Reviews with content warning for Death - Rose House

This was way outside my comfort zone - I’ve ended up reading many of those this year because of the StoryGraph Genre Challenge, which has been really fun! The writing is certainly excellent - I find books in the sci-fi/thriller/horror spectrum not often super poetic and flowery in their language, but this really was. I listened on audio, and after a while, despite well-done narration, I ended up finding the constant florid language and the cadence of it over the course of the novella a little bit repetitive and exhausting - I had to take sizable breaks from listening, even in such a short book. I would not likely listen to this or similar works again; but I do think that it was very atmospheric and tense in a way that felt unusual and sometimes quite captivating, so if you are a sci-fi or horror reader, I think you might really enjoy it if you’re up for something a little outside the box.

Content Warnings

lbelow's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious

2.5

Arkady Martine is good at thinking up interesting premises and terrible at writing characters that are at all interesting, have personalities or motives, or influence the plot in any meaningful way. Needless to say that if this had been any longer, I wouldn't have finished it.

Content Warnings

laurareads87's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

Having absolutely loved Martine's Teixcalaan duology, I was happy to pick up a copy of Rose/House, a novella about a house that is an AI that holds the remains and estate of its deceased architect; when the house, which is entirely off limits except to one archivist once per year, reports a dead body on its premises, the local precinct must figure out how anyone got into the house in the first place and how, if at all, anyone left it.

I feel neither very happy nor disappointed -- after finishing this novella, I cannot say it left me with very strong feelings at all. Compared to Teixcalaan, this just didn't feel especially novel or interesting, and I found that I did not particularly care who was doing what or what happened to anyone in the story.

What worked for me: Martine's an absolutely fantastic writer and the atmosphere is rendered in great detail despite the book's short length. Rose House, the house/AI, is creepy. Its voice, its shape, its artificial 'personality' - creepy. The reader is also given just enough detail about the near-future wider world to be interested and to feel like this is a fully formed universe.

What didn't work for me: the mystery didn't feel especially mysterious and the characters weren't interesting. Some theoretical questions about AI and art could've been explored, but weren't in any way that felt satisfying. I was left feeling like the book was trying to be deeper and more philosophical than it actually was.

Content Warnings

schnaucl's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

It was interesting locked room mystery. Some very interesting visuals. The house was very creepy (to be fair, I think any AI house would be creepy even without a murder).

Not sure I really understand the theory behind a 24-hour rule before you have to report a deceased person on the premises, especially if the house doesn't have to allow an investigation or even retrieval of the body. Why 24 hours? Especially if assistance might have been rendered with a more timely notification.

Content Warnings

bookwyrmknits's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

This is an odd book. It's a locked room mystery inside a haunted house, yes, but there is a very heavy science fiction element since the "locked room" which is also a "haunted house" is actually an AI house that thinks for itself. There's a lot of answers provided at the end of the book, even though vanishingly few of them are explicit. Most of the answers are right there for you to pick up—but you have to pick them up, they will not be handed to you.

If you like unreliable narrators, you might greatly enjoy this novella, since there is unreliable EVERYTHING in it. I liked the book, but I'm honestly still a bit bemused by it.

Early on, I wasn't sure which of the characters would end up becoming my favorite, but I certainly did not expect it to be Oliver. My opinion of him turned completely around about halfway through the book. I did enjoy the creepy AI aspect of Rose House, it's a similar feeling to me as GladOS from the Portal video games—down to hints of the same snark at times.

I have my opinions on what the resolution of the big mystery at the end is, though I'll let you try the book and see for yourself. While this is not a new favorite it is a solid story and one that will likely lurk in my memory for a long time to come. (Which, if you've read the book, is very appropriate given the ending.)

Content Warnings

trips's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

TL;DR
I don't want to say too much as I think you should just read it but, Rose/House is a succinct, timely retelling of a classic gothic horror story that fascinated me through the entire novella.

I'm not a fan the biggest fan of horror (I'm a weenie), but I do think there is something special about taking a classic gothic horror story and reimagining it into things we fear will affect us soon in the current day. Rose House is a genuinely creepy AI with eerie visuals and unsettling language rules. Martine executes this beautifully, her prose a bit more experimental/dreamy than her Texicalaan series in Rose/House but I think it makes the book creepier and even more immersive. The writing is a bit disorienting on times (on purpose) so keep that in mind going in, I think!

Content Warnings

aileron's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

devynreadsnovels's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.0

Content Warnings

More...