The House of Lost Souls

My main problem with this book is it not an easy read. It starts out ok and holds your interest and then the author takes way too long to describe this or that in long sentences that make you forget the point. He way over does it on his descriptive narrative and it makes it a bore.

Though it started off a bit slow, I began to realize the further I read that this was an incredible book. Very original ideas and so beautifully written. There were times I would re-read a sentence just to marvel at the writing. I could not put this book down!

A good supernatural thriller is a rare thing, and one doesn't expect it of a writer in their first novel. But Cottam manages a story on his first time out that combines suspenseful horror with actual good writing. Paul Seaton had a run in with horror at the deserted Fischer House several years before the story begins, but thinks he has put it behind him. Then four students enter the house. One commits suicide and the other three are edging into madness. Seaton must face Fischer House again to save their lives. This scares him worse than anything- as well it should. Because the builder of Fischer House was a Satanist, who, along with his friends, has made a deal with the devil. And the deal is still `alive' in the house. Along with Nick Mason, the brother of one of the students, he must figure out the details of the deal and put an end to it. The book switches from the present to the past numerous times- most of the book takes place in various past eras- and Cottam manages to hold this together well, better than many authors do. What I did find confusing was the large cast of characters, some of which I continually mixed up. Creepy things happen continually along the way, both in the present and the backstory. New revelations occur at a rapid clip. Sadly, I thought that the ending happened in far too quick a manner- it could have been much more powerful- but it's still well tied up. I'll be waiting eagerly for future books by the author.

This isn't your typical haunted house story; if you're expecting "The Haunting of Hill House," look elsewhere. It is a brilliantly written book set in three different time periods, asking a question: can a place be inherently evil? And a second question: if you visit an evil place, will it rub off on you? The answer appears to be yes. Nick Mason is a mercenary, former SAS (if I err here, it's because I don't have the book to hand; I've lent it out, and tiny details may slip); his sister was one of four ethics students whose professor, with a little push from a shady character who has since disappeared, asked if anyone would like to try an experiment to test that first question, and they agreed to join him. The place, of course, is the title House of Lost Souls, known as the Fischer house, built in the 1920s by German (and racist Nazi sympathizer, and magician) Karl Fischer. Something happens at the house, leading to one girl's suicide, and the other three being hospitalized (well, Nick's sister is under 24-hour nursing care in their home, so not exactly hospitalized, and the sole American student is in a hospital, in a strait-jacket, after a fit on the airplane home -- which leads to an editing error later in the book, but I'm probably the only reader who noticed it). The professor seems to remember nothing, even as mold grows around his office and a spectral figure occupies the restroom. Paul Seaton, a journalist, made the mistake of visiting the house in the 1990s to look for evidence about a slightly famous photographer of the 1920s, Pandora something-Hoare (read the first long reviews for names, sorry), because he's promised his girlfriend, a design student, that he'll do the written thesis part of her dissertation, as she frantically sews the fashions. He finds, and swipes, Pandora's diary at the studio that printed some of her photos. By this time he has already begun seeing men dressed in spats and tops hats, a la the jazz scene the '20s. He has also heard and seen a horse-drawn hearse. Any sane person would have left the book and told his girlfriend to write her own thesis, but Paul is in love, perhaps the definition of not-sane. So off he goes to find the house in the diary. He only remembers part of the encounter, which leads to the finale in which he and Nick attempt to discover the secret of the house. No spoilers here. With secondary characters like Aleister Crowley, how can this book be anything but creepy? I don't scare easily, but this book had me keeping a light on at night for about a week after I'd finished it. And I have occasionally seen a gentleman in a black coat, top hat, and spats. (I hope I didn't get too far into the author's mind!) I'm looking forward to more from this author.

Where Do I start?! From Chapter One subtle, haunting images! The wrong number of mourners at a grave site. Sniggers and music coming from an unplugged and empty tape player. The enigmatic beauty who died young, an apparent suicide. The reflection in an empty derilect rest room mirror of a smiling flapper standing beneath a mirrored ball. Two men, from very different back grounds drawn into an investigation which could prove fatal, in an effort to save the 3 surviving college students who were invited to "The House of Lost Souls'! I'm a big fan of the ghost story. There are only a handful I consider worthy of the name and right now, "House of Lost Souls" tops the list! I can, without reserve, suggest this book to anyone who liked "The Shining" , "The Haunting of Hill House", "Hell House", "Ghost Story", "Haunted". I received the book from the UK Monday at lunch time. I finished Tuesday at lunchtime. I am now re-reading it! Perfect book for this season! I hope they do it justice when they film it!

"The House of Lost Souls" by F.G. Cottam is very well-written and highly atmospheric. In fact, this novel qualifies as literary fiction, for the prose flows so well and the use of language is compelling and highly imaginative. I know that this may seem to be overly high praise, but in the horror genre, which happens to be one of my favorite genres, it isn't often that one comes across such a well-written work that also has a compelling plot [and to think I found it in the local library!]. The plot begins with a group of young university students [the story is set in England] who are attending the funeral of one of their classmates who had committed suicide. The other girls go into fits of hysterics upon seeing an apparition of their dead friend at her own funeral. Soon after, each of the girls still alive tries to take her own life. This includes Sarah Mason, beloved sister of military officer Nick Mason, and in desperation [and through the intercession of a sinister psychiatrist with questionable motives, Malcolm Covey]turns to Paul Seaton, a troubled man who is trying to forget some harrowing events in his past, but finds it difficult to do so, haunted by disembodies strains of ragtime jazz. It turns out that the students had been to the infamous Fischer House, an abandoned and isolated mansion on the Isle of Wight, which has some sinister associations. Paul Seaton is well acquainted with the house, having almost been a 'victim' of it years ago. Without giving away too much of the plot - it goes back to eleven years back with Paul discovering the journal of a certain young female photographer, long dead, named Pandora Gibson-Hoare, talented and beautiful, who also ran with a rather strange crowd including renowned occultist Aleister Crowley, horror novelist Dennis Wheatley, and the enigmatic and sinister owner of the house itself, Klaus Fischer, a man dedicated to the dark arts. There is much in this novel to engage an avid fan of supernatural-themed stories - the plot moves along at a good pace, and one is never mired in too much details. Literally every page made me eager to get on to the next, to discover what was going to happen next. There are enough elements of suspense and puzzles here to keep a reader figuring out what is going to happen, right till the very end. This is not one of those novels where a seasoned reader can see the plot twist coming from a mile away - I was kept guessing right to the end, where there is a major twist, one that had me shaking my head in appreciation for the author's mastery of his craft. Too much platitudes? This book deserves it and more! The themes are indeed dark and reveal the bitter darkness and depravity of some human souls, but it also attests to the unwavering courage in others to do what's right. It is the quintessential battle between good and evil portrayed in a riveting story of the supernatural peopled with human characters that readers can genuinely care about, and other not so human or