The House of Tongues

By: James Dashner

Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner

Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

The author of the New York Times best-selling Maze Runner series leads us on a dark journey of generational horror as we visit The House of Tongues.

David Player has spent 30 years trying to forget the traumas of his childhood. The threats, the kidnappings, the murders. The imagined curses of a people born centuries earlier, passed from father to son, mother to daughter, generation to generation. Its climax came in human form, a monster of a man, one of the most notorious serial killers the nation has ever seen: Pee Wee Gaskins. And Gaskins had a particular hatred for the Player family, then for David, himself, who barely escaped those years with his own life intact.

Now David is back, his four children in tow, visiting his parents' home, a place he has learned to cherish despite the evils that haunted his younger days. But no sooner does he return than a stranger visits their doorstep, the son of Pee Wee Gaskins. In a terrifying display, right in front of the kids, the man utters threats until he chokes on his own tongue, sparking a series of events that drag David and his family back into the days of curses and murders, onto a path of unimaginable terror. That path leads to an old gothic tower in the woods, a place David had blocked from his memory, a house of horrors both past and present. The House of Tongues.

©2021 James Dashner (P)2021 Tantor

Great twist from Dashner!

Exciting, new style from Dashner. Sure to keep you up wanting more.
Highly recommend for horror fans!

Great story

Overall it was a pretty good story. It was a little confusing at the beginning but once I understood what was going on I couldn't stop listening.

Scary and creepy in the best way!

Very intriguing! Pulls you in through every word. Keeps you hooked all the way through.

Creepy and good

Kept me wondering what in the world the entire time. Which is a good thing. Excellent narration.

Surprisingly Good!

Story 5/5
Narration 5/5

Wow! What a surprise! This is the best fiction I've read in a long time... and it has an actual, real-life serial killer as a character.

Highly recommended

Great Story, But...

...the narration was too mellow, soothing, and low key for this particular tale. I loved the writing, and the style, however the narration style didn't fit the book. Still definitely worth the listen!

Enjoyable but there are some holes

Good attempt at getting into horror. I applaud the author, and found the story and characters entertaining. There was a ton of development where there did not need to be and giant plot holes where more detail and backstory were needed. Left me with a bunch of unanswered questions. Those questions alone do not ruin the story but would have overall made for more in-depth of a backstory. Narrator was sub par.

The biggest ball sack ever! You’ll yell at him multiple times!

After yelling at the biggest ball sack ever!!! You’ll want to murder him yourself!!! Absolutely 💯 guarantee it! And it was actually drawn out way far… you’ll yell at that too… but … hey! That may be your cup of tea.. you’ll never know till you try it 😁

A hard to put down, witty, and bloody thriller

I think I finished the book in 3 sittings total. I just had to know what was going to happen next. At no point in the story is it ever dull or slow. There's actual consequences from everyone's actions throughout. The dual timeline storytelling works well in this situation, however, it does make a few of the characters' fates more certain. The only shortcoming of the book is the ending. More specifically the explanation as to why there have been so many murders. It's not real clear as to why without doing your own research which took away from the big reveal.

A bit all over the place but enjoyable

Even though it was a bit all over the place, I still enjoyed it. I'm a fan of dark and twisted tales so this was up my alley. Great writing and narration!