Disclosure:
I received a review copy of The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for review. They give me no money, nor do they in any way influence my thoughts. Those are 100% my own for better or worse.
Edition:
E-ARC
The Hollow Places Awards/Nominations:
- Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Horror (2020)
Synopsis:
A young woman discovers a strange portal in her uncle’s house, leading to madness and terror in this gripping new novel from the author of the “innovative, unexpected, and absolutely chilling” (Mira Grant, Nebula Award–winning author) The Twisted Ones.
Pray they are hungry.
Kara finds the words in the mysterious bunker that she’s discovered behind a hole in the wall of her uncle’s house. Freshly divorced and living back at home, Kara now becomes obsessed with these cryptic words and starts exploring this peculiar area—only to discover that it holds portals to countless alternate realities. But these places are haunted by creatures that seem to hear thoughts…and the more one fears them, the stronger they become.
With her distinctive “delightfully fresh and subversive” (SF Bluestocking) prose and the strange, sinister wonder found in Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth, The Hollow Places is another compelling and white-knuckled horror novel that you won’t be able to put down.
My Thoughts:
I was really excited going into this book because it is based on The Willows, a story published in 1907 by English writer/journalist Algernon Blackwood. The Willows is a fascinating, spooky tale that was cited by H.P. Lovecraft as the finest supernatural story in all of English literature. Say what you want about Lovecraft, the dude’s tales of terror are both prolific and highly influential even now. So, I think that he can probably be trusted to spot a good scary story, if nothing else.
And The Willows is cray. It’s a little verbose at times as stories of its age tend to be, but still, spooky stuff. And no, you definitely don’t need to have read it in order to enjoy The Hollow Places.
Needless to say, The Hollow Places did not disappoint me one bit. It definitely has the themes of The Willows down pat. It’s got the shadowy figures, the river, the Willows. And, you know, the existential dread.
Kingfisher also nailed the feel – the ominous language, and oppressive spirit of the story. I don’t know if this is typical for Kingfisher, as I’ve never read anything by her, but I plan to find out. Based on the quality of this story, I’ll certainly be seeking out her work in the future.
One way this book diverges greatly from its source material is in the narrative. Gone is the stodgy, early 20th century British feel. Instead Kingfisher merges a fast-paced storytelling style with modern-feeling characters who are witty and relatable. However, the overall feeling of ‘omg fuck all of everything because it’s weird and scary and I don’t like it’ is definitely still there.
The Can Hear You Thinking
The Hollow Places tells the story of Kara, a woman recently freed from a broken relationship who is staying with her favorite uncle. She’s helping him catalogue the many items in his museum of the weird (and why shouldn’t she – the museum sounds amazing). Since Uncle Earl has to have surgery on a bad knee, so Kara volunteers to keep shop while he’s out. See, Kara spent a lot of time in the museum as a child, so she seems like the perfect choice to keep it going in Earl’s absence. But things get weird when Kara discovers a hole in the wall hidden behind one of the display items. See, the hole leads to an impossible hallway, which in turn leads to a whole impossible world.
Pray They Are Hungry
Well, since Kara is no fool, she knows she can’t just go traipsing off into these impossible places all by her lonesome, so she enlists the assistance of Simon – her friend and goth barista from the coffee shop next door to the museum. Together they enter this strange new world and encounter some truly terrifying things. And now they have to find their way back from a hostile and ever-changing parallel universe.
Rating:
I really liked this book a lot. It was fun and a little scary. Although The Willows drew me in, the way Kingfisher brought a dated story firmly into the 21st century kept me reading.
The Hollow Places By T. Kingfisher Gallery / Saga Press ISBN: 1534451129 Published: October 6, 2020 E-book, Paperback, Audio 352 Pages T. Kingfisher is the pen-name of Ursula Vernon Author's Website
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