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The Broken Hours

A Novel of H. P. Lovecraft

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The Broken Hours

By: Jacqueline Baker
Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
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About this listen

In the cold spring of 1936, Arthor Crandle, down-on-his luck and desperate for work, accepts a position in Providence, Rhode Island, as a live-in secretary/assistant for an unnamed shut-in.

He arrives at the gloomy colonial-style house to discover that his strange employer is an author of disturbing, bizarre fiction. Health issues have confined him to his bedroom, where he is never to be disturbed. But the writer, who Crandle knows only as "Ech-Pi", refuses to meet him, communicating only by letters left on a table outside his room. Soon the home reveals other unnerving peculiarities. There is an ominous presence Crandle feels on the main stairwell. Light shines out underneath the door of the writer's room, but is invisible from the street. It becomes increasingly clear there is something not right about the house or its occupant.

Haunting visions of a young girl in a white nightgown wandering the walled-in garden behind the house motivate Crandle to investigate the circumstances of his employer's dark family history. Meanwhile, the unsettling aura of the house pulls him into a world increasingly cut off from reality, into black depths, where an unspeakable secret lies waiting.

©2016 Jacqueline Baker (P)2016 Audible, Inc. Biographical Fiction Fiction Genre Fiction Gothic Horror Literary Fiction Scary Science Fiction Biography
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Loved it! Not sure why but I will look for more work by this author.

Quirky

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Poor old Howard Philips has been badly used over the years but this is a nice change from the numerous attempts to carry on the mythos and add some tentacles to prosaic yarns.
Nice work Ms Baker.

Refreshing

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I really enjoyed this book! There are lots of twists and turns, and you never really get to the bottom of it. I loved that sense of not being 100% sure what happened, and it’s even more interesting because of the links to H. P. Lovecraft (I did a lot of googling afterwards!)

It felt very much of the horror genre but not gory or unpleasant - I would definitely recommend.

Different and enjoyable

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The real Lovecraft was a master of mood and tone. He had little skill or interest in writing characters. Bearing those things in mind, I think he'd have liked this. Like Grampa, Ms. Baker conjures up a believable, convincing world with a looming atmosphere of the dark & weird. Also, like her inspiration, the characters in this are flat with only the narrator really having anything to him! And then there is the story. Or rather, there isn't! Essentially nothing happens! A more imaginative writer could pull this off, Caitlin Kiernan's "The Red Tree" springs to mind. But for all its excellence in setting up the tone, it's disappointing that the author then does nothing with it!

So, rather mixed feelings; the good is very very good. Unfortunately, the bad is pretty bad.

Mood over Story

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I was a litle worried because of the reviews but this is a great story, and yes it does have an ending. Excellent writing, very athmospheric, captivating. I was thinking all the time I need to re-read Lovecraft's biography just to calm my curiosity. I loved the slow metamorphosis and the eerie way the characters helped it come about. If you like H.P. Lovecraft's fiction you will enjoy this psychological story. The narrator was excellent!

Great story!

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After reading the reviews I was in two minds on listening
To the people that say this book has no ending, The title has the words, A novel of H.P. Lovecraft, there’s your massive clue.
If you know about him, the book will make sense. It’s tried for the feel of his books too.
H.P was only 46 when he died, and he’s influenced so many authors.

Didn’t know what to expect

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An okay listen, gloomy and well written, however I’m not sure the ending really finished the story off or whether I missed something important. A slight disappointment.

Not the best

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maybe I missed something !it was o e of those books that get your mind racing about the possibilities of the ending .I felt the ending in my head was better than the books good narration

strong start

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I stuck with this convoluted tale to the end, against my better judgement, hoping all would be revealed. It wasn`t. I read a lot of actual H.P. Lovecraft as a teen but this wasn`t anything like it, except in the dreary relentless atmosphere, which I found exhausting and in the end quite disappointing. The narrator made a good stab at reading it and his voice was easy on the ear, but sadly, the story itself was lacking in content and the loose ends were left hanging as if the writer got bored with it and, having written a quota of pages, simply gave up.

A Long Eight Hours Listen for Not Much Reward.

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I’ve no idea what the conclusion of this book is 😂
Performed beautifully though, narrator has a really nice, soothing voice

Strange book

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