Come on up to the House by Dane Cobain – Book Review
Come on up to the House by Dane Cobain – Book Review
Publisher – Createspace
Pages – 216
Release Date – 1st November 2016
ISBN-13 – 978-1533341143
Format – ebook, paperback
Reviewer – Nia
I received a free copy of this book
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Doesn’t life seem nasty, brutish and short?
This horror novella and accompanying screenplay tells the story of Darran Jersey, a troubled teenager who moves into a house that’s inhabited by the malevolent spirit of his predecessor.
As time goes by and the family begins to settle, Darran begins to take on more and more of the qualities of James, the dead teenager who committed a bloody suicide.
As tragedy after tragedy threatens to destroy the family, Darran’s mother Alice decides to leave the house behind and start afresh, but is it too late?
Find out when you Come On Up to the House…
This book was more of a horror comfort read rather than anything ground-breaking, especially for those of us who love to binge-watch horror films on the weekends, but it was entertaining nonetheless.
To me, it felt a little like that author was writing what he thought readers would like by throwing in all the classic film tropes, rather than putting his own spin on things to create something new.
It’s one of those rare examples of a story that really would be better on screen, which is what the author may have already had in mind given that the screenplay version of the same story is included in the book. It’s a very visual story and fits in well with my ideas of what a film version would look like, it’s a typical haunted house story but with a leaning more towards evil than some ghost stories.
The characters are more sinister than complex, it’s difficult to understand their motives for anything they do and where the line is between their personalities and paranormal influences.
That said, I absolutely love haunted house stories in any shape or form so I was happy to read this one to the end. The writing style is straightforward and paces out the story well, leading us from one horrific event to another with just enough time for the horror to sink in.
I would personally recommend Come on up to the House towards YA readers (16+ end of the spectrum, there is some graphic violence) because I know that it’s something I would have absolutely loved at that age. At this point in my life though, I’m more about the characters and the mythology/philosophy of the hauntings – which is why I could only give it 3 stars.
Book reviewed by Nia
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Dane Cobain is a writer, poet and musician from a place you’ve probably never heard of, somewhere in England. When he’s not writing books, he’s reading and reviewing them on his book blog – Social Bookshelves – or working at his day job in social media marketing.
Author Links
www.danecobain.com
@danecobain
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