Armageddon House - One of the Top Novellas of the Year!
If you’ve been reading my book reviews for the past year and a half you know that I’m obviously a big fan of horror fiction. I’m also a big fan of weird fiction and many times the weird fiction world and the horror fiction world collide in an absolutely perfect way. That’s exactly what happened when I cracked open Armageddon House by Michael Griffin. It is a perfect combination of weird and horror.
I can’t talk about this book without also briefly mentioning the publisher. Undertow Publications has put out so many high quality books that they have become one of the few publishers I will always look to when I’m in need of something new to read. Recently I’ve read a bunch of anthologies and short story collections published by Undertow but this is the first stand-alone I’ve read from them. As with the other books, the quality of Armageddon House is apparent before you even open it up. The cover art is as fantastic as the overall quality of book itself. then you start reading, and things get even better.
The story itself has a Philip K. Dick vibe to it from the beginning. The basic premise is that a group of four people are living in an underground habitat. It is unclear to any of the four people why they are there. A scientific study? Possibly. The world above is unfit for human survival? Also possible. While they remember certain aspects of their life, the fact that they have certain tasks they are supposed to complete every day, for example, is easy for them to remember. Other events are more difficult to remember and they aren’t exactly sure what their relationship is with the others living there. Sometimes they are combative with each other, other times they seem almost like close friends. Are they married or were they once married? Again, it is unclear.
Because of the lack of clear memories by the main characters in this story, the overall narrative is pieced together over the course of the book. But it doesn’t take away from the story. In fact, the way Griffin continues to layer the unsettled nature of his characters only adds to the suspense. As the story and the mystery continue, the characters you thought you knew become less familiar and more intriguing. The language and description make each scene seem more important than the last and make you yearn for the next. Not just to find out what happens, but to become further enveloped in the Armageddon House with the other four characters.
When I was finished, I felt like Griffin had grabbed me by the ankle and dragged me down below the earth’s surface and into the Armageddon House with him. He pulls you, pushes you and makes you want more with every page turned. Strong 5/5 on this one
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