Stadler House

Book One - Anna

By: Roger Alderman Jr.

Narrated by: Cameren Asherbranner, Henry Brandt

Length: 1 hr and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

After a near-death experience changes a young orphaned child’s life forever, the benevolent Dr. Stadler uses his bleeding-edge therapy to help her and other children at his group home return to a life of normalcy.

This short story brings to life the challenges faced when trying to help a small group of children survive their common pasts. The characters in the story include:

• Rodney: Nearly froze to death but watched as his sister was taken
• Julie: Almost successful in her final attempt to end her life but was plucked from the moment of death
• Tyler: A teen substance abuser was saved by emergency room doctors after overdosing
• Anna: A young orphan who narrowly survived her brush with death due to a house fire
• John: Felt the jaws of his uncles' feral dogs around his throat but was saved by from death by paramedics
• Emily: The only child who has never had a brush with death

What do all the residents of The Stadler Group Home truly have in common? The answer will shock and terrify you.

If you love horror and want to listen to the next great horror tale, then scroll up and click on the “buy now” button.

©2017 Roger Alderman (P)2019 Roger Alderman

Decent Short

I enjoyed this short horror book but wished it was longer and more in depth. Anna is one evil child (if she is truly a child). Enjoyed Dr Sadler and his wife Maggie and their willingness to help children. Look forward to next installment. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. Thank you

Creepy If Minimalistic Story

So the setting of this story was interesting with the framing idea being a doctor bringing children who were close to death
to an isolated house in the premise of trying to help them with their drama. Well that's probably not 100% altruistic, but it's overshadowed by the main antagonist of this story and as the horror rises it's pretty darn creepy as hell.

As I mention in the title it is pretty minimalist, passing maybe as a novella or a novelette and kind of being in the middle where you could see it as maybe a stronger short story if you removed some of the unnecessary events, or as a stronger novella or short novel where the author's allowed to build the characters up more. As it is it's still entertaining and an interesting take on some common themes. It's definitely meant to be the start of a series and I would not mind being along for the ride on the next installment.

I received the review code for this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this honest review.

Pretty Good Short Horror

While the book as a whole felt a bit rushed to me (and as a result, not fleshed out enough) I enjoyed it nonetheless. An interesting story about a couple seeking to help children who've had traumatic brushes with death, "Stadler House" is a spooky tale with fun horror elements. I noticed that there were some strange writing techniques (over use of character's names, staccato sentences with barren descriptions, etc) but perhaps Roger Alderman Jr. was after something that I didn't quite get. The narrators did a fine job of bringing this story to life.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Cheating death

Stadler House is a book that is beyond horrific. The home is supposed to be there to help kids but there is a lot of devious things going on and not just with the doctor. I swear this book is going to give me all kinds of nightmare with the descriptive narration. The storyline is strong even if the characters are not strong mentally. I can't wait to read the next book because this one left me want to read more. I received this audio book at my request. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review of my own volition. I highly recommend this book if you love twisted horror stories.

Really good story... just not enough of it

I rather enjoyed this story. I just wished I had noticed how short it was before starting it. Maybe if I had, I wouldn't have felt so disappointed at the end.

I remember thinking "wow, this book is holding no punches. From the gate it's balls to the wall". Little did I know, I was already at the climax. But that's on me. That was my mistake.

I think the author has done a great job in this story. It's an interesting plot for sure. I just wished it wasn't so rushed. I'm hoping the plan is to create a fully realized short story (like this one) for each of the children in the book. Then amassed into one full length book. That would be incredible and something I would certainly look forward to.

I was given a free review copy audiobook and have voluntarily left this review.

Didn't really do it for me

If you're afraid of blood and gore, this book isn't for you. While it isn't as over the top as many others out there, the scenes are descriptive enough to leave you chilling.

Oddly, while those scenes were well-described, I found everything else to be pretty drab. There's a number of scenes (including the one at the dinner table) that simply go: "John passed the plate. Dr Stadler took a sausage. Jane took the plate. Jack teased Jane. Jane stuck her tongue out". It was almost as if it were originally written as a screenplay, but even then it was pretty repetitive and annoying. It wasn't just that scene either. Many scenes simply used names over and over "She kissed Dr Stadler. Dr Stadler drew closer to her. She took Dr Stadler's hand".

It should be noted that I was provided this book in exchange for my honest review. In the end, I found the story decent, but the writing/storytelling extremely rough. It seems this is a series, but I can't say that I'm enthused to go any further.

A great introduction to the series!

At my request, I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for my honest review.

This book was pretty intense. It’s short, but I believe it was meant to be that way. It introduces the series’ main character, Anna, in all her diabolical glory;

Seemingly a sweet little girl who’s been traumatized by dying and being brought back to life, she enters a group home for kids like her to continue a new type of therapy. Events quickly change and the true nature of her resuscitation and recovery is revealed.

That’s all I can reveal for now, as I don’t want to spoil the book for any potential readers. I will say that I’m very much looking forward to the rest of the series.

I highly recommend Stadler House to anyone who loves horror, suspense, and thrillers. 👍🏼👍🏼

Could have been better

Although it had some interesting moments, it was a bit dull and drab. It was difficult to hold my attention in some parts as it just seemed wordy to fill time. It's not bad, but not good either. Just kind of there. I wish it had grabbed me like it seemed to with other reviewers.