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the_original_shelf_monkey's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
ameliareadsstuff's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A novella about four people who live in an underground* bunker. Who are they? Why are they there? Do they know? Well, yes and no.
An excellent example of establishing a situation the narrator thinks of as normal, and describes normally, then letting the weird and horrible bleed through the cracks. The 'disposal room' chapter partway through was a great escalation. You don't get all the answers you want by the end, but you at least have a strong idea about what the situation represents.
*Maybe.
An excellent example of establishing a situation the narrator thinks of as normal, and describes normally, then letting the weird and horrible bleed through the cracks. The 'disposal room' chapter partway through was a great escalation. You don't get all the answers you want by the end, but you at least have a strong idea about what the situation represents.
*Maybe.
newishpuritan's review against another edition
This is an elegantly written little mindfuck of a book, which does not 'explain' its mysterious set-up at all. A novella not because of a paucity of ideas but because anything that might give too much away has been ruthlessly pared away from the text. Prose that is very clean and simple, and seemingly straightforwardly descriptive, but an overall effect that is opaque. It's always a bit pretentious to refer to Kafka in a review, but it's reminiscent of him – not so much in mood or tone, but in that crucial information for understanding the world depicted is withheld, not only from the reader, but seemingly from everyone inhabiting that world. Certain things are just taken on faith, except in this case it's not even clear what the tenets of that faith are. Though the title refers to the Christian (Greek?) idea of Armageddon there are several allusions in the text to Norse mythology and Ragnarok, but it's not actually clear if we're dealing with a pre- or post-apocalyptic scenario. I liked it a lot, but not a book for anyone looking for clear explanations and neat resolutions.
jasonsweirdreads's review
5.0
Bloody Brilliant!
This book starts off relatively reminiscent of stories depicting dystopian rule and a lot of isolation. Four characters (Mark, Jenna, Polly, and Greyson) are indeed isolated in what is assumed to be an underground bunker or some deep government secret testing facility. Tension between characters are high. There’s a bully, a mentally ill person, a leader, and what could very well be a passive aggressive psychopath.
At about the half way mark, the story becomes weird and just gets weirder and weirder until the whole thing climaxes into one strange and phantasmagorical mess. I mean that in the best possible way. It’s a play on our own reality and constantly questions what it means to be alive as a human being.
This is the type of stuff I like to read best. It makes you think, continuously making you question what’s going on. It does this from the very beginning, and once it has its hooks deep into your flesh, it twists the chains and pulls.
Much food for thought here. Also, it’s bloody brilliant. Highly recommended!
This book starts off relatively reminiscent of stories depicting dystopian rule and a lot of isolation. Four characters (Mark, Jenna, Polly, and Greyson) are indeed isolated in what is assumed to be an underground bunker or some deep government secret testing facility. Tension between characters are high. There’s a bully, a mentally ill person, a leader, and what could very well be a passive aggressive psychopath.
At about the half way mark, the story becomes weird and just gets weirder and weirder until the whole thing climaxes into one strange and phantasmagorical mess. I mean that in the best possible way. It’s a play on our own reality and constantly questions what it means to be alive as a human being.
This is the type of stuff I like to read best. It makes you think, continuously making you question what’s going on. It does this from the very beginning, and once it has its hooks deep into your flesh, it twists the chains and pulls.
Much food for thought here. Also, it’s bloody brilliant. Highly recommended!
barb4ry1's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5
Not what I expected, but surprisingly good.
Four adults, two men, two women, live together, sealed in an underground bunker. They have no idea how long they have been there, why they are locked away, or when they will get out. Their memories of their past lack clarity and raise a lot of questions. They assume they're participating in a test, but of what kind precisely? No one knows.
Their life revolves around daily routines: cleaning, eating, speaking. When one of them goes missing, the rest starts looking for her in the bunker. Personalities start to clash. Weird things happen, and the tension between characters spikes.
It's short but dense.Worth a read, especially if you like books that play with your head.
Not what I expected, but surprisingly good.
Four adults, two men, two women, live together, sealed in an underground bunker. They have no idea how long they have been there, why they are locked away, or when they will get out. Their memories of their past lack clarity and raise a lot of questions. They assume they're participating in a test, but of what kind precisely? No one knows.
Their life revolves around daily routines: cleaning, eating, speaking. When one of them goes missing, the rest starts looking for her in the bunker. Personalities start to clash. Weird things happen, and the tension between characters spikes.
It's short but dense.Worth a read, especially if you like books that play with your head.
danocrates66's review against another edition
2.0
Mildly interesting characters in a potentially intriguing but vaguely presented situation do not make for memorable reading. Not recommended.
joecam79's review against another edition
3.0
If I hadn’t pre-ordered Armageddon House in early March, before the Covid pandemic escalated, I would have easily believed that this novella was inspired by the lockdown. It starts in medias res, presenting us with two couples of sorts – Mark and Jenna, Greyson and Polly – living in a hi-tech underground bunker. Their subterranean world has all the necessities they require. There’s a well-equipped kitchen, a gym and swimming pool, a tavern and even a sort of museum. There’s food to last many a lifetime and unspecified “medication” which they need to take on a daily basis. Away from the outside world, these characters try to hold on to their sanity by sticking to well-established routines.
Are these four characters the last survivors of some apocalyptic disaster? Are they human guinea pigs in a strange experiment? They don’t know and we don’t know either. Mark – from whose perspective we seem to see things – suffers from strange memory gaps, perhaps induced by the medication. There are glimpses of hazy memories, hints suggesting a very different past. The quartet explore the levels of the bunker, trying to understand their situation and to possibly find a means of escape. We look on, as lost and perplexed as they are.
At first, this book reads like a literary equivalent of the “Big Brother” reality show. In close, enforced confinement, tempers fray, tensions simmer, occasionally overstepping into violence. Friendships are made and unmade, desire waxes and wanes. As the novella progresses, however, we realise that the claustrophobic horror portrayed does not exist merely an individual level, but also on a cosmic one. Tellingly, Griffin slips in references to Norse sagas. Whilst these mythical undertones initially seem out of place in a sci-fi scenario, they suggest that Armageddon House should be read as an existential fable, possibly representing our constant struggle to understand the human predicament – Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?
Whether the book works for you or not depends, of course, on what scale of “weird” you like your “fiction” to be. In some ways, Griffin’s novella reminded me of I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman. I feel that, like Harpman’s book, Armageddon House is a “novel(la) as thought experiment”. Narratively, it leaves too many questions unanswered. I find this frustrating but other readers, of course, might not – some might even delight in the ambiguities. Beyond the bare bones of the plot, however, the novella raises haunting, philosophical questions which cannot be easily dismissed and this is where its strength lies.
3.5*
https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/2020/05/armageddon-house-by-michael-griffin.html
Are these four characters the last survivors of some apocalyptic disaster? Are they human guinea pigs in a strange experiment? They don’t know and we don’t know either. Mark – from whose perspective we seem to see things – suffers from strange memory gaps, perhaps induced by the medication. There are glimpses of hazy memories, hints suggesting a very different past. The quartet explore the levels of the bunker, trying to understand their situation and to possibly find a means of escape. We look on, as lost and perplexed as they are.
At first, this book reads like a literary equivalent of the “Big Brother” reality show. In close, enforced confinement, tempers fray, tensions simmer, occasionally overstepping into violence. Friendships are made and unmade, desire waxes and wanes. As the novella progresses, however, we realise that the claustrophobic horror portrayed does not exist merely an individual level, but also on a cosmic one. Tellingly, Griffin slips in references to Norse sagas. Whilst these mythical undertones initially seem out of place in a sci-fi scenario, they suggest that Armageddon House should be read as an existential fable, possibly representing our constant struggle to understand the human predicament – Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?
Whether the book works for you or not depends, of course, on what scale of “weird” you like your “fiction” to be. In some ways, Griffin’s novella reminded me of I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman. I feel that, like Harpman’s book, Armageddon House is a “novel(la) as thought experiment”. Narratively, it leaves too many questions unanswered. I find this frustrating but other readers, of course, might not – some might even delight in the ambiguities. Beyond the bare bones of the plot, however, the novella raises haunting, philosophical questions which cannot be easily dismissed and this is where its strength lies.
3.5*
https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/2020/05/armageddon-house-by-michael-griffin.html
kyrilson's review against another edition
3.0
This was a weird little novella. Reminded me a little bit of "Wool" by Hugh Howey. It's about four people in an underground bunker living day to day, with very little knowledge of why they're there and what's outside. There is an pervading sense of tension and claustrophobia throughout the story. It was a pretty good story, but I felt the characters were a little odd, and some of the situations were confusing to the reader. Overall I did find the story enjoyable and I liked the ending, but some people may not, as everything is not tied up neatly at the end.
madarauchiha's review
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
❤️ 🧡 💛 💚 💙 💜 my about / byf / CW info carrd: uchiha-madara 💜 💙 💚 💛 🧡 ❤️
You know. I should probably review things around the time I finish them, and not months later when I've forgotten the whole dang thing. I do recall it was some pretty interesting european myth-esque stuff.
Content warnings
minor animal hunting, dogs, pedophilia, sexual assault, suicide ideation
major animal death, body horror, gore, infidelity, medical content
You know. I should probably review things around the time I finish them, and not months later when I've forgotten the whole dang thing. I do recall it was some pretty interesting european myth-esque stuff.
Content warnings
minor animal hunting, dogs, pedophilia, sexual assault, suicide ideation
major animal death, body horror, gore, infidelity, medical content
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Infidelity, and Medical content
Minor: Animal cruelty, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts