errantdreams's review
5.0
This story dives right in. Before we’re a third of the way into it, the hospital has been invaded and is becoming an alien landscape. A number of people die, some in gory ways, as the creatures of Ayteilu find ways to manifest in the real world. There’s a bit of whimsy to this volume, as some of those wraiths take bodies from everything from a lawnmower and a rake to a vending machine and a lamp, but it doesn’t undermine the horror at all.
Previous books in this world have been focused more on horrors from other existing worlds. To have an invasion that’s basically coming from one man’s mind is fascinating. He has some sort of natural talent for creating tulpas, and they’re surprisingly powerful. Especially once they get their hands on some of the occult knowledge that Toby and one of the other inmates possess. Toby takes on some nice depth in this installment. He’s still absolutely horrifying, and alien in his own way, but Kathy’s forced to take a more nuanced look at him as his knowledge becomes necessary to destroying the tulpas. The characters in here all have an excellent amount of personality and depth, and that’s hard to do with a character like Toby. I also appreciate that the black custodian wasn’t there to die early or be a mysterious source of wisdom–he was a real and important part of the events.
I’ve read a good handful of books by Mary SanGiovanni, and her Kathy Ryan novels are my favorites. I hope to see more!
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/06/review-inside-the-asylum-mary-sangiovanni/
Previous books in this world have been focused more on horrors from other existing worlds. To have an invasion that’s basically coming from one man’s mind is fascinating. He has some sort of natural talent for creating tulpas, and they’re surprisingly powerful. Especially once they get their hands on some of the occult knowledge that Toby and one of the other inmates possess. Toby takes on some nice depth in this installment. He’s still absolutely horrifying, and alien in his own way, but Kathy’s forced to take a more nuanced look at him as his knowledge becomes necessary to destroying the tulpas. The characters in here all have an excellent amount of personality and depth, and that’s hard to do with a character like Toby. I also appreciate that the black custodian wasn’t there to die early or be a mysterious source of wisdom–he was a real and important part of the events.
I’ve read a good handful of books by Mary SanGiovanni, and her Kathy Ryan novels are my favorites. I hope to see more!
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/06/review-inside-the-asylum-mary-sangiovanni/
pixiejazz's review
4.0
Inside the Asylum is the newest book in the Kathy Ryan series. It is a standalone, but I'd definitely suggest reading the other books too, just to get a feel for Kathy and what she does. I first discovered her in Behind the Door, and I absolutely loved that book.
In this one, Kathy is called in to deal with some really strange happenings at a mental hospital. Not only is there a patient there who may have information about the cults she's been investigating, but other patients are dying because of him. Also, her brother is locked up there, so...yeah.
Henry, the patient in question, has powerful abilities. He can create worlds in his mind, and one of those worlds wants to become reality and take over our world. His "friends" are dangerous, as is this other world, and it's up to Kathy to stop this other dimension from bleeding over and becoming the new reality.
This story is dark and creepy, and I really enjoyed it. There's a lot going on, but it's all contained within the one location. When Henry's other world/dimension starts taking over, and the weird creatures start roaming the halls of the asylum, it's pretty crazy. I liked how they were all different, unique beings. It showed just how intense Henry's powers of the mind really were.
Kathy is definitely a fun character to read about and follow along with. She gets into some really scary, wild things, and that's what makes her a great character. She's unique.
If you're a fan of horror, supernatural elements, and/or stories involving other dimensions, you should give Inside the Asylum a whirl. You just might enjoy it.
4.5 stars!
In this one, Kathy is called in to deal with some really strange happenings at a mental hospital. Not only is there a patient there who may have information about the cults she's been investigating, but other patients are dying because of him. Also, her brother is locked up there, so...yeah.
Henry, the patient in question, has powerful abilities. He can create worlds in his mind, and one of those worlds wants to become reality and take over our world. His "friends" are dangerous, as is this other world, and it's up to Kathy to stop this other dimension from bleeding over and becoming the new reality.
This story is dark and creepy, and I really enjoyed it. There's a lot going on, but it's all contained within the one location. When Henry's other world/dimension starts taking over, and the weird creatures start roaming the halls of the asylum, it's pretty crazy. I liked how they were all different, unique beings. It showed just how intense Henry's powers of the mind really were.
Kathy is definitely a fun character to read about and follow along with. She gets into some really scary, wild things, and that's what makes her a great character. She's unique.
If you're a fan of horror, supernatural elements, and/or stories involving other dimensions, you should give Inside the Asylum a whirl. You just might enjoy it.
4.5 stars!
lilyn_g's review
4.0
One of the problems that I had with Behind the Door, the 2nd book in the Kathy Ryan series, was that I felt like it was a very on-the-surface read that didn’t enable me to connect with the main character. However, Mary SanGiovanni writes tales with ideas that are very hard for me to stay away from, so I figured I’d like Inside the Asylum even if the same problem for me persisted.
It didn’t.
Mostly this is probably because of the simple fact that this novel involves Ryan’s brother, Toby. However, it’s more than that. While the inside of Ryan’s head is definitely a more comfortable place this time around, SanGiovanni made me feel something for a psychopath (not saying it’s a good something or a bad something), and did it without trodding down a path overgrown with cliches. Kind of amazing. There are other connections made with characters in the book, but those I will leave for the reader to discover.
I mentioned earlier that she writes tales with ideas that are very hard for me to stay away from. As a child that created fantastical worlds inside her head to escape from things that grew into an adult to continued to do the same thing (too bad I can’t write worth a Tinker’s damn!), I saw an idea fleshed out that I never knew even had a name. I’m speaking, of course, of Tulpas. Who hasn’t that that if the protectors s/he created inside their head were actually real how much better things would be? Hasn’t longed for the ability to reach across the gulf and move something from imagination into reality? Sometimes when you’re in a dark streak that thought can be scary. However, for the most part it just fills you with a longing for something you know you can never have.
In terms of all the other stuff I usually talk about, I was pretty happy. The dialogue is solid. The pacing is great. This isn’t a chunker so the story is kept nice and tight. The batshit crazy descending up on asylum made me happy as well.
In closing, Inside the Asylum is a well-written story and a great entry into the Kathy Ryan series. I think it’s safe to say at this point that I look forward to upcoming entries from Mary SanGiovanni.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for review consideration.
It didn’t.
Mostly this is probably because of the simple fact that this novel involves Ryan’s brother, Toby. However, it’s more than that. While the inside of Ryan’s head is definitely a more comfortable place this time around, SanGiovanni made me feel something for a psychopath (not saying it’s a good something or a bad something), and did it without trodding down a path overgrown with cliches. Kind of amazing. There are other connections made with characters in the book, but those I will leave for the reader to discover.
I mentioned earlier that she writes tales with ideas that are very hard for me to stay away from. As a child that created fantastical worlds inside her head to escape from things that grew into an adult to continued to do the same thing (too bad I can’t write worth a Tinker’s damn!), I saw an idea fleshed out that I never knew even had a name. I’m speaking, of course, of Tulpas. Who hasn’t that that if the protectors s/he created inside their head were actually real how much better things would be? Hasn’t longed for the ability to reach across the gulf and move something from imagination into reality? Sometimes when you’re in a dark streak that thought can be scary. However, for the most part it just fills you with a longing for something you know you can never have.
In terms of all the other stuff I usually talk about, I was pretty happy. The dialogue is solid. The pacing is great. This isn’t a chunker so the story is kept nice and tight. The batshit crazy descending up on asylum made me happy as well.
In closing, Inside the Asylum is a well-written story and a great entry into the Kathy Ryan series. I think it’s safe to say at this point that I look forward to upcoming entries from Mary SanGiovanni.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for review consideration.
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