Reviews

Old House of Fear by Russell Kirk

coffeedog14's review

adventurous challenging mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

What an odd little book. I was turned onto this one by the *Bad books for Bad People* podcast as their next selection, and as the work of a reasonably famous recent gothic author. This is apparently the man's most popular and well-regarded book, which I find odd because it fell pretty flat for me. The book is trying to walk a line between "Political/Criminal Thriller" and "Morose rural Gothic ghost story", and I don't think it really hits either one of those while trying. 

I will say that the set-up for it all is pretty great. Big creepy beautiful Scottish island with a surprisingly well-laid out backstory. We got a great villain in Jackman the mystically nihilist communist terrorist, and knowing that the author's next book had a villain heavily based on Jackman doesn't surprise me because he's clearly the best part of the whole affair. 

birdie_27's review

1.0

DNF. The writing is dull, the pace is moving too slow. I'm halfway and the action is just barely starting.

jimmypat's review against another edition

3.0

This novel starts slowly, but picks up speed halfway through. Unfortunately, the last couple of chapters collapse into blathering backstory and the novel loses propulsion. However,when the novel works, it really works - the villain is great/interesting and there is some nice depth of thought in the midst of the action. Not quite the gothic novel I expected, but fun nevertheless.

jkwriting24's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

guinness74's review against another edition

4.0

Those of you who like Austen's Northanger Abbey or Bronte's Wuthering Heights will enjoy this book. It has that Gothic romance/mystery to it and the setting (Scotland) is perfect for this sort of writing. Being Kirk's best selling book, it was apparently quite popular, and I'll admit that I enjoyed it quite a bit. The cover mentions some nonsense about Marxism, and there is some vague subtext of that in the book...but it is haphazardly jammed into so very few parts of the story that it's barely worth mentioning and easily ignored. The true value of this novel is the mysterious happenings on Carnglass, an island in the Hebrides. Chock full of interesting characters, even the island itself is so well-described, that the novel is compelling. At just under 200 pages, it's perfect for a rainy weekend.

sp2's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence and Confinement

andreairashea's review against another edition

4.0

What fun! Perfect to finish it on Halloween... I was quite sceptical along the way, but overall, it was a "rip-roaring yarn". Great to get lost in.

clussierxa's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This is the best fictional novel I've read in a long time!  No wonder it's a classic.   Dark, edgy, smart, thrilling, well-written, great characters and character development, and once finished, makes you want to read it all over again!  Enjoy.