SHOULD I READ IT? | "Devil House" by John Darnielle | Quick review

😈 On the fence about "Devil House," John Darnielle's latest novel?
😈 Mountain Goats fan, but not sure if you'll like it?
😈 Jerome weighs in. This may (or may not) help you decide.
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[@tf745]

Thank you for the review !

[@fetidcreeper]

Really wanted to like this book, and man, it let me down. Very disjointed and confusing at times, and the ending without spoiling, is an incredible let down. I loved wolf in white van, couldn't get into universal harvester, but this book.....well it sucked. I like his writing style, and this book was definitely a foray into a new feel for darnielle, but it just feels like he rushed to get it done in the last couple chapters. Spoilers below Like, I'm not sure where I missed it, but I have no idea who the narrator is in the ending besides a stand in for someone who knew Gage when they were 6/7, which is incredibly strange to begin with, being so young, but also, it means nothing at the end, because it serves no purpose other than to keep hitting the dead horse into the ground about protecting people involved in the stories covered by true crime authors. And the twist? No siraj, which was already revealed halfway through the book, but the main suspect is someone who's never mentioned at all leading up, it's just an empty name with no explanation whatsoever. Also, besides the "protecting the involved", there's no reason at all to include the witch murder at all, besides the letter part which drives home the above mentioned. The part where he describes the king and heir or whatever was a complete fever dream and I have no clue what the fuck John was thinking putting that in (beyond his old habit of equating things to high fantasy) Really a letdown. I really hope he finds his footing in his next novel. Like I said, really enjoyed white van a whole lot, listened to it on audible multiple times. This one... probably won't ever experience it again. Was looking for a video to explain the ending because it feels completely empty, like I missed not just the plot but the novel itself.