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anaveragelife's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
tregina's review
3.0
Part of me enjoyed this because I'm a sucker for ghost stories, but part of me really didn't because it piles cliché on cliché. Ultimately, though, it subverts some of what you think it's going to do and finds a path slightly less travelled at the end.
ineffable_bowtie's review
4.0
This book surprised me! I randomly chose it off a shelf at our library because they had a horror sticker on it. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did.
Quick read, not a lot of gore, and suspenseful.
Quick read, not a lot of gore, and suspenseful.
crimsontheory's review
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
cassiecollins's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Now, stop me if you've heard this one: a struggling author moves into a rickety old house in the sticks and begins having supernatural experiences that spur him to obsess over an unsolved mystery. This was decently written, but it definitely clung to its clichés. I felt the author was trying a bit too hard to make things "mysterious" with a bunch of red herrings and other distractions, even though I clocked several of the reveals early on. Also, and this was rather disappointing to me in a tradpub, there were a few typos and formatting errors. I'm told the author greatly improves in his later books, so I'll hopefully take a look at those later.
sanddanz's review
5.0
Author Travis Glasgow recently completed a novel titled The Ocean Serene, written as Travis’s way of dealing with the death of his brother Kyle, whom he felt he had killed years ago. Thinking he had put his past behind him, he and his wife, Jodie, move to Westlake, Maryland to be closer to his living brother, Adam. However, upon arrival to the house, Travis starts noticing strange happenings. He is hearing noises and seeing strange sights in the basement. What he witnesses makes him believe that Kyle’s spirit has followed him all this way and is trying to tell him something. Then one day Travis notices another oddity; a staircase, floating in the middle of the lake outside their house. As Travis’s confusion and fears increase, he decides to do an investigation of his own, wondering if there is more to the house than just a ghost from his own past. Taking his research skills to the local library, he soon discovers that the previous owners of his new house have something in common with him; they also dealt with the death of a drowning boy in their family. Travis becomes obsessed with finding out as much as he can about the previous owners of his house in order to find out what message the being that has been reaching out to him is trying to get across.
Of all the books I read in 2011, Floating Staircase was at the top of my list! From start to finish I could not put this book down. Having not previously read anything by Ronald Malfi I wasn’t sure what I was getting into with this one, but I was pleasantly surprised and will definitely be looking up his other reads. I’ve always been a fan of ghost stories and this book is definitely that. In the beginning, Malfi leaves you wondering if maybe Travis Glasgow has gone just a bit crazy over the years due to the blame he had put on himself after his brother’s death. But once he discovers that there is another presence in the house other than what Travis originally thought was his brother’s spirit, things really take off. Mixing elements of both horror and mystery, Malfi has put together a page-turner that, even when finished, leaves you wanting more. Powerful and chilling, Floating Staircase is one ghost story that horror fans should not miss. Highly Recommended!
Contains: Adult Language & Adult Situations
Review also posted at MonsterLibrarian dot com
Of all the books I read in 2011, Floating Staircase was at the top of my list! From start to finish I could not put this book down. Having not previously read anything by Ronald Malfi I wasn’t sure what I was getting into with this one, but I was pleasantly surprised and will definitely be looking up his other reads. I’ve always been a fan of ghost stories and this book is definitely that. In the beginning, Malfi leaves you wondering if maybe Travis Glasgow has gone just a bit crazy over the years due to the blame he had put on himself after his brother’s death. But once he discovers that there is another presence in the house other than what Travis originally thought was his brother’s spirit, things really take off. Mixing elements of both horror and mystery, Malfi has put together a page-turner that, even when finished, leaves you wanting more. Powerful and chilling, Floating Staircase is one ghost story that horror fans should not miss. Highly Recommended!
Contains: Adult Language & Adult Situations
Review also posted at MonsterLibrarian dot com
aunt13soc1al's review
5.0
I jumped for joy when I received an email from Medallion Press asking if I was interested in reviewing Malfi's newest book. I'd received The Ascent from them before, and it was my first experience with Malfi's writing. I was not disappointed and so I was ready, willing, and able to read this and review it.
As you may have read before, while this book has nothing to do with spiders, reading it before bed gave me a tidbit of anxiety, perfect for a good mystery/horror story and resulted in some interesting dreams while I was reading it.
The story is well-developed and unpredictable which is my favorite thing when it comes to Malfi's books. The Ascent keeps you guessing up to the end and so does Floating Staircase. If you enjoyed any of Malfi's books, please pick this one up and give it a read. It's a perfectly chilling story that will send shivers down your spine.
Sometimes I find it very hard to review books like this because I can't tell you about it without giving something away that may result in you not enjoying it as much and possibly figuring out the ending. But I will say that if you enjoy a story about a house with an interesting history, and how it becomes an obsession, then this is definitely a book for you.
As you may have read before, while this book has nothing to do with spiders, reading it before bed gave me a tidbit of anxiety, perfect for a good mystery/horror story and resulted in some interesting dreams while I was reading it.
The story is well-developed and unpredictable which is my favorite thing when it comes to Malfi's books. The Ascent keeps you guessing up to the end and so does Floating Staircase. If you enjoyed any of Malfi's books, please pick this one up and give it a read. It's a perfectly chilling story that will send shivers down your spine.
Sometimes I find it very hard to review books like this because I can't tell you about it without giving something away that may result in you not enjoying it as much and possibly figuring out the ending. But I will say that if you enjoy a story about a house with an interesting history, and how it becomes an obsession, then this is definitely a book for you.
barbtrek's review
5.0
I normally avoid sad books. This book was sad but it didn’t go too far. I enjoyed the creepiness & mystery.
I really like Ronald Malfi’s writing style. It’s immensely readable, the characters are well drawn out, and the creepiness and mystery makes it hard to stop turning pages. I’d compare the readability to Stephen King but unlike King’s, Malfi’s books don’t go so far into the grotesque and leave you with a dirty feeling when you’re done reading. But I almost docked this a star because the author seems to have trouble describing being cold without referencing the area beneath his underpants.
I really like Ronald Malfi’s writing style. It’s immensely readable, the characters are well drawn out, and the creepiness and mystery makes it hard to stop turning pages. I’d compare the readability to Stephen King but unlike King’s, Malfi’s books don’t go so far into the grotesque and leave you with a dirty feeling when you’re done reading. But I almost docked this a star because the author seems to have trouble describing being cold without referencing the area beneath his underpants.
tiffiinyslibrary's review
4.0
I throughly enjoyed this book. Held my attention through the end. The author does a good job pulling you into this mystery of a little boys death. The main character is faced with a ghost in his house at the same time he is fighting his own ghost.