Thirteen Storeys

Product Information

Karma Houdini: Invoked by Tobias Fell, as the entire reason for gathering the other twelve main characters together for a dinner party is so he can pawn off the many hauntings threatening to destroy him onto them instead and not face any consequences of the many heinous actions committed in the name of becoming a billionaire. Becomes a Karma Houdini Warranty when the guests become fed up with Tobias's manipulations and instead personally deliver the brutal punishment he rightly deserves. I am, in a far less dark and far more mundane way, doing something of the same job that Diya found herself in. I found so much to resonate with in the more and reflective portions of the narrative, in the quiet tragedy of a life unremembered and sorted through by strangers. This was, unexpectedly, the strength of the novel for me. Jonny Sims has a way of displaying observations about the world that make them feel meaningful – not just in the ways that he pulls horror from the mundane, but also in the ways that he shines a light on the small injustices of the world, the ones that hide in the places that society overlooks. He can pull the tragedy of the world into sharp and horrific focus. Sims really has created an innovative novel where everything falls into place within its thrilling climax.' - Fantasy Hive

A beautifully written contemporary horror novel that I know for sure will leave its mark on me. I don't remember reading anything like this before and it was an absolute delight. Rotating Protagonist: The novel consists of thirteen short stories, all featuring characters who either live or work in the same haunted apartment complex. Frank’s daughters, the Sons having been from generations long passed, couldn’t be more different from their father. Xen is brash and outgoing, while Mary is a thoughtful spirit. Diya feels like she has met some kindred souls. Maybe cleaning up after the dead won’t be so bad after all. Almost as soon as that realisation occurs, that’s the moment the nightmarish visions begin. Banyan Court has two sides to it, a wealthy side and a side put up shoddily, filled with poor workmanship, for the poor people, as legally a portion of the area had to be for low-income residents. The stories give a wide range of perspectives on it, from wealthy people who still aspire to be far wealthier to those struggling to make ends meet, and a few who simply work there. No spoilers but there is a point to some of the monotony and it really is worth pushing through...as the saying goes you can't fully appreciate the highs without the lows.I wasn't so sure about this at first because I've never actually read a horror book, I've read thrillers but never horror so it was a bit of a leap in the dark but I'm glad I chose this book. The fact that the plot is so unsubtle becomes even more sad because I know Jonny can write with subtlety from having listened to The Magnus Archives but so far I’ve seen none of that translated into either of his novels. It is that wonderful time of the year when plenty of new Gothic and horror novels appear, including spooky houses, tales of ghosts, vampires, witches and all things creepy. Yet ‘Family Business’ was different from the usual horror novel as indicated by its opening discussing cleaning products and processes.

The once impressive building now stands silent, casting a lonely eye over the dilapidated buildings below. A thirteen-storey tombstone to a man whose shadow still falls as darkly as that of his creation.’ Other than that I felt like I was beaten over the head with a hammer at every plot point like *boink* did you see what I did there? *boink* did you see that? *boink* in case you didn’t see that I’m gonna make my main character comment on it so that you won’t miss it *boink*. (It’s going boink because I’m imagining a ridiculous inflatable toy rather than an actual hammer, I don’t want my head to be literally bashed in by the plot).Don't get me wrong, I completely agreed with it. I just wasn’t expecting it and it took a bit away from the supernatural theme of the book for me. Once More, with Clarity: As the story recounts roughly the same number of days from the point-of-view of multiple characters, some events are bound to overlap and are retold from different angles. Once such example is James Andre's murder, which is first hinted at in Violet's story, is the centerpiece of Jason's story and further clarified upon in Damian's story.

The sadness that inhabits the main protagonist, Diya, feels palpable. The death of her best friend means she has lost one of the few constants in her life. She has been adrift in her own existence and it’s only the prospect of financial stability that finds her tidying up after the dead. Whilst I loved Thirteen Stories (and gave it 5 ⭐️ because again, I’m a hoe for JS), this felt like a marked improvement in Sims writing. He captured exactly the atmosphere of The Magnus Archives in written format: unsettling, creepy, body horror, and an incredibly loveable yet flawed cast of characters. This gave me major vibes of The Gentlemen from that one episode of Buffy (iykyk) and truly creeped me out at times (last nights reading was so atmospheric and was NOT helped by the dark house and thunderstorm in which I was reading it).Strange events, ghostly goings on, a snapshot of disparate and diverse lives as each separate character is lead inexorably towards one night in a penthouse suite that ends in visceral violence. It is scarily beautifully crafted, the author subtly linking each tale, carefully leading you to a brutal and edgy finale. I loved every minute of this despite the distinct feeling of underlying doom each separate strand offers. I really liked how interconnected Banyan Court and the lives inside it feel, and Sims deserves great credit for balancing all these different perspectives together nicely. There are some really original ideas at play across the book, and that is always more interesting than stories that play things to a tried-and-tested formula. Whilst I’d love to dwell on the creep factor - because I truly cannot overstate how well done I found it - I was also incredibly touched by Diya’s story. It hit very close to home for me as someone who lives with one of my besties and who catastrophises thanks to my good pal anxiety. What would my life look like if she suddenly disappeared from it? *shudder* no thanks! Also the way that grief and loss were handled was multidimensional and empathetic. We do not disappear after death. Small pieces of our being can remain, persisting in those places that were once so meaningful to us."* A few forgettable stories and a couple of personal gripes around formatting and the ending means I’m probably not as attached to Thirteen Storeys as some, however, it is still undoubtedly a must-read for any horror enthusiast looking for a good scare.

Family Business’ starts out quietly as Diya Burman seeks to come to terms with her best friend Angie’s recent death. Seeking a fresh start she joins Slough & Sons - a family firm that cleans up after the recently deceased. The reason I find this work to be a modern gothic masterpiece is for the literary purposes through which other gothic/horror writers have exercised the fears prevalent in society at the time of their conceptions (e.g., Frankenstein and the fear of modern science replacing God, Dracula and its overt sexuality and xenophobic tendencies). Many of the tales in Thirteen Storeys are excellent. I particularly enjoyed the second story, about a man becoming overly obsessed with his new artwork. The young girl and her imaginary friend who is actually a ghost is a common trope, but one Sims executes extremely well due to focusing on the specificity of this girl and this spirit. Sleepless was another exceptional chapter, as it dealt with the horror of its protagonist realizing she couldn’t trust her own mind.There is some slight overlap between a few of the stories, but it is nothing major, just a gentle nudge, a whisper on the wind. Occasionally, seemingly innocent and innocuous sentences that mention in passing events and characters from the other stories have been cleverly added to the narrative that will make you question what you have already read. I know that after writing in the previous paragraph that the stories are separate that I sound like I am contradicting myself, I’m not. Each story can easily be read separately with the endpoint for each being the individual character receiving their dinner party invitation. The overlap doesn’t change that, at all, is only very minor and simply serves to make you ruminate further on the stories and adds a little extra layering and depth to the complete story. How We Got Here: The book opens with an Op-Ed on the mysterious disappearance of reclusive billionaire Tobias Fell after a dinner party he threw. The rest of the book chapter by chapter introduces the books guests before ending in said dinner party. Thirteen Storeys is the debut novel of Jonathan Sims, head writer and voice actor for the horror podcast The Magnus Archives. Given the immense popularity of The Magnus Archives, it’s not much of a surprise that Thirteen Storeys works in a very similar vein of horror. Sims really has created an innovative novel where everything falls into place within its thrilling climax. it is a story about standing up to a status quo that says it will protect you while it grinds others like you up for its own needs, and hurries to leave the spot they occupied in the world neat and tidy so no one is bothered by thinking too deeply about it. xen is right at home.