Welcome to Litsy!

Who else but the writer of true-life horrors could produce a ghost story built upon historical accuracy, mixed with a dash of macabre and suspense? This audiobook-only story was the perfect end to October, as the author said many times in the forward and credits: ghost stories are best to be heard, not read.

A narrative fiction from Erik Larson?!?! Yes please!

And a ghost story to boot for All Hallow‘s Eve!

Not the same intensity and poignancy of his historical masterpieces, but Larson chose a time period and subject that still interested me: paranormal mysteries, sinister psychological forces, otherworldly messages, and psychic phenomena; in pre-WWI on the Isle of Dorn. A fine line between observable reality and supernatural terror can make an astonishingly spine-chilling scenario. Only on audio, great narration 👻☠️

#Pantone2023
#RushAThon

This is a soft pick for me. I like the historical details but generally felt like the story moved pretty slowly. The main character grated on me a bit and I didn‘t feel connected to the others much either. My favorite parts were the last couple chapters which are the creepiest. And the author‘s note was pretty interesting also.

It‘s only available via Audible, which limits its reach. If you can‘t access it, you aren‘t missing much.

54/22 It was interesting listening to this straight after The Haunting of Hill House. I would be very surprised if one was not a homage to the other, there were so many similarities. I seem to be reading a lot surrounding the war years for #scarathlon. I suppose that setting only adds to the darkness of the atmosphere. I quite enjoyed this and the ending left me thinking… I can‘t say more then that. #teammonstermash wordsearch- 540 pts

I love the concept of a ghost story in which the characters are trying to either prove or disprove that the house is haunted. The narrator did a fabulous job.

Lardon‘s first foray into fiction was neither wonderful nor terrible. I do agree that this story needed to be told as an audiobook vs written text as I don‘t think the anxiety and fear would‘ve come across as well in text. #scarathlon #TeamMonsterMash #spookoween #bookspinbingo #littenlisten #31by31 #pointsathon +366 pts

I‘m onto my 3rd #scarathlon audiobook. This one, I just came across on Libby when looking for something spooky 👻#teammonstermash

My current listen - a #ghost story with some historical facts layered into the story. Mr. Bibliophage is listening with me, and his comment after about 4 hours is, “wow, those men are sexist.” He‘s not wrong, since it‘s set in 1905. Still, there are seriously creepy vibes. 👻

#teammonstermash #scarathlon2022 #scarathlondailyprompts

This was a good one. I liked the mystery and the paranormal aspects. Worth the time. I recommend.

Next up!
So far it‘s good. I‘m less than an hour into it.

Who doesn‘t want to read a ghost story grounded in History? Larson is one of my fave writers of historical non-fiction, and this story shows us that he is just as adept at exploring the past through fiction. No One Goes Alone is spooky, atmospheric, and historically accurate. It‘s beautifully produced in audio, building tension with expertise. A fun, engaging novel. If you love History and ghosts, this is for you.

It kills me to give this a so-so, being a big fan of Larson's non-fiction books, but I just didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted. I thought the author did a fine job emulating the style of an early 19th century ghost story, and he does well building the sense of dread and malicious intent, but I found the ending pretty meh. 3 👻👻👻

This is an audio book only, as Larson felt that ghost stories are meant to be told aloud. Great idea! Also great title, and (usually) great author. I was more interested in the author‘s note at the end (at least it held my attention more) than the story itself. This did not hold my interest. It felt like a classic – slow, not much happened.

#NoOneGoesAlone #ErikLarson
#DoubleSpin #NovelNovember

This is Erik Larson's first attempt at Fiction. It is a ghost story grounded in history. Psychologist William James leads an expedition to a remote isle in search of answers after a family vanishes. Was the cause rooted in the physical world or were there forces more paranormal and sinister at work? It is only available on audio, because Larson says, ghost stories are best told aloud.

Reviews of Larson‘s new (fiction!) audio-only release are… not good. I really enjoyed it anyway. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Part gothic ghost story, part Lovecraftian horror, part closed-room/deserted island mystery, all with a serious historical fiction undercurrent and Larson‘s signature excellent narrative writing style. Very well-done audio that creeped me out thoroughly on my evening audiowalks and gave me goosebumps. Love the author‘s note, too.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🎧 The feeling I get from this story is that of watching an old black & white ghost story on TV late at night. Creature Features!

It‘s 1907, a bunch of egg heads are now on an island in the North Atlantic investigating the disappearance of a family.

There‘s an info dump or 2 but the writing‘s engaging if you can transport yourself to 1907 in your mind. You‘ll recognize some real people interspersed within the fictional characters.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 👇🏻

After reading the description I was expecting a spooky ghost story, but what I got was a dull locked room mystery. The ending was exceptionally anticlimactic. Since this was an audiobook only, I was expecting a lot from the narration but it didn‘t deliver either. The narrator made every character‘s voice the same. It would have really benefited from multiple narrators and possibly some sound effects to liven things up.

My so-so rating on this book is severely impacted by my being frequently distracted while listening to the audiobook. For whatever reason, I wasn‘t able to fully devote my attention to it. So I think it had a lot of potential that I just wasn‘t able to appreciate. Would love to try it again sometime. I think it is a perfect listen for October, with the Victorian era haunted house gothic vibe.

Meredith from Currently Reading Podcast can talk me into almost anything (case in point: who knew I‘d love mermaid horror!) in order to read this audio original ghost story during spooky time I have to subscribe to Audible again. I‘m seriously thinking of it. She made it sound so good!