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Who's in Control? #1
The Spiral
What if the staircase you are walking down never ends?
Four very different strangers are trapped alive on a spiral staircase, 126 steps deep under the City of London.
They have no food. There is no water. No-one even knows they're missing.
Time is ticking and together they must find a way out before they starve to death.
But as thirst, hunger and despair take over, personalities clash and their darkest secrets are exposed.
Pushed to their very limits, it becomes a desperate battle to survive.
Who will give up? Who will die?
And who will fight to the very end?
This dark, claustrophobic thriller will expose your own deepest fears. The clever twist will leave you gasping for air.
Take the next step and pre-order this chilling page turner now.
From the award winning author of Portico and The Illustrator's Daughter.
★ “Creepy and claustrophobic.” Andy MacDonald
Four very different strangers are trapped alive on a spiral staircase, 126 steps deep under the City of London.
They have no food. There is no water. No-one even knows they're missing.
Time is ticking and together they must find a way out before they starve to death.
But as thirst, hunger and despair take over, personalities clash and their darkest secrets are exposed.
Pushed to their very limits, it becomes a desperate battle to survive.
Who will give up? Who will die?
And who will fight to the very end?
This dark, claustrophobic thriller will expose your own deepest fears. The clever twist will leave you gasping for air.
Take the next step and pre-order this chilling page turner now.
From the award winning author of Portico and The Illustrator's Daughter.
★ “Creepy and claustrophobic.” Andy MacDonald
- GenresHorror
268 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 29, 2021
8 people are currently reading
143 people want to read
About the author
Gideon Burrows
33 books24 followersGideon Burrows is an award winning author of novels and non-fiction books that aim to make you uncomfortable, allow you recover, and then make you feel completely refreshed.
Or else guilty. Or exhilarated. Or maybe a combination of these things.
Like taking a cold shower.
His near future novels, including Future Shop and Portico, tackle the challenging world of the near future: how social media, the metaverse, virtual reality, multi-player games and more may be sending us to hell. You'll never let your kids on the internet again.
His contemporary novels, including The Illustrator's Daughter and The Spiral, are about families and individuals in difficult situations: whether facing brake-ups, illness, prejudice, mental health breakdown or domestic violence. Through challenging our fundamental believes and values, he aims to make every reader think about their own comfortable lives.
As G D Burrows, he writes action fiction about ninjas. Awesome ninjas, who wear cool ninja gowns, have high tech ninja weapons, and take on the bad guys with their super martial arts skills and techniques. Think James Bond or Jack Reacher – but in full ninja garb, and based in London's East End. That kind of thing.
Gideon is really interested in the future and new technology, as well as science and rationalism. He's written two non-fiction books on the metaverse, and three books on cancer, including This Book Won't Cure Your Cancer, challenging society's assumptions when it comes to the disease.
He trained as a journalist and spent 10 years writing for major UK newspapers and magazines, and then running a copywriting agency.
Gideon is married, lives in east London with three children, and hundreds of worms. He's a keen cyclist, a qualified cycle mechanic and his home office is Pret a Manger.
He loves travelling on trains, eating Indian and Chinese food, and might actually be a ninja at night.
Like everyone else in the world, he drinks lots of coffee and loves the smell of new, unsullied stationery.
Gideon loves giving stuff away.
You'll always find something free at his website, www.gideon-burrows.com, where you can also join his Reader's Club.
Or else guilty. Or exhilarated. Or maybe a combination of these things.
Like taking a cold shower.
His near future novels, including Future Shop and Portico, tackle the challenging world of the near future: how social media, the metaverse, virtual reality, multi-player games and more may be sending us to hell. You'll never let your kids on the internet again.
His contemporary novels, including The Illustrator's Daughter and The Spiral, are about families and individuals in difficult situations: whether facing brake-ups, illness, prejudice, mental health breakdown or domestic violence. Through challenging our fundamental believes and values, he aims to make every reader think about their own comfortable lives.
As G D Burrows, he writes action fiction about ninjas. Awesome ninjas, who wear cool ninja gowns, have high tech ninja weapons, and take on the bad guys with their super martial arts skills and techniques. Think James Bond or Jack Reacher – but in full ninja garb, and based in London's East End. That kind of thing.
Gideon is really interested in the future and new technology, as well as science and rationalism. He's written two non-fiction books on the metaverse, and three books on cancer, including This Book Won't Cure Your Cancer, challenging society's assumptions when it comes to the disease.
He trained as a journalist and spent 10 years writing for major UK newspapers and magazines, and then running a copywriting agency.
Gideon is married, lives in east London with three children, and hundreds of worms. He's a keen cyclist, a qualified cycle mechanic and his home office is Pret a Manger.
He loves travelling on trains, eating Indian and Chinese food, and might actually be a ninja at night.
Like everyone else in the world, he drinks lots of coffee and loves the smell of new, unsullied stationery.
Gideon loves giving stuff away.
You'll always find something free at his website, www.gideon-burrows.com, where you can also join his Reader's Club.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 27, 2024
I'm embarrassed I spent my time reading this trash book. It's a joke. It's laughably bad and it's trying so hard to present itself as something thought provoking. The book ended up being bland and predictable. An eternal staircase had so much fun and spooky potential, but the author decided to go down the route of misrepresentation of mental illness. A character who doesn't take his meds and hears voices urging him to kill people. How many more books do we need with such a boring premise? I'm so happy I can return it and get my money back.
December 8, 2022
This is now the third book I have had the pleasure in reading by Gideon Burrows and he is fast becoming one of my favourite authors!
This was like reading a nightmare come true, it was like everything you could possibly fear come to reality all in one book.
Imagine going about your day, walking down a tube station staircase and realising there is no exit up or down, just stairs upon stairs upon stairs.
Now put into the mix a small host of characters that have ended up in the same situation. Each one of you completely different in character to the next, each one with a story to tell, a lie to unravel, a secret to be kept. Each character is brilliantly written and felt so real and relatable.
This was a hell of a read from start to finish with one amazing twist at the end that was completely unexpected.
This didn't just feel like a story, it felt like an experience. I could feel the claustrophobia, the dampness and echoes of the staircase, the fear and panic of the characters.. that fear became panic at times *no spoilers* and you find yourself actually questioning 'what would I do?'.
This is a real 'get in your head' book that seemed to delve deep into my conscious which was rather scary in all honesty. You are left questioning what is real and what is just our imagination.
Gideon is extremely skillful with his writing style and has some amazing talent and I cannot wait to read the next one!
This was like reading a nightmare come true, it was like everything you could possibly fear come to reality all in one book.
Imagine going about your day, walking down a tube station staircase and realising there is no exit up or down, just stairs upon stairs upon stairs.
Now put into the mix a small host of characters that have ended up in the same situation. Each one of you completely different in character to the next, each one with a story to tell, a lie to unravel, a secret to be kept. Each character is brilliantly written and felt so real and relatable.
This was a hell of a read from start to finish with one amazing twist at the end that was completely unexpected.
This didn't just feel like a story, it felt like an experience. I could feel the claustrophobia, the dampness and echoes of the staircase, the fear and panic of the characters.. that fear became panic at times *no spoilers* and you find yourself actually questioning 'what would I do?'.
This is a real 'get in your head' book that seemed to delve deep into my conscious which was rather scary in all honesty. You are left questioning what is real and what is just our imagination.
Gideon is extremely skillful with his writing style and has some amazing talent and I cannot wait to read the next one!
November 29, 2021
Four people are trapped on a spiral staircase in the London subway system after a young woman commits suicide by jumping on the tracks. They get off the train prematurely because of this incident and head down the stairs to get out. Once they get on the spiral staircase, though, they soon realize they can’t get out. The stairs never end. They go down forever, and they go up forever. The hours go by, and then days, and hunger and thirst take over, and they have to use a section of the staircase as a toilet, since there are no exits. How these characters are related and why they are there and why they can’t get out and how the story ends exactly is still not clear to me, even after re-reading certain parts to try to get some clarity. The best guess I have is that everything is related to the woman who commits suicide on the tracks and how each character is related to her and how they may have wronged her. I came up with different interpretations for the ending, but as far as I know, they may all be wrong.
If there is anyone out there who has figured this story out, please let me know.
If there is anyone out there who has figured this story out, please let me know.
November 5, 2021
Wow! Made me sort of panicked just reading this. I just did not understand the ending though, probably just me
Read
October 1, 2021An incredibly haunting tale
I loved the experience of reading this book, the stories are told with such vivid clarity and I could see clearly how this would look on stage or screen. The characters were real, recognisable and in many ways deeply flawed and damaged on the inside.
I was transported into that horrible place with the characters and felt claustrophobic and scared as the story unfolded.
A thoroughly brilliant read and highly recommended to all who love a bit of creeping dread in their lives!
I loved the experience of reading this book, the stories are told with such vivid clarity and I could see clearly how this would look on stage or screen. The characters were real, recognisable and in many ways deeply flawed and damaged on the inside.
I was transported into that horrible place with the characters and felt claustrophobic and scared as the story unfolded.
A thoroughly brilliant read and highly recommended to all who love a bit of creeping dread in their lives!
Read
February 10, 2022An interesting book, but is the ending supposed to be like Fight Club or the movie Identity? How the hell does Rachel actually fit in? I’ll admit I’m struggling with brain fog, but I didn’t really get the ending.
I will agree with someone else’s assessment: rape as a plot point and the bad guy as mentally ill are just lazy writing.
I will agree with someone else’s assessment: rape as a plot point and the bad guy as mentally ill are just lazy writing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 1, 2022
Whoa!
This book messed with my head and I loved it. I am left questioning what was real. Then I realize that I am reading a book so I know the answer. I really enjoy my time on the stairs...
This book messed with my head and I loved it. I am left questioning what was real. Then I realize that I am reading a book so I know the answer. I really enjoy my time on the stairs...
October 21, 2021
I always wonder why authors use rape as a plot point, and the bad guys is always a mental patient of some sort.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 9, 2022
Very cleverly written book of how people's true nature is revealed in extremely trying circumstances. Well worth reading.
December 6, 2023
Horrible ending
There was no closure and nothing made any sense in the end. I was very disappointed. There are better thrillers out there.
There was no closure and nothing made any sense in the end. I was very disappointed. There are better thrillers out there.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews