{"id":18585,"date":"2024-01-29T07:00:45","date_gmt":"2024-01-29T12:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/?p=18585"},"modified":"2024-01-28T21:47:09","modified_gmt":"2024-01-29T02:47:09","slug":"review-house-of-last-resort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-house-of-last-resort\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: The House of Last Resort by Christopher Golden"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"18586\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-house-of-last-resort\/house-last-resort\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/house-last-resort.jpg?fit=658%2C1000&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"658,1000\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"house-last-resort\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/house-last-resort.jpg?fit=658%2C1000&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-18586\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/house-last-resort.jpg?resize=230%2C350&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"cover of The House of Last Resort\" width=\"230\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/house-last-resort.jpg?resize=230%2C350&amp;ssl=1 230w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/house-last-resort.jpg?w=658&amp;ssl=1 658w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 230px) 85vw, 230px\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/House-Last-Resort-Novel\/dp\/1250285895\/ref=sr_1_1?crid=17JEYWS1IRUEA&amp;keywords=The+House+of+Last+Resort+by+Christopher+Golden&amp;qid=1706495001&amp;sprefix=the+house+of+last+resort+by+christopher+golden%2Caps%2C139&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><em>The House of Last Resort<\/em> by Christopher Golden<\/strong><\/a><br \/>\n<strong>St. Martin&#8217;s Press (January 30, 2023)<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>304 pages; $24.65 hardcover; $14.99 e-book<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Reviewed by Dave Simms<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Christopher Golden knows better than many writers how to turn a setting into a brutal, living, breathing character. His new, terrifying novel might be the perfect encapsulation of that statement. When a reader takes into consideration the body of work that includes <em>Ararat<\/em> (possible resting place of Noah&#8217;s Ark), <em>Road of Bones<\/em> (forbidden frozen land in Russia), and <em>Strangeland<\/em> (what might be the most inventive setting in horror fantasy in ages), the praise for this story is not taken lightly.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Beccina, Sicily, is a gorgeous setting that Golden uses to a fine advantage. It&#8217;s an old city, but one that desperately needs some life, so much so that the government offers foreigners the opportunity to live in this historic place for a single euro, as long as the residents stay for five years. If that sounds far-fetched, similar offers have been dangled in the United States a few times in lesser populated states with even sweeter deals.<\/p>\n<p>Tommy Puglisi is the guy who accepts the offer, mostly because he has family roots there. His father abandoned the town long ago, which caused a rift in the bloodline. Tommy and his wife Kate move in, with scant Italian language skills to help them acclimate. Yet his grandparents welcome him with&#8230;caution. The family reconnection gives the story a strong base as readers are treated to a pair of likable characters as the couple explores the town, and house. Golden allows the novel to build slowly (not a bad thing) as the atmosphere of the crumbling town fills the pages. Their life has some reason for optimism and the couple meets some other new residents, which gives them a bit of grounding.<\/p>\n<p>But why are the townsfolk whispering about Tommy and Kate? Why is his grandmother so unhappy that he bought that house? What&#8217;s the story behind his grandfather and his stroke? They explore beyond the finished rooms in their new home to find several hidden places in the annex.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s when they discover their cheap purchase was called &#8220;The House of Last Resort&#8221; by the church.<\/p>\n<p>Things could very easily turn into standard, basic horror fare in lesser hands, but this author never takes the easy way out. Of course, there is something very&#8230;off&#8230;about the house here, and the connection to the church is an important one.<\/p>\n<p>After the slow burn, the plot hits the gas in the second half. What Tommy and Kate find deep within their house explains the title in fine, thrilling fashion.<\/p>\n<p>Golden has concocted another entertaining horror novel that is both claustrophobic and character-friendly. Not a soul is a throwaway, making the emotional investment high.<\/p>\n<p>As usual, this is recommended reading from a talented storyteller.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The House of Last Resort by Christopher Golden St. Martin&#8217;s Press (January 30, 2023) 304 pages; $24.65 hardcover; $14.99 e-book Reviewed by Dave Simms Christopher Golden knows better than many writers how to turn a setting into a brutal, living, breathing character. His new, terrifying novel might be the perfect encapsulation of that statement. When &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/review-house-of-last-resort\/\" class=\"more-link button bg-gold white\">Continue Reading!<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Review: The House of Last Resort by Christopher Golden&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[80],"tags":[477,715,79,3089],"class_list":["post-18585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-christopher-golden","tag-dave-simms","tag-reviews","tag-the-house-of-last-resort"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - 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