“Bram Stoker Award-winner Tim Waggoner consistently delivers the goods when it comes to hard-hitting horror fiction, with compelling characters and dangerous horrors at every turn.” – This is Horror
In Rockridge, Ohio, a sinister family moves into a sleepy cul de sac. The Eldreds feed on the negative emotions of humans, creating nightmarish realms within their house to entrap their prey. … prey. Neighbors are lured into the Eldreds’ home and faced with challenges designed to heighten their darkest emotions so their inhuman captors can feed and feed well. If the humans are to have any hope of survival, they’ll have to learn to overcome their prejudices and resentments toward one another and work together. But which will prove more deadly in the end, the Eldreds . . . or each other?
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Bram Stoker Award winner Tim Waggoner’s upcoming release The Forever House tells the story of an ancient evil descending upon the quiet, unsuspecting town of Rockridge, Ohio. The Eldreds are a group of sinister, mysterious entities who feed on dark human emotions. They spend their days drifting from place to place, satisfying their hunger. The Eldreds set up shop someplace and lure the nearby humans into their home for a night of psychological and physical torture. When the humans are drained and nothing is left, the satiated creatures move on.
Waggoner’s story focuses on a group of nine neighbors who are set to be the Eldred’s newest victims. Each household has its own particular brand of dysfunction. From gambling addiction to sexual abuse and everything in between, these people have issues. The fact that every character’s relationships are so strained was initially a bit off-putting. It gave the novel a sort of “reality TV” vibe, with all these wild conflicts and no well adjusted, happy relationships. Further into the novel, I realized that this is intentional. The Eldred are drawn to negative human emotion, and picked a place whose inhabitants would feed them well. After making this realization, I became much happier with the characters’ friction.
When it comes to the characters’ personal issues, Waggoner explores some sensitive topics. We see a husband coming to terms with the revelation that his partner is bisexual. We see the strains that financial burdens and selfish decisions can place on a family. The worst of the bunch, however, deals while the sexual abuse of a child. Waggoner does not shy away from this topic. He describes the actions and thoughts of these characters in chilling detail. The graphic portrayal of sexual abuse is something that I feel should be mentioned in this review. Consider that when making a decision about reading this book. Let me be clear, it is not painted in a positive light or glorified at all. It is intrinsic to the plot of the story, and provides additional emotional layers to many scenes.
On the topic of characters, Waggoner displays some fine work. As I mentioned, all of his characters are quite flawed. They each have negative traits and conflicting behaviors. Through his weaving of their stories, Waggoner still manages to make us care for these people. He thoroughly paints them as people. Flawed, maybe even broken, but still generally good. Waggoner’s characterization and character development truly add depth to his story, especially in the final act.
Despite his amazing character work, the true feather in the cap of The Forever House comes in the form of the terrifying antagonists. The Eldreds are downright scary. They are mysterious, powerful, and seem impossible to beat. They’ve been around forever, and have no plans of being defeated anytime soon. The concepts behind their creation, the source of their power, and how they manipulate reality are incredibly unique. Waggoner’s antagonists are just plain cool. In addition to the bad-ass Eldreds themselves, Waggoner showcases amazing imagination in the horrors conjured up for his mostly-innocent victims. The house of horrors is filled with monstrosities of all varieties. You’re never sure just what the rules are, or what will show up next.
The stage and tone are set well in the first act, and the weirdness is dialled up a notch in act two. In the final act, the narrative takes off at a breakneck pace and doesn’t relent until literally the last page. Waggoner’s disturbingly imaginative antagonists and creative cruelties make The Forever House an absolute must for anyone who appreciates psychological horror. Fans of cosmic horror will certainly love the Eldred, though I wouldn’t quite categorize this as cosmic horror itself. I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of The Forever House and dive into a world of nightmarish survival.
THE FOREVER HOUSE has to be one of the craziest books I’ve ever read and I mean that in the best way possible!
The Eldreds move into “The Blood House.” That’s what the neighbors call it, anyway. They call it that due to the extremely violent end to the Raines family, which used to live there. Standing uninhabited for many years, the Eldreds understandably cause a buzz of excitement upon their arrival. Shortly thereafter, the neighbors each receive an invitation to dinner at the Eldreds’ house, and their lives will never be the same again!
I will inject a bit of real life into this review by saying that the whole COVID-19 thing was going on while I read this. I’ve had some real trouble concentrating on my reading during this time, EXCEPT FOR the time I spent reading this book. It was creative, funny and scary enough to provide a real distraction from life for me. For that I am extremely grateful.
That said, there was one portion, or perhaps I’ll say one character, that was pretty damn silly. And maybe if I had read this during a different time, that would have put me off of this book. However, I DID read it through this terrible time and it provided a good enough escape for me that I was able to overlook that.
THE FOREVER HOUSE was quite a bit of fun, it was creative and original and perhaps most importantly, it distracted me from the horror that is the daily news.
Recommended!
*Thanks to Flame Tree Press for the paperback ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!
THE FOREVER HOUSE, by Tim Waggoner, is a horror novel that had a great blend of supernatural, psychological, and visceral horror. One of the things I loved the most about this story was the phenomenal world building, as we are introduced to the beings known as The Eldred. When you feel you’ve read about every type of creature imaginable, it’s a great treat to be brought something “new”.
That’s exactly what Waggoner has done here.
“. . . Inside each of the Eldred is an infinite emptiness, a void that, no matter what they do, can never be filled . . .”
The start of the novel was basically getting to know–I mean, really know–each of the characters that lived in this subdivision in Rockridge, Ohio. Additionally, we are given insight into the mysterious Eldred as they move into the neighborhood–the “House of Blood”, as it was known as by those that were aware of the gruesome murders and suicide that had occurred there some years prior.
“. . . People want to feel safe where they live, and they will tell themselves any number of lies to create the illusion of safety . . . ”
Things begin to amp up with sections hinting at how the house . . . changes . . . as the Eldred move in. The psychological horror comes into play in a big way here as the “unknown” changes begin to reveal themselves to the other residents, who simply can’t process something so different.
“. . . Inside this house . . . the line between possible and impossible was a hell of a lot fuzzier than in the world outside.”
Preying on the weakness–in some cases, known only through the thoughts of individual characters–is a prime terror tactic here. However, there is also buckets of blood, gore, tortures, and mutilations to satisfy any avid horror fan.
“. . . She feared he didn’t have what it would take to survive this place. She wasn’t sure that any of them did.”
While the novel may have felt a bit slow in the beginning with the character building, it was essential to the story to have it all done in the manner that it was. This was the focal point that all of the action centers around.
“. . . if you didn’t know the rules, then how were you expected to play the game, let alone have a chance of winning it?”
Overall, one of the most original horror novels I’ve read this year. Everything from the characters, the “antagonists”, and the action united to form an unforgettable story that will leave you contemplating it long after.
“. . . Reality is like ice cream. It comes in lots and lots of flavors . . . ”
Personally, I’m hoping that Tim Waggoner revisits this idea in a future novel, or several . . .
Highly recommended.