I have a theory that being an atheist takes a lot of shock and terror out of reading religion-themes horror novels and watching movies in the same vein. All my life I’ve never had a single issue watching horror movies or reading horror novels with religious themes because I’m an atheist. My mom is terrified of The Exorcist. Me? Not even a tiny grimace. I get more terrified of things like The Purge, because that actually feels like something that could happen. 

That’s what I think happened while I was reading The House of Last Resort. If I was in any way scared of demons or interested in the concept of evil as anything else but a moral subjective then maybe this book would have rated higher for me. But I’m me, and I’m the type of person who says, “Evil is morally subjective and therefore doesn’t exist”. 

The concept is definitely more high-concept than some horror novels and I actually really enjoyed it: I can’t say my kids and I haven’t seen those videos and articles online where you can move to isolated villages in France or Italy and purchase a home for x amount of dollars or even for free as long as you fulfill x amount of conditions and not thought, “That might actually be a great thing to do,” for some of the exact same reasons the characters in this book did it. I also enjoyed the general flow of the book, the dialogue, and the world-building. 

In the end, it’s only me that’s got me not liking the book so much, and it’s just because we didn’t vibe well. I still say give it go if you like demons, ghosts, the evils of organized religion (especially the Catholic Church), and poorly-timed earthquakes.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.