Hillam Hall

By: Sandy Settle

Narrated by: Sandy Settle

Somewhere on the desolate moors of Victorian England sits a monolithic black house. It is not merely a haunted mansion, but a yawning gateway unto the chaotic evil of the cosmos. Emmaline Heath, a dark-haired young woman fleeing a tortured past, is sent to live in its monstrous wings under the care of her godfather Carax Hillam. But it is not only the sinister Hillam Hall and its guardian that await her there on the blasted heath: with them are a horde of Lovecraftian Elder gods, tortured ghosts, a familiar and fair stranger, and her own immense destiny.

With the help of the souls of two damned lovers, Red Eyre and Black Tom, a strange hare-like familiar called Hum, and her fated and melancholy love from beyond time, Hyland, Emmaline will come to know her own true nature–as a witch, and a being far greater than humankind–and with this knowledge accept her destiny as the one who will close the cosmic gateway the dreaded Hillam Hall sits upon, before the hellish armies of eldritch night can pour forth upon the world.

Hillam Hall is an epic dark tale that integrates several gothic traditions (classic horror, Lovecraftian cosmic/eldritch, and romance) into an amalgamation of the best elements of each, giving it a singularity that is both rooted in the best horror traditions and fresh in its tonality. This book will appeal to fans of the cosmic horror of H.P. Lovecraft (At the Mountains of Madness), the classic gothic works of Edgar Allan Poe (The Fall of the House of Usher), Mary Shelley (Frankenstein) and Emily Brontë (Wuthering Heights), and the dark romances of Anne Rice (The Witching Hour) while bringing a contemporary feminism and fresh voice of its own upon the trappings of the genre.

©2022 Sandra DeVito (P)2022 Sandra DeVito

Absolutely perfect for a gothic horror romance

Hillam Hall is nothing short of brilliant and enthralling. Perfect for a gothic horror romance full of squelching, beautiful imagery. As an enormous horror lover (body horror, Lovecraftian, supernatural, especially) I loved her voice and the way she described these other-worldly, eldritch horrors. It hits the ground running and doesn't let up. It gives every description meaning and builds this cursed mansion so organically in your brain that you actually crave more architectural detail all the while being entranced by the horrors that Emmaline was born into. And don't even get me started on how much I loved Emmaline's genuine empathy for the world, regardless of what she has been through.

Oh, and this is her first published novel. I honestly forgot sometimes while listening to this, because I immediately wanted the next book as soon as it was over. I *highly* recommend the audio book, Settle reads it herself and, once again, it was hard to believe this was her first time doing so. The emotion she gives everything just makes it all the more captivating.

I adored reading this book, easily a new favorite of mine.