Hotel California

A Short Story

By: Davina Rush

Narrated by: Tom Jordan

Length: 54 mins

Publisher's summary

On a dark desert highway, hidden from sight, there is a place that exists just beyond the shadows. A place that calls to the broken, the lost, and the tormented who wander the desolate roads of night. Temptation to leave the world behind presents itself as a beautiful seductress offering a variety of exquisite pleasures, luring you further into the dream. But elegant parties and pretty faces quickly dissolve into the stuff of nightmares as the door closes and the feast begins. Welcoming smiles become gnashing teeth in a prison of your own making, the gilded cage devouring everything it receives. And still, I hear those voices calling me from somewhere far away, you can check out anytime you like, but no one ever leaves the Hotel California.

©2017 Davina Rush (P)2017 Davina Rush

A great read and very captivating.

Wow Davina, talk about a GREAT book.
A very good story and very captivating.
You couldn't have picked a better man than Tom Jordan to narrate it either.
Your book and his voice made for a great evening. We really enjoyed it.
Thank you,
Lady-Q

Fantastic

Captivating and very well written. I love how much detail went into each character. I hope to read more stories from this author again in the near future.

interesting concept,Had me thinking. Liked the end

Always thought story's could be written from song lyrics,This song's always baffled me.Interesting interpretation. Liked .

A thrilling short story that does a brilliant play on lyrics

Hotel California is a thrilling short story that does a brilliant play on the lyrics of the well-loved song by that name. I really enjoyed the author’s take on the lyrics. I’ve always had an image in my own mind of what the song meant, and I think rendition is much more entertaining – I love the ending. Tom Jordan’s voice lent is a depth and imagery that transported me into this magical world with credulity. What a great short story – I thoroughly recommend it.

Gripping to the end!

I was thoroughly drawn into the story by the hints of familiar lyrics. From there the tale takes your mind through an abyss. I was fascinated by the descriptive characters and the twist.
The story was very well written, and the narrator was perfect for the part!

So close to being great

Any additional comments?

The famous Eagle's song is turned into a heart-breaking narrative.

Dark beginnings, self-destruction, and a tragedy beyond simple survivor's guilt lead a man into a gothic horror thick with dream logic. Rich visuals and gothic archetypes of a temptress, a devil figure, decadence leading to punishment, and unambiguous lines between good and evil made for a compelling story in which you can easily lose yourself.

The downfall is the Eagle's song and its lyrics. Some aspects of the lyrics are central to the setting and mood; these are fine. In particular, the heaven and hell dichotomy and not being able to leave. However, these are the minority. Far too many scenes serve no function except to incorporate the lyrics for their own sake. This cheapened and distracted from an otherwise engaging horror full of fantasy, tragedy, and pain. The feast, for example, was set up only to mirror the song. But with a little more effort, the devil-figure could have been more of a presence and the food's reveal could have been used as a twist which reflected the main character's sins and guilt.

I've listened to many books by this narrator and this book is consistent with the quality I've come to expect. His telling of this story remains low and grim without being flat.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Honest attempt at a predictable story

Hotel California, the short story, is basically just what you expected it to be. Davina did use her imagination and the result is an entertaining hour-long excursion into what, just maaaybe, those Eagles were thinking (in interviews they intentionally leave it vague to let the fans draw their own conclusions and keep the mystery alive).

I felt like the imagery here occasionally matched where my imagination would take me, listening to the song, so perhaps that's a credit to Davina keeping things obscure enough that as a book it would always be better than a made for Hollywood movie.

I give the story three stars because it's forgettable. In short order I won't remember anything in particular about it, and that's okay. It was a fleeting guilty pleasure and I appreciate that it exists. Expecting more from this work is really a tall ask since the duration is short.