The Night Guest

by Hildur Knutsdottir, Mary Robinette Kowal

85 pages

English language

Published 2024 by Doherty Associates, LLC, Tom.

ISBN:: 978-1-250-32204-3

(4 reviews)

Hildur Knutsdottir's The Night Guest is an eerie and ensnaring story set in contemporary Reykjavík that’s sure to keep you awake at night.

Iðunn is in yet another doctor's office. She knows her constant fatigue is a sign that something's not right, but practitioners dismiss her symptoms and blood tests haven't revealed any cause.

When she talks to friends and family about it, the refrain is the same ― have you tried eating better? exercising more? establishing a nighttime routine? She tries to follow their advice, buying everything from vitamins to sleeping pills to a step-counting watch. Nothing helps.

Until one night Iðunn falls asleep with the watch on, and wakes up to find she’s walked over 40,000 steps in the night . . .

What is happening when she’s asleep? Why is she waking up with increasingly disturbing injuries? And why won’t anyone believe her?

3 editions

Taylor Drew reviewed The Night Guest by Mary Robinette Kowal

What to even say?

4 stars

I don't know what I was expecting going into this book, but I definitely didn't get what I was expecting (positive). This book takes lots of jabs at that patriarchy at every moment possible and I love that. It was also very creepy and unsettling, and I'm not really sure what happened at the end. I kind of love that too though.

Probably avoid this book if you don't want to read something that touches on violence against women or violence against animals. I thought it was super cool though in any case. Definitely want to read more by the author.

periwinkleReads reviewed The Night Guest by Mary Robinette Kowal

Review of 'The Night Guest' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Good eerie without being too scary for me, well paced and not predictable, fun to devour quickly.

Amber Herbert reviewed The Night Guest by Mary Robinette Kowal

Review of 'Night Guest' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

This story was fast-paced. Unfortunately, that was the only real positive it had going for it. While the prose wasn't bad, it lacked a clear, compelling voice. The twists were boring. The "horror" was there, I guess, but it wasn't so much scary as slightly unsettling. Overall, it was a fine enough short story that suffered by being longer than a few pages.

haliphax

rated it

April 23