The World House

Apr 08, 2011 Joel rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, book-club, kindle, sci-fi-fantasy, feeling-randy-book-club, murder-house

There's something sinister about a structure that's bigger on the inside than it has any right to be, whether it's House of Leaves or the TARDIS or Snoopy's dog house (if he can fit a grand piano in there, who knows what other secrets are buried within?). The World House, which, let's get it out of the way right now, is profoundly disappointing, does it one better by sticking the impossible house inside of a creepy box, which is, I guess, doubly creepy.

And for a while, it is. Chapter by chapter...more

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Mar 20, 2011 Ceridwen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: pulp beach readers

Recommended to Ceridwen by: RBRS

Shelves: abandoned, cthulhu, not-for-me-maybe-for-you, pulp, rbrs, angry-robot

This review is just me giving myself permission to stop pretending I'm reading this. It's not a bad book, so far. The writing is snappy, especially at the very beginning, with some nail-biting chthulu-style hijinks and pulp weirdness. A box! Opens a door! To a house! That is a holodeck of space! and time! and imagination! and stuff! I enjoy this sort of thing generally...wait...here comes a digression.

So Mum and I are staying in a cabin on the edge of nowhere (read: the Canadian Border, American...more This review is just me giving myself permission to stop pretending I'm reading this. It's not a bad book, so far. The writing is snappy, especially at the very beginning, with some nail-biting chthulu-style hijinks and pulp weirdness. A box! Opens a door! To a house! That is a holodeck of space! and time! and imagination! and stuff! I enjoy this sort of thing generally...wait...here comes a digression.

So Mum and I are staying in a cabin on the edge of nowhere (read: the Canadian Border, American side) so we're beholden to whatever's on the teevee because the DVD collection at the front desk is frankly appalling, and I'm not even that discriminating when it comes to movies. So we watch the last 45 minutes of John Carpenter's "The Thing", sort of chatting about pulp movies, and when it started being okay to drop the f-bomb in action films, and when it stopped, and whatnot. I went into a big Carpenter phase as some point because that man was on fire there for a while in the 80s: The Thing, Escape from New York, They Live, Christine, Halloween*.

Anyway, what I love about Carpenter is the off-handed way he kicks you in the teeth. All this genre-stuff, all this pulp, done in this sort of gritty Ed Woodish way - one of things I remember about Halloween is how many shots have Carpenter's cigarette smoke floating past, just because, screw it, John doesn't put out his smoke while filming - but he's got this unerring way (at the time) of finding the soft spots of the American psyche and jumping on them with boots. "The Thing" is this massive panic about the sort of bifurcation in the American mind, how we are always and ever a nation divided, and it plays that division in this really gross, fun, claustrophobic way. Mum and I were speculating about how it would end, cause it's been a while for both of us, and we were really shocked when (view spoiler)

If you don't want to read the spoiler to the movie that isn't even the focus of this review: in sum, the denouement of "The Thing" doesn't go where I expected, because it's so downbeat and non-coda-ish. It's not a set-up for something else, or end-times exposition, or whatever. And while it's going, it's kicking your ass right and left. As much fun as each individual piece of this book is so far - and it's really fragmented - I'm just not getting my ass kicked. The chapters keep having moments that end with OMG The Box what does it meeeeaaaannnn????? I'm feeling fairly certain that I will not be happy with what it meeeeeaaaans, because a Magic McGuffin Box that leads to the Holodeck of All Space and Time should not mean but be.**

Seriously though, I'm not mad about this book or anything, and I'm a little convinced that had I approached this on a beach somewhere, looking for some snappy pulp, I would have enjoyed it. As it stands, it's the puddle horrible spring in the Midwest, and I'm looking for pulp with more teeth in it and less snap. I admit that I haven't finished, and I'm unlikely to - sorry - but halfway through I haven't run across any scenario in the Great Possibilities of All Space and Time*** that's gone for my kidneys. The best pulp makes you cup your nuts****; my gonads still feel pretty safe. This book has the form of good pulp, it just doesn't have the substance.

*The last one's a cheat; Halloween was late-70s. Fuck you, imdb, for screwing up my point.
**Apologies to Wordsworth, and poetry.
***Or whatever. DNF.
****Or whatever.
(less)

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Jan 22, 2012 Seak (Bryce L.) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-review, 2012, urban-fantasy

You know, I had a hard time getting into this one. Well, maybe that's not exactly it. I got into it really easily, but then 80 or so pages in, it was hard to keep going.

There was a great mystery going on with this box and this weird house...and then there's character after character introduced and slowly I wasn't quite as interested. The mystery didn't matter quite as much with my growing frustration at the lack of plot movement. Kinda like my relationship with the show Lost. I had to take a br...more

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Mar 08, 2011 Greg rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sf-fantasy-and-other-dorky-shit, angry-robot

I should be working on writing a review for another website where one would start off a review by saying, "I should be working on writing a review for another website where one would start off a review by saying, "'I should be...'", but instead I've put that review on the back burner and I'm going to knock off a quick review for this Angry Robot release, World House (I just thought while typing that last sentence, why is the robot angry? Is it because of the lack-luster quality of the books it p...more I should be working on writing a review for another website where one would start off a review by saying, "I should be working on writing a review for another website where one would start off a review by saying, "'I should be...'", but instead I've put that review on the back burner and I'm going to knock off a quick review for this Angry Robot release, World House (I just thought while typing that last sentence, why is the robot angry? Is it because of the lack-luster quality of the books it puts out all sheathed in a nice fancy packaging? Would that make a robot angry?)

I didn't dislike this book, rather I was disappointed in it. When I read the little description on the back of the book I imagined a sinister version of Trip to the Stars. I didn't get my hopes up that this book would equal the greatness of the Nicholas Christopher book, because it's the kind of book that just happens to connect in the right way and works perfectly, but I expected it to be in the same league. Instead it was like watching Mirko Cro Cop fight just about anyone in the past few years, on paper it looks like it could stand up but in the end Cro Cop is just laying on the ground, beaten and there really wasn't even much of a show (this is my second Mirko Cro Cop reference I've dropped into a review in the past couple of weeks, I can assure you there will be a third one coming up soon (and I also realized that the first reference was also in an Angry Robot book review)).

But to get back to the book, it's not as bad or as washed up as Cro Cop is in his twilight years of fighting. Parts of the book I found to be a lot of fun, but unfortunately usually the parts I found to be a lot of fun usually ended too quickly, part of this was due to the over abundance of characters and plot lines going on in the book. Any of the plot lines could have been really good but instead they all kind pretty much glossed over while the book tried to keep track of all the characters. I think there were way too many characters, too much (or too little if the book had been longer, which maybe it should have been) backstory setting up too many of the characters and a little bit too much of an epic-scope for the 400 pages of the novel. Even with the cliff-hanger ending (which I had no problem with, but I knew there was a sequel, and I prefer a sequel that continues on with a story to a series of episodic novels, not that I'm sure yet if I will read the sequel though) I doubt that there will be the development in parts of the book that I would have enjoyed. On this topic, the most irritating part of the book for me (view spoiler).

My other big problem I had with the book was that it needed some rules. I'm not talking about some kind of formalist restrain a la Perec or one of his buddies, but just some ground rules for what can happen in the house and what can't. It felt like there was too much that was allowed to happen and it started to feel like listening to a ten year old boy just making shit up and embellishing wherever he wanted to make things impossibly constructed. The things in the house were too powerful, too deadly, too in your face there most of the time that I had a hard time believing that any of the characters could have survived more than ten minutes in the house.

Besides my complaints I enjoyed reading this, and found it to be a good concept that just didn't come together in a way that I would have wanted it to. But that sounds whiny and I hate when people dislike books just because it wasn't the book that they wanted the book to be. I don't really mean that, I just wanted the book to be more fleshed out, more of a world all it's own. (less)

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Feb 25, 2011 Chris rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, kindle

Okay, I have to say - BAD ENDING! WTF! NOT FAIR!

Still, I can't decided if it should be 3 or 2 stars.

The idea behind the novel is interesting. It's been seen in work like City of Golden Shadow or The Prisoner. Of course, because the idea is interesting, it can quickly wear on the reader.

There are several narrative threads, and when Adams decides to start bringing them together, he almost does so too quickly. In others, the ending feels as if it (a) were too long in coming and (b) too rushed. An o...more

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Mar 10, 2011 karen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: for-that-bodice-ripper-group, tastes-like-people

i am perfectly comfortable being the only one who liked this book in the online book club full of haters, and i declare it to be better than any other book we have read since i have been a member of the group. suck on that, iron duke!!

but i think i was predisposed to liking this based on a lifetime of choices.

quick - some personal backstory.

the first movie i ever saw in a theater was flash gordon. i used to go to the rocky horror picture show weekly when i was in high school, and was briefly in...more

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Feb 27, 2011 Stefan rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: advance-reading-copy, ebook, fantasy, www-fantasyliterature-com-review

A struggling British antiquarian with gambling debts... an American socialite during the Prohibition... a young boy from Spain during Franco’s reign... a barfly and a stripper in the late seventies... an autistic teenager... In different places and during different eras, seemingly unconnected strangers all come into contact with a mysterious box, and all of them at some point suddenly find themselves transported to a different place: a huge house that seems to have endless corridors and stairs,...more A struggling British antiquarian with gambling debts... an American socialite during the Prohibition... a young boy from Spain during Franco’s reign... a barfly and a stripper in the late seventies... an autistic teenager... In different places and during different eras, seemingly unconnected strangers all come into contact with a mysterious box, and all of them at some point suddenly find themselves transported to a different place: a huge house that seems to have endless corridors and stairs, not to mention a room filled with a huge jungle, one that contains an ocean, and so on...

The World House by Guy Adams starts off well, describing the unsuccessful antiquarian Miles as he hopelessly tries to get an extension on his gambling debts. When the perspective switches to a different time and era with the Prohibition-era debutante Penelope, I was still with the author. I even stayed interested when the story switched yet again to Kesara, a Spanish girl trying to stay alive on the streets, but it’s at this point that the frequent perspective shifts and seemingly unconnected narratives began to grate a bit. Fortunately, around that time, there’s a mysterious and fascinating interlude that doesn’t seem to have much to do with the rest of the story (yet), and then Guy Adams introduces Tom, a bar singer who looks to have been modelled on Tom Waits (notice the bar is situated on “Ninth and Hennepin”...), which was enough to keep me reading a while longer again. However, after this, two more seemingly unrelated characters enter the novel: an autistic girl, and a professor who is obsessed with finding a certain mysterious box...

Once every character has finally been introduced to the story, The World House continues as a series of mostly unconnected narratives, with everyone trying to survive the surreal environment of the house. These adventures are entertaining enough to read, but unfortunately The World House takes too long to get to the point and bring everything together. There are some clues and links here and there, and a few characters meet up, but mostly you still appear to be reading a series of seemingly unconnected stories about people who are all trying to survive separate parts of the same bizarre environment.

If you’ve read the OTHERLAND novels by Tad Williams, you may remember the big chunk of River of Blue Fire where it seemed like a new, weird virtual reality was introduced every other chapter. These were all well-described, original, trippy and fun to read, but they didn’t advance the overall plot much, making that book the weakest installment of the series. Most of The World House by Guy Adams has that same feeling: while it’s surreal and action-packed, it feels like there’s just no point to much of it.

When everything finally starts to come together towards the end of the novel, The World House suddenly gets quite interesting. The final revelation of what’s really going on is actually nothing short of great. Unfortunately, before you get to that point, Guy Adams spends about a quarter of The World House setting up the various characters, and most of the rest of the book putting them through their paces in the house, leaving too little time to wrap things up. Even though the separate story-lines are well-written and never boring, and it eventually turns out that, yes, everything did have a point and a connection, what comes before that point may be so frustrating for some readers that they don’t even make it to the eventual pay-off.

Still, if the plot summary of this novel strikes your interest and you don’t mind taking not one but several long and winding roads to reach a satisfying conclusion, you may want to check out The World House.

(This review was also published at www.fantasyliterature.com on 2/18/2011.)(less)

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May 13, 2010 David Fillis rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a teriffic book. Original and very clever.

A small wooden box crosses the path of a large number of characters, some are transported to a place that exists outside of time and space. The World House defies reality, the bathroom contains a sea, the playroom hosts a real game of snakes and ladders. The House has many ways to kill you and if you make it through to the room at the top and open that door...the real world is destroyed.

With great characters, constant surprises and great humour,...more

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Mar 21, 2011 James Bennett rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Across the world, from different periods in time, characters encounter a strange magical box and through a series of thrilling events find themselves drawn to the World House. The House exists outside Time. Corridors seem endless. There is an ocean in the bathroom. A killer chef in the kitchen. Lethal moths. Sinister ghosts. Even an ostrich and more besides. The various characters journey through the house looking for a way out. But is someone else - someone alien and terrifying - looking for a...more

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Apr 19, 2011 Jason ~WordMuncher~ rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This reminded me of Jumanji for adults. I liked it even though it didn't go into much detail about all the different worlds within the World House.

And WTF with that ending! Way to force someone to read book 2.

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Apr 15, 2013 Jeff Dick rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The World House takes its’ time drawing you in.

Rather a long time.

The introduction of the myriad characters (a contemporary Brit, a Spanish thief from the 1930s, an American socialite from the 1920s, an alcoholic musician and his stripper friend from the 1970s, a little girl with Autism, and Alan from Florida) is a lengthy process. Lengthy, but well-written with interesting characters.

Then it takes more time to learn about the house: a place which apparently has no rules and where the laws of na...more The World House takes its’ time drawing you in.

Rather a long time.

The introduction of the myriad characters (a contemporary Brit, a Spanish thief from the 1930s, an American socialite from the 1920s, an alcoholic musician and his stripper friend from the 1970s, a little girl with Autism, and Alan from Florida) is a lengthy process. Lengthy, but well-written with interesting characters.

Then it takes more time to learn about the house: a place which apparently has no rules and where the laws of nature, physics and time are only suggestions. Again, well-written with interesting things going on.

Once Adams has you informed of the world and people in it, he accelerates the pace (somewhat erratically) to crescendo and then, poof, it is over. Or is it?

A house wrapped up in a door inside a box

I love the notion of random people from different places and times being thrown together inside a house of infinite dimension hidden inside a box. (It felt cool just writing that line) I also like that there is a specific trigger for transportation to the house — be in possession of the box at a time of immediate peril. Cool stuff and also the only well-defined aspect of the house.

Once inside the house, things are a little (OK, a lot) more fluid. A living game of snakes and ladders, a library infested with bookworms the size of housepets, a bathroom housing an ocean, a jungle in a greenhouse and other rooms of varied content and scope are all connected by invisible portals. Travel within the rooms is challenging. Traveling between them, troublesome; and escaping entirely seems impossible. Except that it can be done and Alan knows this.

Of all his fellow visitors, Alan is the only one who actively sought the box and was aware of its’ secrets a priori. When we finally find out why Alan isn’t like the others, it isn’t a “Holy crap, I didn’t see that coming!” moment, nor is it a “Meh, totally saw it coming.” It is more of a “Yeah, OK, I see how that makes sense.” turn of events. It takes a long time to get there and is a very short journey from there to the cliff where we are left hanging at the end.

The lengthy preamble, seemingly bizarre interludes and cliffhanger ending may be off-putting for some. The pacing and interludes did try my patience at times, but that patience was rewarded. There was interesting stuff happening to interest people and the writing was good, so I kept reading. These dalliances (as they aren’t vital to the telling) never made me feel like the story was dragging, but rather that it was just moving leisurely and we would “get there when we get there.”

As for the unfinished business at the end of the book — I bought the sequel.

(originally posted at cheffojeffo.wordpress.com)(less)

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Mar 21, 2013 Tonya rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, fantasy, horror

Imagine if you will that you are about to enter another dimension, a dimension not of sight and sound, but also of mind.

Guy Adams writes a pretty decent story about multiple people finding themselves rattling around an old Victorian house (though I'm not sure if it's described as Victorian or I imagine it that way and if it's described that way I can't imagine it matters because no one sees the outside anyway).

The reader is introduced to multiple players as they come in contact with a mysterious...more

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May 21, 2012 Andrew rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I love the "weird surreal infinite house" genre of fantasy. I flat-out love it. James Stoddard, Kit Manson, John Bellairs, Patricia McKillip, Mark Z. Danielewski -- just off the top of my head. Zelazny did it once, and *he* was riffing on William Hope Hodgson. I love that the TARDIS partakes of the Weird House. I keep coming back to it in my own IF work.

_The World House_ is a Weird House novel that I couldn't manage to enjoy. I think I wanted it to be a species of fantasy that it just isn't. It...more I love the "weird surreal infinite house" genre of fantasy. I flat-out love it. James Stoddard, Kit Manson, John Bellairs, Patricia McKillip, Mark Z. Danielewski -- just off the top of my head. Zelazny did it once, and *he* was riffing on William Hope Hodgson. I love that the TARDIS partakes of the Weird House. I keep coming back to it in my own IF work.

_The World House_ is a Weird House novel that I couldn't manage to enjoy. I think I wanted it to be a species of fantasy that it just isn't. It is a character drama, and it spends a *long* time introducing wodges of characters to bounce the focal-point character off of. This means (a) you spend more than half the book meeting people who are apparently in unrelated plot threads, and (b) there really isn't a protagonist at all. People explore the house, but any association you have with any of them is fragile and temporary. Also, there are little interludes about aliens or demons or something in Earth history which don't seem to fit in at all.

The story eventually coalesces, but not in a way that makes you think "Ah, I should have seen this coming!" That's the kind of fantasy it isn't. Nor is it the kind where you can just enjoy the wacky (or creepy) architecture. There are clear indications that It Makes Some Kind Of Sense, but the Sense winds up coming out of the blue (or black) and was not satisfying to me. The world-building was neither poetically nor logically sound, I guess I'm saying, and I need one or the other. Also, I need a protagonist.

All that said, the architecture *is* both wacky and creepy. The character writing is pretty good, if I can tell from characters I wasn't engaged with -- the voice shifts from viewpoint to viewpoint, in a way which is not over-the-top. (Exception: the obsessive-compulsive kid. She was annoying. If I had liked the book, I might have bought it as *realistically* annoying.) The non-viewpoint characters are mostly over-the-top stereotypes, but they're drawn from a range of time periods so the contrast is appropriate. The plot, as we finally see it, ends with a big bang and a sequel hook. If you are into this kind of book, you will probably be happy with this one. I know that's a near-contentless thing to say; sorry.(less)

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Apr 19, 2012 Beaulah Pragg rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An unusual story that reminded me, ever so slightly of Jumanji. Though nowhere near as tame, The World House follows a wide cast of characters who have been sucked into the house by opening what one might consider a distorted version of Pandora's Box. It all seems to be happening for a reason, but throughout the story, it is difficult to divine just what that reason might be... and then when all the threads come together at the end, well... this book is a horror/thriller for a reason.

Plenty of g...more

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Jan 21, 2012 Vinnie Tesla rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Firs, off, this isn't a novel, any more than The Fellowship of the Ring is. Without any acknowledgement of the fact on the cover of my paperback copy, this is the 400-odd page Beginning of an Open-Ended Series. As such, it resolves a bunch of questions (spoiler alert: mostly the answer is either "Magic!" or "Time travel!") but leaves most plot threads dangling for the next book.

Structurally, the book is mostly a set of dungeon crawls. The parties of viewpoint characters run from one monster batt...more

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Mar 10, 2011 Marcus rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It took me a while to really get into the story of The World House. With the introduction of a number of characters and their story about how they ended up in the World House, it takes a while for the story to gain momentum.
As soon as the story gains momentum, there is no slowing down. Guy Adams takes his readers on a trip they will never forget.

The story is told from the perspective of several characters who end up in the World House and who by luck and chance form three seperate teams or group...more It took me a while to really get into the story of The World House. With the introduction of a number of characters and their story about how they ended up in the World House, it takes a while for the story to gain momentum.
As soon as the story gains momentum, there is no slowing down. Guy Adams takes his readers on a trip they will never forget.

The story is told from the perspective of several characters who end up in the World House and who by luck and chance form three seperate teams or groups in order to survive. Each group knows nothing of the others and only at the end do members of two groups meet. For the most part we follow the protagonists as they struggle to survive in this bizarre house that exists somewhere and somewhen outside our space-time continuum; the usual laws of physics do not seem to apply. Some rooms are just rooms, others contain jungles, oceans or mountains. There is also a library which holds the biography of every person on earth and maybe more.

The unfortunate tennants of the World House have to face challenges beyond their immaginations, from spectral terrors haunting the dark gulfs between the rooms to denizens of a sentient ocean. With the exception of a noted explorer from the 1930s everyone we meet is an everyday person. They do not have any special skills, they just try to cope in a world which is literally insane. It is really easy to identify and emphasize with Miles, Alan, Sophie, Penelope and the others, they are just like you and me. Mr. Adams describes the World House with an amount of detail that is bordering on the insane, insane because there are so many details which are simply insane. At the heart of the house sits a mad imprisoned godling, and Mr. Adams makes sure you, the reader, feel its presence just as much as the protagonists do.

Another pearl within this brilliant narrative is Sophie. Whenever the story is told from her perspective, it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. She has a special way to see and think about the world, you’ll see…

And you will be surprised about the end and will be just as eager to get your hands on the sequel as I am now. So, if you enjoy strange and bizarre tales and especially if you love Neil Gaiman’s work and wonder what his tales would be like on a bad trip, get yourself a copy of The World House it is one insane and exciting ride of a read.(less)

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Oct 25, 2012 Paul rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I would give this book 4.5 stars if I could, because it falls between really liking it and amazing. It is a fantastic ride and brilliantly written, each line flows seamlessly into the next and not a word is wasted.

For those that need to know, the story concerns a strange house that exists outside the normal rules of physics, rooms that go on for miles and contain, seas or mountains within, stuffed animals that come to life, and all manner of strange creatures, the majority of which are hostile a...more I would give this book 4.5 stars if I could, because it falls between really liking it and amazing. It is a fantastic ride and brilliantly written, each line flows seamlessly into the next and not a word is wasted.

For those that need to know, the story concerns a strange house that exists outside the normal rules of physics, rooms that go on for miles and contain, seas or mountains within, stuffed animals that come to life, and all manner of strange creatures, the majority of which are hostile and violent. Access is granted from our world by a strange little wooden box. Into this place are thrust a number of disparate people who are forced to try and navigate the corridors and rooms to try and find a way home and possibly discover the secret of the house...

I had in my mind an expectation for this story before reading it, which was completely turned around a few pages in. I was expecting something along the lines of Clive Barker or Neil Gaiman, a solid if perhaps stuffy tale. Although there are snatches of these authors, the story is wholly original and as said, the writing is nothing short of near perfect. It's been a while since I've had as much fun with a book, and this delivers.

Initially, the narrative jumps around a bit, following the various characters, but you soon get used to the rhythms and the fast pace never lets up. there is humour amongst the strange goings on and the characters are so well rounded, you really feel concern for them. Interludes and small titbits of exposition flesh out the back story and although there are one or two reveals that perhaps could have been concealed until closer to the end, it's a solid and well written piece. My only criticism, and it is a small one, is that the ending felt a little rushed. We've spent all this time with the various characters on their journeys and suddenly the finale is sprung on us in the last few pages. I felt that the book could have been a little longer, given the nature of the house. However, it didn't spoil my enjoyment in the slightest, and the knowledge that there is a sequel is enough to mollify.

This was my first Guy Adams book but it sure won't be my last. Excellent stuff.(less)

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Sep 20, 2011 Trudi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-reads, love-the-premise, angry-robots-in-the-house, series, fantastical-speculative, just-plain-weird, what-the-bleep, laugh-out-loud, pulp-is-king

Imagine if Dr. Seuss got drunk off his ass one afternoon, did a few lines of coke, and decided to write a little somethin’ somethin’ for the grown-ups. Welcome to World House.

How do you refrain from recommending that everyone read a book, when in your heart of hearts you know that not everyone is going to love it? In fact, there will be those who will hate it … or worse … be left bored by it. It takes a stronger person than me. I can’t stop myself recommending The World House as loud and as sin...more

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Oct 17, 2011 Kat rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, fantasy, why-did-i-even-bother

I managed to squeeze 2 stars-worth of enjoyment out of this book but I'm not sure that makes it worth the time I spent reading it.
Firstly, the sheer amount of cliches. As other reviewers have mentioned TWH is a mish-mash of tropes which have for the most part being handled better in other works. When I first came across the Chinese puzzle box I wasn't sure whether this was going to be a serious story or a parody. The characters were a cast of cliches, too. Dull, badly scripted cliches. There was...more

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Apr 06, 2011 Hillary rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: deep-imagination

Wow, what words can I possibly write about a book that said plenty already? So much happened in that book and yet, really so very very little took place! The first couple of pages fell out unreliably slow and 120 pages in, Adams was not only still introducing characters, but he was also still setting up the story! The absolute vastness of his creation is overwhelming to consider, and for that alone I must pay homage to a brilliantly colloquialized method of storytelling. Creatures, characters, a...more

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Feb 27, 2011 Amber rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book! Mr. Adams set up the mood very well from the beginning. You start reading it knowing that people are getting sucked into a kind of pocket universe that is a sprawling house inside a box where the rules of physics are more like guidelines. You know that strangers are getting sucked in and can't get out. But, oh!, how the sense of malevolence builds as you work your way further and further into the book. You start to see connections that are anything but spelled out by the autho...more

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Mar 12, 2011 Brad rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fantasy, hackosaurids, fantasy, tries-too-hard

If only The World House had been an episode from The Original Series of Star Trek. I'd have liked it much, much better, although I did like it enough (surprise, surprise) that I intend to read the sequel. I know ,,, I'm a sucker.

STAR TREK NEXT VOYAGE

KIRK: Captain's Log Stardate 3634.8. After finishing our eventful shore leave on Argelius II, we received orders from Starfleet to return immediately to the Terran System. Months long subspace negotiations between the the Daimoni and the Federation...more

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May 24, 2011 Thara rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The only way to get to World House is to be holding the box at the right time - when faced with a violent and horrific death. Since the start of the book introduces us to the protagonists and their transition, there are many, many pages of nightmarish cruelty. I suspect that Adams challenged himself to think of as many unique ways to perish as he could logically fit into the story. He's a good writer - I didn't like it, but I persevered. The World House is a terrifying construct, too - sort of "...more

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Aug 02, 2011 Gabrielle rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“Nothing in this building is to be taken lightly, my dear,
nothing at all.”

I’d like to say outright that it takes a chapter or two to settle into the The World House. I give forewarning because after acclimating to the pace and structure of the story, the reader is rewarded tenfold. In this dark fantasy, Guy Adams creates an impossible mystery within an alternate dimension set outside the usual notions of space, time, and logic.

The book begins with the reality-based lives of multiple characters,...more “Nothing in this building is to be taken lightly, my dear,
nothing at all.”

I’d like to say outright that it takes a chapter or two to settle into the The World House. I give forewarning because after acclimating to the pace and structure of the story, the reader is rewarded tenfold. In this dark fantasy, Guy Adams creates an impossible mystery within an alternate dimension set outside the usual notions of space, time, and logic.

The book begins with the reality-based lives of multiple characters, many unconnected and rooted in different continents and time periods. Miles, a modern-day Brit, owes gambling debts to a man who collects in cash or broken bones; Penelope, living in 1920s America, finds that her fiance has a dark side; Tom, also an American, is a hack musician who spends his waking hours inebriated and pining after Elise, a stripper who frequents the same bar when she’s done with work; Pablo is a hired thief in Spain during their Civil War of the 1930s; and Sophie, described as “special-needs,” appears to be somewhere on the autism spectrum and for that reason not much is known about her origins. What they all have in common is a chance encounter with an ancient box and a stressful moment. In an instant, the artifact unlatches and pulls them inside the surreal world of an old, Victorian house.

Alan, a middle-aged history professor from modern-day Florida, however, is an exception to those unexpectedly transported. An unexplained bout of amnesia has wiped out any memory of his earlier years. Preoccupation with lost time leads Alan to an obsess over the legend of a mysterious box. Determined to find this object known to steal people away, rarely returning them, he spends much of his time researching its whereabouts and placing ads offering a price to anyone who might have it in their possession.

One day he’s contacted and given instructions for a meetup. Expecting a hoax or a false alarm, as has been the case with past encounters, he’s surprised to see the real thing in front of him. After paying a generous sum, he’s drawn through and finds himself in a jungle—later revealed to be a greenhouse. Immediately, he comes across Sophie, newly transplanted, unsure of where she is and how she got there. Alan takes it upon himself to protect her, which turns out to be a heroic endeavor since there’s a Lord of the Flies type situation happening amongst the jungle-residents they meet.

The interweaving stories of these characters, spilt into three groups as they travel the house, are complex and disorienting yet surprisingly coherent. Their adventures provide vivid images of a horrific location: a playroom with a live game of Chutes and Ladders, a library with dog-sized bookworms, a bathroom where a royal navy sails through treacherous waters, and rooms connected by hidden portals. Alternating between the separate groups in quick succession, each of their predicaments equally intriguing, Adams builds tension through compelling cliffhangers. The effect is effortless page-turning.

As the story unfolds—unforced, organic, and without banalities—the experience is mind-bending and to give anything away would be a criminal act. When you come up on the last few pages of The World House make sure you have the sequel, Restoration, on hand. You won’t want this story to end.(less)

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Aug 06, 2011 Noor Jahangir rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy

There is a box, inside which is an impossible house. Inside the house there is a locked room. If the door is ever opened, its occupant will get out and that would mean the end of our world. The World House is like Jumanji crossed with Lost and Identity. Everything in the house is strange, insane even, but for the house, insane is normal. I can't reveal too much about the plot because that would ruin the mystery of the story. Suffice to say it has something to do with who the house's prisoner is...more

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Aug 07, 2011 Tony rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I would not have read this book if it wasn’t for two reasons. The first being that my Angry Robot Books subscription includes the sequel to this. Recommendations by The Eloquent Page and Erik Lundqvist sealed the deal and I went ahead and bought the puppy.

I spent the first half of this book not having any kind of clue what was going on, and the second half wondering how the hell it was all going to come together. I would not recommend reading this book in small chunks as that would only exacerba...more

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Jul 28, 2011 Iamthez rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bizarro, random

Is it bad that I'm very annoyed this book has a sequel coming?

On one hand, I'm dying to know what happens, but on the other hand, I know myself very well and I have a severe case of shiny objects disorder. This means that I will most likely forget about this book, as I move on to other ones, and never know what happens, which will only bother me if someone reminds me that I've read this book. Make sense?

It took me a good while to get into this novel, because the way it's written can be slightl...more

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Apr 15, 2011 Deanna Knippling rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book made me feel like I've read too much weird fiction. This was supposed to be! wildly! original, and I just kept seeing what, to me, have become old tropes.

House of Leaves plus Jumanji.
Time travel means being your own worst enemy - literally.
Loki screws things up again.
Look! The magical autistic savant!

Ah, the writing went well enough and kept me turning pages until the end, but I won't be chasing down the sequel. The thought just makes me feel tired. I think what lost it for me is that...more

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Mar 07, 2011 Amy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, science-fiction

To be fair, I read this book very slowly because of having so much other work at the same time; only reading small snippets didn't really do the novel justice. That said, I found there were too many characters, none of whom I really cared about, none for whom I felt any real tension or concern. Additionally, the story relies so heavily on the wacky setting that it actually restrains the Big Villain. The World House is clearly the beginning of a series, but so much so that the ending acts more li...more

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Sep 11, 2011 Amanda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I absolutely loved this book. I loved how the chapters jumped from main characters' stories to almost a short story of sorts in between, but it kept the plot moving forward. I loved the array of characters, and the imagination involved in even CREATING this universe the characters are currently stuck in. Awesomely enough, I was just browsing the new release shelves for something that caught my eye, and randomly picked this book up having heard nothing about it. Unaware that it was going to be a...more

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The World House (The World House #1)

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