Review of 'The House on the Borderland' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Great, moody writing, though the dream of the future world does nothing for me.
Paperback, 186 pages
English language
Published Dec. 13, 1983 by Carroll & Graf Pub.
The House on the Borderland
4 stars
(18 reviews)
The House on the Borderland is a supernatural horror novel by William Hope Hodgson. He went beyond the existing ghost story and gothic molds, synthesizing a new cosmic horror that made a huge impact on later writers of weird tales, notably H. P. Lovecraft. The two gentlemen Tonnison and Berreggnog head to a village in Ireland for a week's fishing. There they discover the ruins of a strange house and the diary of the house's former occupant, the words on its torn pages hinting at an evil far beyond anything that has existed in this world before.
Review of 'The House on the Borderland' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
I usually try reading a book before looking at its reviews on any website and I was honestly surprised to see the ratings of this book being at around 3½ stars here on Goodreads. I am a fan of Lovecraftian-style horror and I thought this book really shows the influence its had on Lovecraft's stories.
Firstly, I don't think that the characters are what makes this book so great. They have their moments but most of the time they seem rather dull to me. No, what fascinated me most about this book was the author's description of the horrors the main protagonist seems to encounter, most of which describe exactly what I love to read when reading a horror story. I find his descriptions very detailed and engaging — yet near the end of the book they start to pad out slightly and the author starts repeating himself quite a …
I usually try reading a book before looking at its reviews on any website and I was honestly surprised to see the ratings of this book being at around 3½ stars here on Goodreads. I am a fan of Lovecraftian-style horror and I thought this book really shows the influence its had on Lovecraft's stories.
Firstly, I don't think that the characters are what makes this book so great. They have their moments but most of the time they seem rather dull to me. No, what fascinated me most about this book was the author's description of the horrors the main protagonist seems to encounter, most of which describe exactly what I love to read when reading a horror story. I find his descriptions very detailed and engaging — yet near the end of the book they start to pad out slightly and the author starts repeating himself quite a bit which I found to be a shame. I believe this book could've been made quite a bit shorter but it would then also lose the charm it had to me.
As a fan of Lovecraft's work I would totally recommend this book!
Subjects
- Science Fiction - General
- Fiction - Science Fiction
- Fiction