These two authors are great on their own. I’ve recommended a number of their books to readers over the years and look forward to every new release they have. As collaborators, they performed magic when they joined forces to create The Perfectly Fine House out now from Grindhouse Press.
The authors have done the impossible with this novel. They have created a brand new take on the haunted house. To do it, they created an alternate universe where ghosts are everywhere and commonplace. Going on to the afterlife and haunting the world like any other phase of life has its challenges and limitations, but it is a natural part of the process of living and every person is used to it. Everything leaves a ghost behind and the world is getting full.
Then, there is a house with no ghosts and that is strange. It’s very odd. Most people don’t think it is particularly dangerous at first, but things are going to come apart as the novel progresses into the truth.
I enjoyed the main storylines and the living and the dead characters in this world. They hold the story together. You get caught up in their ordinary struggles of just getting by in life as well as the oddness of getting by in the paranormal.
The intricate way the rules of this world are unfolded with incredible consistency and depth was mind-boggling. It’s a wonder two authors could work together so well to create a world like this. The details of this world and the culture in creates among the living and the ghosts is flawless. The movement of the ghosts and the supernatural is created in such a commonplace way that you might as well be watching someone rewire a fuse box or give instructions on how to properly wash your hands. The story is far from ordinary, but the ubiquitous paranormal of this alternate universe is shown as if it is all day to day. This world is lived in and we are coming to it as readers with the setting and rules of this universe fully functioning and well-known to the people you can tell grew up here.
Kozeniewski and Young succeed with this story on every level. The premise does not get in the way of the story, but at the same time it is used to its absolute fullest impact. This is a ghost story and a haunted house story, but it is turned on its head and becomes something truly unique in the literary world and in genre fiction. This is a familiar trope told in an absolutely original and interesting way.
I was lulled by this story. I bought into the characters and the fullness of the universe and was carried along on a storyline that felt almost safe. The funny thing was that the authors showed me exactly what I needed to know in the first scene. As they introduced the world to me, they showed me the perfectly fine house. They showed me what it could do. Then, I forgot it for a little while as I watched the scenery while the story unfolded and kept my attention. Then, I realized, oh, right, we’re going back here again.
Now, I see the familiar notes of a haunted house story as the chapters progress. Again, they are all turned on their ear, but I’ve been sucked into the “haunting.” Once they finally showed me exactly what they had given me the clues to earlier in the story, I realized I had gotten trapped along with the characters. The fabric of this entire beautiful world was being threatened. I feel the threat with the other characters because I fully bought into this world before it started to come apart.
Well done, gentlemen. You’ve created something that can only be imitated, but never duplicated. You took on the haunted house story and made it your own in every sense.
I recommend this book highly to anyone who likes horror, alternate worlds/history, paranormal stories, ghost stories, books of any kind, or words in general.
Check out The Perfectly Fine House by Stephen Kozeniewski and Wile E Young.
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