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Five Stories High #2
Priest's Hole
Irongrove Lodge draws the broken and disillusioned, the merely curious, the poor and the wealthy alike. Steeped in a terrible and arcane history, it is a house like no other.
And here is a man like no other; for a fee he can change his face. He can be you – providing an alibi, manipulating evidence. When he encounters Irongrove Lodge, it causes him not just to question his own identity, but the nature of reality itself...
And here is a man like no other; for a fee he can change his face. He can be you – providing an alibi, manipulating evidence. When he encounters Irongrove Lodge, it causes him not just to question his own identity, but the nature of reality itself...
78 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2016
About the author
K.J. Parker
131 books1,720 followersK.J. Parker is a pseudonym for Tom Holt.
According to the biographical notes in some of Parker's books, Parker has previously worked in law, journalism, and numismatics, and now writes and makes things out of wood and metal. It is also claimed that Parker is married to a solicitor and now lives in southern England. According to an autobiographical note, Parker was raised in rural Vermont, a lifestyle which influenced Parker's work.
According to the biographical notes in some of Parker's books, Parker has previously worked in law, journalism, and numismatics, and now writes and makes things out of wood and metal. It is also claimed that Parker is married to a solicitor and now lives in southern England. According to an autobiographical note, Parker was raised in rural Vermont, a lifestyle which influenced Parker's work.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 15, 2019
Started out interesting, but went on way way too long. By the end it had lost Parker's usual charming, humorous voice. Unsatisfying resolution as well.
August 22, 2022
The drizzling shits
March 13, 2017
The book contains five different stories about a building named Irongrove Lodge. It has a history . It has stories about the people who lived here. This is a building that is in our time and place yet also is in wherever/whatever lies beyond. It has been used for many different things -- a home, an asylum and a care home. The people who "live" in this building will be changed and some will never leave.
In this anthology, the editor has chosen stories that are unsettling, and grotesque yet beautiful at times. It is creepy. Even though the stories are all different, they have the building being their common thread and horror. It is a very worthwhile book to read. Don't miss it! The horror is unique.
Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book free from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I was not obliged to write a favorable review, or even any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
In this anthology, the editor has chosen stories that are unsettling, and grotesque yet beautiful at times. It is creepy. Even though the stories are all different, they have the building being their common thread and horror. It is a very worthwhile book to read. Don't miss it! The horror is unique.
Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book free from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I was not obliged to write a favorable review, or even any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
December 2, 2016
It pains me to give just two stars to a novella by K. J. Parker, who is one of my favourite writers.
This is Parker's first foray outside the unnamed world where all his previous publications have been based, instead taking place in London, seemingly in the present.
It's one of five shorter pieces all centred in a particular building called Irongrove Lodge (they are available individually and also in one book). I have not read the other four and have no intention to - simply because of the concept, and not because of the writers (I have read and enjoyed stories by Shearman and Allan).
If it would not be for Parker's signature inner monologues with all their wit, irony and ease of style, I would be inclined to think there is someone else using that pen name.
All of Parker's novels do away with any kind of magic, monsters and non-human 'races' (Elves, Dwarves etc) whereas all (?) his short fiction has - oddly enough - a healthy dose of magic and even dragons. This story also has a feature not found in mainstream or historic fiction and it is essential to the story. This special ability of the protagonist is one of the pillars of the story together with his wife's profession as a painter, his father's work as a Nobel-winning mathematician and the struggle with his conscience regarding the legality of his work.
More, as they say, would be telling.
This is Parker's first foray outside the unnamed world where all his previous publications have been based, instead taking place in London, seemingly in the present.
It's one of five shorter pieces all centred in a particular building called Irongrove Lodge (they are available individually and also in one book). I have not read the other four and have no intention to - simply because of the concept, and not because of the writers (I have read and enjoyed stories by Shearman and Allan).
If it would not be for Parker's signature inner monologues with all their wit, irony and ease of style, I would be inclined to think there is someone else using that pen name.
All of Parker's novels do away with any kind of magic, monsters and non-human 'races' (Elves, Dwarves etc) whereas all (?) his short fiction has - oddly enough - a healthy dose of magic and even dragons. This story also has a feature not found in mainstream or historic fiction and it is essential to the story. This special ability of the protagonist is one of the pillars of the story together with his wife's profession as a painter, his father's work as a Nobel-winning mathematician and the struggle with his conscience regarding the legality of his work.
More, as they say, would be telling.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews