Saturday, May 4, 2013

Review: 14 by Peter Clines

I was drawn to 14 by Peter Clines by the blurb. In particular by,   "Because every room in this old Los Angeles brownstone has a mystery or two. Mysteries that stretch back over a hundred years. Some of them are in plain sight. Some are behind locked doors. And all together these mysteries could mean the end of Nate and his friends. 
Or the end of everything"

I was expecting a haunted apartment building. Or possessed tenants.  Or some combination of both. What I got was a lot weirder than that. I can't say too much or else it will give away spoilers. 

Nate and his friends in the building start to explore.  They discover that no two apartments are the same and that each apartment has it's own unique weirdness. Their impromptu Scooby gang continues to explore looking for explanations and finds much, much more than they expected. 

My favorite characters in the book were Nate and Veek. Veek is the one who gets Nate turned onto exploring the weirdness in the building. Until he meets her, he thinks it's just in his apartment. Many of the other characters lack depth, but they aren't playing big parts either, so it feels okay. 

It was hard to suspend my disbelief at some points until I realized which other famous author's universe Clines was playing in. That said, Clines keeps it original. And he keeps it moving for the most part. I read the first 80% of the book very quickly. I actually missed some sleep because I needed to know what happened next. Some of the last part of the book though, where there was the most action, moved the slowest. And there was a plot line near the end that seemed to be tacked on as if the author thought the main problem was solved too easily or quickly and needed one more complication.

Still, overall it's a good book. I enjoyed reading it. I could easily see it as a movie. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. I think you would like it if you like urban fantasy type horror. It is not a paranormal. 

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

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