House of the Beast blew me away. From start to finish, I was hooked by a world that grew more compelling with each page and a protagonist constantly toeing the edge between monster and savior. The fight scenes are some of the best I’ve ever read, the settings are perfectly executed, and the plot hums along masterfully. I’m left floored that this is the first novel from Michelle Wong, and I’ll be anxiously awaiting her future work. 

The Best Bits

A Few of My Favorite Things

Again with the Fight Scenes

I honestly loved everything about this book but the fight scenes were breathtaking in their execution. We all know how hard it is to write a compelling fight scene. It’s a mix between individual strokes, actions and thoughts, all leading to a hopefully satisfying conclusion. Each of the fight scenes (and there are many) feels intricately crafted, taking you through each second of the encounter. You feel like you’re right in the middle of the action and I found myself drawn into cheering for the protagonist wholeheartedly. There’s just something about how well these scenes are done, and I honestly can’t wait to go back and reread a few of them. An epic scene with a steampunk-style behemoth kicks it all off and it only gets better from there. 

A Rich World Filled with Wannabes

The world itself is so interesting, filled with families blessed by gods, the people who serve them, and everyone else. Everyone is constantly fighting for power while smiling at each other around town and at official functions. You never know who is an ally or who will stab you in the back. There are known and secret alliances, some of which clash against each other. There are so many rules about how society functions and how the pilgrimage that makes up the back half of the book is undertaken. The majority of the people surrounding this story are terrible, and I lived for it. It’s a world desperate for power that sits in the clouds above a sprawling city, and if that isn’t fascinating, I don’t know what is. 

The Upside Down

The other side of the gate is truly horrifying and brings in unexpected horror elements that really added to the final third of the book. The book starts with training, revenge and anger against the family who tore Alma away from her mother and then shunned her. It continues with a fight to get to the actual pilgrimage, circumventing rules, hateful rich people, and a few attempts to strike her down. By the time we get to the world on the other side of the portal, so much has happened and it’s hard to imagine where else the book could go. Bring in eldritch monsters, a disintegrating city, and a secret so surprising I found myself shouting ‘what’ to the empty air. The monsters are gross, shocking, and exactly what one would expect from eldritch horrors. 

The Plot, The Plot, The Plot

This is Wong’s true triumph. There is so much constantly going on in this book and it’s plotted to perfection. There are no slow moments, no chapters that feel unnecessary or scenes that are stretched to fill space. Every sentence and paragraph has its place in the story, and it all builds to an explosive conclusion that feels completely satisfying. In my opinion, this is fantasy storytelling at its finest.