Rating: Summary: This book is perverse filth with no redeeming qualities. Review: Little has no talent whatsoever, or if he does, he consciously determined NOT to use it and, instead, to use the blunt sledgehammer of detailed, explicit, repetitive and in-your-face pedophilia and other abominations to convice you that the bad guys are, indeed, bad. (Of course, the good guys do this stuff too, so maybe Little is just an extremely sick person who wants to infect his readers with his peculiar brand of deviancy.) This book would have been far better if Little could have accepted his limitations and not tried to use gratuitous filth to cover for his shallow character development and contrived plot. Stay away from this book and this author. Life is too short to be wasted on this.
Rating: Summary: Creative spookiness overshadows a few problems Review: This is my first outing with Mr. Little, and I enjoyed it. Like anything in life, there are things I like and things I don't like about this book. Let me share a few or each.The plot is basically spelled out on the inner folds of the dust jacket so I won't rehash it here. Besides, half of Columbus' fun would have been thwarted had he known EXACTLY what waited for him across the Atlantic. Just think haunted house with a mission and you know enough without knowing too much. I like the fact that I was over halfway through the book before I gained a true understanding of what it was about. I think the prologue did much for the book, including providing a diversionary "what the hell" tactic. Extremely effective, it. This book lacks nothing in the visionary/creativity department either. Little's onslaught of horrific ideas and spooky scenarios are nearly as haunting as we think the Houses are. Or is there just one house? (Read the book and find out.) I was impressed with nearly every monster hidden behind every turn of the page. I never realized how scary a smiley face could be. Nor had I ever imagined baking a human head (or enough for a small gathering). What I didn't like was what I call character detachment. I felt separated from the characters emotionally. I didn't really care what happened to them. They generated no sympathy from me and consequently became window dressing. I'm not sure if there were too many characters for such a short novel if they were simply underdeveloped. This won't spoil anything for you, but they do all meet and it seems very anticlimactic. Imagine how The Stand would have reeked if, once all the characters met up, they spoke sparingly and then went their separate ways. Maybe the story was too plotted and not character-driven. I just know that when it was all said and done I felt cheated. I'd gotten to know no one, at least not their inner personalities. I'm not a huge fan of his writing style either. He tends to fill pages with one-sentence paragraphs and, while this works wonderfully for the likes of Jack Ketchum, it looses emphasis in this book. Sort of like deadening the senses the way your fire alarm does if it's got a hair trigger that screams when you've toasted you bread a little dark. The one-sentence paragraph might be me nitpicking, but it's all about honesty as far as I'm concerned. His use of passive voice is another matter. Sometimes it's OK. The phrase "Were you raised by wolves?" isn't nearly as effective rewritten "Did wolves raise you?" But Little pushes the envelope and, to my tastes, tears it a little, letting some bad stuff crawl out. Other than a rather abrupt ending for such a suspenseful novel, I find little else displeasing. I would recommend it, but not for everyone. There's some semi-graphic pedophilia that maybe isn't what it seems but it's still something to hold back from the kiddies until their old enough to deal with such matters. Let 'em read J.K. Rowling or R.L. Stine a few more years. Meanwhile, enjoy this one; it's quite original.
Rating: Summary: So creepy I had nightmares!! Review: I'll admit that my house isn't as big as the one in Little's book, but it is indeed creepy when no one is home, but me and my pets. Plus, it is haunted with the door unlocking itself right after I locked it or five minutes after I left the kitchen the glass lampshade covering the lightbulb crashes to the floor for no apparent reason when the bolts were still in place. Scary, huh? I can't wait till I move. I'm not finished with the book yet, but I am really enjoying it that when my mom goes to sleep before I do I have to read another book or I'll get creeped out. Little is very good and this is the first book I am reading of his. I am going to read either The Summoning or The Town next. My mom says the Summoning is okay, but she liked The Town the best so far. Anyways the House I think everyone can relate to b/c in a way don't we all have a House of Horrors that we lived in long ago or are presently living in.
Rating: Summary: Bentley should burn the house and collect the insurance... Review: Well this is the first Little book I tried (and I don't know why I gave him a second chance by picking up the terrible "summoning" but that's another matter) and I can't say I am impressed. I am, however, confused. He won the Bram Stoker award and from what I understand that's an honor. Maybe I've been in Creative Writing classes in college too long because his terrible use of grammar and the passive voice just leap off the page and bite me in the face. I have a real problem when writer's use the word "had" too much and Little is one of those writers who uses lines like "if he had had to go to the store he would have." UGH!!!!!!! Spare me please. Okay, well what about the story itself for those readers who don't care about passive voices and bogged down EXPOSITION (he needs to use more imagery)? The story, just like the Summoning, opens great. Very creepy, but before the prologue even ends it falls apart. Then we get to the characters. He will introduce one for a chapter then another in the next. We get into a cycle. Every five chapters we get back to the first character and finally they all meet up at the house, share some cheap dialogue, and none of them really do anything. Too many characters really. Two or maybe three was all he needed, the rest were worthless. It would have given Little some time to develop his characters to and help the reader identify the character easier. The fifth one introduced by the the time the second cycle rolled around I was confused and couldn't figure out who was who. It's driving me crazy right now. Little also seems to think by throwing in obscene sex and four lettered words he'll spice the story up. He's wrong. It would work if Little wasn't trying so hard to shock us. Bottom Line: Stay away, cuz Simon Steele said so.
Rating: Summary: Off to a good start, but... Review: therein lies the problem: the prologue was some of the most intriguing horror fiction I think I've ever read. Even the first half of the book was great. But then we actually get all the characters to the house and the story just literally falls apart. No plot, rhyme, reason, or even a satifactory ending. Will I keep reading Bentley Little? Absolutely (seeing as I bought The Walking and the Town at the same time). Word of caution: everything you read in the other reviews about the sexual depravity of this novel is true.
Rating: Summary: Some good twists but.... Review: This is the first book I've read by Little. As I said above, The House has some very good plot twists, but I had a hard time reading this. For me, the biggest problem is that this book was very repetitive. Once you read about what one character goes through, then we have to read about 3 other characters that have to go through the samething. It was just hard for me to get through. That being said, this book does has things to offer. I found myself glued to what happened to a character the first time I read what was happening. When it comes to decription, Little is wonderful. The secnes of horror were so detailed, it gave me the shivers. The plot of the book is simple....and yet complex. Some adults have to go back to their childhood house and face their worse fears. This was my first book, and even though I gave it only 3 stars, I plan to read more of Little.
Rating: Summary: Twisted Review: After reading three other Bentley Little books I thought I could stand a little more of his odd type of horror. Well, I was totally unprepared for The House. It was so graphically gruesome I am suprised I was able to finish. There were some parts where nothing made sense and then there were parts where you could not help but understand even if you didnt want too. More sick than scary. Not written for those with weak stomachs in my opinion.
Rating: Summary: It is one of the most interesting books I've ever read. Review: This book is about five different people, from different backgrounds, and how there dreaded past life creeps up into their new life. And now there past is back to haunt them and now also the people they love. So the only way to fix this problem is for each of them to return to their original house as a child, which wasn't a very happy time, to see if they make it out alive. I really liked reading this book because it was interesting, and also suspenseful. Every incident that happened made me want to contiue reading up untill the end. I recommend this book because it is exciting and just a good book to read.
Rating: Summary: Spooky, Sadistic, Scary Review: If you get offended easily and don't like sick, twisted stories, then this book's not for you. But if you can let your mind venture into another world, then be sure to read The House. Bentley Little has one heck-of-an imagination. At least, I hope it's his imagination. This book has five main characters (Norton, Daniel, Stormy, Mark & Laurie).You really have to be a power reader because each chapter is that character's story. So you have to remember what Mark was doing four chapters ago. Other than that, you really have to read this book for a good ghost story!
Rating: Summary: Good, but not Great Review: I read The Store by Bentley Little and was thouroughly impressed. So I went out and bought The House. This book didn't impress me as much. It was still a pretty good horror novel with some spooky scenes... but to me it didnt pack as much punch as The Store did. Still, Bentley Little is a great author whose books should not be ignored.
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