (I think) who smells Serena's menstrual blood and comes after her (TMI if you ask me!). But, instead of taking Serena and running for safety, Richard just seems to go along with the flow.
Then, he becomes involved with a vampire and still stays at this creepy place. Every time he asks Jacob what is going on, he gets some vague/philosophical answer. "There's death of the body and then there's death of the spirit." "Sometimes a mirror is just another door."
You also have Abby's ghost floating around the Hotel and Richard isn't sure whether he wants to be around her or not. As I read this book, I kept thinking of all the "B" horror movies I have seen and found myself wanting to slap him for staying in this place.
The book is classified as horror, but to me it was more of a fantasy/psychological tale, with much of the book being dreams/hallucinations (you never really know what is "Real"). Sure, there are werewolves, vampires, evil cats, ghosts and other unnamed creatures, but they were more creepy and dreamlike than horrid.
The most interesting part of the book IMHO were the journal entries from Jacob, as he related the history (in part) of this Hotel. I think that this story had a lot of potential, but just fell short for me. The narrator, Matt Godfrey, does a good job and held my interest. All in all, I just wanted the whole thing to be over and done. The chapters were very long and I think that they were first written as short stories, then put together (in a way) for this book.
I was given the chance to listen to the audiobook version of this book through Audiobook Boom! and chose to review it.
July 4, 2012
First published at Booking in Heels.
Deadfall Hotel is written primarily from the third person perspective of Richard Carter, a young widower left alone with his ten year old daughter, Serena. Together they've been wandering aimlessly ever since Abby died, but they see a new future ahead after Richard comes across a job vacancy for the new proprietor of The Deadfall Hotel. They pack up and set off, only to discover all is not what it seems.
Interspersed with the narration of Richard's learning period is the occasional excerpt from the journal of Jacob, the ageing previous manager who has stayed on as a handyman. These frame each individual chapter and provide a little more information about the hotel, from a man a little more in-the-know than Richard.
There's no overall story arc, other than the fact Richard and Serena are new at the hotel. Instead, the book is comprised of long chapters each describing one particular event or situation at the hotel. It's a strange format and I'm not entirely sure it works - they're too long to be short stories, but not long enough to form the basis of the book. I don't know, it was quite badly organised and ended very abruptly. I think I'd have preferred there to be one central issue to be dealt with, and the other events around the edges as sub-plots.
The stories themselves are quite varied; some more interesting than others. They're occasionally quite repetitive - the chapter about the cats in particular I was about ready to give up on. I swear I never want to look at another cat for a good long while, especially ones of this variety. The story about the religious cult is very well-written and wonderfully disturbing though :)
I just don't think we learnt enough about the hotel by the end - I couldn't really explain it to you if you asked me tomorrow. I know that this kind of writing device can work quite well on occasion, but Deadfall Hotel is narrated like you're meant to know what's going on, and I didn't. I don't need authors to get the hand puppets out to explain things to me, but a little bit more explanation would have been nice.
There are scenes of fairly graphic violence, animal torture/abuse and general creepiness, so I'd steer clear if you're squeamish about the above or you're under 15 years of age. Even I cringed a little at certain points, and I like to think I'm fairly settled.
While I think this would make a truly awesome TV show, I just couldn't connect to it as a book. The lack of consistency and explanation dragged down what was a wonderful concept with imaginative and descriptive prose. Steve Rasnic Tem clearly has a talent for writing, but I just can't help but think Deadfall Hotel could have been so much more.
Deadfall Hotel is written primarily from the third person perspective of Richard Carter, a young widower left alone with his ten year old daughter, Serena. Together they've been wandering aimlessly ever since Abby died, but they see a new future ahead after Richard comes across a job vacancy for the new proprietor of The Deadfall Hotel. They pack up and set off, only to discover all is not what it seems.
Interspersed with the narration of Richard's learning period is the occasional excerpt from the journal of Jacob, the ageing previous manager who has stayed on as a handyman. These frame each individual chapter and provide a little more information about the hotel, from a man a little more in-the-know than Richard.
There's no overall story arc, other than the fact Richard and Serena are new at the hotel. Instead, the book is comprised of long chapters each describing one particular event or situation at the hotel. It's a strange format and I'm not entirely sure it works - they're too long to be short stories, but not long enough to form the basis of the book. I don't know, it was quite badly organised and ended very abruptly. I think I'd have preferred there to be one central issue to be dealt with, and the other events around the edges as sub-plots.
The stories themselves are quite varied; some more interesting than others. They're occasionally quite repetitive - the chapter about the cats in particular I was about ready to give up on. I swear I never want to look at another cat for a good long while, especially ones of this variety. The story about the religious cult is very well-written and wonderfully disturbing though :)
I just don't think we learnt enough about the hotel by the end - I couldn't really explain it to you if you asked me tomorrow. I know that this kind of writing device can work quite well on occasion, but Deadfall Hotel is narrated like you're meant to know what's going on, and I didn't. I don't need authors to get the hand puppets out to explain things to me, but a little bit more explanation would have been nice.
There are scenes of fairly graphic violence, animal torture/abuse and general creepiness, so I'd steer clear if you're squeamish about the above or you're under 15 years of age. Even I cringed a little at certain points, and I like to think I'm fairly settled.
While I think this would make a truly awesome TV show, I just couldn't connect to it as a book. The lack of consistency and explanation dragged down what was a wonderful concept with imaginative and descriptive prose. Steve Rasnic Tem clearly has a talent for writing, but I just can't help but think Deadfall Hotel could have been so much more.
July 23, 2012
Full disclosure: I have not finished Deadfall Hotel yet, and the only reason I was even going to try and finish was for the sake of writing this review. I was struggling to read it last week, and skipped last Monday’s review, and I fear the same will happen again today, unless I just get my thoughts down, finally. I don’t expect there to be anything in the last 20 pages that will change my impressions much. Simply put: awful book.
Now, that’s just my opinion, of course, and you should read others’ reviews, because some people liked the novel. They were intrigued by the setting, as was I, initially, intrigued by some of the characters. But Deadfall Hotel is written too much to be like a dream, and I can’t stand that kind of thing. I think dream sequences in books are a huge waste of time, the very worst aspect of deus ex machina shoved down the reader’s eyeballs. And this entire novel is meant to be a dream, a shifting, unexplained and unexplainable, entirely unsatisfying experience.
Page after page are filled with inconsistencies, made-up-on-the-spot conveniences, last-minute explanations. And maybe such a thing is acceptable if all one wants is to get into mood or atmosphere, let plot and character development be damned. I just can't stand blood and guts for blood and guts' sake. If a book is going to be visceral, I need to know what the organs were doing in the first place. To call this book gratuitous is an understatement.
Nothing provided is believable, and that this is “fantasy” is no excuse. Fantasy has to work even harder to achieve a kind of believability, and author Steve Rasnic Tem doesn’t even bother. I only managed to get through the novel as far as I got by allowing myself to scan some of pages when nothing was happening except interpretation of impression of feeling. And even then I was stuck with nothing else to do and no other reading options.
And all of that is too bad, because as I said, the idea was very intriguing: a widower and his daughter are asked to come run a large, rambling, mysterious resort with more than a few “special” guests. Comparisons to Stephen King’s The Shining are inevitable, but without merit, as the two books have nothing to do with one another other than being set in a remote hotel. Unless, like the Overlook, the Deadfall Hotel explodes at the end too; I don’t know if I’m going to bother reading that far to find out.
Now, that’s just my opinion, of course, and you should read others’ reviews, because some people liked the novel. They were intrigued by the setting, as was I, initially, intrigued by some of the characters. But Deadfall Hotel is written too much to be like a dream, and I can’t stand that kind of thing. I think dream sequences in books are a huge waste of time, the very worst aspect of deus ex machina shoved down the reader’s eyeballs. And this entire novel is meant to be a dream, a shifting, unexplained and unexplainable, entirely unsatisfying experience.
Page after page are filled with inconsistencies, made-up-on-the-spot conveniences, last-minute explanations. And maybe such a thing is acceptable if all one wants is to get into mood or atmosphere, let plot and character development be damned. I just can't stand blood and guts for blood and guts' sake. If a book is going to be visceral, I need to know what the organs were doing in the first place. To call this book gratuitous is an understatement.
Nothing provided is believable, and that this is “fantasy” is no excuse. Fantasy has to work even harder to achieve a kind of believability, and author Steve Rasnic Tem doesn’t even bother. I only managed to get through the novel as far as I got by allowing myself to scan some of pages when nothing was happening except interpretation of impression of feeling. And even then I was stuck with nothing else to do and no other reading options.
And all of that is too bad, because as I said, the idea was very intriguing: a widower and his daughter are asked to come run a large, rambling, mysterious resort with more than a few “special” guests. Comparisons to Stephen King’s The Shining are inevitable, but without merit, as the two books have nothing to do with one another other than being set in a remote hotel. Unless, like the Overlook, the Deadfall Hotel explodes at the end too; I don’t know if I’m going to bother reading that far to find out.
July 29, 2016
I stumbled backward into this book through Blood Kin, Tem's most recent novel. The book caught my eye at the bookstore, but I saw that the mighty praise I saw on the cover referred to Deadfall Hotel, Tem's previous novel, so I figured that might be the best place to start. I'm glad I did, because I found an eerie novel with an effective theme.
In the book, Richard Carter has recently lost his wife to a house fire, and he's been looking for work to support himself and his eleven year-old daughter. He stumbles across a place called the Deadfall Hotel, the proprieter of which is looking for a new manager. Richard applies and is accepted for hire, but he sowly realizes that the Deadfall Hotel has a unique clientele, one that can be dangerous to both Richard and his daughter Serena. That his daughter is also coming of age further complicates Richard's relationship with the hotel.
The heart of the novel, though, is the relationship between Richard and his daughter. Early on in the novel, Richard acknowledges that he is uncertain how to deal with her, and as she grows up and is exposed to the dangers of the hotel, he becomes even more uncertain. The hotel and its dangers represent the stages of Serena's growing up, along with the emotional uncertainty that comes along with it. It gave what could have been a standard horror novel more depth, and even made it feel more literary, more important. Given that this starts off with the impression that this is just going to be another horror novel, it was refreshing to see it take on this theme.
Another thing I really liked about this book was that I never understood how the hotel came to be. It's not necessary to know, but that mystery creates a curiosity that drives the acceptance of a lot of the otherworldly things that happen there. It's like you pay attention when something strange happens, because you figure you might be getting more information about the hotel. You never get the full picture, but more and more you find that the pieces are coming together.
I can see why this doesn't get higher ratings that it currently receives -- it's not exactly a page-turner, and the ending is somewhat of a mystery to me still -- but it's a shame that it's not rated better. It's a well told story with a very human element, and I'd like to see it get more support. Myself, I'm eager to see how Tem's recent novel will hold up against this.
In the book, Richard Carter has recently lost his wife to a house fire, and he's been looking for work to support himself and his eleven year-old daughter. He stumbles across a place called the Deadfall Hotel, the proprieter of which is looking for a new manager. Richard applies and is accepted for hire, but he sowly realizes that the Deadfall Hotel has a unique clientele, one that can be dangerous to both Richard and his daughter Serena. That his daughter is also coming of age further complicates Richard's relationship with the hotel.
The heart of the novel, though, is the relationship between Richard and his daughter. Early on in the novel, Richard acknowledges that he is uncertain how to deal with her, and as she grows up and is exposed to the dangers of the hotel, he becomes even more uncertain. The hotel and its dangers represent the stages of Serena's growing up, along with the emotional uncertainty that comes along with it. It gave what could have been a standard horror novel more depth, and even made it feel more literary, more important. Given that this starts off with the impression that this is just going to be another horror novel, it was refreshing to see it take on this theme.
Another thing I really liked about this book was that I never understood how the hotel came to be. It's not necessary to know, but that mystery creates a curiosity that drives the acceptance of a lot of the otherworldly things that happen there. It's like you pay attention when something strange happens, because you figure you might be getting more information about the hotel. You never get the full picture, but more and more you find that the pieces are coming together.
I can see why this doesn't get higher ratings that it currently receives -- it's not exactly a page-turner, and the ending is somewhat of a mystery to me still -- but it's a shame that it's not rated better. It's a well told story with a very human element, and I'd like to see it get more support. Myself, I'm eager to see how Tem's recent novel will hold up against this.
April 29, 2016
I don't usually write reviews, but since this book was so friggin amazing I simply felt compelled to.
So let's tally-ho into it!
For starters, I was actually kind of hesitant to dig in on this book since most reviews both on this site and on amazon spoke of it like it was a pile of dog crap. But since I had read a small and obscure short story of Tem's before and liked it (his interpretation of the penguin in a novel of batman stories) , I figured I'd give this one a shot.
And jesus bajebus, I'm so happy I did. One thing that people had complained about in this book is its apparent lack of logic. Maybe I'm just more open minded than most, but the books themes and events made perfect sense to me. The whole point of the book seemed to be to capture the sense and feel of dreams, and especially nightmares. So I guess if you don't get that right away, it could seem pretty strange and unreasonable at times.
The Jacob character for instance is pretty f***ing strange and says the most random things at any given moment (but hey, that's why I love him). And Richard - the main character of the story, seems pretty accepting of quite disturbing events in the hotel and Jacobs explanation of them (which....are troublesome to say the least).
But what made this book a gem to me is the poetic feel of the language and the scenery Tem manages to paint. It has a very cinematic feel to it, and the descriptions of people are like dark, dreamlike paintings - at once scary and incredibly beautiful.
If I had to describe this book to someone, I'd say it's like that one episode of buffy called "restless" where people float in and out of dreams, a feeling of the frightening and calm are mixed up together. It's also very similar to the first season of American Horror story (I'm only referring to movies because I've frankly never encounterd a similar book before) because of the very large, twisting hotel and its strange inhabitants who appear and disappear whenever they please. And that's high praise from me, since I pratically adored AHS back then.
In short - this book is beautiful and fragrant like a bruised peach, and if you like that kind of stuff you should definitly not miss out on this one.
So let's tally-ho into it!
For starters, I was actually kind of hesitant to dig in on this book since most reviews both on this site and on amazon spoke of it like it was a pile of dog crap. But since I had read a small and obscure short story of Tem's before and liked it (his interpretation of the penguin in a novel of batman stories) , I figured I'd give this one a shot.
And jesus bajebus, I'm so happy I did. One thing that people had complained about in this book is its apparent lack of logic. Maybe I'm just more open minded than most, but the books themes and events made perfect sense to me. The whole point of the book seemed to be to capture the sense and feel of dreams, and especially nightmares. So I guess if you don't get that right away, it could seem pretty strange and unreasonable at times.
The Jacob character for instance is pretty f***ing strange and says the most random things at any given moment (but hey, that's why I love him). And Richard - the main character of the story, seems pretty accepting of quite disturbing events in the hotel and Jacobs explanation of them (which....are troublesome to say the least).
But what made this book a gem to me is the poetic feel of the language and the scenery Tem manages to paint. It has a very cinematic feel to it, and the descriptions of people are like dark, dreamlike paintings - at once scary and incredibly beautiful.
If I had to describe this book to someone, I'd say it's like that one episode of buffy called "restless" where people float in and out of dreams, a feeling of the frightening and calm are mixed up together. It's also very similar to the first season of American Horror story (I'm only referring to movies because I've frankly never encounterd a similar book before) because of the very large, twisting hotel and its strange inhabitants who appear and disappear whenever they please. And that's high praise from me, since I pratically adored AHS back then.
In short - this book is beautiful and fragrant like a bruised peach, and if you like that kind of stuff you should definitly not miss out on this one.
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