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Last to Leave the Room
Last to Leave the Room is a new novel of genre-busting speculative horror from Caitlin Starling, the acclaimed author of The Death of Jane Lawrence.
The city of San Siroco is sinking. The basement belonging to Dr. Tamsin Rivers, the arrogant, selfish head of the research team assigned to find the source of the subsidence, is sinking faster.
As Tamsin grows obsessed with the distorting dimensions of the room at the bottom of the stairs, she finds a door that didn’t exist before – and one night, it opens to reveal an exact physical copy of her. This doppelgänger is sweet and biddable where Tamsin is calculating and cruel. It appears fully, terribly human, passing every test Tamsin can devise. But the longer the double exists, the more Tamsin begins to forget pieces of her life, to lose track of time, to grow terrified of the outside world.
With her employer growing increasingly suspicious, Tamsin must try to hold herself together long enough to figure out what her double wants from her, and just where the mysterious door leads to.
The city of San Siroco is sinking. The basement belonging to Dr. Tamsin Rivers, the arrogant, selfish head of the research team assigned to find the source of the subsidence, is sinking faster.
As Tamsin grows obsessed with the distorting dimensions of the room at the bottom of the stairs, she finds a door that didn’t exist before – and one night, it opens to reveal an exact physical copy of her. This doppelgänger is sweet and biddable where Tamsin is calculating and cruel. It appears fully, terribly human, passing every test Tamsin can devise. But the longer the double exists, the more Tamsin begins to forget pieces of her life, to lose track of time, to grow terrified of the outside world.
With her employer growing increasingly suspicious, Tamsin must try to hold herself together long enough to figure out what her double wants from her, and just where the mysterious door leads to.
312 pages, Hardcover
First published October 10, 2023
162 people are currently reading
23916 people want to read
About the author
Caitlin Starling
12 books1,802 followersCaitlin Starling is the nationally bestselling author of The Death of Jane Lawrence, the Bram Stoker-nominated The Luminous Dead, and Last To Leave The Room. Her upcoming novels The Starving Saints and The Graceview Patient epitomize her love of genre-hopping horror; her bibliography spans besieged castles, alien caves, and haunted hospitals. Her short fiction has been published by GrimDark Magazine and Neon Hemlock, and her nonfiction has appeared in Nightmare, Uncanny, and Nightfire. Caitlin also works in narrative design, and has been paid to invent body parts. She’s always on the lookout for new ways to inflict insomnia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 703 reviews
November 3, 2023
My complete review of Last to Leave the Room is published at Grimdark Magazine.
Last to Leave the Room is the new dark speculative fiction by Caitlin Starling, the USA Today bestselling author of The Death of Jane Lawrence, which seamlessly blends science fiction and horror into a slow-building thriller.
Last to Leave the Room opens with Dr. Tamsin Rivers, a corporate scientist who is on the verge of a new breakthrough in communication technology. Tamsin works for the shady tech firm Myrica Dynamic in the fictional Silicon Valley-inspired San Siroco.
The city of San Siroco is sinking for unknown reasons, which may or may not be related to research at Myrica Dynamic. Tamsin discovers that her basement is sinking at a faster rate than the city itself. The plot thickens when Tamsin finds a strange door that has materialized in her basement.
Ever the meticulous scientist, Tamsin develops hypotheses around these strange phenomena, making careful observations and measurements to find a rational solution for these mysteries. But her corporate overlords at Myrica Dynamic constantly peer over her shoulder, making sure that she does nothing to tarnish the company’s image.
Last to Leave the Room suffers from inconsistent pacing. The first part of the book is a slog, with far too much focus on Tamsin’s corporate meetings and domestic chores, all of which seem especially tiresome as told in the novel’s unadorned present-tense narration.
Fortunately, Last to Leave the Room takes off as Tamsin discovers a doppelgänger who appears to be a mirror image of herself. The original mystery of the sinking city is pushed aside as the book’s focus shifts toward Tamsin’s double.
The horror elements of the story build slowly, and I found the novel to be quite engrossing in the latter half, which offers plenty of unexpected plot twists. By the end, the novel is hard to put down.
Last to Leave the Room is at its best when Caitlin Starling focuses on questions of personal identity, including which qualities define us uniquely as individual humans. Tamsin’s treatment of identity recalls that of The Double, Fyodor Dostoevsky’s original masterpiece of doppelgänger fiction.
Tamsin follows essentially the same character arc as Dostoevsky’s protagonist in The Double: the main character and doppelgänger begin as friends, but then the protagonist gradually loses their identity to the double. Like Dostoevsky, Starling offers a thought-provoking assessment of identity with no clear answers.
The blend of science fiction and horror around a doppelgänger motif also recalls the movie adaptation of Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation. But while VanderMeer considers accelerated mutation within the realm of biology, Caitlin Starling focuses primarily on the physical sciences.
In the end, Last to Leave the Room rewards the patient reader with its unique and thought-provoking fusion of science fiction and psychological horror. However, the novel would benefit from more consistent pacing and a tighter focus on the doppelgänger motif.
Last to Leave the Room is the new dark speculative fiction by Caitlin Starling, the USA Today bestselling author of The Death of Jane Lawrence, which seamlessly blends science fiction and horror into a slow-building thriller.
Last to Leave the Room opens with Dr. Tamsin Rivers, a corporate scientist who is on the verge of a new breakthrough in communication technology. Tamsin works for the shady tech firm Myrica Dynamic in the fictional Silicon Valley-inspired San Siroco.
The city of San Siroco is sinking for unknown reasons, which may or may not be related to research at Myrica Dynamic. Tamsin discovers that her basement is sinking at a faster rate than the city itself. The plot thickens when Tamsin finds a strange door that has materialized in her basement.
Ever the meticulous scientist, Tamsin develops hypotheses around these strange phenomena, making careful observations and measurements to find a rational solution for these mysteries. But her corporate overlords at Myrica Dynamic constantly peer over her shoulder, making sure that she does nothing to tarnish the company’s image.
Last to Leave the Room suffers from inconsistent pacing. The first part of the book is a slog, with far too much focus on Tamsin’s corporate meetings and domestic chores, all of which seem especially tiresome as told in the novel’s unadorned present-tense narration.
Fortunately, Last to Leave the Room takes off as Tamsin discovers a doppelgänger who appears to be a mirror image of herself. The original mystery of the sinking city is pushed aside as the book’s focus shifts toward Tamsin’s double.
The horror elements of the story build slowly, and I found the novel to be quite engrossing in the latter half, which offers plenty of unexpected plot twists. By the end, the novel is hard to put down.
Last to Leave the Room is at its best when Caitlin Starling focuses on questions of personal identity, including which qualities define us uniquely as individual humans. Tamsin’s treatment of identity recalls that of The Double, Fyodor Dostoevsky’s original masterpiece of doppelgänger fiction.
Tamsin follows essentially the same character arc as Dostoevsky’s protagonist in The Double: the main character and doppelgänger begin as friends, but then the protagonist gradually loses their identity to the double. Like Dostoevsky, Starling offers a thought-provoking assessment of identity with no clear answers.
The blend of science fiction and horror around a doppelgänger motif also recalls the movie adaptation of Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation. But while VanderMeer considers accelerated mutation within the realm of biology, Caitlin Starling focuses primarily on the physical sciences.
In the end, Last to Leave the Room rewards the patient reader with its unique and thought-provoking fusion of science fiction and psychological horror. However, the novel would benefit from more consistent pacing and a tighter focus on the doppelgänger motif.
March 14, 2025
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for sending me a copy of this much anticipated book.
That’s where the love ends for me unfortunately. I really didn’t like this. The text is so dense. I struggled so hard in the first third to get into the story with all the very boring and difficult to understand scientific talk. I ended up getting a copy of the audiobook from my library to try the whole immersive reading technique to see if that would help me out. It did not. I absolutely hated the narration. It’s so lifeless and flat, very difficult to understand. That is in line with how I found the story, so perhaps that was the tactic.
There are only a few characters, and I didn’t care about any of them. I love a good character I can hate, but I was honestly indifferent. And I love a good slow pace, but this was glacial. There are so many ideas introduced that were just half formed and never developed. I was trying to think of positive things to say and remembering characters or plot points that were introduced, and I was left wondering what for? I didn’t think there was closure for much.
Overall, I just found this unsatisfying. The story does pick up a bit before the halfway mark, and there is some good body horror, but that couldn’t bring the review up for me unfortunately. The feeling didn’t last. I would not recommend this. Perhaps the writer is just too smart for me, and I was too dense to understand.
That’s where the love ends for me unfortunately. I really didn’t like this. The text is so dense. I struggled so hard in the first third to get into the story with all the very boring and difficult to understand scientific talk. I ended up getting a copy of the audiobook from my library to try the whole immersive reading technique to see if that would help me out. It did not. I absolutely hated the narration. It’s so lifeless and flat, very difficult to understand. That is in line with how I found the story, so perhaps that was the tactic.
There are only a few characters, and I didn’t care about any of them. I love a good character I can hate, but I was honestly indifferent. And I love a good slow pace, but this was glacial. There are so many ideas introduced that were just half formed and never developed. I was trying to think of positive things to say and remembering characters or plot points that were introduced, and I was left wondering what for? I didn’t think there was closure for much.
Overall, I just found this unsatisfying. The story does pick up a bit before the halfway mark, and there is some good body horror, but that couldn’t bring the review up for me unfortunately. The feeling didn’t last. I would not recommend this. Perhaps the writer is just too smart for me, and I was too dense to understand.
October 8, 2023
3.0 Stars
I picked up this novel after enjoying The Luminous Dead. For me, the strength of the author's debut novel was the sense of suspense and atmosphere. This novel has a sense of unease and weirdness, but those feelings weren't as strongly projected.
The story was mysterious, strange and ultimately unsatisfying. It's not as good as the author's first book but still has it's merits. I was intrigued, even if it didn't hit the same level.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
I picked up this novel after enjoying The Luminous Dead. For me, the strength of the author's debut novel was the sense of suspense and atmosphere. This novel has a sense of unease and weirdness, but those feelings weren't as strongly projected.
The story was mysterious, strange and ultimately unsatisfying. It's not as good as the author's first book but still has it's merits. I was intrigued, even if it didn't hit the same level.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
November 29, 2023
2.5
There is just enough going on that you keep reading to see how it ends, but once I got there, I found it to be ultimately unsatisfying.
The science doesn't science like it should.
There is just enough going on that you keep reading to see how it ends, but once I got there, I found it to be ultimately unsatisfying.
The science doesn't science like it should.
October 9, 2023
Tamsin Rivers, researcher at Myrica Dynamic, knows it’s bad when when she discovers her basement is sinking much faster than the city of San Siroco. It’s even worse when she discovers a door appearing out of no where in her basement.
A door is bad enough, but when an exact copy of herself steps out, that’s when things start getting really strange. Where did the double come from? Does it have anything to do with the experiments in underground data and communication transfer Tamsin and her team have been working on? Why does Tamsin start losing her memory?
Last to Leave the Room is a quiet horror novel. Starting with an underlying feeling of uneasy, the terror builds slowly, focusing mostly on psychological and body horror.
I liked that we stayed in Tamsin’s POV the entire time as it gave it the claustrophobic feeling the novel needed. It was easy to feel her fear and dread and to sympathize with her, despite her being a pretty unlikeable character.
I’ve never read a plot quite like this before, something I appreciate especially in science fiction. It brought up lots of interesting themes such as what makes a person unique, how much of a person is their memories and the danger of a thirst for knowledge.
The last part of the book was the weakest for me. Some of the more interesting plot points were glossed over, and that was disappointing.
I’d recommend Last to Leave the Room if you enjoy psychological horror with sci-fi elements. I’m looking forward to seeing what this author writes next!
*Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital arc. All opinions are my own.
A door is bad enough, but when an exact copy of herself steps out, that’s when things start getting really strange. Where did the double come from? Does it have anything to do with the experiments in underground data and communication transfer Tamsin and her team have been working on? Why does Tamsin start losing her memory?
Last to Leave the Room is a quiet horror novel. Starting with an underlying feeling of uneasy, the terror builds slowly, focusing mostly on psychological and body horror.
I liked that we stayed in Tamsin’s POV the entire time as it gave it the claustrophobic feeling the novel needed. It was easy to feel her fear and dread and to sympathize with her, despite her being a pretty unlikeable character.
I’ve never read a plot quite like this before, something I appreciate especially in science fiction. It brought up lots of interesting themes such as what makes a person unique, how much of a person is their memories and the danger of a thirst for knowledge.
The last part of the book was the weakest for me. Some of the more interesting plot points were glossed over, and that was disappointing.
I’d recommend Last to Leave the Room if you enjoy psychological horror with sci-fi elements. I’m looking forward to seeing what this author writes next!
*Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital arc. All opinions are my own.
April 13, 2023
2.5 stars. That was...strange. Full review to come closer to publication date.
December 24, 2023
Huge disappointment. I can't stand this audio narrator and that combined with the dry, monotonous, flat story was a mind-numbing combination.
Thoughts along the way...
•NOT monotoned mechanical lifeless XE SANDS... OH GODDDDD.
•7% so far this is really boring...could be impacted by the audio narrator though tbh.
•10% This was one of my most anticipated new releases and it's flopping so hard rn. If I didn't have this new release built up so much in my head I would 100% dnf it right now.
•28% this is so blahhh and just stale....
•40% this isn't even THAT long and yet it's just draggging horribly. Like so many details that just are unnecessary to me.
•60% ...finally the story is picking up
•97% okay that's interesting couldn't we get a bit more of this multi verse stuff?
Literally the only interesting part is the Last third of the book which dosnt make up for the majority of the story being so dull
Thoughts along the way...
•NOT monotoned mechanical lifeless XE SANDS... OH GODDDDD.
•7% so far this is really boring...could be impacted by the audio narrator though tbh.
•10% This was one of my most anticipated new releases and it's flopping so hard rn. If I didn't have this new release built up so much in my head I would 100% dnf it right now.
•28% this is so blahhh and just stale....
•40% this isn't even THAT long and yet it's just draggging horribly. Like so many details that just are unnecessary to me.
•60% ...finally the story is picking up
•97% okay that's interesting couldn't we get a bit more of this multi verse stuff?
Literally the only interesting part is the Last third of the book which dosnt make up for the majority of the story being so dull
October 14, 2023
I’m not sure I know what just happened, but I mostly enjoyed the ride. This felt a little like House of Leaves and I adored the feeling of impossible, unexplainable things happening early on. It seemed that new twists were delivered every few chapters so it continued surprising me throughout the narrative.
I enjoyed the writing, and the horror was horrifying. The characters were delightfully morally questionable. The obsession narrative was done very well. The pacing was good (I do think a little could have been trimmed from the middle).
I think if I had one critique for the book it would be the sciency bits? I don’t think there was any real scientific explanation for what was going on here so the attempts at explaining it, I admittedly glazed over. Even if there was a scientific explanation there’s no way my brain would have understood it.
The only thing I want to add is that I bounced right off Starling’s earlier book, The Luminous Dead. (Honestly I forgot she’d authored that book.) I think she’s had time to hone her craft now and it shines here. If, like me, you didn’t enjoy that one, I think this one is absolutely worth giving a try to, especially during Spooky Season!
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s press for providing the egalley copy for review.
I enjoyed the writing, and the horror was horrifying. The characters were delightfully morally questionable. The obsession narrative was done very well. The pacing was good (I do think a little could have been trimmed from the middle).
I think if I had one critique for the book it would be the sciency bits? I don’t think there was any real scientific explanation for what was going on here so the attempts at explaining it, I admittedly glazed over. Even if there was a scientific explanation there’s no way my brain would have understood it.
The only thing I want to add is that I bounced right off Starling’s earlier book, The Luminous Dead. (Honestly I forgot she’d authored that book.) I think she’s had time to hone her craft now and it shines here. If, like me, you didn’t enjoy that one, I think this one is absolutely worth giving a try to, especially during Spooky Season!
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s press for providing the egalley copy for review.
October 11, 2023
This review can also be found at https://carolesrandomlife.com/
I had a fantastic time with this book! I really liked The Death of Jane Lawrence when I read it last year so I was eager to give this book a try and I liked this book just as much. I was hooked by this story from the beginning and was curious about what might be happening to Dr. Rivers. I love that the story left me questioning everything and I found it to be a very entertaining read.
The city of San Siroco is sinking and Dr. Tamsin Rivers is trying to figure out why. Her basement seems to be sinking even more than the rest of the city and a mysterious door has appeared. When she meets her doppelgänger, she does not know what to think but things start to go horribly wrong as they spend more time together. I had a great time trying to figure out how everything fit together. The story kept me guessing until the very end with plenty of twists and turns along the way, including a few really big surprises.
I listened to the audiobook and thought that Xe Sands did an amazing job with this story. I really felt like I was there with the characters experiencing this story. I thought that she did a fantastic job of bringing these characters to life by adding just the right amount of emotion to her reading. I know that her performance added to my enjoyment of this story.
I would recommend this book to others. I found this to be a rather unique story that blended the genres of horror, science fiction, and thriller quite nicely. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more of this author’s work in the future.
I received a digital review copy of this book from Macmillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press.
I had a fantastic time with this book! I really liked The Death of Jane Lawrence when I read it last year so I was eager to give this book a try and I liked this book just as much. I was hooked by this story from the beginning and was curious about what might be happening to Dr. Rivers. I love that the story left me questioning everything and I found it to be a very entertaining read.
The city of San Siroco is sinking and Dr. Tamsin Rivers is trying to figure out why. Her basement seems to be sinking even more than the rest of the city and a mysterious door has appeared. When she meets her doppelgänger, she does not know what to think but things start to go horribly wrong as they spend more time together. I had a great time trying to figure out how everything fit together. The story kept me guessing until the very end with plenty of twists and turns along the way, including a few really big surprises.
I listened to the audiobook and thought that Xe Sands did an amazing job with this story. I really felt like I was there with the characters experiencing this story. I thought that she did a fantastic job of bringing these characters to life by adding just the right amount of emotion to her reading. I know that her performance added to my enjoyment of this story.
I would recommend this book to others. I found this to be a rather unique story that blended the genres of horror, science fiction, and thriller quite nicely. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more of this author’s work in the future.
I received a digital review copy of this book from Macmillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press.
October 10, 2023
This book is meant to speculatively horror and thrill. Dr. Tamsin is not the most likable of main characters and has you constantly questioning the reliability of her narration throughout the book. When she dicovers the city San Siroco is sinking and a mysterious doppelganger appears Dr. Tamsin world devolves into chaos . Is the doppleganger or Dr. Tamsin's experiments the cause of the sinking city, or are their other supernatural forces at play?
November 23, 2023
There were lesbians, but the first half of the book dragged immensely, there were lesbians, but there was simultaneously too much info dumping and not enough world-building going on, but there were lesbians!
“Last to Leave the Room” is one of those books I picked up on a whim. I heard speculative science fiction meets horror, and I hear queer, and I was like, let’s buddy-read this because why not.
Set in an undetermined feature, in an undetermined society, the novel takes place in the fictional Silicon Valley-inspired San Siroco, LA. Headed by the arrogant and headstrong Dr. Tamsin Rivers, a team of researchers are looking into why the entire city is sinking more and more every day. What Tamsin is keeping a secret from her colleagues? Her basement is sinking too, and at a far more alarming rate. What she doesn’t tell them, too? That a door has appeared in her basement, a door out of nowhere and leading to nowhere since it refuses to open. When, one night it opens to allow a genetically exact doppelgänger of her to enter the world, Tamsin’s world, her life as she knows it begins to change drastically. The doppelgänger has its uses, sure, but soon Tamsin begins to forget pieces of her life, lose track of time, to grow terrified of the outside world… and since when did she own two cats?
I very much agree with other readers in saying that the novel’s pacing is its biggest flaw. Its first half is as tedious as it is repetitive, consisting of nothing but Tamsin going to work and coming home, taking measurements of her basement, then going to work again, coming home to perform tests on her doppelgänger, then going to work again. The build-up is so excruciatingly slow, pages upon pages of the same stuff repeating itself, that the sudden plot twist around the 50% mark occurs much too late to keep readers less willing to persevere from possibly DNF-ing the book.
The first few chapters consisted of a lot of tell, don’t show, and the author left readers completely in the dark not only about what year the story is set in but about what kind of futuristic society the story takes place in, we don't get to know anything about the political and social landscape or indeed what the world looks like beyond the city itself. Given that 70% of the book takes place in Tamsin’s house, it made for a very confined reading experience, which, yes, might have been the author's goal all along, but I would have needed more background knowledge to be more fully invested.
Thankfully, the novel’s pacing picks up in the second half, and that’s where I finally got invested. The fear and the excitement of having a doppelgänger take over your life (for better or worse) are thoughtfully explored, and the author spends a lot of time pondering the ethics of what is moral and what isn't when it comes to how you treat a thing, a person (?) who talks, acts, thinks, behaves as you do, who basically IS you, while still being an extraterrestrial being.
I LOOOOVED Tamsin’s dynamic with Lachlan Woodfield, her tech company’s supervisor and watchdog. While she was barely in the first half of the book, her character became more important to the story and to Tamsin as the narrative progressed. The bathroom scene between those two? The intimacy? WHHHEEEEEWWWW. Still, their relationship came a bit out of nowhere and was left very open, dare I say, hanging, at the end of the novel, making me wonder why it was included in the first place.
While the introduced concepts of sinking cities, doppelgängers and parallel universes are both intriguing and spooky, I was only left with a vague sense of dread and wouldn’t have categorised this as horror had I not known its genre. In comparison, Jackson’s “The Haunting of Hill House” which I read only shortly after, left me much more shaken. All in all, I don’t regret having read this, but I highly doubt I’ll ever pick it up again.
🎬 If you enjoyed this you should watch that: Another Earth (2011)
“Last to Leave the Room” is one of those books I picked up on a whim. I heard speculative science fiction meets horror, and I hear queer, and I was like, let’s buddy-read this because why not.
Set in an undetermined feature, in an undetermined society, the novel takes place in the fictional Silicon Valley-inspired San Siroco, LA. Headed by the arrogant and headstrong Dr. Tamsin Rivers, a team of researchers are looking into why the entire city is sinking more and more every day. What Tamsin is keeping a secret from her colleagues? Her basement is sinking too, and at a far more alarming rate. What she doesn’t tell them, too? That a door has appeared in her basement, a door out of nowhere and leading to nowhere since it refuses to open. When, one night it opens to allow a genetically exact doppelgänger of her to enter the world, Tamsin’s world, her life as she knows it begins to change drastically. The doppelgänger has its uses, sure, but soon Tamsin begins to forget pieces of her life, lose track of time, to grow terrified of the outside world… and since when did she own two cats?
I very much agree with other readers in saying that the novel’s pacing is its biggest flaw. Its first half is as tedious as it is repetitive, consisting of nothing but Tamsin going to work and coming home, taking measurements of her basement, then going to work again, coming home to perform tests on her doppelgänger, then going to work again. The build-up is so excruciatingly slow, pages upon pages of the same stuff repeating itself, that the sudden plot twist around the 50% mark occurs much too late to keep readers less willing to persevere from possibly DNF-ing the book.
The first few chapters consisted of a lot of tell, don’t show, and the author left readers completely in the dark not only about what year the story is set in but about what kind of futuristic society the story takes place in, we don't get to know anything about the political and social landscape or indeed what the world looks like beyond the city itself. Given that 70% of the book takes place in Tamsin’s house, it made for a very confined reading experience, which, yes, might have been the author's goal all along, but I would have needed more background knowledge to be more fully invested.
Thankfully, the novel’s pacing picks up in the second half, and that’s where I finally got invested. The fear and the excitement of having a doppelgänger take over your life (for better or worse) are thoughtfully explored, and the author spends a lot of time pondering the ethics of what is moral and what isn't when it comes to how you treat a thing, a person (?) who talks, acts, thinks, behaves as you do, who basically IS you, while still being an extraterrestrial being.
I LOOOOVED Tamsin’s dynamic with Lachlan Woodfield, her tech company’s supervisor and watchdog. While she was barely in the first half of the book, her character became more important to the story and to Tamsin as the narrative progressed. The bathroom scene between those two? The intimacy? WHHHEEEEEWWWW. Still, their relationship came a bit out of nowhere and was left very open, dare I say, hanging, at the end of the novel, making me wonder why it was included in the first place.
While the introduced concepts of sinking cities, doppelgängers and parallel universes are both intriguing and spooky, I was only left with a vague sense of dread and wouldn’t have categorised this as horror had I not known its genre. In comparison, Jackson’s “The Haunting of Hill House” which I read only shortly after, left me much more shaken. All in all, I don’t regret having read this, but I highly doubt I’ll ever pick it up again.
🎬 If you enjoyed this you should watch that: Another Earth (2011)
August 28, 2024
i loved this and thought it was a delightful mindfuck
dnf
October 16, 2023DNF @ 43%
Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for providing an advanced copy of this. All thoughts and opinions are still my own.
I was really excited to give this author another try after having mixed feeling on Jane Lawrence. I thought that going in with the knowledge of things turning weird and paranormal would make this a favorite horror story. Because I loved the unexplained.
But this was too weird for me.. and I did not understand anything that was happening..
There is SO much technical detail dumped on you in the beginning of this story. I didn't follow any of it (what was she researching? I'm still so confused...). And I can't tell if any of it was actually important to the story.
At the nearly 50% point we were just getting to what was described in the synopsis. It was slow and meandering and overly descriptive and I quickly lost interest in what was happening or why.
Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for providing an advanced copy of this. All thoughts and opinions are still my own.
I was really excited to give this author another try after having mixed feeling on Jane Lawrence. I thought that going in with the knowledge of things turning weird and paranormal would make this a favorite horror story. Because I loved the unexplained.
But this was too weird for me.. and I did not understand anything that was happening..
There is SO much technical detail dumped on you in the beginning of this story. I didn't follow any of it (what was she researching? I'm still so confused...). And I can't tell if any of it was actually important to the story.
At the nearly 50% point we were just getting to what was described in the synopsis. It was slow and meandering and overly descriptive and I quickly lost interest in what was happening or why.
January 19, 2025
In a darkened room, faced with a mirror, the brain malfunctions. Even waking, the brain sees its walking cradle melt, distort , rotate , or else be replaced entirely. It no longer recognizes itself.
4.5 stars. I have no clue who I would recommend this to, but EYE loved it. It was weird and a little unfocused and doesn't give a lot of answers. I loved it. To me, it would have been perfect if it has been a little weirder and a little more fucked up (but like, in very specific ways; I can easily imagine a version of this story that goes off the rails in a way I WOULDN'T have liked). I haven't read from this author in a while, and I'd forgotten just how good she is at horror. Which perhaps not everyone would agree with me on! But she has the kind of writing that actually inspires fear for me, without going out of her way to jump-scare me, or lean on a gimmick. And it probably helps that this was about one of my favourite scifi topics: clones!
Tamsin is an egotistical researcher in a city that's slowly sinking, and her team is tasked to find out why. In the midst of that project, she gets caught up in a different, but related anomaly. A door has appeared in the wall of her expanding basement. And one day, the door opens, and an exact clone of Tamsin walks out. What follows... oh, how to explain? I mean, I can't. Not without spoiling. But on the other hand, this isn't a very complicated book. It is, in fact, a very mundane, slice of life kind of book. Stuff happens, but we're not on the ground to observe most of what takes place with the anomaly in the city, and the steps her team is taking. Most of the action takes place in Tamsin's head, as she runs through theories and her work. And the bulk of the character interaction is between Tamsin and her clone, and Tamsin and Lachlan, her handler. The first thing to know is that Tamsin is an asshole; you do not like her, and for most of the book, she gives you no reason to like her. And that's such an interesting choice, to have such an unlikeable, un-root-for-able character at the helm of a story like this. Because when the horror and the fear start ratcheting up, this is the woman whose perspective we're seeing; this is the woman we have to sympathise with. And... idk, I'll just say I REALLY love where the story went. Each character in this unhinged little drama was so fascinating. Tamsin, and her single-minded focus and selfishness, and the effect the door has on her. Prime, a sweet and docile blank slate, and the way she evolved. Lachlan... woof. Everything about the way she was described, every tiny thing we learned about her past, had me RIVETED. She's one of the biggest fictional crushes I've had in a long time, and that uh, probably says something unflattering about me as a person, haha.
Okay, I have to talk about a bunch of spoilery stuff, so spoiler cut.
Listened to the audiobook as read by Xe Sands, and it was perfect. Her voice has this mellow but hypnotising quality that I just adore. It was perfectly suited to Tamsin and this story. I almost want to reread this immediately; I just know I'll get a little more out of it. Reading this kinda reminded me of The Echo Wife, but this gave me even more of the things I want from clone fiction. Enormously enjoyable, and it further solidifies Starling as one of my favourite horror writers. I've only read three of her books thus far, but that definitely needs to change!
Past is not present. Certainly, most people have continuity. But she doesn’t. It’s that simple. She is who she is at this moment, and nothing more.
September 17, 2023
Dr. Tamsin's basement is sinking. Tasmin River is a brilliant scientist tasked to figure out why the whole city seems to be stretching down in places where there is nowhere to go. She's gotten to her position by being cold and ruthless, two characteristics the company needs to get ahead of this problem. When she discovers a door in her basement, and then a doppelganger walks out of it, Tasmin is more intrigued than scared. But as she gets to know this version of her, she starts to lose herself in the process.
This book floats between genres. It's between sci-fi, horror, and thriller, with a touch of paranormal. It's very unique and niche, but I don't know if this is my specific subgenre. The blending between science fiction and the paranormal didn't mesh well, personally. So, while it was clever and specific, I wish we had stuck more with one or the other.
Once you get past the first quarter, this book is very atmospheric. In the beginning, there are lots of explanations and technical terms introduced to set the stage, but after those are all laid out the book becomes a moody read. It was strange, grotesque, and bizarre in the best of ways. It inspired feelings of panic and deja vu and made me second-guess what I was reading. Unfortunately, this whole experience was drawn out too long. While I love a weird read, this was better suited for a shorter novel. It all started to drag, and I ended up skimming through some chapters to get to the meat of the story.
The romance subplot needed to go. It isn't introduced until much later, and really threw me for a loop. There was no build-up to it, just all of a sudden, it was there. I didn't see the reason why it was included, since it added nothing to the plot. In fact, it disregarded the personalities of the characters in a certain way. My other problem was it came across as a fetish. Maybe that's how the author wanted to present it, but I got the sense I was supposed to root for these characters to get together. The pairing was an odd combination for so many reasons and took away from the story.
This isn't a story you are supposed to fully grasp. It's weird and goes beyond our scientific reasoning, so don't go in with the expectation to understand the mechanics behind everything.
It was strange, weird, grotesque, confusing, and utterly horrific at times. As someone who has a strong stomach for gross things, this one made me a little squeamish at times. This is a great read for spooky season, but it is not going to sit right with everyone. If you like T Kingfisher's What Moves the Dead , this will appeal to you.
Main TW: body horror, violence. (Please check all TW before going into this one)
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
———
I cannot think of a worse fate than having to stare at my face. thanks, NetGalley for the arc
This book floats between genres. It's between sci-fi, horror, and thriller, with a touch of paranormal. It's very unique and niche, but I don't know if this is my specific subgenre. The blending between science fiction and the paranormal didn't mesh well, personally. So, while it was clever and specific, I wish we had stuck more with one or the other.
Once you get past the first quarter, this book is very atmospheric. In the beginning, there are lots of explanations and technical terms introduced to set the stage, but after those are all laid out the book becomes a moody read. It was strange, grotesque, and bizarre in the best of ways. It inspired feelings of panic and deja vu and made me second-guess what I was reading. Unfortunately, this whole experience was drawn out too long. While I love a weird read, this was better suited for a shorter novel. It all started to drag, and I ended up skimming through some chapters to get to the meat of the story.
The romance subplot needed to go. It isn't introduced until much later, and really threw me for a loop. There was no build-up to it, just all of a sudden, it was there. I didn't see the reason why it was included, since it added nothing to the plot. In fact, it disregarded the personalities of the characters in a certain way. My other problem was it came across as a fetish. Maybe that's how the author wanted to present it, but I got the sense I was supposed to root for these characters to get together. The pairing was an odd combination for so many reasons and took away from the story.
This isn't a story you are supposed to fully grasp. It's weird and goes beyond our scientific reasoning, so don't go in with the expectation to understand the mechanics behind everything.
It was strange, weird, grotesque, confusing, and utterly horrific at times. As someone who has a strong stomach for gross things, this one made me a little squeamish at times. This is a great read for spooky season, but it is not going to sit right with everyone. If you like T Kingfisher's What Moves the Dead , this will appeal to you.
Main TW: body horror, violence. (Please check all TW before going into this one)
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
———
I cannot think of a worse fate than having to stare at my face. thanks, NetGalley for the arc
April 15, 2023
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
When I saw that the author of The Death of Jane Lawrence had a new book out, I knew that I needed to add it t my TBR list right away! Last to Leave the Room by Caitlin Starling is an innovative blend of sci-fi and horror. The story revolves around Tamsin, a researcher in charge of finding out why her city is sinking. One day, in her basement, she finds a weird door and a doppelganger pops out. The doppelganger is an almost exact copy of her, and Tamsin starts to use her to double her productivity. Her doppelganger can take over menial tasks for her so that she can focus on what really matters. But Tamsin is experiencing some concerning symptoms, including memory loss and general confusion.
Here is an atmospheric excerpt from Chapter 1:
"Dr. Tamsin Rivers stands in the abyss.
The absence of light and sound has a weight all its own, separate from the gravity that, along with the sound of her blood and breath, are the only reminders that she has a body. She is standing on a catwalk, suspended in the center of a geodesic dome far below the city of San Siroco. Its walls are several body lengths thick, and the sensors it houses are silent, giving off no telltale hum of electricity. Even the air is tasteless, scentless. She keeps one hand always on the guideline, the only way back to the door she entered through."
Overall, Last to Leave the Room is a blend of sci-fi and horror that will appeal to fans of Black Mirror. This book would make the perfect Halloween scary read. One highlight of this book is the intriguing premise. Once I read about the imaginary/real door in the basement in the synopsis, I knew that I had to keep reading to find out more about this door. Another highlight of this book is how horrific it was. At times, I had chills going up and down my spine. Some parts were especially difficult to read. This is certainly not a book for the squeamish. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of sci-fi or horror books in general, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in October!
When I saw that the author of The Death of Jane Lawrence had a new book out, I knew that I needed to add it t my TBR list right away! Last to Leave the Room by Caitlin Starling is an innovative blend of sci-fi and horror. The story revolves around Tamsin, a researcher in charge of finding out why her city is sinking. One day, in her basement, she finds a weird door and a doppelganger pops out. The doppelganger is an almost exact copy of her, and Tamsin starts to use her to double her productivity. Her doppelganger can take over menial tasks for her so that she can focus on what really matters. But Tamsin is experiencing some concerning symptoms, including memory loss and general confusion.
Here is an atmospheric excerpt from Chapter 1:
"Dr. Tamsin Rivers stands in the abyss.
The absence of light and sound has a weight all its own, separate from the gravity that, along with the sound of her blood and breath, are the only reminders that she has a body. She is standing on a catwalk, suspended in the center of a geodesic dome far below the city of San Siroco. Its walls are several body lengths thick, and the sensors it houses are silent, giving off no telltale hum of electricity. Even the air is tasteless, scentless. She keeps one hand always on the guideline, the only way back to the door she entered through."
Overall, Last to Leave the Room is a blend of sci-fi and horror that will appeal to fans of Black Mirror. This book would make the perfect Halloween scary read. One highlight of this book is the intriguing premise. Once I read about the imaginary/real door in the basement in the synopsis, I knew that I had to keep reading to find out more about this door. Another highlight of this book is how horrific it was. At times, I had chills going up and down my spine. Some parts were especially difficult to read. This is certainly not a book for the squeamish. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of sci-fi or horror books in general, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in October!
August 14, 2023
STAR review the August 2023 issue of Booklist and on the blog: https://raforall.blogspot.com/2023/08...
Three Words That Describe This Book: Breathtakingly Original, Claustrophobic, Existential Dread
Notes:
I feel like this book is existential dread explained in a novel. Like it is the definition of it.
No one does claustrophobia on the page better than Starling right now.
The POV never switches off of Tasmin which is KEY to why the story works. I noted a point just about half way through (page 165 in my print ARC) where a key change in the plot begins to happen, but the narrative restraint Starling showed in keeping the point of view ONLY with Tasmin makes this book a star. It allows the unease, existential dread, and claustrophobia to rise above the plot itself--awesome!
Here are some lines from the draft review:
Starling’s latest SF-Horror hybrid is her most original, compelling, and terrifying novel yet, a tale that signals her growth as a writer and is sure to bring the attention of even more readers.
For fans of the liminal space where science fiction and cosmic horror unsettlingly overlap such as in Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places or Moreno’s This Things Between Us.
Readalikes:
It’s the female version of Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter– slower paced, more thoughtful
The Hollow Places by T Kingfisher
Kazu Ishiguro
This Thing Between Us Gus Moreno
Wonderland by Zoje Stage
Three Words That Describe This Book: Breathtakingly Original, Claustrophobic, Existential Dread
Notes:
I feel like this book is existential dread explained in a novel. Like it is the definition of it.
No one does claustrophobia on the page better than Starling right now.
The POV never switches off of Tasmin which is KEY to why the story works. I noted a point just about half way through (page 165 in my print ARC) where a key change in the plot begins to happen, but the narrative restraint Starling showed in keeping the point of view ONLY with Tasmin makes this book a star. It allows the unease, existential dread, and claustrophobia to rise above the plot itself--awesome!
Here are some lines from the draft review:
Starling’s latest SF-Horror hybrid is her most original, compelling, and terrifying novel yet, a tale that signals her growth as a writer and is sure to bring the attention of even more readers.
For fans of the liminal space where science fiction and cosmic horror unsettlingly overlap such as in Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places or Moreno’s This Things Between Us.
Readalikes:
It’s the female version of Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter– slower paced, more thoughtful
The Hollow Places by T Kingfisher
Kazu Ishiguro
This Thing Between Us Gus Moreno
Wonderland by Zoje Stage
May 29, 2023
dnf @ 26%
i didn’t like the writing. i wasnt connected to any of the characters. i really did want to like this book because the premise of the story is dope but this just wasn’t for me
i didn’t like the writing. i wasnt connected to any of the characters. i really did want to like this book because the premise of the story is dope but this just wasn’t for me
November 4, 2023
This book felt like it had a lot of half formed ideas that were just thrown together. Interesting premise but it ended up being completely nonsensical.
November 8, 2023
goddamn that was a good book
June 10, 2025
A strange doppelganger, a second cat, a sinking city and a growing basement. This was a wild ride!
First, I highly recommend the audiobook. The narrator did a great job of really fully pulling me in. As Dr. Rivers begins, you can feel the tension and stress in her voice. As she starts to lose memories, starts to lose thoughts, and things feel scattered, the confusion rang through on the audio in a way I'm not sure the page could capture.
This one really did have me pulled in from the start - w0ndering what would happen next and who was doing what. The final few chapters had my jaw on the floor. I loved this one!
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
First, I highly recommend the audiobook. The narrator did a great job of really fully pulling me in. As Dr. Rivers begins, you can feel the tension and stress in her voice. As she starts to lose memories, starts to lose thoughts, and things feel scattered, the confusion rang through on the audio in a way I'm not sure the page could capture.
This one really did have me pulled in from the start - w0ndering what would happen next and who was doing what. The final few chapters had my jaw on the floor. I loved this one!
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
November 2, 2023
4.5/5
This was WEIRD
It didn’t grab me immediately by the throat the way that Jane Lawrence did but Jane Lawrence was was an atmospheric gothic tailor made to my interests. This was different and I wasn’t sure at first, but it’s wild and it Keeps Getting Worse in a way that kept drawing me in to the point where I almost stayed up until 2 am to finish this.
So yeah, if you like ambitious women in STEM doing everything wrong, DIY surgery, and sapphic tension™️ you’re gonna like this
This was WEIRD
It didn’t grab me immediately by the throat the way that Jane Lawrence did but Jane Lawrence was was an atmospheric gothic tailor made to my interests. This was different and I wasn’t sure at first, but it’s wild and it Keeps Getting Worse in a way that kept drawing me in to the point where I almost stayed up until 2 am to finish this.
So yeah, if you like ambitious women in STEM doing everything wrong, DIY surgery, and sapphic tension™️ you’re gonna like this
November 5, 2023
This book was a struggle to put down every time. What a unique, twisty story.
November 2, 2023
Fantastic riff on the doppelgänger mythos, and a suitably creepy read for spooky season. This book starts with a high-stakes emergency, descends into mental unraveling (a Starling specialty) and then about 80% in, switches it up to focus on the hows/whys. I read this voraciously, and was kept guessing until the very end. I admit, I still have questions - but I suppose I can accept that as part of the "creepy sci-fi horror" genre promise.
The description lays it all out: the fictional city of San Siroco is sinking. Our (anti)hero, Dr. Tamsin Rivers, is charged with figuring it out - including if her experimental, deep underground instant-communication research maybe caused the whole thing. But Tamsin is distracted by the fact that her own basement is sinking faster than the rest of the city. And then one day an exact copy of her shows up in the basement. Can she figure this all out before a) physical disaster, b) her minder Lachlan uncovers it all, or c) she loses her mind?
It's a testament to Starling's writing that the description on the book jacket can give so much away (those setup events take a full 20% of the book to manifest) and still be super compelling. Once the double shows up, called Prime by Tamsin, that's where Starling really shines, as she ratchets up the tension and weirdness leading up to a total reversal of circumstances. People accustomed to psychological horror will enjoy this section. (Though note that there's some very visceral body horror in there too!)
Then things change again, with Lachlan playing a key role. (Lachlan uses she/her pronouns, but she's also referred to as Mx. Woodfield and clearly meant to be nonbinary, which recalls Starling's book The Luminous Dead and its lowkey queer bent. HOORAY.) This part has more character drama between Tamsin and Lachlan, which I enjoyed, but was definitely a tone shift from what came before. Similarly, more time is given to Tamsin's urgency in figuring out "what now" - a.k.a. how to resolve the clearly untenable situation of having two of her in the world.
My one slight quibble is that we are offered tantalizing answers about how the double effect came to be, but it's hardly explored before the book ends. Like: it's one of those "the resolution raises more questions than it answers" things.
Maybe it would benefit from a re-read - I did consume it pretty quickly. However, I think it's just meant to be one of those things to make you think as you finish the book. So fair warning if you like your stories wrapped up neat. This one is not that. Lots to leave you wondering about, with maybe an uneasy feeling in its wake. I suppose that means it's good horror.
The description lays it all out: the fictional city of San Siroco is sinking. Our (anti)hero, Dr. Tamsin Rivers, is charged with figuring it out - including if her experimental, deep underground instant-communication research maybe caused the whole thing. But Tamsin is distracted by the fact that her own basement is sinking faster than the rest of the city. And then one day an exact copy of her shows up in the basement. Can she figure this all out before a) physical disaster, b) her minder Lachlan uncovers it all, or c) she loses her mind?
It's a testament to Starling's writing that the description on the book jacket can give so much away (those setup events take a full 20% of the book to manifest) and still be super compelling. Once the double shows up, called Prime by Tamsin, that's where Starling really shines, as she ratchets up the tension and weirdness leading up to a total reversal of circumstances. People accustomed to psychological horror will enjoy this section. (Though note that there's some very visceral body horror in there too!)
Then things change again, with Lachlan playing a key role. (Lachlan uses she/her pronouns, but she's also referred to as Mx. Woodfield and clearly meant to be nonbinary, which recalls Starling's book The Luminous Dead and its lowkey queer bent. HOORAY.) This part has more character drama between Tamsin and Lachlan, which I enjoyed, but was definitely a tone shift from what came before. Similarly, more time is given to Tamsin's urgency in figuring out "what now" - a.k.a. how to resolve the clearly untenable situation of having two of her in the world.
My one slight quibble is that we are offered tantalizing answers about how the double effect came to be, but it's hardly explored before the book ends. Like: it's one of those "the resolution raises more questions than it answers" things.
Maybe it would benefit from a re-read - I did consume it pretty quickly. However, I think it's just meant to be one of those things to make you think as you finish the book. So fair warning if you like your stories wrapped up neat. This one is not that. Lots to leave you wondering about, with maybe an uneasy feeling in its wake. I suppose that means it's good horror.
December 21, 2023
This was.. tough. While I did go into this with some trepidation as I normally don't do audios for new content (generally only for rereads and even that's rare!) I actually thought it was going to go pretty well because I (thankfully) enjoyed the narrator's voice. But then the inevitable began to happen : I kept tuning out. But worse? When I would tune back in.. I didn't feel I had missed anything.
This felt so repetitive and hardly anything, ever, seemed to be happening. There was so much science-y rambling but nothing ever really seemed to be saying a whole lot, or making sense, or really explaining what the science was, and instead it just filled space (and I still don't actually understand what she was doing or how). And when things finally did start to happen it went through the same repetitions and felt so.. small (not helped by our lack of change of scenery; sometimes the claustrophobia feeling can work with a thriller/horror and other times it's just boring). Until finally we slipped into something new. But that excitement was short lived and the trudgery resumed until we got to the end and I'm left wondering : why.
Why to the whole thing.
Sadly this isn't one I'll be recommending. Shoutout to my buddies who were along for the ride with me (in various stages as we were all a little all over the place) and who thankfully all felt the same way.
---
This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.
This felt so repetitive and hardly anything, ever, seemed to be happening. There was so much science-y rambling but nothing ever really seemed to be saying a whole lot, or making sense, or really explaining what the science was, and instead it just filled space (and I still don't actually understand what she was doing or how). And when things finally did start to happen it went through the same repetitions and felt so.. small (not helped by our lack of change of scenery; sometimes the claustrophobia feeling can work with a thriller/horror and other times it's just boring). Until finally we slipped into something new. But that excitement was short lived and the trudgery resumed until we got to the end and I'm left wondering : why.
Why to the whole thing.
Sadly this isn't one I'll be recommending. Shoutout to my buddies who were along for the ride with me (in various stages as we were all a little all over the place) and who thankfully all felt the same way.
---
This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.
April 11, 2025
This is a slow paced, and yet super intriguing, psychological horror. Tamsin is a scientist in the fictional city of San Siroco. It's discovered that the city is sinking, but Tamsin discovers that her basement is sinking at a faster pace than the rest of the city. Furthermore, a door that was never there before appears in the basement. Out of this door walks Tamsin's doppelgänger, a seemingly exact copy of herself. As her and her doppelgänger develop more of a relationship and the doppelgänger develops more of a identity, Tamsin starts to lose hers. It's a slow buildup to a wtf is going on ending. The dread and horror build as the story goes. It takes some patience, but it's thought-provoking and really questions identity. There is no ending tied up in a nice package though, so if that's going to bother you, then know it before deciding to pick it up or not. I enjoyed it and would love to read more from this author now!
August 6, 2023
Last to Leave the Room is Caitlin Starling at her best yet!!
Last to Leave the Room took me by storm and I can't stop thinking about it and its conclusion. This story heralds Starling's return to science fiction in such a way that I truly was terrified. The story focuses on Dr. Tamsin Rivers, a scientist who is investigating why the city seems to be sinking. When Tamsin notices that there seems to be a new door in her basement, all hell seems to break loose when an exact copy of her comes out of the door. What begins as a simple scientific investigation, soon becomes a fight to maintain her own identity.
Though this story takes a little moment to build up, I found myself setting the stage for something big to come. I knew that something was about to happen (boy was I right). Starling starts this story off by introducing the world, and I was left feeling horror, suspense, intrigue, and a looming sense of dread for this entire novel. I genuinely was beyond terrified at some of the actions that happened in this story. The idea of losing your own identity by watching someone assume it piece by piece is absolutely awful. By the last portion of this novel (titled Tamsin(0)), I knew that it was going to be a race to the finish to figure out how this would end.
If you loved "The Luminous Dead," then you are going to love this novel too. It is claustrophobic, disgusting, horrifying, and gross. Readers everywhere are going to love it.
Perfect for fans of Channel Zero: Dream Door, Black Mirror, and Orphan Black!
Last to Leave the Room took me by storm and I can't stop thinking about it and its conclusion. This story heralds Starling's return to science fiction in such a way that I truly was terrified. The story focuses on Dr. Tamsin Rivers, a scientist who is investigating why the city seems to be sinking. When Tamsin notices that there seems to be a new door in her basement, all hell seems to break loose when an exact copy of her comes out of the door. What begins as a simple scientific investigation, soon becomes a fight to maintain her own identity.
Though this story takes a little moment to build up, I found myself setting the stage for something big to come. I knew that something was about to happen (boy was I right). Starling starts this story off by introducing the world, and I was left feeling horror, suspense, intrigue, and a looming sense of dread for this entire novel. I genuinely was beyond terrified at some of the actions that happened in this story. The idea of losing your own identity by watching someone assume it piece by piece is absolutely awful. By the last portion of this novel (titled Tamsin(0)), I knew that it was going to be a race to the finish to figure out how this would end.
If you loved "The Luminous Dead," then you are going to love this novel too. It is claustrophobic, disgusting, horrifying, and gross. Readers everywhere are going to love it.
Perfect for fans of Channel Zero: Dream Door, Black Mirror, and Orphan Black!
September 8, 2024
I support lesbians rights but also lesbians wrongs!
October 2, 2023
Firstly, my thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in advance of publication. My comments and opinions are my own.
"Behind her there's a soft click.
She glances over her shoulder. The door is open, just a little, maybe two inches wide. Beyond it is the abyss, exactly as she pictured it, exactly as she remembers it. It spills from the doorway like a substance, not an absence. It washes over the basement floor, lapping at the table legs, covering her notes. The lights cannot pierce it and are swallowed in turn.
The line of the dark rises."
Starling's latest book is science fiction horror, with light romantic elements. It's a specialty in the author's cook book of recipes, last seen by me in The Luminous Dead. In this latest novel, quantum physicist Dr. Tamsin Rivers is leading a research team assigned to find the source of the subsidence of an entire city. The city is literally sinking, at a uniformly even rate, with the potential to cause enormous destruction. But Tamsin has bigger problems, because she's discovered that her basement is also sinking, much faster than the city. And there's a mysterious door in her basement, one that seems to generate doubles. Doppelgängers. Or maybe not.
I enjoyed many parts of this book - it nails several scenes that are nail-biting and full of existential dread of the unknown. The switching of original and double is subtle and smart, and it left this reader looking for clues and tells to figure out who was real and who was not. And after a while, I was left wondering if both Tamsins were real, just from different worlds connected by the basement door.
I also enjoyed the character dynamics, particularly with the handler Lachlan Woodfield, with her tailored black suits and slicked back hair, and her unusual physique. The personality switches between Tamsin and Prime and Naught were also really well done. There were some areas towards the middle of the book that seemed to drag on, but I figured that might just be a byproduct of the distortion field that Tamsin was researching. (Ahem.)
Overall, I enjoyed this read, and am grateful for the opportunity. For a sci-fi thriller, it hit all of the marks.
"She lingers on a story: the devil teaches black magic to seven pupils in Salamanca, Spain. The last student to leave each night forfeits their soul. But one clever man argues that, when he leaves at sunrise, it will be his shadow that is last to leave the room."
"Behind her there's a soft click.
She glances over her shoulder. The door is open, just a little, maybe two inches wide. Beyond it is the abyss, exactly as she pictured it, exactly as she remembers it. It spills from the doorway like a substance, not an absence. It washes over the basement floor, lapping at the table legs, covering her notes. The lights cannot pierce it and are swallowed in turn.
The line of the dark rises."
Starling's latest book is science fiction horror, with light romantic elements. It's a specialty in the author's cook book of recipes, last seen by me in The Luminous Dead. In this latest novel, quantum physicist Dr. Tamsin Rivers is leading a research team assigned to find the source of the subsidence of an entire city. The city is literally sinking, at a uniformly even rate, with the potential to cause enormous destruction. But Tamsin has bigger problems, because she's discovered that her basement is also sinking, much faster than the city. And there's a mysterious door in her basement, one that seems to generate doubles. Doppelgängers. Or maybe not.
I enjoyed many parts of this book - it nails several scenes that are nail-biting and full of existential dread of the unknown. The switching of original and double is subtle and smart, and it left this reader looking for clues and tells to figure out who was real and who was not. And after a while, I was left wondering if both Tamsins were real, just from different worlds connected by the basement door.
I also enjoyed the character dynamics, particularly with the handler Lachlan Woodfield, with her tailored black suits and slicked back hair, and her unusual physique. The personality switches between Tamsin and Prime and Naught were also really well done. There were some areas towards the middle of the book that seemed to drag on, but I figured that might just be a byproduct of the distortion field that Tamsin was researching. (Ahem.)
Overall, I enjoyed this read, and am grateful for the opportunity. For a sci-fi thriller, it hit all of the marks.
"She lingers on a story: the devil teaches black magic to seven pupils in Salamanca, Spain. The last student to leave each night forfeits their soul. But one clever man argues that, when he leaves at sunrise, it will be his shadow that is last to leave the room."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 27, 2024
I’m gonna be honest this slayed and if you get it you get it and if you don’t you don’t. No but actually I was soooo into it in the second half but I will say I have a few grievances towards this book that felt the strongest in the first half and it’s why for the first ~130 pages I was so indifferent about this book, I felt as if it was pulling me into a reading slump. But then it really redeemed itself.
I think it’s the constant scientific analysis of happenings around that took away from any building of the atmosphere in the first third of the book and also the repeated business/work meetings 💀it doesn’t help that the synopsis reveals soooo much of the plot, and it takes about 100 pages to get to the point where something new may even happen. Can’t help but wonder whether I would’ve enjoyed the first part of it more if the synopsis didn’t reveal so much of the plot progression. But anyway this was lovely eventually and I couldn’t put it down, so I’m writing this at 2am. It also made me quite sad?? 😭 I really cared about the MC’s well being and just wanted her to get better. But it was a wild ride man
It’s getting a score of 2 out of 3 in the GGG index: gaslight ✨ & gatekeep 💅
I think it’s the constant scientific analysis of happenings around that took away from any building of the atmosphere in the first third of the book and also the repeated business/work meetings 💀it doesn’t help that the synopsis reveals soooo much of the plot, and it takes about 100 pages to get to the point where something new may even happen. Can’t help but wonder whether I would’ve enjoyed the first part of it more if the synopsis didn’t reveal so much of the plot progression. But anyway this was lovely eventually and I couldn’t put it down, so I’m writing this at 2am. It also made me quite sad?? 😭 I really cared about the MC’s well being and just wanted her to get better. But it was a wild ride man
It’s getting a score of 2 out of 3 in the GGG index: gaslight ✨ & gatekeep 💅
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