The Good House

By: Tananarive Due

Narrated by: Robin Miles

Length: 21 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Tananarive Due, author of The Living Blood won the American Book Award and is praised as Stephen King's equal by Publishers Weekly. In The Good House, Due sets a story of ancient powers and modern retribution in a small Pacific Northwest town. When a young woman returns to her grandmother's empty mansion, she is pitted against demonic forces that have poisoned her family for generations.

©2003 Tananarive Due (P)2004 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"Due handles the potentially unwieldy elements of her novel with confidence, cross-cutting smoothly from past to present, introducing revelatory facts that alter the interpretation of earlier scenes and interjecting powerfully orchestrated moments of supernatural horror that sustain the tale's momentum....[Due is] a writer who grows better with each book." (Publishers Weekly)

Big Overture, Little Show

I chose this book because of its length, and it kept me throughly engrossed through most of it. I had hoped that the final showdown between "good" and "evil" would be more thrilling, but it ended with little more than a whimper; then it became a Dallas episode (when Pam saw Bobby in the shower).

The beginning and middle were outstanding and the narrator fantastic, but in the end, perhaps more time should have been given to the finale than to the many background stories.

Nevertheless, it was worth the listen.

Great Horror Story!

I love horror stories that make me shudder. This one is excellent. A family moves to a small Northwest town and Angela's grandmother's house and has to fight the evil that lives there.

First, I want to warm people that it starts off with the suicide of a teenage boy. Having a son that age I was thinking of stopping right there. I am so glad I stuck with it. It starts off a little slow then gets going so well that I could not stop listening.

The prose is wonderful and the story went places I did not expect. The end is amazing! I did not know how she was going to get there, but Tananarive Due made it happen in a way that made me love it. Lots of twists and turns. You can tell she gave the story a lot of thought when you see how it fits all together in the end.

The narration is very well done. At times I forgot I was listening to someone talk because the narrator just put the pictures in my head like reading a book does. That's the sign of a good narrator to me. It is interesting how the story moves from the main character Angela, to her son Cory, and her husband and you get a feeling for their thoughts and feelings.

The story reminded me a little (and not in any copy cat sort of way) of Stephen King's Rose Red, because these two stories are the ultimate haunted houses. As in Rose Red, not everyone makes it out OK. Some people succomb to evil.

I also really loved the perspective. The family in the story is clearly African American and their perspective is different from mine. A good novel can take you into someone else's life and the author does this well. Loved seeing how other families have the some of the same and some different issues and how they go about handling them.

I can't say enough good about this book. Extremely well done! If you like the horror genre you shouldn't miss this one.

Very long, bland... a mediocre horror story.

I must be missing something with this novel and I'll try it again in 6-8 months because so many reviewers rave about it. I found it tedious but good for a road trip...which was funny in a way because as the writer discusses a drive from Portland Intl. Airport to Longview WA I was making the same drive. Syncronicity?

I like horror stories, enjoy being scared and I dont mind long novels because I commute a great deal. But I do appreciate a strong plot and this bood didn't show that, to me. There was a lot of back story jumping around, which shouldn't be that hard to follow, however I found it confusing. I didn't find strong character development and there was plenty of opportunity for it, if you don't have a good plot or good character development, what do you have? For me it was a mediocre book.

I was, however, impressed with the narrator and if it wasnt for her vibrant voice and ability to impart some excitement into the novel, I would have scored it lower. Kudos to Robin Miles for rescuing this slow to develop story.

I know I'm in the minority here but this book just didn't thrill me like s horror thriller should.

Very Enjoyable listen!

Best narrator so far! Looking forward to hearing Robin Miles again!!! Really took me in.

mispronunciations

I am not quite halfway through the book and am enjoying it very much. The narrator does a very good job with one exception. Local place names are consistently mispronounced. Longview happens to be my hometown so I am aware of the errors that others might not notice. Granted, Skamakowa is not the easiest name to figure out (ska-mock'-away) but I feel it is important for readers to do their research before reading. I have run across this same type of error in the past and find it distracts from the story. All that said, I will continue to listen and if the second half is as good as the first, I will also continue to enjoy this book.

Taut Supernatural Thriller

Would you listen to The Good House again? Why?

Not really. Once you know the resolution, it's hard to relive it.

Would you be willing to try another book from Tananarive Due? Why or why not?

Yes, she writes with elegance and weaves her many characters in with skill.

Which character – as performed by Robin Miles – was your favorite?

It's hard to choose, because she is so talented that she brought each character alive. It was difficult to believe that she was the same person - from Grandma Marie's island lilt to the streetwise attitude of Angela's son - Robin Miles has an amazing range. I would happily hear another book narrated by her.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, as I said, it was somewhat uneven and didn't hold my attention all the time.

Any additional comments?

Tananarive Due is certainly the equal of Stephen King, writing with a discipline that he often lacks, especially at the end of the book.

Outstanding

Reading horror has never engaged my interest as reading material. I read Freedom in the Family by Tananarive and her mom and was impressed. She mentions writing and since I liked Freedom, I decided to read this.

The story builds slowly and engages you. I loved the character development. Before I knew it I could not put it down. I can't wait to see what she will write next!

Brilliant.. and then the ending!

from the start i knew i was going to give this one a 5 stars, but then the ending just ruined it for me. still a good read.

Intresting, very intresting

Not what I expected. Story of a land and a family, and curse that follows them through out generations. At some points its confusing because it jumps back and forth between times, but the narrator does a good job of changes the voices that tell you there is a change. The narrator does a good job through out the whole book of the different characters male and female. the author does a good job of stringing you along leaving you with hints and wanting to know more, all the way to the end... and then end... NOT AT ALL what I was expecting, its a game changer to the whole story.

Good story

A bit wordy and dragged towards the end but a worthwile read-enjoyed the narrator