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The House
Hardcover. Jacket shows very minor shelf/edgewear. Volume fine. Fast shipping. Seller guarantees 100% satisfaction.
360 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1997
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About the author
Bentley Little
135 books2,565 followersBentley Little is an American author of horror fiction. Publishing an average of a novel a year since 1990, Little avoids publicity and rarely does promotional work or interviews for his writing.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 319 reviews
April 27, 2019
So this was my first forray into a Bentley Little tale. I'd heard such good things about him and decided it was time to give it a go. I had a few of his sitting on my shelf staring back at me to choose from. I selected The House and, looking back, that my have been the wrong one to introduce myself to his work. It's not that the house was horrible. Far from it. But it became a mess and the last 100 pages were an absolute chore to get through. The ending was completely "meh" and I found myself disappointed at what seemed like a really good story at the beginning.
Five different people from different parts of the country grew up in a house that gave everyone the heebah jeebahs. These five people "escaped" their childhood houses and had never returned as adults. Most of their recollections were vague and fuzzy about their childhood homes until they all started having strange things happen to them that seemed to be all pointing in the same direction. They needed to return to their homes and take care of some unfinished business. What that business was, they didn't know.
So far, so good? Yes. I was digging Little's writing style and even though the five characters kept having similar things happen to themselves, to the point where it was beginning to feel like he was describing the same scene five different times, I was still chugging along.
Then we find out that the same Victorian house is in five different parts of the country and it's a gateway barrier to some alternate reality. The five people go to their respective houses and then things morph so that they're all together in the same house, which is now holding them prisoner. Without going into too much more detail, things started getting weird. And I can get into weird, but this weird was the same thing told five different times, over and over and over and...well, you get the idea.
Even though this is my first story by Little, I can tell that he has the chops to be considered a very good writer. The prose is not done by an inexperienced hand. The problem is the story itself. It really just goes around and around without much of a payoff, aha moments of explanation, or any points of interest. With a writing style as good as his, I expect more and not the clunker that was The House.
3 Foul Mouthed Urchins out of 5
You can also follow my reviews at the following links:
https://kenmckinley.wordpress.com
http://intothemacabre.booklikes.com
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5...
Five different people from different parts of the country grew up in a house that gave everyone the heebah jeebahs. These five people "escaped" their childhood houses and had never returned as adults. Most of their recollections were vague and fuzzy about their childhood homes until they all started having strange things happen to them that seemed to be all pointing in the same direction. They needed to return to their homes and take care of some unfinished business. What that business was, they didn't know.
So far, so good? Yes. I was digging Little's writing style and even though the five characters kept having similar things happen to themselves, to the point where it was beginning to feel like he was describing the same scene five different times, I was still chugging along.
Then we find out that the same Victorian house is in five different parts of the country and it's a gateway barrier to some alternate reality. The five people go to their respective houses and then things morph so that they're all together in the same house, which is now holding them prisoner. Without going into too much more detail, things started getting weird. And I can get into weird, but this weird was the same thing told five different times, over and over and over and...well, you get the idea.
Even though this is my first story by Little, I can tell that he has the chops to be considered a very good writer. The prose is not done by an inexperienced hand. The problem is the story itself. It really just goes around and around without much of a payoff, aha moments of explanation, or any points of interest. With a writing style as good as his, I expect more and not the clunker that was The House.
3 Foul Mouthed Urchins out of 5
You can also follow my reviews at the following links:
https://kenmckinley.wordpress.com
http://intothemacabre.booklikes.com
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5...
October 30, 2018
One of the most ambitious novels of Bentley Little I read so far. Why are 5 strangers drawn to that mysterious house where they spent their childhood? What is the role of the little girl and that of the butler? This is an extremely eerie haunted house and good vs evil novel. But who's good and who's bad? This book draws you in like a black hole. I extremely enjoyed reading it though it was sometimes very sinister and disturbing. A great novel I highly enjoyed. Absolutely recommended!
March 17, 2025
My first Bentley Little read and I assure you there will be more. The book starts out with a wild prologue that is 15 pages long. There is some crazy stuff happening all over the US and you are basically like wtf. After the wild prologue we are brought into Part I of the story. The story is written in POV style based on the five main characters each of whom lived at the same house but in different places in the US. All had a butler with a similar last name of Billings or variations of Billings and what they believed was his daughter Doneen or a similar named person. I'll point out here that this book was really good but I found it just a bit too hard to follow with five main characters representing the five houses and the issues that stem from the five houses. The title of the book refers to the houses and there is something mystical or magical regarding this specific house (times five). Again the similarities led to the confusion of keeping everything straight. Yet in a way it didn't matter because it was so similar........ The daughter was quite the interesting character as she was portrayed as an eleven year old girl but who had powers of seduction unrivalled and would regularly lure our main characters and their own parents into wicked acts of sex. It was quite disturbing indeed. Our main five characters were lucky though and got out of the houses to live their own lives.
Or did they really? As Part II of the book deals with the mystical power of the five houses and how those powers have the ability to bring back the five main characters to the houses they hated and were lucky to escape. Nevertheless it is quite interesting how they are lured back and perhaps was my favourite part of the book.
Part III or the ending came as kind of a shock. Once back at the five mystical houses our characters somehow morph into one individual house while being at their own individual houses. I think that sounds confusing and it kind of was. I was like what the heck? When these kids lived in their own houses as kids there was no writing about the houses somehow blending together. As kids growing up in these houses it was basically a normal though odd and scary childhood but none of these kids new of the others existence. This part of the book kind of upset me but I hung in there and having finished 2/3 of it never thought of dnf' it. Having written a few things of my own I often feel that letting a story get wilder and wilder is quite easy but rationalizing that wildness into a realistic ending is the art within the art of writing. I thought that Little may have fallen into that trap of just going out there too far and not being able to reel things in in a realistic way. It is part III that ties in with the prologue but only at the level of the imagination. It is part III where we learn what the purposes of the houses really are and how Billings and Doneen tie in. Note that it may disturb some that Doneen is working her art of seduction still as the 11 year old child but now enticing her childhood friends as adults. Clearly pedophile like and disturbing.
In the end I feel that things came together quite nicely. I thought that this book would really play up on evil, like the biblical kind. I don't know why I thought that, maybe its because it is that evil which really terrifies me as a person. Yet the evil that is played upon here is the kind I really don't like at all and what I refer to as hocus pocus evil - you know all kinds of different creatures and monsters from other worlds. Yet it worked and it worked out well. It kind of even got quite deep at times with life after death issues.
Again I really enjoyed this one. I would have given it a five star rating. There is actually a chapter involving one of the characters that so reflected myself it was quite scary. I loved it just for that. Like it really hit close to home! I don't think I ever have encountered that. Yet I have to be realistic and if the confusion of the five stories could have been lessoned to say 3 I think it all would have been more straight forward and more enjoyable. An easy 4 stars though and I will be reading lots more of Bentley Little :)
Or did they really? As Part II of the book deals with the mystical power of the five houses and how those powers have the ability to bring back the five main characters to the houses they hated and were lucky to escape. Nevertheless it is quite interesting how they are lured back and perhaps was my favourite part of the book.
Part III or the ending came as kind of a shock. Once back at the five mystical houses our characters somehow morph into one individual house while being at their own individual houses. I think that sounds confusing and it kind of was. I was like what the heck? When these kids lived in their own houses as kids there was no writing about the houses somehow blending together. As kids growing up in these houses it was basically a normal though odd and scary childhood but none of these kids new of the others existence. This part of the book kind of upset me but I hung in there and having finished 2/3 of it never thought of dnf' it. Having written a few things of my own I often feel that letting a story get wilder and wilder is quite easy but rationalizing that wildness into a realistic ending is the art within the art of writing. I thought that Little may have fallen into that trap of just going out there too far and not being able to reel things in in a realistic way. It is part III that ties in with the prologue but only at the level of the imagination. It is part III where we learn what the purposes of the houses really are and how Billings and Doneen tie in. Note that it may disturb some that Doneen is working her art of seduction still as the 11 year old child but now enticing her childhood friends as adults. Clearly pedophile like and disturbing.
In the end I feel that things came together quite nicely. I thought that this book would really play up on evil, like the biblical kind. I don't know why I thought that, maybe its because it is that evil which really terrifies me as a person. Yet the evil that is played upon here is the kind I really don't like at all and what I refer to as hocus pocus evil - you know all kinds of different creatures and monsters from other worlds. Yet it worked and it worked out well. It kind of even got quite deep at times with life after death issues.
Again I really enjoyed this one. I would have given it a five star rating. There is actually a chapter involving one of the characters that so reflected myself it was quite scary. I loved it just for that. Like it really hit close to home! I don't think I ever have encountered that. Yet I have to be realistic and if the confusion of the five stories could have been lessoned to say 3 I think it all would have been more straight forward and more enjoyable. An easy 4 stars though and I will be reading lots more of Bentley Little :)
May 28, 2015
Great showing from the "Master of the Macabre".
Five people from different walks of life, unknown to each other, are all plagued by strange occurrences, and pretty soon their lives begin to derail. It's hard to say much about this book without spoiling it, so I'll just say there is plenty of gore, sex and Little's black humor to go around in this one.
This was a pretty unique Bentley Little novel, and I suppose that it is one that you will either love or hate. I loved it. Little is almost always easy to read, and typically injects enough insanity into his stories that one can never be sure exactly what is going to happen. This book is a perfect example of Little's bizarre horror style. I would say this is must-read material for fans of this author.
Five people from different walks of life, unknown to each other, are all plagued by strange occurrences, and pretty soon their lives begin to derail. It's hard to say much about this book without spoiling it, so I'll just say there is plenty of gore, sex and Little's black humor to go around in this one.
This was a pretty unique Bentley Little novel, and I suppose that it is one that you will either love or hate. I loved it. Little is almost always easy to read, and typically injects enough insanity into his stories that one can never be sure exactly what is going to happen. This book is a perfect example of Little's bizarre horror style. I would say this is must-read material for fans of this author.
August 9, 2023
The House is a relatively early Little novel that follows a quintet of interesting characters back into a haunted house they remember from their early years. It takes a sort of sideways look at the familiar horror trope and contains some nice surprises. Leafing through it now, it strikes me as more a Koontz type of story than the kind of thing Little was to become known for, but with an elevated level of bizarre kink. Just the thing for a dark and lonely night.
August 2, 2018
This was a thrill ride waiting to happen. Towards the end I got drawn into the story and I sped through to the end.
And the second time around with this book was even better than the first.
And the second time around with this book was even better than the first.
February 24, 2011
It is well known that Stephen King – like many of us – will carry a book of fiction wherever his travels will lead to appease the boredom that arises from life’s mundane activities. And for those of us who have read On Writing and followed his accident with a certain Dodge Van will know, he has a penchant for taking long walks during the afternoons. What isn’t a well-known detail and many might be curious about is that the grandmaster was reading The House by Bentley Little when the unfortunate piece of fate named Bryan Smith chose to intervene, nearly depriving us all from reaching Roland of Gilead’s Dark Tower. The paperback was discovered lying meters away from King’s broken body and apparently scuffed with blood . . .
It’s an interesting side-note – one that I was not aware of when I picked up my own copy of Bentley Little’s The House. Published in 1999 (around the time of King’s accident), The House suffers from the kind of ‘big, dumb, plodding and obvious’ disease a lot of writers seem to become infected with after they have had a few critically acclaimed and well-received novels. When Bentley is at the top of his game, he is well and truly master of all that he surveys; but when he misses: al la The Summoning and Dominion, he suddenly falls short not just a little (no pun intended), but a very long way indeed.
The book is formulaic, the plot seemingly purveyed in the horror medium by everyone who’s ever had a crack at the genre. For me, there always seems to be the tale of ‘strangers who have something horrific from their childhoods or past in common and come together as adults to battle it again.’ In this scenario, it involves a House; or, rather Houses – each one identical to the next but in different States across America: dark, brooding and ominous – the quintessential haunted house. Six separate characters (an old academic scholar, a guy in the movie business, a young girl who just remembers that she’s been adopted, among others), have all had an identical up-bringing involving a scary Butler named Billings and his young daughter who elicits within them feelings of lust tempered with loathing. Yep, that’s right: a child. The whole thing nearly falls apart at the beginning with this tasteless development. From here, it stagnates as all six individuals go through the tedious (and annoyingly identical), process of recalling ‘The House’ – and although the have no idea why – must return there.
Things pick up a little in the second part of the novel as the strangers converge on the House and meet up through different mediums. But try as he might, Little’s Haunted House just isn’t scary. With little dolls walking around the place trying to encourage mayhem and the little blonde girl turning up on occasion to lift up her dirty slip and tempt them with sex, one gets the feeling Little has no idea where to go with it and literally tacks on an ending as if his editor was just on the phone and screaming for him to get the damn thing finished. Ultimately, the conclusion is as unnecessary as the confusing prologue.
The most frightening part reading this story came not in the form of its paragraphs and prose but rather a real life advent that mirrors the one above. During a long walk through woods that wind through my area I decided to heed King’s advice and take a book with me. Of course, it was The House I picked up as I left, and about halfway through the journey tripped over a log and scraped my ankle which sent a spray of blood all over the binding of the book. It led me to think that somehow the book might be cursed ... a plot-line that might make a better story than the one I was reading.
It’s an interesting side-note – one that I was not aware of when I picked up my own copy of Bentley Little’s The House. Published in 1999 (around the time of King’s accident), The House suffers from the kind of ‘big, dumb, plodding and obvious’ disease a lot of writers seem to become infected with after they have had a few critically acclaimed and well-received novels. When Bentley is at the top of his game, he is well and truly master of all that he surveys; but when he misses: al la The Summoning and Dominion, he suddenly falls short not just a little (no pun intended), but a very long way indeed.
The book is formulaic, the plot seemingly purveyed in the horror medium by everyone who’s ever had a crack at the genre. For me, there always seems to be the tale of ‘strangers who have something horrific from their childhoods or past in common and come together as adults to battle it again.’ In this scenario, it involves a House; or, rather Houses – each one identical to the next but in different States across America: dark, brooding and ominous – the quintessential haunted house. Six separate characters (an old academic scholar, a guy in the movie business, a young girl who just remembers that she’s been adopted, among others), have all had an identical up-bringing involving a scary Butler named Billings and his young daughter who elicits within them feelings of lust tempered with loathing. Yep, that’s right: a child. The whole thing nearly falls apart at the beginning with this tasteless development. From here, it stagnates as all six individuals go through the tedious (and annoyingly identical), process of recalling ‘The House’ – and although the have no idea why – must return there.
Things pick up a little in the second part of the novel as the strangers converge on the House and meet up through different mediums. But try as he might, Little’s Haunted House just isn’t scary. With little dolls walking around the place trying to encourage mayhem and the little blonde girl turning up on occasion to lift up her dirty slip and tempt them with sex, one gets the feeling Little has no idea where to go with it and literally tacks on an ending as if his editor was just on the phone and screaming for him to get the damn thing finished. Ultimately, the conclusion is as unnecessary as the confusing prologue.
The most frightening part reading this story came not in the form of its paragraphs and prose but rather a real life advent that mirrors the one above. During a long walk through woods that wind through my area I decided to heed King’s advice and take a book with me. Of course, it was The House I picked up as I left, and about halfway through the journey tripped over a log and scraped my ankle which sent a spray of blood all over the binding of the book. It led me to think that somehow the book might be cursed ... a plot-line that might make a better story than the one I was reading.
February 17, 2011
When a house is no longer a home
The attack of the most precious place for your zen like moment, your home is very unwelcome, especially when the supernatural stirs its body finger in the soup of your life, mudding up your plans, and spoiling any possible happy future. For a few individuals it seems like things aren't quite right, in fact things aren't good at all, the dead are coming back, and they are appearing to certain people, people who had previous history with a specific house and its inhabitants. The one single home draws a few individuals back into its clutches, old business left unfinished hungers for resolution and some lives are not meant to survive this battle.. some very bad things happen to the families, friends or acquaintances of these individuals in order for them to come back to the same spot, gruesome and unexplained deaths that have changed their lives forever.
I liked some aspects of the story, the mystery was intriguing but there was a certain dirty and cheap factor that I didn't really get into, and I found myself rushing to finish, reading the last pages more for the purpose of finishing that actually caring what happens to the characters, seems like most of the momentum was lost in the final product, I was happy to read this book but it's not a true reflection of Little is capable of and of what he has become, I will always have respect and liking for his work but this was simply okay and not amazing. I wish the book continued the way the beginning was set up (and the beginning was amazing, it gave me chills up to my eyeballs and sucked me to the point where my nose was literally in the book) but in the end it became something different and not quite what it could have been. I found myself skipping pages and trying to finish, even the ending wasn't really as shocking as I wished.
I made this review rather vague on purpose, the little bits of factual color are the bright spots, I dont want to spoil them.
- Kasia S.
The attack of the most precious place for your zen like moment, your home is very unwelcome, especially when the supernatural stirs its body finger in the soup of your life, mudding up your plans, and spoiling any possible happy future. For a few individuals it seems like things aren't quite right, in fact things aren't good at all, the dead are coming back, and they are appearing to certain people, people who had previous history with a specific house and its inhabitants. The one single home draws a few individuals back into its clutches, old business left unfinished hungers for resolution and some lives are not meant to survive this battle.. some very bad things happen to the families, friends or acquaintances of these individuals in order for them to come back to the same spot, gruesome and unexplained deaths that have changed their lives forever.
I liked some aspects of the story, the mystery was intriguing but there was a certain dirty and cheap factor that I didn't really get into, and I found myself rushing to finish, reading the last pages more for the purpose of finishing that actually caring what happens to the characters, seems like most of the momentum was lost in the final product, I was happy to read this book but it's not a true reflection of Little is capable of and of what he has become, I will always have respect and liking for his work but this was simply okay and not amazing. I wish the book continued the way the beginning was set up (and the beginning was amazing, it gave me chills up to my eyeballs and sucked me to the point where my nose was literally in the book) but in the end it became something different and not quite what it could have been. I found myself skipping pages and trying to finish, even the ending wasn't really as shocking as I wished.
I made this review rather vague on purpose, the little bits of factual color are the bright spots, I dont want to spoil them.
- Kasia S.
February 5, 2018
Bentley Little is obsessed with porn supernatural entities. There's always, always rape and dozens of huge cocks in his novels. He is a good writer and can create fear using the most mundane settings, but oh my, it is tiring and frankly disgusting sometimes all the sexual violence scenes. Oh, and let's not forget the ableism. Little seems decided to win some throphy for the person, in modern times, who uses de R slur the most.
However, I was not prepared for pedophilia?? What on earth was this author thinking creating a child entity who seduces people with the crudest, most offensive language? And then to describe, in detail, the sexual encounters the characters had with her? A--let me be very clear again--10 year old child??
Dear stars, that was way too much. I was engrossed in some chores and apart from the phone so I just let the book play. Secretly hoping it would get somehow less abhorrent but nope! It got worse and worse. I couldn't even control my repulsion towards the end and honestly? I feel filthy for having finished this disgraceful novel. Yikes.
Definitely my last try with this writer. I've had way more than enough.
However, I was not prepared for pedophilia?? What on earth was this author thinking creating a child entity who seduces people with the crudest, most offensive language? And then to describe, in detail, the sexual encounters the characters had with her? A--let me be very clear again--10 year old child??
Dear stars, that was way too much. I was engrossed in some chores and apart from the phone so I just let the book play. Secretly hoping it would get somehow less abhorrent but nope! It got worse and worse. I couldn't even control my repulsion towards the end and honestly? I feel filthy for having finished this disgraceful novel. Yikes.
Definitely my last try with this writer. I've had way more than enough.
July 25, 2017
Bentley Little writes the kind of books you want to keep hidden and under lock and key. They are gory, graphic, defiant, nasty, horrifying, and weird as hell. That being said, once you start a book of his you don't want to stop until you read the last line of the book. Triggers: child abuse, sexual deviance and gore.
June 11, 2021
First time reading this author. I am hooked on him. This book was creepy, especially those dolls. That gave me the chills. It was full of twisted macabre situations that made you gasp. Some of it I didn't approve of but it's only a book.
If you haven't read it, just do it. Gonna look for more by this author.
If you haven't read it, just do it. Gonna look for more by this author.
October 6, 2014
This seems to be a departure for the author, at least it's different from the other books I've read by him so far. The House is much more...supernatural of a story. And it seems that, while I certainly appreciate any show of writing versatility, I prefer his other ones, things ordinary turned to evil sort of books. Here, the multiple plotlines intertwine to an extent of figuring out what's going on with (and how to end it) a particularly freaky, way beyond plain old haunted, house. Decent premise and, as always, solid writing, but the total execution disappoints. The pacing is slightly off, most horror/violence here seems blatantly gratuitous, the book comes across as overwhelming, much too much going on, much too acid trippy in general and specifically the unsettlingly pedophilic sex aspect of it. Somewhat entertaining and quick enough of a read, but so far my least favorite book by the author. As a disclaimer...I'm not at all prudish and I'm a seasoned horror aficionado, but I prefer scares with substance and quality, especially from writers who can.
June 30, 2011
OK, now that I'm finished with this, what I found most disturbing about this book was not its violence which lessens substantially after the first few chapters. Instead, things that are should not be frightening at all are deeply disturbing. Waking up to find you and your bed have been covered in hundreds of slices of burnt roast or that your toilet is overflowing with fruit cocktail sounds silly. However, the sheer randomness and the fact that there is no reference point them is eerie. There's no mythological, sociological or religious context for these bizarre messages. Clearly, whatever supernatural force leaving them is trying to impart something, but the utterly perplexing way it's doing it is jarring. Is it a warning? An omen? A joke?
For over a hundred pages, I was completely baffled about what was behind the shocking violence, strange portents and frightening sexual imagery, and that was a wonderfully oogie feeling. I started to worry that this buildup was so amazing, there was no way the payoff could match up to it.
Yes, I was somewhat right. However, what I was left with was an intriguing mix of "It" and "Black House", yet it also went into story ideas I that were refreshingly new.
Trying to keep the storylines of 5 major characters was a bit confusing, and I did have to turn back more than a few times to remember who was who. However, when they all finally merge, it's smooth sailing.
A very interesting book that can never, ever EVER be made into a movie. Pick any page with the evil little girl ghost/demon/hellbeast/whateverthehellshewas thing, and you'll see why.
K-I-N-K-Y.
***********************************
I gotta say, I only finished the prologue so far, but 3 of the 5 mini-stories included in there were shocking and nightmarish enough that my knees are knocking just a little bit every time I turn a new page.
***********
For over a hundred pages, I was completely baffled about what was behind the shocking violence, strange portents and frightening sexual imagery, and that was a wonderfully oogie feeling. I started to worry that this buildup was so amazing, there was no way the payoff could match up to it.
Yes, I was somewhat right. However, what I was left with was an intriguing mix of "It" and "Black House", yet it also went into story ideas I that were refreshingly new.
Trying to keep the storylines of 5 major characters was a bit confusing, and I did have to turn back more than a few times to remember who was who. However, when they all finally merge, it's smooth sailing.
A very interesting book that can never, ever EVER be made into a movie. Pick any page with the evil little girl ghost/demon/hellbeast/whateverthehellshewas thing, and you'll see why.
K-I-N-K-Y.
***********************************
I gotta say, I only finished the prologue so far, but 3 of the 5 mini-stories included in there were shocking and nightmarish enough that my knees are knocking just a little bit every time I turn a new page.
***********
January 1, 2021
A house of horrors tries to reclaim those who once escaped it.
This book was unclear. From beginning to end, unclear. Well written enough that I didn't want to not finish it, but it took me multiple months of chipping away at it to get it done.
Five strangers with similar backgrounds who grew up in Victorian houses are all called to return to their several childhood homes. This does not actually occur until after the halfway point of the book, which made thw middle of the story drag. None of the characters know each other, but their lives are similar.
Then cosmic elements are introduced without warning, stuff changes rapidly, and a bunch of new rules are presented that make no sense, then are violated and we're told they don't count now--but we're never told why. On a lot of things.
I am all for some excellent cosmic weirdness, but I couldn't find a point to it here. I sort of felt like the author took a couple of ideas from The House on the Borderlands, took away the explanation, slammed it together with some Christian mythology, then claimed it wasn't actually Christian mythology, and dusted his hands off for a job well done.
The structure was all off, I think was the problem. But that's just a guess. Hm...The Slade House is sort of similar, now that I think about it, but made more sense.
Recommend that you read the superlative horror novel The Store by this author instead.
This book was unclear. From beginning to end, unclear. Well written enough that I didn't want to not finish it, but it took me multiple months of chipping away at it to get it done.
Five strangers with similar backgrounds who grew up in Victorian houses are all called to return to their several childhood homes. This does not actually occur until after the halfway point of the book, which made thw middle of the story drag. None of the characters know each other, but their lives are similar.
Then cosmic elements are introduced without warning, stuff changes rapidly, and a bunch of new rules are presented that make no sense, then are violated and we're told they don't count now--but we're never told why. On a lot of things.
I am all for some excellent cosmic weirdness, but I couldn't find a point to it here. I sort of felt like the author took a couple of ideas from The House on the Borderlands, took away the explanation, slammed it together with some Christian mythology, then claimed it wasn't actually Christian mythology, and dusted his hands off for a job well done.
The structure was all off, I think was the problem. But that's just a guess. Hm...The Slade House is sort of similar, now that I think about it, but made more sense.
Recommend that you read the superlative horror novel The Store by this author instead.
January 7, 2025
Ah, Mr. Little seems to enjoy including quite the number of disturbing scenes involving children (sexual…) in his books.
Now in this one specifically we have five individuals who are plagued by the appearance of a young girl who they all knew from before. This girl haunts and taunts and is ultimately what brings them all back to a childhood home where destructive horrors occurred. We have Daniel, Laurie, Norton, Stormy and Mark. I found all the characters to be well developed and can only respect about two of them.
Aside from the aforementioned sexually disturbing scenes this story was all over the place ultimately came together in a creative and pleasantly creepy way. I would say this book made me feel disturbed and horrified in many ways. Horror it did in fact bring.
Now in this one specifically we have five individuals who are plagued by the appearance of a young girl who they all knew from before. This girl haunts and taunts and is ultimately what brings them all back to a childhood home where destructive horrors occurred. We have Daniel, Laurie, Norton, Stormy and Mark. I found all the characters to be well developed and can only respect about two of them.
Aside from the aforementioned sexually disturbing scenes this story was all over the place ultimately came together in a creative and pleasantly creepy way. I would say this book made me feel disturbed and horrified in many ways. Horror it did in fact bring.
October 2, 2021
The House by Bentley Little is my first full length novel by this author and it just wasn't quite for me. I wasn't invested in any of the characters and it took way too long to get going. On that same note, it's also too long and there are elements that just come across as totally unnecessary.
February 27, 2023
This is my second review for this novel. It was one of those books that didn't work for me globally. It was really interesting the prologue, which unfortunally didn't led anywhere. The book itself had five characters and each chapter was dedicated to one character. Some characters had really interesting stories but others were almost identical (maybe that was the point).
Each character was connected to a House they lived and each one had some connection to a caretaker and to a girl. This girl in one point or another seduced the inhabittants of the house and I must say that some parts where Little depicts a thirteen year old girl saying "F*** my a**, like your dad likes to do" was kind too much but I understood the point.
I think the book tried to hard. So many characters, with so many stories were a bit too much to me. Only in the end I get to know which one was which.
Is it a good book by Little? No. I am sorry but I don't think it's his best or nearer. But it has some good points. The overlapping Houses and the war between the shadowlnand and our reality was interesting (but not that developed in my humble opinion). The girl was also an important part but I think that she was not that developed as well. It was a bit vague. I mean I really want to know more of her. Of what was her/it intentions. The ending itself was a bit weak. Vague and in my opinion didn't brought a closure.
But if you are a fan of Bentley Little read it. If you are a new, then I advice to read The Store; The Association or even The Mailman. They are way better.
Each character was connected to a House they lived and each one had some connection to a caretaker and to a girl. This girl in one point or another seduced the inhabittants of the house and I must say that some parts where Little depicts a thirteen year old girl saying "F*** my a**, like your dad likes to do" was kind too much but I understood the point.
I think the book tried to hard. So many characters, with so many stories were a bit too much to me. Only in the end I get to know which one was which.
Is it a good book by Little? No. I am sorry but I don't think it's his best or nearer. But it has some good points. The overlapping Houses and the war between the shadowlnand and our reality was interesting (but not that developed in my humble opinion). The girl was also an important part but I think that she was not that developed as well. It was a bit vague. I mean I really want to know more of her. Of what was her/it intentions. The ending itself was a bit weak. Vague and in my opinion didn't brought a closure.
But if you are a fan of Bentley Little read it. If you are a new, then I advice to read The Store; The Association or even The Mailman. They are way better.
December 8, 2014
Really enjoyed this book. One of the best I've read in a while.
It had a creepy vibe to it the whole way through. Things that shouldn't really be scary, things that almost sound stupid, but they were genuinely creepy in this book just because of the atmosphere that was constantly there.
I found that every time I picked this book up to read I didn't want to put it back down again, if anything I would say the end came a little bit too quick, I wanted a bit more.
Definitely recommend, really really good read.
It had a creepy vibe to it the whole way through. Things that shouldn't really be scary, things that almost sound stupid, but they were genuinely creepy in this book just because of the atmosphere that was constantly there.
I found that every time I picked this book up to read I didn't want to put it back down again, if anything I would say the end came a little bit too quick, I wanted a bit more.
Definitely recommend, really really good read.
July 29, 2016
I read this book while I was on vacation this past week. I'm surprised that I wasn't able to get more reading done, since I had nothing pressing to do during this week, but the story was slow-going and not very engaging. Usually, when I go on vacation, I can knock out at least a book a day, but not this time. Shoot, I got less reading done this week than I do when I'm working full-time hours.
The House is about five people who each grew up in a house where strange things happened, and where members of their family died. Each of these people also had a caretaker with a daughter who tried to seduce them when they were younger, both sexually and through violence. Now grown up, those five people have to return to the house where they grew up to deal with the evil of the daughter and learn the secret of the places where they lived.
I had a hard time getting any sense of where this story was going. It opened with a prologue that featured four different people, none of whom featured in the main story. Once the main story did get underway, Little introduced five more characters, and then jumped between each of them as the narrative took shape. It became clear that they were tied together by a house and its otherworldly inhabitants, but by the time they all finally connected, half of the book was over. Each of the five main characters experience the same sorts of things once they return to their homes, and Little jumps from one character to another, telling the whole story through different characters. It didn't feel very organic, and I couldn't help but feel like he could have structured the story differently and had it work better.
I'm going to take a break from Bentley Little after this book. He has his moments in each book, but the stories feel very thin and inconsequential when I reach the end. I'll still recommend The Mailman to anyone looking for a good, solid horror novel, but the rest of his stuff just feels disjointed, especially The House. I'm not sure I would rank this book as low as I did The Ignored, but I wouldn't rank it much higher, either. It was just all together disappointing.
The House is about five people who each grew up in a house where strange things happened, and where members of their family died. Each of these people also had a caretaker with a daughter who tried to seduce them when they were younger, both sexually and through violence. Now grown up, those five people have to return to the house where they grew up to deal with the evil of the daughter and learn the secret of the places where they lived.
I had a hard time getting any sense of where this story was going. It opened with a prologue that featured four different people, none of whom featured in the main story. Once the main story did get underway, Little introduced five more characters, and then jumped between each of them as the narrative took shape. It became clear that they were tied together by a house and its otherworldly inhabitants, but by the time they all finally connected, half of the book was over. Each of the five main characters experience the same sorts of things once they return to their homes, and Little jumps from one character to another, telling the whole story through different characters. It didn't feel very organic, and I couldn't help but feel like he could have structured the story differently and had it work better.
I'm going to take a break from Bentley Little after this book. He has his moments in each book, but the stories feel very thin and inconsequential when I reach the end. I'll still recommend The Mailman to anyone looking for a good, solid horror novel, but the rest of his stuff just feels disjointed, especially The House. I'm not sure I would rank this book as low as I did The Ignored, but I wouldn't rank it much higher, either. It was just all together disappointing.
June 30, 2015
What did I just read? Well to start off, the beginning was quite rough for me. It kept going to new characters POV without revisiting one of them for so long that I got a bit confused. It definitely didn't flow so well for me early on, but once it started going back to the same characters the book started to piece together better. So here's a few thoughts I had while reading The House:
1.) Why is there fruit salad in the toilet?
2.) Why the hell are there hairs in the bathtub? What?
3.) Ok, I get that the over sexuality of the demon girl is supposed to be representative of how evil she is, but omg please stop.
4.) Is everyone just horny?
5.) Was Bentley Little just horny while writing this book? Was he in some sort of horny for the devil weird state of mind? Or on drugs?
6.) Ew, how many erections can these male characters have?
7.) How bizarre, how bizarre, how bizarre. Now I'm singing that song in my head.
Well the last half of the book was better, but still bizarre and trippy. I've never read one of Bentley Little's books before. I had no idea what to expect when I started and even if I had, I would still have been surprised. I have to give him props for that. I'm not sure I would say this was an ENJOYABLE read, but I liked that it was weird and over the top.
1.) Why is there fruit salad in the toilet?
2.) Why the hell are there hairs in the bathtub? What?
3.) Ok, I get that the over sexuality of the demon girl is supposed to be representative of how evil she is, but omg please stop.
4.) Is everyone just horny?
5.) Was Bentley Little just horny while writing this book? Was he in some sort of horny for the devil weird state of mind? Or on drugs?
6.) Ew, how many erections can these male characters have?
7.) How bizarre, how bizarre, how bizarre. Now I'm singing that song in my head.
Well the last half of the book was better, but still bizarre and trippy. I've never read one of Bentley Little's books before. I had no idea what to expect when I started and even if I had, I would still have been surprised. I have to give him props for that. I'm not sure I would say this was an ENJOYABLE read, but I liked that it was weird and over the top.
April 12, 2010
Not his best, but mighty close. At his worst, Bentley Little throws perverse, shocking images at you in wave after wave of jumbled chaos. At his best, he has the ability to take a completely unbelievable tale and make it seem as genuine as yesterday's 6 o'clock news. This is almost his best. The pace is slower than many will like -- spending 80+ pages purely on character development before the "story" begins. But the story is one that won't matter and won't work without the people in it. There are very few good haunted house novels. This doesn't come close to Shirley Jackson and The Haunting of Hill House. BUT. It is creepy. It is original -- really original. And it is disturbing. It's a sick, twisted little book and I liked it.
January 13, 2018
This is a no. Now I'm just trying to remember what youtuber recommended this book back in October for scary reads. I think more reviews should start off from the top about the pediaphilia references throughout. I get that an entity can take any form and in this story it's a twelve year old girl but then for that entity to constantly make sexual references is disturbing in the least. I was hoping for the five adults returning to their different childhood homes to make a mends with the House would work more together to get them out of there alive. Norton needs to burn in hell not sure why that wasn't an option.
December 30, 2015
3.5-4 stars.
This book is told from multiple perspectives, all of people who are affected by the same evil from their pasts.
It was sometimes hard to keep all the characters separate in my head, even towards the end. This could be confusing at times.
However, the book features some pretty vivid and memorable imagery. I can see other horror fans enjoying this book.
As a warning, some sexual imagery in this book might be too much for some readers.
This book is told from multiple perspectives, all of people who are affected by the same evil from their pasts.
It was sometimes hard to keep all the characters separate in my head, even towards the end. This could be confusing at times.
However, the book features some pretty vivid and memorable imagery. I can see other horror fans enjoying this book.
As a warning, some sexual imagery in this book might be too much for some readers.
March 14, 2017
This is not a good book and it is sick in ways that I did not like, yes horror I love but the sexual content with the girl or its host with a dirty old man (Paedophile) is yuck, stupid and took away any good the book could be. excuse my spelling hence why I do not write books. Yes horror is not to be taken to serious but I hated the book, 1 star for the cover.
November 21, 2021
Me pareció llamativa la sinopsis, y además la portada me recuerda a los libros de Pesadillas de R.L.Stine.
Cada capítulo se narra desde el punto de vista de uno de los cinco personajes. El mayor problema es que sus historias… son básicamente la misma, con algunas diferencias. Y resulta confuso, y sobre todo tedioso. La mujer de uno se llama Fulanita, la de otro Menganita. Uno tiene un hijo, otra un hermano… Llegó un punto en el que me daba pereza hacer una lista mental de las diferencias, y lo leía todo como una misma historia, con la misma escena repitiéndose cinco veces. Sobran cuatro personajes. Como el propio autor dice en la página 352:
“…while the details where different, the stories were remarkably similar”.
Hay dos cosas que lastran la lectura. Una es esa, y otra el hecho de que el final boss de la casa (y que está acosándolos durante todo el libro) no sólo no es algo terrorífico, sino que me dejó sin saber si reír, llorar o cerrar el libro directamente.
No entiendo en qué estaba pensando este hombre. Pero cuadrar, no cuadra con la historia de una casa encantada.
Y ese es otro tema, llegué esperando una historia sobre una casa encantada y tal. Y en fin, esto no sé qué es, pero salvo alguna escena suelta, tiene poco que ver. Y terror, terror, pues no da mucho. La mayoría del tiempo es sólo raro. Y tedioso, la verdad.
El estilo cumple de sobra (sin alardes), se nota que cuando la escribió ya tenía mucha experiencia.
Algunas ideas y escenas interesantes. Pero el ritmo aburre. Y cuando llegan a la casa ya ni me interesaba lo que pasaba allí. Me daba igual a quién “le tocaba” el capítulo, porque no diferenciaba a los personajes entre sí. Es todo un revoltijo indistinguible.
Estilo: 5/10
Historia: 4/10
Diversión: 2/10
Puntuación final: 3/10
Cada capítulo se narra desde el punto de vista de uno de los cinco personajes. El mayor problema es que sus historias… son básicamente la misma, con algunas diferencias. Y resulta confuso, y sobre todo tedioso. La mujer de uno se llama Fulanita, la de otro Menganita. Uno tiene un hijo, otra un hermano… Llegó un punto en el que me daba pereza hacer una lista mental de las diferencias, y lo leía todo como una misma historia, con la misma escena repitiéndose cinco veces. Sobran cuatro personajes. Como el propio autor dice en la página 352:
“…while the details where different, the stories were remarkably similar”.
Hay dos cosas que lastran la lectura. Una es esa, y otra el hecho de que el final boss de la casa (y que está acosándolos durante todo el libro) no sólo no es algo terrorífico, sino que me dejó sin saber si reír, llorar o cerrar el libro directamente.
No entiendo en qué estaba pensando este hombre. Pero cuadrar, no cuadra con la historia de una casa encantada.
Y ese es otro tema, llegué esperando una historia sobre una casa encantada y tal. Y en fin, esto no sé qué es, pero salvo alguna escena suelta, tiene poco que ver. Y terror, terror, pues no da mucho. La mayoría del tiempo es sólo raro. Y tedioso, la verdad.
El estilo cumple de sobra (sin alardes), se nota que cuando la escribió ya tenía mucha experiencia.
Algunas ideas y escenas interesantes. Pero el ritmo aburre. Y cuando llegan a la casa ya ni me interesaba lo que pasaba allí. Me daba igual a quién “le tocaba” el capítulo, porque no diferenciaba a los personajes entre sí. Es todo un revoltijo indistinguible.
Estilo: 5/10
Historia: 4/10
Diversión: 2/10
Puntuación final: 3/10
November 8, 2022
This was my first Bentley Little book. I had been hearing such good things and wanted to try his stuff out. Perhaps I chose the wrong book of his to tackle first. This one just disgusted me and made me feel gross in ways that just isn’t what I like in horror. I’m a big horror fan. I don’t shy away from blood or gore or things of that nature. But the sex stuff with the demon child was just too much. I know it’s like a demon or whatever and it just takes the shape of a little girl, but omg it was unreal and disgusting the things I was hearing (I listened to this one on audible). Why do so many horror authors feel the need to sexualize children so often?
Ugh
Anyway
There was definitely a good story in there. The premise was intriguing and I wanted to know how it ended. But then the ending fell so flat it felt pointless.
So no, I didn’t care much for this one. I do have The Haunted from this author on my shelves as well, so maybe I’ll try again.
Ugh
Anyway
There was definitely a good story in there. The premise was intriguing and I wanted to know how it ended. But then the ending fell so flat it felt pointless.
So no, I didn’t care much for this one. I do have The Haunted from this author on my shelves as well, so maybe I’ll try again.
August 27, 2018
This little jem was a great read all in all. My only real complaint had to do with the antagonist and her crazy ways but ultimately it is a small complaint for a very entertaining read.
I liked how the characters stories were separated and how the continued story arc (Especially once they enter the house) kept moving at its blistering pace. It 2as a bit slow to start and had some wierd disconnects but they way the story was written seriously worked in its favor.
I felt the connection with the characters and definitely was up reading WAY past my turn in time. A very well placed, entertaining read from Bentley Little, and I definitely recomend this. It's crazy how different it was imo from his other works. This one was well in the way of ye olde haunted house cliche but to my great surprise Little kept it different. Wierd but in a way only Little can make entertaining.
I liked how the characters stories were separated and how the continued story arc (Especially once they enter the house) kept moving at its blistering pace. It 2as a bit slow to start and had some wierd disconnects but they way the story was written seriously worked in its favor.
I felt the connection with the characters and definitely was up reading WAY past my turn in time. A very well placed, entertaining read from Bentley Little, and I definitely recomend this. It's crazy how different it was imo from his other works. This one was well in the way of ye olde haunted house cliche but to my great surprise Little kept it different. Wierd but in a way only Little can make entertaining.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 12, 2012
I was disappointed in this book. I read 80 pages into it and still did not come upon the plot. With each chapter I was waiting; hoping for it to come at me. It did not. Each chapter introduced a character that had strange unexplainable encounters at their homes. I guess these encounters were suppose to haunt them later on in the book. Though it was easy reading and Little is a great writer the overall theme and structure of the story did not keep me interested.
October 17, 2017
DNF.
Read to page 110.
This one just rubbed me the wrong way. The underage retarded nymphomaniac girl was much too distasteful and was not my kind of entertainment. Book aimed for gross-out instead of suspense. Will try another novel by Little and hope to have better luck with The Store or The Ignored.
Read to page 110.
This one just rubbed me the wrong way. The underage retarded nymphomaniac girl was much too distasteful and was not my kind of entertainment. Book aimed for gross-out instead of suspense. Will try another novel by Little and hope to have better luck with The Store or The Ignored.
November 12, 2015
I'm just so-so with this one. some parts were a little repetitive and it jumped around a lot with the 5 main characters. I also would have liked more background story, too
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