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Solace House
Not yet published
Expected 13 Oct 26In the summer of 1993, broke student Alex Lane joins a team clearing out Solace House, a Victorian mansion bequeathed to the university by a reclusive hoarder called Flayne. The other students are a mixed bunch, but Alex quickly falls into a close friendship with the lively, redheaded Ella.
When the crew begins sorting through piles of junk, they stumble upon Flayne's journals, in which he details his obsession with his missing mother, his discovery of a place called Bewise, and - most mysteriously - his belief in another realm lying parallel to ours, along with coded instructions as to how it might be reached.
As the students delve deeper into the house's secrets, one of them becomes obsessed with deciphering Flayne's strange opus and its promise of another world... and they may be willing to sacrifice everything, and everyone, to get there.
When the crew begins sorting through piles of junk, they stumble upon Flayne's journals, in which he details his obsession with his missing mother, his discovery of a place called Bewise, and - most mysteriously - his belief in another realm lying parallel to ours, along with coded instructions as to how it might be reached.
As the students delve deeper into the house's secrets, one of them becomes obsessed with deciphering Flayne's strange opus and its promise of another world... and they may be willing to sacrifice everything, and everyone, to get there.
512 pages, Hardcover
First published May 7, 2026
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February 11, 2026Drill a hole in my fucking skull, and force feed this book straight into my temporal lobe.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
In that moment, it became difficult to believe there ever was anyone else alive, anywhere; as if space and time had crumbled, decayed, and there would only ever be this, now.
Wow. This book is a truly masterful work. I've never read anything quite like it.
Solace House is "literary", I suppose, if we take that to mean "clever". In fact, I thought it was absolutely brilliant before I'd even discovered exactly how clever the author had been. But it's also very readable. Eerie. Funny, in parts. Driven by a fantastic cast of magnetic characters.
It starts off a very slow-burn horror— still compelling, because of the characters' personalities, but it’s a while before the book lets you in on where it’s going. Maclean spends time developing the dynamic between narrator Alex and the other young adults he meets while working a summer job clearing out a Victorian Mansion. The irreverent Clive and psychedelic-enthusiast-turned-philosopher Leo are the main standouts, but I did enjoy them all.
"And what is an evil spirit, Alex, but an idea? A persistent idea, an undermining of reason that cannot be ignored."
There is a fantastic sense of atmosphere during these early scenes, as well as an encroaching dread. You have this juxtaposition between the young people in a hazy summer throwing early 90s cultural references back and forth, and the timeless horror of this Victorian mansion and the creepy journals found within. Maclean somehow manages to capture both a very specific time and place, and also a feeling of being outside of time.
And, honestly, while it feels like a slow burn when you're reading it, there is actually so much happening here that becomes relevant later. I felt such an intense satisfaction when I started to realise what Maclean had been building all along.
One reason I almost didn't read Solace House was because of The Secret History comparisons. I was never a huge fan of TSH (granted I read it a VERY long time ago at this point) but I did not find the similarities went much further than it being about a group of intelligent students. I am very glad I gave it a chance.
Also, you know those books that make you interested in things you never knew you had any interest in? I won't give away the internet rabbit holes this book sent me down, but who knew I cared about
I really loved it. Solace House is the kind of book that makes you want to immediately go back and read it again with the knowledge you now have. What an esoteric AND thrilling multilayered puzzle of a novel!
August 2, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Solace House was one of my most anticipated 2026 releases and MY GOSH... it did not disappoint! A dark academia perfect to consume in the summer and pitched as The Secret History meets House of Leaves, it naturally had big shoes to fill and it did exactly that!
Feeling like an absolute fever dream, this trip of a novel is one that invites as much as it feels claustrophobic. It simultaneously astounds you as much as it does frighten - it is SO IMPRESSIVE. To begin with I truly think this is a book you should go into knowing as little as possible. The way the plot, characters and time interweave into this messy web of deceit and ambiguity... it is one of the most clever books I have ever read (I quite literally spent an hour upon finishing it just deep diving on so many different theories). We follow the protagonist Alex who one summer ventures on a project with a group of students to clear out Solace House and its residing buildings in order for the university to turn them into halls of residence. Following Alex as a character who perhaps isn't entirely reliable creates a real sense of unease - especially whilst planted in a place that pairs his demeanour. Every facet of this story serves a greater purpose to the entire scope of it (and even the small moments - it is all relevant)
The writing style was flawless! I cannot express how much I wanted devour it as much as I did savour it (I cannot decide which is better or worse) It is a book that really feels as if it transcends time. It is haunting, captivating and is ultimately so incredibly shocking I will be thinking about it for a LONG TIME!
Solace House was one of my most anticipated 2026 releases and MY GOSH... it did not disappoint! A dark academia perfect to consume in the summer and pitched as The Secret History meets House of Leaves, it naturally had big shoes to fill and it did exactly that!
Feeling like an absolute fever dream, this trip of a novel is one that invites as much as it feels claustrophobic. It simultaneously astounds you as much as it does frighten - it is SO IMPRESSIVE. To begin with I truly think this is a book you should go into knowing as little as possible. The way the plot, characters and time interweave into this messy web of deceit and ambiguity... it is one of the most clever books I have ever read (I quite literally spent an hour upon finishing it just deep diving on so many different theories). We follow the protagonist Alex who one summer ventures on a project with a group of students to clear out Solace House and its residing buildings in order for the university to turn them into halls of residence. Following Alex as a character who perhaps isn't entirely reliable creates a real sense of unease - especially whilst planted in a place that pairs his demeanour. Every facet of this story serves a greater purpose to the entire scope of it (and even the small moments - it is all relevant)
The writing style was flawless! I cannot express how much I wanted devour it as much as I did savour it (I cannot decide which is better or worse) It is a book that really feels as if it transcends time. It is haunting, captivating and is ultimately so incredibly shocking I will be thinking about it for a LONG TIME!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Are we dreaming this place, or is this place dreaming us?
This book hits that elusive sweet spot of being a compelling page-turner that is also literate and fluently written. It's one of those books where I can't say much about the plot for fear of spoilers. I will say, though, that the blurb comparison with The Secret History puzzled me. I could see the Piranesi connection though this does something quite different. For me, I was thinking mostly of The Haunting of Hill House, especially the idea of mutual agencies questioned in the quotation above, and the psychological interactions between the house and inhabitants. There's also an M.R. James vibe in the attention to archaeology and artefacts and a visionary quality of William Blake, name-checked in the text. But intertexts are more than the literary with a particular Queen song and painting that reverberate and echo throughout.
On the writing, it's only near to the end that we understand exactly how clever Maclean has been - Nevertheless, there are also places where the slow-burn pace of the storytelling started to drag a little for me: I got to about 50% and it felt like we were still in the set-up. Also not all the characters are particularly well-defined: Malcolm sort of fades away and Ruth has never had much of a role in the story. But the end is tense and intriguing and pulled off well - I love the way the book remains unresolved right to the end and we are left, as readers, to create our own meanings for what we have read - or, even, hold paradoxical and contradictory endings together in our head, which is where I ended up.
Perhaps one of the big clues to my own interpretation was dropped in too early:
Still, this was a book I could barely put down: intriguing, clever, twisting and dark with its esoteric and even philosophical qualities sitting completely comfortably alongside the 'popular' haunted house/supernatural horror elements. And that final section is an unexpected departure that I certainly didn't see coming - a fabulous piece of storytelling!
Many thanks to Atlantic Books for an ARC via NetGalley
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
4.5 stars
Ok ok ok YES. I loved this. This was sooooo up my alley with what I love in horror. This is perfect for fans of House of Leaves, or A Short Stay in Hell, or lovers of existential horror. This book takes place in the summer of 1993 and follows a group of seven students living at a university who get tasked with clearing out a Victorian mansion. The atmosphere in this book was absolutely incredible and the prose was gorgeous! I annotated so many well written paragraphs. ✍️
This is the kind of book that will make you feel like you’re losing your mind as you read it — my favorite kind of horror experience 🤯🤭 it’s a long one, over 500 pages! But so worth it, in my opinion. It is slightly pretentious at times with the writing style, but I loved it so much I didn't even care. All the characters felt so fleshed out.
Here's the vlog where I read this one and a few others: https://youtu.be/21KG6qZUzKQ
Ok ok ok YES. I loved this. This was sooooo up my alley with what I love in horror. This is perfect for fans of House of Leaves, or A Short Stay in Hell, or lovers of existential horror. This book takes place in the summer of 1993 and follows a group of seven students living at a university who get tasked with clearing out a Victorian mansion. The atmosphere in this book was absolutely incredible and the prose was gorgeous! I annotated so many well written paragraphs. ✍️
This is the kind of book that will make you feel like you’re losing your mind as you read it — my favorite kind of horror experience 🤯🤭 it’s a long one, over 500 pages! But so worth it, in my opinion. It is slightly pretentious at times with the writing style, but I loved it so much I didn't even care. All the characters felt so fleshed out.
Here's the vlog where I read this one and a few others: https://youtu.be/21KG6qZUzKQ
August 15, 2026
I was once told “reading is like a drug with no negative side effects” - No side effects? - Tell that to my bathroom scales. - I've never really taken into consideration how many hours I actually put into reading. But today it hit me.
While bending over the bathtub to pick out my girlfriend's hair, which had been blocking the plug hole (I don't understand how there is so much hair - how is she not bold?) I split my pants. I haven't even noticed the weight gain I've accumulated reading all these books - but as I sit here now in boxers two sizes too small I realise, I enjoy reading too much to stop.
Recently, I've been looking at what you guys read and taking inspiration from books you guys like or recommend to me. And that's how I came across Solace House by Will MacLean. I quickly read the premise, and I was pretty interested - it promised horror and fantasy, with critics calling it a rollercoaster of a ride, I couldn't wait to get started.
As a whole I enjoyed it - but I can't lie - there were times my patience was pushed.
It's an incredibly testing slow start in terms of pacing - the first 150 pages are pretty much dedicated to character building. Introducing characters that are very stereotypical college aged kids (snobby attitudes, weird colours in their hair - not enough deodorant - you get the picture). After you push past this slow start - it does get pretty interesting and occasionally genuinely tense and unsettling. My worry is that some readers may not have the patience to push past that slow start.
Once I got past the hump of a slow start I actually started to really enjoy it. The story plays out like a creepy mystery and as with all great mysteries - I get addicted to finding the missing pieces to the puzzle.
The novel plays out like that for the next few hundred pages, addictive and fun - a real page turner. In one sitting I flew past 250 pages because I was enthralled - captivated by the mystery and fantasy elements surrounding this story. But then I reached the climax. And that's where it gets a bit tricky.
The ending - well, it's inevitably going to be divisive. Some readers will love the ending - some will not. Personally, I felt the ending was disappointing (It's like opening a Christmas present, tearing off the wrapping paper in excitement - and it's just a crappy knitted wooly hat). I will admit - I have read many reviews praising the ending - please make your own judgments, but it didn't work for me. I'm more of a fan of endings that are conclusive and not left ambiguous and open to interpretation.
Overall it was a good read - I enjoyed the story, and I actually think Will MacLean is a terrific writer. Regardless of the slow start to the novel, the writing was fantastic throughout and more than happily I'd revisit this author again. But in giving my rating I have to acknowledge the frequent pacing issues and the disappointing rushed ending. And I think taking that into account a 3.5 rating is more than fair.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ½
and yes . . . . to any family member ever reading this review - take the hint, I do not need another wooly hat for Christmas - but I do now need some new pants that will fit my ever expanding waistline
While bending over the bathtub to pick out my girlfriend's hair, which had been blocking the plug hole (I don't understand how there is so much hair - how is she not bold?) I split my pants. I haven't even noticed the weight gain I've accumulated reading all these books - but as I sit here now in boxers two sizes too small I realise, I enjoy reading too much to stop.
Recently, I've been looking at what you guys read and taking inspiration from books you guys like or recommend to me. And that's how I came across Solace House by Will MacLean. I quickly read the premise, and I was pretty interested - it promised horror and fantasy, with critics calling it a rollercoaster of a ride, I couldn't wait to get started.
As a whole I enjoyed it - but I can't lie - there were times my patience was pushed.
It's an incredibly testing slow start in terms of pacing - the first 150 pages are pretty much dedicated to character building. Introducing characters that are very stereotypical college aged kids (snobby attitudes, weird colours in their hair - not enough deodorant - you get the picture). After you push past this slow start - it does get pretty interesting and occasionally genuinely tense and unsettling. My worry is that some readers may not have the patience to push past that slow start.
Once I got past the hump of a slow start I actually started to really enjoy it. The story plays out like a creepy mystery and as with all great mysteries - I get addicted to finding the missing pieces to the puzzle.
The novel plays out like that for the next few hundred pages, addictive and fun - a real page turner. In one sitting I flew past 250 pages because I was enthralled - captivated by the mystery and fantasy elements surrounding this story. But then I reached the climax. And that's where it gets a bit tricky.
The ending - well, it's inevitably going to be divisive. Some readers will love the ending - some will not. Personally, I felt the ending was disappointing (It's like opening a Christmas present, tearing off the wrapping paper in excitement - and it's just a crappy knitted wooly hat). I will admit - I have read many reviews praising the ending - please make your own judgments, but it didn't work for me. I'm more of a fan of endings that are conclusive and not left ambiguous and open to interpretation.
Overall it was a good read - I enjoyed the story, and I actually think Will MacLean is a terrific writer. Regardless of the slow start to the novel, the writing was fantastic throughout and more than happily I'd revisit this author again. But in giving my rating I have to acknowledge the frequent pacing issues and the disappointing rushed ending. And I think taking that into account a 3.5 rating is more than fair.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ½
and yes . . . . to any family member ever reading this review - take the hint, I do not need another wooly hat for Christmas - but I do now need some new pants that will fit my ever expanding waistline
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
✰ 3.5 stars ✰
Bummer. I was really hoping for it to be a four-star read. 😣
Loved the prose. It sucks you in. So atmospheric and haunting, visually entrancing. From the ridge to the marshlands to the Solace House, to the mystical realm, it really reeled me in, captivated and bewitched, almost cinematic in it's depiction. Despite its unnecessary length with a bit of repetitiveness, the details were mesmerizing and chilling.👌
Was I high? No, just high on the appeal of expectation where I had to know, I had to see. How I longed for something surreal and macabre to define all that was unseemly and ghastly in this vivid tapestry of seductive illusion.
“I am in a place where no choice is without horror.”
High on the surprise, I went along for the ride where time is uncertainty, and reality is a betrayal in a walled idyll, a strange paradise. But after a while, the drugs dulled my senses, and I entered a state of confusion and perplexity. 🤔 There was no conclusion, just a mirage of ideas that didn't reach a point, leaving it to me to deem what the actual endgame was.
And that sucked. Big time. 🙎🏻♀️ It's bad enough I was in this magical house, but once I escaped, I was not getting anywhere. It left me hollow and empty, without any closure. It's like riding a roller coaster: you're at the peak, and right at the drop-off point, you plummet painstakingly. 😐 There's no thrill of the rush, just a crippling disappointment that the build-up wasn't worth the intrigue.
At least give me a sense of the real issue with his parents? The Annihilator and the Terrible Last Day? I needed some veracity to this tortured experience, a cursed revelation of how our frail, feeble evils are revealed. Had he gone mentally unstable after a tragic, unfortunate accident? 🥺
It was too much speculation for the burgeoning questions to be conclusive, which left me undecided. Dodging the question just as much as Alex avoided giving a concrete answer. 🙄 Meandering, not so much misleading with purposefully disguised details, but ultimately failed to strike a match - for me, anyway.
The tone is laced literally with disguised hokey-ness, I don't know whether to applaud it or be offended that it left me to surmise the true intent behind it.What was real and what was a figment of his imagination serving as a coping mechanism—creating something so unbelievable that the horror allowed him to survive the trauma?
“Labyrinth, yew maze, artful dead ends.
built upon tragedy foreseen.
on ruination - everything depends
on obliterating my dream.”
I applaud the author's poetic talents that displayed plentiful creative ingenuity; however, their inclusion at the start of every chapter became distracting and burdensome. It felt ineffectual and also a little over my head, even when the urge to skip them was ever present. 😕
19yo Alex was a strange MC, unlikeable, duplicitous, insufferable, and almost apathetic, with how his empathy and concern seemed fake. He felt devoid of any real interest in other human beings. His very actions suggested an ulterior motive with a hidden agenda.
The cast did fall under the stereotypical archetypes with very little depth, save to serve as a checklist of perfect inclusion to depict a lifeboat of easy camaraderie that existed over a bleak, terrible summer filled with nightmares, terrors, vivid dreams.
“How precious and precarious is sanity, how fleeting, how utterly unappreciated.”
I would have liked more mysticism than mushrooms—some credulity to the disbelieving nature of the plot, maybe more weight to the mental asylum's tortured history. But, the mushrooms became such a predominant element, that I was no longer fazed. Forget Alex's already crippling psyche, the hallucinations were overwhelming the narrative. 😵💫 And that definitely put my investment on the back burner.
Wow, the more I try to write shorter reviews, the more words escape me. 😅
Long story short: I was gripped by Edwin Flayne's disturbing mystery of horrors, enthralled with the atmospheric vibes and vivid descriptive imagery of - the unreality... the madness... and the strangeness - but left with a feeling of bittersweet disappointment, if not sadness, for failing to leave with a clear understanding of what actually happened. I have theories, but, honestly, it would have been nice to have some clarity on what essentially read like a fever dream, instead. 🥴
“Here is a story, a parable, that can speak only to those who understand.”
Bummer. I was really hoping for it to be a four-star read. 😣
Loved the prose. It sucks you in. So atmospheric and haunting, visually entrancing. From the ridge to the marshlands to the Solace House, to the mystical realm, it really reeled me in, captivated and bewitched, almost cinematic in it's depiction. Despite its unnecessary length with a bit of repetitiveness, the details were mesmerizing and chilling.👌
Was I high? No, just high on the appeal of expectation where I had to know, I had to see. How I longed for something surreal and macabre to define all that was unseemly and ghastly in this vivid tapestry of seductive illusion.
“I am in a place where no choice is without horror.”
High on the surprise, I went along for the ride where time is uncertainty, and reality is a betrayal in a walled idyll, a strange paradise. But after a while, the drugs dulled my senses, and I entered a state of confusion and perplexity. 🤔 There was no conclusion, just a mirage of ideas that didn't reach a point, leaving it to me to deem what the actual endgame was.
And that sucked. Big time. 🙎🏻♀️ It's bad enough I was in this magical house, but once I escaped, I was not getting anywhere. It left me hollow and empty, without any closure. It's like riding a roller coaster: you're at the peak, and right at the drop-off point, you plummet painstakingly. 😐 There's no thrill of the rush, just a crippling disappointment that the build-up wasn't worth the intrigue.
At least give me a sense of the real issue with his parents? The Annihilator and the Terrible Last Day? I needed some veracity to this tortured experience, a cursed revelation of how our frail, feeble evils are revealed. Had he gone mentally unstable after a tragic, unfortunate accident? 🥺
It was too much speculation for the burgeoning questions to be conclusive, which left me undecided. Dodging the question just as much as Alex avoided giving a concrete answer. 🙄 Meandering, not so much misleading with purposefully disguised details, but ultimately failed to strike a match - for me, anyway.
The tone is laced literally with disguised hokey-ness, I don't know whether to applaud it or be offended that it left me to surmise the true intent behind it.What was real and what was a figment of his imagination serving as a coping mechanism—creating something so unbelievable that the horror allowed him to survive the trauma?
“Labyrinth, yew maze, artful dead ends.
built upon tragedy foreseen.
on ruination - everything depends
on obliterating my dream.”
I applaud the author's poetic talents that displayed plentiful creative ingenuity; however, their inclusion at the start of every chapter became distracting and burdensome. It felt ineffectual and also a little over my head, even when the urge to skip them was ever present. 😕
19yo Alex was a strange MC, unlikeable, duplicitous, insufferable, and almost apathetic, with how his empathy and concern seemed fake. He felt devoid of any real interest in other human beings. His very actions suggested an ulterior motive with a hidden agenda.
The cast did fall under the stereotypical archetypes with very little depth, save to serve as a checklist of perfect inclusion to depict a lifeboat of easy camaraderie that existed over a bleak, terrible summer filled with nightmares, terrors, vivid dreams.
“How precious and precarious is sanity, how fleeting, how utterly unappreciated.”
I would have liked more mysticism than mushrooms—some credulity to the disbelieving nature of the plot, maybe more weight to the mental asylum's tortured history. But, the mushrooms became such a predominant element, that I was no longer fazed. Forget Alex's already crippling psyche, the hallucinations were overwhelming the narrative. 😵💫 And that definitely put my investment on the back burner.
Wow, the more I try to write shorter reviews, the more words escape me. 😅
Long story short: I was gripped by Edwin Flayne's disturbing mystery of horrors, enthralled with the atmospheric vibes and vivid descriptive imagery of - the unreality... the madness... and the strangeness - but left with a feeling of bittersweet disappointment, if not sadness, for failing to leave with a clear understanding of what actually happened. I have theories, but, honestly, it would have been nice to have some clarity on what essentially read like a fever dream, instead. 🥴
March 7, 2026
I see what you’re going for and I read it very quickly. Two stars for effort!
However
I’ve previously stated, but the comparison to haunting of hill house is only accurate if you are speaking, specifically, about the 1999 theatrical release featuring Catherine zeta jones in which a guy’s head gets knocked off and which incidentally has a 17% on rotten tomatoes. Genuinely as a 2 hour popcorn experience in the hottest week of July this would be my absolute jam. I’d still find the below items problematic or just plain bad but boy would I have a good time.
It should not be comped to secret history at all, and comparing it to house of leaves is just mean. Like comparing a 20 piece puzzle to a 1000 piece puzzle. I’m sorry this description feels SO mean but despite my misgivings about house of leaves / danielewski I think it’s just wrong to put these two things on the same footing.
And while we are here
-it is fcuked up about women, both caricaturish (jilly and Helen are actively sexist annoying shrill portrayals of women) and profoundly fridgifying ([redacted] is a sexist portrayal of women in the sense of only being sexy and relatable and dead)
-it is fcuked up about albinism that it pretends isn’t albinism. why is the [redacted] of your [redacted] an otherworldly sinister “Strange and Pale” fellow and the vessel for the story’s majority supply of being violent and creepy? You didn’t need the shadow being who reflects your deepest terrors to also be: a disabled person
-it’s briefly but very weird about the ~mystical~ nature of Irish and Romani people, just throwing it in there for why the hell not
-it’s incredible how lazy you can be about the nature of mental illness sorry MADNESS and INSANITY OOOOH spooky and evocative, when you’re trying to do a Lovecraft and please god don’t do a Lovecraft [carving out an exception for The Fisherman which I really really like]
-the main character? He’s shit. Regardless of anything that happens or how crrrrAaaazzzy things get he’s just kind of gross and egotistical in a pedestrian way and I can’t stand him and he is not someone I am enthusiastic about as the center of the mystery
-I just rly don’t think he ever hits the balance between ~Madness~, real cosmic horror, and magic mushrooms — I love the effort to throw the reader violently against one perception or interpretation after the other but it never quite hit the right pitch
-we seem to be entering an era of long novels which could have been half the length. It is okay for books to be 300 pages instead of 500. Concentrate your plot, your sensations, your propulsion in fewer words and you become more powerful than you can imagine. There’s a place for long books I swear but the amount of stuff that happens in this book is not commensurate with its length.
Now to cap off, I’m going to suggest very earnestly and with great encouragement to all my fellow readers: if you got something out of the poetry in this novel please read the canonical and real life romantics. Read the people who inspired this (as evidenced by the meander through a gallery of paintings featuring red headed pre raphaelite muses) You will love them. Their poems will remind you aesthetically of the poetry in this book but oh you can pack so much into the bad boys of Christina Rossetti, Keats and Byron. It’s worth delving into with the spirit of curiosity and melodrama and Deep Philosophy.
Shortest review: honestly flew through it and would love the movie but gosh did it need some work and some slaps in the face.
However
I’ve previously stated, but the comparison to haunting of hill house is only accurate if you are speaking, specifically, about the 1999 theatrical release featuring Catherine zeta jones in which a guy’s head gets knocked off and which incidentally has a 17% on rotten tomatoes. Genuinely as a 2 hour popcorn experience in the hottest week of July this would be my absolute jam. I’d still find the below items problematic or just plain bad but boy would I have a good time.
It should not be comped to secret history at all, and comparing it to house of leaves is just mean. Like comparing a 20 piece puzzle to a 1000 piece puzzle. I’m sorry this description feels SO mean but despite my misgivings about house of leaves / danielewski I think it’s just wrong to put these two things on the same footing.
And while we are here
-it is fcuked up about women, both caricaturish (jilly and Helen are actively sexist annoying shrill portrayals of women) and profoundly fridgifying ([redacted] is a sexist portrayal of women in the sense of only being sexy and relatable and dead)
-it is fcuked up about albinism that it pretends isn’t albinism. why is the [redacted] of your [redacted] an otherworldly sinister “Strange and Pale” fellow and the vessel for the story’s majority supply of being violent and creepy? You didn’t need the shadow being who reflects your deepest terrors to also be: a disabled person
-it’s briefly but very weird about the ~mystical~ nature of Irish and Romani people, just throwing it in there for why the hell not
-it’s incredible how lazy you can be about the nature of mental illness sorry MADNESS and INSANITY OOOOH spooky and evocative, when you’re trying to do a Lovecraft and please god don’t do a Lovecraft [carving out an exception for The Fisherman which I really really like]
-the main character? He’s shit. Regardless of anything that happens or how crrrrAaaazzzy things get he’s just kind of gross and egotistical in a pedestrian way and I can’t stand him and he is not someone I am enthusiastic about as the center of the mystery
-I just rly don’t think he ever hits the balance between ~Madness~, real cosmic horror, and magic mushrooms — I love the effort to throw the reader violently against one perception or interpretation after the other but it never quite hit the right pitch
-we seem to be entering an era of long novels which could have been half the length. It is okay for books to be 300 pages instead of 500. Concentrate your plot, your sensations, your propulsion in fewer words and you become more powerful than you can imagine. There’s a place for long books I swear but the amount of stuff that happens in this book is not commensurate with its length.
Now to cap off, I’m going to suggest very earnestly and with great encouragement to all my fellow readers: if you got something out of the poetry in this novel please read the canonical and real life romantics. Read the people who inspired this (as evidenced by the meander through a gallery of paintings featuring red headed pre raphaelite muses) You will love them. Their poems will remind you aesthetically of the poetry in this book but oh you can pack so much into the bad boys of Christina Rossetti, Keats and Byron. It’s worth delving into with the spirit of curiosity and melodrama and Deep Philosophy.
Shortest review: honestly flew through it and would love the movie but gosh did it need some work and some slaps in the face.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
DNF @ 48%
I loved Will Maclean's debut, The Apparition Phase, so I was beyond excited to be approved for his latest novel.
And we were getting along so well until we weren't. *sigh*
The cover, stunning. The synopsis, intriguing. The writing, exquisite.
So why the DNF?
Well for starters this is an ambitious novel that's bloated beyond belief. (500+ pages) What began as an interesting journey into the macabre began to slowly devolve into boredom. I found this book to be so bewildering that I just felt like I was missing the plot entirely. I do believe that's MacLean's intentions, though. It's a book to puzzle and ponder over and I'm just not in the right headspace for that kind of novel at the moment.
Then I read some of the early reviews and many of those reviewers found the ending disappointing so that's why I decided to set this aside. To struggle through another 200+ pages only to be left disappointed would leave me terribly frustrated.
Normally I wouldn't rate a DNF but after reading 48% of a 500+ book I feel a star rating is warranted in this case. 2 stars!
Thank you to Edelweiss and Grove Atlantic for my complimentary copy.
I loved Will Maclean's debut, The Apparition Phase, so I was beyond excited to be approved for his latest novel.
And we were getting along so well until we weren't. *sigh*
The cover, stunning. The synopsis, intriguing. The writing, exquisite.
So why the DNF?
Well for starters this is an ambitious novel that's bloated beyond belief. (500+ pages) What began as an interesting journey into the macabre began to slowly devolve into boredom. I found this book to be so bewildering that I just felt like I was missing the plot entirely. I do believe that's MacLean's intentions, though. It's a book to puzzle and ponder over and I'm just not in the right headspace for that kind of novel at the moment.
Then I read some of the early reviews and many of those reviewers found the ending disappointing so that's why I decided to set this aside. To struggle through another 200+ pages only to be left disappointed would leave me terribly frustrated.
Normally I wouldn't rate a DNF but after reading 48% of a 500+ book I feel a star rating is warranted in this case. 2 stars!
Thank you to Edelweiss and Grove Atlantic for my complimentary copy.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
⌗ ── 😶🍋🟩🐈⬛ᝰ .ᐟ read.
well, my excitement for the book didn't last too much haha.
RTC
⌗ ── 😶🍋🟩🐈⬛ᝰ .ᐟ pre-read.
thanks to netgalley and the author for an arc in exchange of an honest review.
the premise of this book is insane and i'm here for it! let's goooo
well, my excitement for the book didn't last too much haha.
RTC
⌗ ── 😶🍋🟩🐈⬛ᝰ .ᐟ pre-read.
thanks to netgalley and the author for an arc in exchange of an honest review.
the premise of this book is insane and i'm here for it! let's goooo
Did Not Finish
October 2, 2026dnf @7%
The premise of the story itself is intriguing but sadly I cant connect with the writing style. I have attempted to read this book twice but I’m not feeling it at all. Also I just cant find it in myself to care about what is going on with the protagonist that we meet at first. It also feels like a slog. Were still at the ridge for like five chapters and Alex starts noticing weird things happening at the ridge when he’s the second last student to be left there while everyone left for the summer. I wish this part has kept me intrigued or at least invested as to what will happen when Alex goes to basically be a cleaner for a different property during the summer but it didn’t.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
———————————-
𐙚⋆°. preread
I have attempted to start this book before but I didn’t vibe either with the story or writing style so I’m gonna try and attempt it one more time.
The premise of the story itself is intriguing but sadly I cant connect with the writing style. I have attempted to read this book twice but I’m not feeling it at all. Also I just cant find it in myself to care about what is going on with the protagonist that we meet at first. It also feels like a slog. Were still at the ridge for like five chapters and Alex starts noticing weird things happening at the ridge when he’s the second last student to be left there while everyone left for the summer. I wish this part has kept me intrigued or at least invested as to what will happen when Alex goes to basically be a cleaner for a different property during the summer but it didn’t.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
———————————-
𐙚⋆°. preread
I have attempted to start this book before but I didn’t vibe either with the story or writing style so I’m gonna try and attempt it one more time.
June 4, 2026
4.5 ⭐️
This was a fantastic, captivating and unique novel.
From the get-go I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the ominous history of our protagonist, with new developments always adding to the unease rather than clarity in the story.
I particularly enjoyed the turn the author took with the climax of the story - there was a very obvious path which most authors take and the novel reaches its resolution, but WM did something different and very effective with what happened next.
The characters felt well fleshed out and intriguing and brought different dynamics to the group. I enjoyed their changing relationships with one another and the general atmosphere of distrust / scepticism especially at the high point of the novel. There were chapters that genuinely had me uneasy and I felt myself almost 'running' through the pages and keeping pace with the characters' distress!
I think the ending really fit the themes in the novel - just as the main character we were trying to piece together the 'reality' of the situation.
Overall, really fantastic and refreshing novel!
This was a fantastic, captivating and unique novel.
From the get-go I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the ominous history of our protagonist, with new developments always adding to the unease rather than clarity in the story.
I particularly enjoyed the turn the author took with the climax of the story - there was a very obvious path which most authors take and the novel reaches its resolution, but WM did something different and very effective with what happened next.
The characters felt well fleshed out and intriguing and brought different dynamics to the group. I enjoyed their changing relationships with one another and the general atmosphere of distrust / scepticism especially at the high point of the novel. There were chapters that genuinely had me uneasy and I felt myself almost 'running' through the pages and keeping pace with the characters' distress!
I think the ending really fit the themes in the novel - just as the main character we were trying to piece together the 'reality' of the situation.
Overall, really fantastic and refreshing novel!
July 11, 2026
The first 80% of this novel was absolutely incredible but I'm really conflicted at how I feel about the ending. This novel is about a group of university students who work a job over the summer to clear out an old mental hospital that the university has bought. They are all living at the hospital together, cooking food, getting along, when they're told they have to start clearing out another building called Solace House which was home to a hoarder named Flayne with devastating mental health problems. As the students begin to clear out the house they start to piece together the really odd story of who Flayne was and uncover some really eerie and dark things he was doing in the house.
The book is very much inspired by works like Piranesi, House of Leaves, Midsommar, Library of Babel and other books about codes, haunted houses and discovering dark planes of existence. I raced through the book at first because I was completely obsessed - loved the characters, the storytelling, the atmosphere was absolutely perfect.
Once the ending kind of kicks in is where I start to become confused on how I feel. On one hand it feels like a huge cop out and a way for the author to tie things up without actually having to explain much, but on the other hand the whole book has been about bending reality and and not knowing what is real and so the ending kind of does still make sense and fit with the plot of the book. I can't decide if the author has been super clever or super lazy, so it's something I'm just going to have to sit in the discomfort of.
I definitely still 100% recommend this book - it's addictive, creepy, and one of the best horrors I have read in a long time. I love how it uses it's inspirations but very much creates its own world.
The book is very much inspired by works like Piranesi, House of Leaves, Midsommar, Library of Babel and other books about codes, haunted houses and discovering dark planes of existence. I raced through the book at first because I was completely obsessed - loved the characters, the storytelling, the atmosphere was absolutely perfect.
Once the ending kind of kicks in is where I start to become confused on how I feel. On one hand it feels like a huge cop out and a way for the author to tie things up without actually having to explain much, but on the other hand the whole book has been about bending reality and and not knowing what is real and so the ending kind of does still make sense and fit with the plot of the book. I can't decide if the author has been super clever or super lazy, so it's something I'm just going to have to sit in the discomfort of.
I definitely still 100% recommend this book - it's addictive, creepy, and one of the best horrors I have read in a long time. I love how it uses it's inspirations but very much creates its own world.
May 8, 2026
Solace House is the first novel by Will Maclean that I’ve read, and on this showing he very much seems like a writer worth following. It’s an ambitious book: eerie, quiet, deeply atmospheric, and content to remain strange on its own terms. From the beginning, the novel slowly builds a lingering sense of unease and loneliness that completely pulled me in. It also has one of the most striking covers I’ve seen in some time — evocative, disorienting, and perfectly in tune with the novel’s blend of the ordinary and the uncanny.
Maclean brings together grief story, period piece, haunted-house mystery, and something harder to define, with a quiet confidence that never feels forced. Set in the early ’90s, it captures the texture of the period perfectly without leaning too heavily on nostalgia. What comes through instead is the feeling of empty summers, cultural leftovers, and the uncertain drift of early adulthood. The setting feels genuinely lived in rather than carefully arranged.
The story follows Alex Lane, who takes a job clearing the cluttered Victorian house of a dead painter named Flayne. From there, the novel proceeds by accumulation: each discovery explains something while making the larger shape of things feel even less clear. Maclean is particularly good at sustaining that tension between explanation and unease, and at suggesting how little distance there often is between the two.
Beneath the haunted-house mystery and grief story, the novel increasingly becomes something stranger and more disorienting — a book about memory, obsession, and the fragility of reality itself. In an interview with The Bookseller, Maclean described the novel as having “a very simple and obvious explanation” as well as “a very baroque and esoteric one,” leaving it up to the reader which version they believe. The novel constantly balances between rational explanation and something far stranger, until even the ordinary details of reality begin to feel unstable.
The writer has a real gift for characterisation, and I found myself becoming more invested in the characters with every chapter. The shifting dynamics between them give the novel much of its emotional pull, and the cast feel like real people rather than figures simply moved into place for the plot.
This is a slow-burning 500-page novel, but the short, snappy chapters give it a welcome sense of momentum, and I flew through it. The length allows both the atmosphere and the novel’s emotional and psychological themes time to fully settle in.
The ending absolutely nailed it, too. The final section moves into stranger territory and refuses to explain everything away. Some readers may resist that, but I thought it suited the novel perfectly. It would have lost something if it had become too neat or too legible by the end.
A thoughtful, quietly accomplished novel. I immediately ordered the author's first novel, The Apparition Phase after finishing this, which probably says enough on its own.
Maclean brings together grief story, period piece, haunted-house mystery, and something harder to define, with a quiet confidence that never feels forced. Set in the early ’90s, it captures the texture of the period perfectly without leaning too heavily on nostalgia. What comes through instead is the feeling of empty summers, cultural leftovers, and the uncertain drift of early adulthood. The setting feels genuinely lived in rather than carefully arranged.
The story follows Alex Lane, who takes a job clearing the cluttered Victorian house of a dead painter named Flayne. From there, the novel proceeds by accumulation: each discovery explains something while making the larger shape of things feel even less clear. Maclean is particularly good at sustaining that tension between explanation and unease, and at suggesting how little distance there often is between the two.
Beneath the haunted-house mystery and grief story, the novel increasingly becomes something stranger and more disorienting — a book about memory, obsession, and the fragility of reality itself. In an interview with The Bookseller, Maclean described the novel as having “a very simple and obvious explanation” as well as “a very baroque and esoteric one,” leaving it up to the reader which version they believe. The novel constantly balances between rational explanation and something far stranger, until even the ordinary details of reality begin to feel unstable.
The writer has a real gift for characterisation, and I found myself becoming more invested in the characters with every chapter. The shifting dynamics between them give the novel much of its emotional pull, and the cast feel like real people rather than figures simply moved into place for the plot.
This is a slow-burning 500-page novel, but the short, snappy chapters give it a welcome sense of momentum, and I flew through it. The length allows both the atmosphere and the novel’s emotional and psychological themes time to fully settle in.
The ending absolutely nailed it, too. The final section moves into stranger territory and refuses to explain everything away. Some readers may resist that, but I thought it suited the novel perfectly. It would have lost something if it had become too neat or too legible by the end.
A thoughtful, quietly accomplished novel. I immediately ordered the author's first novel, The Apparition Phase after finishing this, which probably says enough on its own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
’Are we dreaming this place, or is this place dreaming us?’
Solace House, also known as The Secret History if Richard was actually likeable and the group were haunted by eldritch horrors their minds cannot comprehend, is a literary psychological horror based in England in 1993. We follow Alex Lane, a down-on-his-luck university student, as he agrees to work over the summer cleaning out an abandoned psychiatric hospital. There, he meets a group of eccentric students who he instantly connects with, and when they are tasked to clean out Solace House, the home of the now dead Edwin Flayne, everything is set to be a summer to remember. That is until Flayne’s diaries are uncovered, and his insanity revealed.
If that sounds even remotely like something you would enjoy, I seriously encourage you to do so. This book oozes with atmosphere, from the 90s aesthetic, to the gothic interior of the house, to the strange and unnatural grounds it stands on. There wasn’t a moment where I wasn’t completely enraptured with the mystery of Solace House and Edwin Flayne, or the unique backstories of each character. It is a slow-burn horror, one that grows with each chapter and fills you with unease the further you read. There was such a sense of wrongness when reading this story, a feeling that at any moment disaster would strike. And when it finally did, all I have to say is WOW.
Alex was a wonderful protagonist, sympathetic and engaging throughout. He felt completely real, like any and every 20-year-old I’ve met in my time at university. The same goes for the rest of the group, who had such distinctive voices and personalities. Leo, the whimsical archaeologist, and Clive, the cynical pothead, were by far my favourites, and both added so much to the narrative.
Slowly uncovering the inner workings of Flayne’s mind made for truly creepy and unnerving reading. The way in which Maclean made me question whether or not his ‘insanity’ was truly the ramblings of a madman or linked to something tangible, was fantastic. Even by the end of the story I had no definitive answer, just a feeling of dread and awe.
Overall, Solace House is a brilliantly written dive into the horror of worlds beyond our own, and why the human mind should NEVER be able to comprehend infinity. 4.5/5 stars rounded down to 4/5 for Netgalley.
thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review! <3
Solace House, also known as The Secret History if Richard was actually likeable and the group were haunted by eldritch horrors their minds cannot comprehend, is a literary psychological horror based in England in 1993. We follow Alex Lane, a down-on-his-luck university student, as he agrees to work over the summer cleaning out an abandoned psychiatric hospital. There, he meets a group of eccentric students who he instantly connects with, and when they are tasked to clean out Solace House, the home of the now dead Edwin Flayne, everything is set to be a summer to remember. That is until Flayne’s diaries are uncovered, and his insanity revealed.
If that sounds even remotely like something you would enjoy, I seriously encourage you to do so. This book oozes with atmosphere, from the 90s aesthetic, to the gothic interior of the house, to the strange and unnatural grounds it stands on. There wasn’t a moment where I wasn’t completely enraptured with the mystery of Solace House and Edwin Flayne, or the unique backstories of each character. It is a slow-burn horror, one that grows with each chapter and fills you with unease the further you read. There was such a sense of wrongness when reading this story, a feeling that at any moment disaster would strike. And when it finally did, all I have to say is WOW.
Alex was a wonderful protagonist, sympathetic and engaging throughout. He felt completely real, like any and every 20-year-old I’ve met in my time at university. The same goes for the rest of the group, who had such distinctive voices and personalities. Leo, the whimsical archaeologist, and Clive, the cynical pothead, were by far my favourites, and both added so much to the narrative.
Slowly uncovering the inner workings of Flayne’s mind made for truly creepy and unnerving reading. The way in which Maclean made me question whether or not his ‘insanity’ was truly the ramblings of a madman or linked to something tangible, was fantastic. Even by the end of the story I had no definitive answer, just a feeling of dread and awe.
Overall, Solace House is a brilliantly written dive into the horror of worlds beyond our own, and why the human mind should NEVER be able to comprehend infinity. 4.5/5 stars rounded down to 4/5 for Netgalley.
thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review! <3
Review of advance copy
5★
’This is the shape of the universe. ‘Maze inside maze inside maze inside maze.’
This was such a trip (haha, get it? 🍄) !! I had a total “wait a minute…🕵️♀️” moment reading that ending, knowing what I know now after reading this.
The idea of cleaning out a house like Solace House is interesting to me already, but I was not expecting everything to come together so nicely (and strangely, like, psychedelic rainbow mind explosion strangely.) I honestly wished there was more of the house cleaning…
I think I need to read more Will Maclean soon, this was just the right amount of confusing and weird! Not to mention how much I enjoyed the writing, and personalities of the characters!
’This is the shape of the universe. ‘Maze inside maze inside maze inside maze.’
This was such a trip (haha, get it? 🍄) !! I had a total “wait a minute…🕵️♀️” moment reading that ending, knowing what I know now after reading this.
The idea of cleaning out a house like Solace House is interesting to me already, but I was not expecting everything to come together so nicely (and strangely, like, psychedelic rainbow mind explosion strangely.) I honestly wished there was more of the house cleaning…
I think I need to read more Will Maclean soon, this was just the right amount of confusing and weird! Not to mention how much I enjoyed the writing, and personalities of the characters!
August 30, 2026
A masterful piece of work. Deep and shimmering, a book that deserves a second reading at some point to better appreciate the intricate puzzle that Maclean has constructed.
If you are a fan of Nicholas Binge and his brand of mind altering, time shifting, and reality bending stories then Solace House is a must read for you.
How precious and precarious is sanity, how fleeting, how utterly unappreciated. Sanity; the ability to live without fear, or with fear that was proportionate, and could be managed, made useful. To live in the daily currents of reality, without fuss, without questioning the solidity of everyday things. To parcel time up in days, and months, years, and be fine with all of that. To reduce the awful, fearful infinity of the universe to simply what you can see, what is right in front of you; to what, ultimately, matters.
If you are a fan of Nicholas Binge and his brand of mind altering, time shifting, and reality bending stories then Solace House is a must read for you.
How precious and precarious is sanity, how fleeting, how utterly unappreciated. Sanity; the ability to live without fear, or with fear that was proportionate, and could be managed, made useful. To live in the daily currents of reality, without fuss, without questioning the solidity of everyday things. To parcel time up in days, and months, years, and be fine with all of that. To reduce the awful, fearful infinity of the universe to simply what you can see, what is right in front of you; to what, ultimately, matters.
May 26, 2026
I don’t know how to move on after finishing this book. A part of me will always be with this group of people clearing out a house during a hot summer break. I loved every moment of this, the moments of warmth, the moments of joy, the moments of existential dread, the moments of plummeting, stomach dropping fear. All of it.
I can tell Maclean had a lot of fun writing this. His little trinkets of curiosities dappled throughout were sumptuous. Hinting Alice in Wonderland with a character saying “curiouser and curiouser”. Having the song “Out of Space” by The Prodigy cut out. There’s so so much in this that leans into its true purpose.
Not only is the story great, and the characters tangible, but it is written exquisitely. There are moments where you can tell Maclean is a script writer, there are paragraphs of him describing the situation we’re stepping into, painting the picture of who these characters are, giving places character and life. But also writing incredible phrases like “Cramped cathedral of lunacy”. Gorgeous!
I cannot wait to discuss this multi-layered mansion of a book with people who have read it. I haven’t enjoyed a book this much in years. Not only has it crammed its way into my brain constantly since I started reading it, but it has now left a terrifying void, because whatever I read next can’t stand a chance after finishing something this good.
I can tell Maclean had a lot of fun writing this. His little trinkets of curiosities dappled throughout were sumptuous. Hinting Alice in Wonderland with a character saying “curiouser and curiouser”. Having the song “Out of Space” by The Prodigy cut out. There’s so so much in this that leans into its true purpose.
Not only is the story great, and the characters tangible, but it is written exquisitely. There are moments where you can tell Maclean is a script writer, there are paragraphs of him describing the situation we’re stepping into, painting the picture of who these characters are, giving places character and life. But also writing incredible phrases like “Cramped cathedral of lunacy”. Gorgeous!
I cannot wait to discuss this multi-layered mansion of a book with people who have read it. I haven’t enjoyed a book this much in years. Not only has it crammed its way into my brain constantly since I started reading it, but it has now left a terrifying void, because whatever I read next can’t stand a chance after finishing something this good.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
how do I feeeeel about this?? on one hand, the first 60% really had me but the last bit lost me as I felt it was meandering. also all the women in the book were either sex objects or religious zealots.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Absolutely stunning
A wild trip
I've never read anything like this before and I doubt I'll read anything like this again. I'm just sad that I won't be able to read it for the first time again. Or, maybe I can . . .
A wild trip
I've never read anything like this before and I doubt I'll read anything like this again. I'm just sad that I won't be able to read it for the first time again. Or, maybe I can . . .
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
There was an excellent story hidden somewhere inside Solace House—one filled with cursed objects, impossible spaces, and mounting dread—but it just could not get out of its own way.
At just over 500 pages, this novel had no business being as long as it was. Every chapter opens with excerpts from journals that eventually become relevant, but they contribute nothing in the moment and quickly become tedious enough for me to skip them altogether.
The story doesn't actually begin until we arrive at Solace House around the 15% mark. Everything before that is spent with the exceptionally bland protagonist, Alex. He seems to be intentionally written as emotionally detached and unreliable, but that came at the expense of any investment to be had in him. He functions as the reader's eyes and ears, drifting through the events of the story instead of being an active participant in them. Outside of that, most of what defines him is his incessant pining over the women in his life, and I could not stand how pathetic it was.
Even after arriving at the house, the first half continues to meander through repetitive day-to-day routines, house-clearing scenes, and conversations that don't accomplish much. The side characters were distinct, but only because of how uniquely stereotypical they all were. Perhaps these scenes would have worked with stronger characterization, but with such one-dimensional personalities, the dialogue was perfunctory at best and vapid at worst.
There’s finally some plot momentum around the 40% mark when the crew finds the journals. The story spends its time between 40% and 60% exploring the impossible spaces, unsettling objects, and increasingly horrifying discoveries in the house. This section was easily the strongest part of the book; it was where I was most captivated and it had my full attention. Maclean's descriptions are wonderfully visual and atmospheric, with vivid sensory detail that made the house itself feel dark and oppressive. This is the novel the synopsis promises—the creepy, mysterious haunted house horror where every new room raises more questions than answers—but it's also the section the book moves through the fastest, smothering its greatest strengths beneath hundreds of pages of far less fascinating material.
The final third loses all momentum immediately, drudging through repetitive scenes and ideas, and returns once again to Alex's nausea-inducing fixation on a woman. Eventually, the story moves into some weird territory that it never provided enough groundwork to validate. If there was a point to anything that happened, it wasn’t clear, and that ambiguity felt like a consequence of a muddled execution rather than the result of a purposeful, well-constructed narrative.
Beneath all the bloat, unfocused storytelling, and abysmal characterization was an imaginative, luminal horror novel, but this was not that novel. This missed the mark in every way for me; and yet, I have no doubt Solace House will be loved by many, so I encourage anyone intrigued by its premise to give it a shot and form their own opinion.
Readers who enjoyed The Fisherman by John Langan, Atlas of Unknowable Things by McCormick Templeman, and Piranesi by Susanna Clarke may find more to appreciate about this read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
At just over 500 pages, this novel had no business being as long as it was. Every chapter opens with excerpts from journals that eventually become relevant, but they contribute nothing in the moment and quickly become tedious enough for me to skip them altogether.
The story doesn't actually begin until we arrive at Solace House around the 15% mark. Everything before that is spent with the exceptionally bland protagonist, Alex. He seems to be intentionally written as emotionally detached and unreliable, but that came at the expense of any investment to be had in him. He functions as the reader's eyes and ears, drifting through the events of the story instead of being an active participant in them. Outside of that, most of what defines him is his incessant pining over the women in his life, and I could not stand how pathetic it was.
Even after arriving at the house, the first half continues to meander through repetitive day-to-day routines, house-clearing scenes, and conversations that don't accomplish much. The side characters were distinct, but only because of how uniquely stereotypical they all were. Perhaps these scenes would have worked with stronger characterization, but with such one-dimensional personalities, the dialogue was perfunctory at best and vapid at worst.
There’s finally some plot momentum around the 40% mark when the crew finds the journals. The story spends its time between 40% and 60% exploring the impossible spaces, unsettling objects, and increasingly horrifying discoveries in the house. This section was easily the strongest part of the book; it was where I was most captivated and it had my full attention. Maclean's descriptions are wonderfully visual and atmospheric, with vivid sensory detail that made the house itself feel dark and oppressive. This is the novel the synopsis promises—the creepy, mysterious haunted house horror where every new room raises more questions than answers—but it's also the section the book moves through the fastest, smothering its greatest strengths beneath hundreds of pages of far less fascinating material.
The final third loses all momentum immediately, drudging through repetitive scenes and ideas, and returns once again to Alex's nausea-inducing fixation on a woman. Eventually, the story moves into some weird territory that it never provided enough groundwork to validate. If there was a point to anything that happened, it wasn’t clear, and that ambiguity felt like a consequence of a muddled execution rather than the result of a purposeful, well-constructed narrative.
Beneath all the bloat, unfocused storytelling, and abysmal characterization was an imaginative, luminal horror novel, but this was not that novel. This missed the mark in every way for me; and yet, I have no doubt Solace House will be loved by many, so I encourage anyone intrigued by its premise to give it a shot and form their own opinion.
Readers who enjoyed The Fisherman by John Langan, Atlas of Unknowable Things by McCormick Templeman, and Piranesi by Susanna Clarke may find more to appreciate about this read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Solace House is a dark, mesmerising tale that pulls you into a world that you can never be sure as to what is reality or something surreal and sinister.
Alex lane is penniless and needs a summer job to tied him over a university summer. He finds himself employed with a small group other students emptying the contents of a house once by an elusive and eccentric man.
As the team begin to work through the house, emotions and anxiety increases as they try to understand the mind of the former inhabitant. When the group are joined by flame haired Ella, Alex finds himself being drawn towards her ; but something strange is at play - why does nothing really seem to be what it appears and as tempers flair and personalities alter then the darkness of Solace House makes its mark.
There will be certain connections made to Donna Tart's The Secret History and more recently Alex Michaelides The Maidens as modern day meets gothic with university students at the centre of the stories.
Will Maclean has written a gripping tale that doesn't let you go. If you like a story with dark forces at work and serious gothic undertones then Solace House will your summer read . The twists and turns do need focus ands the denouement needs reflection to fully get your mind around the events within the pages.
Thank you to Atlantic books and NetGalley for the advance copy
Alex lane is penniless and needs a summer job to tied him over a university summer. He finds himself employed with a small group other students emptying the contents of a house once by an elusive and eccentric man.
As the team begin to work through the house, emotions and anxiety increases as they try to understand the mind of the former inhabitant. When the group are joined by flame haired Ella, Alex finds himself being drawn towards her ; but something strange is at play - why does nothing really seem to be what it appears and as tempers flair and personalities alter then the darkness of Solace House makes its mark.
There will be certain connections made to Donna Tart's The Secret History and more recently Alex Michaelides The Maidens as modern day meets gothic with university students at the centre of the stories.
Will Maclean has written a gripping tale that doesn't let you go. If you like a story with dark forces at work and serious gothic undertones then Solace House will your summer read . The twists and turns do need focus ands the denouement needs reflection to fully get your mind around the events within the pages.
Thank you to Atlantic books and NetGalley for the advance copy
June 8, 2026
The quatrain poetry was so, so clever but I felt a lot of the story and characters were sacrificed in favour of the big reveal at the end.
Solace House is over 500 pages, and is mostly the story of a group of people clearing out a house. More than enough room, I feel, to properly flesh out the characters, the story and the mystery. But instead it stayed fairly vague and I lost a lot of interest as the pages wore on.
I also did not find the conclusion satisfying. It felt like when a TV series finds out it's not getting it's next season, and scrambles to end the story the best way it can, as quickly as possible. I never felt I fully understood, or cared about any of the characters or their endings, even the main character.
Solace House is over 500 pages, and is mostly the story of a group of people clearing out a house. More than enough room, I feel, to properly flesh out the characters, the story and the mystery. But instead it stayed fairly vague and I lost a lot of interest as the pages wore on.
I also did not find the conclusion satisfying. It felt like when a TV series finds out it's not getting it's next season, and scrambles to end the story the best way it can, as quickly as possible. I never felt I fully understood, or cared about any of the characters or their endings, even the main character.
April 30, 2026
✨✨✨Great concept, excellent atmosphere, but…frustrating.🫣 ✨✨✨
Solace House started off a bit slow for me and it was a bit of a struggle for me to get into it. The plot of this one sounded super intriguing and absolutely right up my alley but it ended up kind of a mixed bag for me.
I think a lot the struggle I had with it is that it’s a little slow and the characters were all just a bit dry and flat. I didn’t really feel invested in the MC or anyone else. I didn’t like any of them either. I was hoping for some Alex and Adam romance, that would have been amazing and the vibes were there. I would have been invested in that. 😭 😂
Probably about 1/4th the way through I started to get really into the story. The atmosphere throughout the book is extremely well done. Things were getting so very interesting for a bit!! Unfortunately, then it lost my interest again, but also simultaneously it was also like too much was happening.❓By the time I (finally, I mean this really didn’t need to be as long as it is) got to the end I was hoping it would be an ending I enjoyed, but sadly it just wasn’t.
I liked the idea of this one a lot. It definitely could have been edited down (a lot) some. Maybe cut out the bloating in exchange for some better connection to the characters. I can definitely see what the author was going for, but it just fell a little short and was a bit frustrating for me unfortunately.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free ebook copy in exchange for an honest review. This book is expected to be released October 13, 2026 .
Solace House started off a bit slow for me and it was a bit of a struggle for me to get into it. The plot of this one sounded super intriguing and absolutely right up my alley but it ended up kind of a mixed bag for me.
I think a lot the struggle I had with it is that it’s a little slow and the characters were all just a bit dry and flat. I didn’t really feel invested in the MC or anyone else. I didn’t like any of them either. I was hoping for some Alex and Adam romance, that would have been amazing and the vibes were there. I would have been invested in that. 😭 😂
Probably about 1/4th the way through I started to get really into the story. The atmosphere throughout the book is extremely well done. Things were getting so very interesting for a bit!! Unfortunately, then it lost my interest again, but also simultaneously it was also like too much was happening.❓By the time I (finally, I mean this really didn’t need to be as long as it is) got to the end I was hoping it would be an ending I enjoyed, but sadly it just wasn’t.
I liked the idea of this one a lot. It definitely could have been edited down (a lot) some. Maybe cut out the bloating in exchange for some better connection to the characters. I can definitely see what the author was going for, but it just fell a little short and was a bit frustrating for me unfortunately.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free ebook copy in exchange for an honest review. This book is expected to be released October 13, 2026 .
Read
March 10, 2026Solace House (2026) is the follow up to Will Maclean’s excellent debut novel The Apparition Phase (2020) which I loved, so was delighted to get my mitts on a review copy of this one.
Rest assured it’s another high wire winner and a triumph of storytelling. A real slow burn though and one which requires a bit of patience. The pay off is well worth it.
The less you know the better. Suffice to say the start is all atmosphere before it takes flight in the final sections. That said, I found it all really compelling and was immersed from the off.
A strange, multi layered, playful, unsettling, haunting novel. If you enjoy literary horror then this is essential and one that almost demands an instant reread.
4/5
More about Solace House (2026)]...
A brilliant, towering, puzzle-box novel about perfect summers and forbidden knowledge, somewhere in the mad interstice of Donna Tartt’s The Secret History and A.S. Byatt’s Possession.
Summer, 1993, and university student Alex Lane finds himself at the end of the summer term, broke and without plans. When offered the chance to join students – including beautiful, mercurial Ella – clearing out Solace House, a Victorian residence left by reclusive hoarder Edwin Flayne, he accepts. Initially the house seems ordinary, if slightly mad. But sorting through junk, they discover Flayne’s journals detailing his obsession with his missing mother, his discovery of strange place Bewise, and his belief in another parallel realm, with coded instructions for reaching it. One of the students becomes increasingly obsessed with the house’s secrets and gaining forbidden knowledge – assuming they’re willing to sacrifice everything and everyone.
Rest assured it’s another high wire winner and a triumph of storytelling. A real slow burn though and one which requires a bit of patience. The pay off is well worth it.
The less you know the better. Suffice to say the start is all atmosphere before it takes flight in the final sections. That said, I found it all really compelling and was immersed from the off.
A strange, multi layered, playful, unsettling, haunting novel. If you enjoy literary horror then this is essential and one that almost demands an instant reread.
4/5
More about Solace House (2026)]...
A brilliant, towering, puzzle-box novel about perfect summers and forbidden knowledge, somewhere in the mad interstice of Donna Tartt’s The Secret History and A.S. Byatt’s Possession.
Summer, 1993, and university student Alex Lane finds himself at the end of the summer term, broke and without plans. When offered the chance to join students – including beautiful, mercurial Ella – clearing out Solace House, a Victorian residence left by reclusive hoarder Edwin Flayne, he accepts. Initially the house seems ordinary, if slightly mad. But sorting through junk, they discover Flayne’s journals detailing his obsession with his missing mother, his discovery of strange place Bewise, and his belief in another parallel realm, with coded instructions for reaching it. One of the students becomes increasingly obsessed with the house’s secrets and gaining forbidden knowledge – assuming they’re willing to sacrifice everything and everyone.
Review of advance copy
When you were young, did you ever dream up a soulmate for yourself? Perhaps a fae boy or girl with wild red hair and a Pre-Raphaelite swoon, who you stumbled across in a twilit wood or some other such “thin place,” where magic crackles and reality sputters like static. Their pixie face remembered as if from a dream, and then—bam! There they are, your soulmate, in the flesh, screen-printed as if directly from your subconscious.
Reading Solace House is like remembering some such long-forgotten dream, or your ethereal fae soulmate. It’s like finding a puzzle box that encloses a rare glittering gem, a story that hides secrets within. With shimmering prose and encoded messages, the novel is as enchanting as the Eden promised by the lines of poetry that adorn each chapter, as enthralling and strange as an obscure Queen song or a kaleidoscopic painting. Read on for the cosmic fairy horror of your darkest fantasies—or nightmares.
Reading Solace House is like remembering some such long-forgotten dream, or your ethereal fae soulmate. It’s like finding a puzzle box that encloses a rare glittering gem, a story that hides secrets within. With shimmering prose and encoded messages, the novel is as enchanting as the Eden promised by the lines of poetry that adorn each chapter, as enthralling and strange as an obscure Queen song or a kaleidoscopic painting. Read on for the cosmic fairy horror of your darkest fantasies—or nightmares.
September 3, 2026
Książka typu „let him cook”, bo nabiera sensu dopiero pod koniec (also dziękuję za jebanie AI w posłowiu!!). Jak tylko przeczytałam opis, że studenci będą sprzątać opuszczoną wiktoriańską posiadłość obok szpitala psychiatrycznego, wiedziałam, że wciągnę to dupą i tak było
Idealna lektura na summerween 3.75/5
[ARC od wydawcy]
Idealna lektura na summerween 3.75/5
[ARC od wydawcy]
March 31, 2026
What did I just read? And I mean that in the best way. In Solace House, Will Maclean doesn’t take us by the hand. Instead, we tumble along into the story, and, believe me, we aren’t meant to come out the other side the same. As you may gather, the writing is exquisite - the prose, that is. The poetry - eh. But the poetry is just window dressing. The story begins with a group of university students involved in a cleanup at an old hospital that comes to include Solace House, a mysterious mansion. We are with that small group, isolated as they are, as they come to discover the secrets of Solace House and to find themselves in places of which their minds cannot make sense. This is psychological horror that takes a hard right into cosmic horror. Can you truly believe what your mind is telling you? How do you know what is real? Is it possible that all realities exist all at once? And where does that leave us as humans? Are we truly passengers on this planet or is it possible that we can bend things to our will? This book makes you think. That’s one of the more notable things about this book - the thinking. Another notable thing is that some aspects of the story feel familiar, but you can’t put your finger on it. You can’t see the plot twists coming - well, I saw one or two twists coming, but this book is twisty enough that readers are bound to be surprised. The atmosphere is deliciously gothic - dark, mysterious, and uneasy. I loved it and highly recommend.
I would like to thank Netgalley, Will Maclean, and Grove Atlantic for the opportunity to enjoy this ARC.
All opinions are entirely my own.
I would like to thank Netgalley, Will Maclean, and Grove Atlantic for the opportunity to enjoy this ARC.
All opinions are entirely my own.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
2.5/3
It took me a little while to get into this novel so I bought the audio version.
Alex Lane is s student who cannot go home for the summer vacation. After incurring the displeasure of the university he attends he manages to land a job clearing out a house, which is to be turned into student accommodation. However this job is short-lived and so he ends up at Solace House, a former lunatic asylum which is also to be converted. Whilst there he meets a diverse bunch of students who all seem a little strange in their own ways.
It is only as the students clear the former home of the owner of Solace House that really strange things begin to happen. Alex and the others find themselves being dragged deeper into the world of Flayne, the late owner and as time goes on the true horror of Solace House becomes clear.
Styled as a gothic horror story I was quite interested in the story to begin with but as the narrative plays out it felt as though Will Maclean was dragging the story out. It certainly felt very repetitive at times, which irritated me somewhat.
In general the story has an interesting premise as many old asylums were converted during the 1970s and 80s - one such is only a few miles from where I live and, whilst no such strange occurrences happened there during the conversion - it was said that students often felt uneasy during their stay.
Unfortunately I found the novel over-long and I didn't find any of the characters particularly likeable. This certainly wouldn't class as horror to me. Perhaps creepy is a better description.
If you enjoy a slow burn novel and don't mind a bit of the supernatural thrown in then you'll probably love Solace House. It would be more in the Shirley Jackson level of disturbing rather than out and out horror. I hasten to add that this is not in the same class as the superb Ms Jackson.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for the digital review copy.
It took me a little while to get into this novel so I bought the audio version.
Alex Lane is s student who cannot go home for the summer vacation. After incurring the displeasure of the university he attends he manages to land a job clearing out a house, which is to be turned into student accommodation. However this job is short-lived and so he ends up at Solace House, a former lunatic asylum which is also to be converted. Whilst there he meets a diverse bunch of students who all seem a little strange in their own ways.
It is only as the students clear the former home of the owner of Solace House that really strange things begin to happen. Alex and the others find themselves being dragged deeper into the world of Flayne, the late owner and as time goes on the true horror of Solace House becomes clear.
Styled as a gothic horror story I was quite interested in the story to begin with but as the narrative plays out it felt as though Will Maclean was dragging the story out. It certainly felt very repetitive at times, which irritated me somewhat.
In general the story has an interesting premise as many old asylums were converted during the 1970s and 80s - one such is only a few miles from where I live and, whilst no such strange occurrences happened there during the conversion - it was said that students often felt uneasy during their stay.
Unfortunately I found the novel over-long and I didn't find any of the characters particularly likeable. This certainly wouldn't class as horror to me. Perhaps creepy is a better description.
If you enjoy a slow burn novel and don't mind a bit of the supernatural thrown in then you'll probably love Solace House. It would be more in the Shirley Jackson level of disturbing rather than out and out horror. I hasten to add that this is not in the same class as the superb Ms Jackson.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for the digital review copy.
March 27, 2026
Solace House is ultimately a fun, popcorn-horror page-turner, but it makes you work far too hard to get to the ride.
The book is a 500+ page behemoth that spends its entire first half as a meandering slow burn. Unfortunately, the extensive setup feels irrelevant, as it doesn't meaningfully deepen our understanding of the characters or the setting. The cast largely sounds the same, and Maclean spends a lot of time on details that prolong the story without propelling the plot. Because of this, comparisons to The Secret History do this book a major disservice; where Donna Tartt uses micro-level details to build agonizing suspense and rich characterization, the details here often just feel like clutter.
However, once you hit the 50-60% mark, the book finally shifts gears. The hallucinogenic, haunted-house trip in Act 2 borders on repetitive, but the subsequent "twist" in Act 3 was a fantastic, thrilling reprise.
The multi-layered epigraphic poetry at the beginning of the chapters… was cool. While I initially skipped them because they lacked context, the eventual reveal that they form a layered secret message is a cool. Kudos to Maclean for the sheer craft of constructing that, but truthfully I didn’t feel like it was anything meaningful or like a “twist” in any way.
Where the book lost me again was the toward the middle of Act 3. I loved the initially grounded aspect of Alex believing the rituals and spirits were fake. But when he wakes from a coma suddenly believing it's all real, it undoes the grounded reality the plot worked so hard to build. The ending devolves into a Shutter Island-esque psychological ambiguity that asks the reader to do too much of the heavy lifting. You're left with zero clear guidelines on how to interpret the reality of the story (Was he manic? Was there a car crash? Are we dimension-jumping?), leaving it entirely unclear if this was meant to be a fantasy horror or a grounded psychological thriller. Some heavy-handed hinting earlier in the book didn't help clarify the messy finale.
Bottom Line: Once it gets going, it’s a thrilling, trippy ride. But it isn't worth the 500-page investment, and readers expecting a dark academia masterpiece will likely be disappointed. A solid, if structurally flawed, popcorn thriller.
The book is a 500+ page behemoth that spends its entire first half as a meandering slow burn. Unfortunately, the extensive setup feels irrelevant, as it doesn't meaningfully deepen our understanding of the characters or the setting. The cast largely sounds the same, and Maclean spends a lot of time on details that prolong the story without propelling the plot. Because of this, comparisons to The Secret History do this book a major disservice; where Donna Tartt uses micro-level details to build agonizing suspense and rich characterization, the details here often just feel like clutter.
However, once you hit the 50-60% mark, the book finally shifts gears. The hallucinogenic, haunted-house trip in Act 2 borders on repetitive, but the subsequent "twist" in Act 3 was a fantastic, thrilling reprise.
The multi-layered epigraphic poetry at the beginning of the chapters… was cool. While I initially skipped them because they lacked context, the eventual reveal that they form a layered secret message is a cool. Kudos to Maclean for the sheer craft of constructing that, but truthfully I didn’t feel like it was anything meaningful or like a “twist” in any way.
Where the book lost me again was the toward the middle of Act 3. I loved the initially grounded aspect of Alex believing the rituals and spirits were fake. But when he wakes from a coma suddenly believing it's all real, it undoes the grounded reality the plot worked so hard to build. The ending devolves into a Shutter Island-esque psychological ambiguity that asks the reader to do too much of the heavy lifting. You're left with zero clear guidelines on how to interpret the reality of the story (Was he manic? Was there a car crash? Are we dimension-jumping?), leaving it entirely unclear if this was meant to be a fantasy horror or a grounded psychological thriller. Some heavy-handed hinting earlier in the book didn't help clarify the messy finale.
Bottom Line: Once it gets going, it’s a thrilling, trippy ride. But it isn't worth the 500-page investment, and readers expecting a dark academia masterpiece will likely be disappointed. A solid, if structurally flawed, popcorn thriller.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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