As one who is drawn to tales of haunted houses/places, I had a good feeling about this novella…and I wasn’t wrong. Barzak created memorable characters and naturally wove their stories together with the Button House. The writing held a certain amount of elegance that you almost forget you’re reading horror at certain moments.

Readers learn about Button House through the murmurs of the townspeople who have watched it consume its residents over time. The love and comradery that this small town community has for its members is heartwarming even if the tales they have to tell aren’t always hopeful. After seeing it destroy so many in the past, when the house calls to a dear young resident the townspeople feel called to action.

Thank you to Psychopomp and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy of this book. I loved it so much that I didn’t want it to end. I have already added all of Barzak’s backlist to my TBR!

This was a novella of about 100 pages. From the first page there is a lot going on. The story is unusual as it is told by many of the townspeople and the experiences they have had with the house.
The chapters are short and very fast paced with an overall creepy vibe to them.
I loved the brief history you are given of the house and the families that have lived there.
This would be a great read for the upcoming spooky season.

A compact, intense, fast-paced haunted house novella told in collective voice. This was really fun and what a short horror story should be!

The Button house just like most people, has a history. It is a good history and bad history. This house has stood for many generations and has seen many families come and go. The latest owners Rose could hear voices coming from the house and she always wanted to solve the mystery of the house. This is a really good novella for someone who love short hunted house telling’s. the pacing was amazing and there was never a dull moment while I was reading.
Thank you NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
#AVoiceCalling #NetGalley

A very different type of haunted house book. The story was told from the past to present. I really enjoy books written this way because it is nice to know the back story as the new story progresses. This book was not terribly spooky just had a creeping dread to it. Once you discover all the secrets to the house, the reader is quite glad to not live in a place such as this. This book was fast paced and I will recommend it to others.

Button House has stood for generations, digging its roots and its rot deeper and deeper. Button House would consume all who approached: And then came Rose Billings. Rose can hear the house. But is the house truly haunted? Of course the house is haunted.

In such a small amount of pages, Barzak manages to tell such a big story. Reminiscent of a Poe reading, this one is told in a poetic and story telling way, like someone is giving you a history of the house for a documentary. Having the POV be from the townsfolk was a genius way of writing. It is captivating, drawing you right in and leaving chills running up and down your spine. The pacing is quick, never leaving you a dull moment in this uniquely captivating read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Psychopomp and Christopher Barzak for an advanced copy for review. A Voice Calling is available now.

This is an effective Gothic novella tinged with the horror of a generational curse. The story itself doesn't totally keep the promise of the description, but that is very much down to individual reader expectations. I like it.

This haunted house novella had potential, but ultimately only scratched the surface on a number of haunted house tropes. The style of writing had me distracted from the plot, and the “group” narrator didn’t serve this story well. Many incidents were described in but only a paragraph- and then another interaction was an entire chapter.
One of my favorite parts of reading horror is how anticipation and dread is built up- and this didn't have that.
This is a very quick read, so if you are just joining the horror genre and don't like to get scared, this would be a good starting point.
Thank you to NetGalley and Psychopomp for my ebook arc.

In my experience, it's generally difficult to find haunted house stories that break any new ground as far as haunted house stories go. While I wouldn't say A Voice Calling is a revolutionary piece within the haunted house subgenre, the novella is a good read overall. The narrative voice is strongly rooted in the author's Midwestern background, the setting in World War II helps ground the story, and the history of multiple families living in and being haunted by Button House over time makes A Voice Calling more layered than its counterparts. I also found the reading experience as a whole to be pretty smooth; I was turning pages fairly quickly, not turning back to prior pages to review info very often, and I only found myself slowing down during especially tense moments.

Perhaps most importantly, as the story's events are viewed from the perspective of outsiders (several residents of the rural town), the narrative nicely reflects on how people in such settings feel (or fail to feel) communal responsibility and look out for each other. Other reviewers seem divided on the narrative voice, with some objecting that it's not clear who exactly is telling the story or that there's too much distance between the narrator(s) and the events. Personally, I found the narrative voice added substance to the story, and the question of who is speaking is hinted at well enough and then resolved cleanly in the final act.

I imagine some readers might also object to the length of the story (lots of readers seem to prefer novels to shorter fiction!) and having to keep track of all these different family histories bundled into one house. On the first point, I feel the story is roughly the length it needs to be; backstory is supplied where needed, and not too many pages are spent on past Button House families who don't figure prominently into the plot. The histories of those who've lived in and visited the haunted house sometimes gave me a lot of names and info to keep track of, but I thought Barzak presented all of this info well; the story put my brain to work but didn't give me information overload. I dare say a certain amount of complexity in literature is a good thing!

I do have a few criticisms, though the issues I identified in the story didn't ruin the reading experience for me, far from it.




NOTE: PLOT SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT FORWARD




Odd as it seems to say this, the setup for the fate of Bernadette made me think her story would end in a really ghastly, shocking event, but her actual demise feels like a fairly standard tragedy and falls flat somewhat.

The button motif is interesting given the story's characterization and historical context, but I was unsatisfied with how this was worked into the ending. Once the ghost of Bernadette (who worked at a button factory) has done what she set out to do, and the evil/haunted orchard and house are burned down, the fact that perfectly intact buttons continue to be found in the ashes of the house is somewhat bizarre. The buttons seem to be a manifestation of Bernadette haunting the house, yet the house is burned down and Bernadette accomplished what she needed to. If there's one cross-cultural consistency in the lore surrounding ghosts, it's that their spirits stick around only because of something unfinished or unresolved in their former life.

Again, some relatively minor objections aside, I liked A Voice Calling better than the average haunted house story. I imagine enthusiasts for the subgenre will be pleased with the overall arch of the story while finding some refreshing elements in it.

As to be expected with a novella, this was fast-paced and ultimately formed a compelling addition to the haunted house genre.
With just a hundred pages, I did struggle to connect as wholly as I would have liked, particularly as it felt like there could have been a lot more exploration into the history - that might have really ramped up the tension and overall satisfaction of this read.
A really unique method of story-telling, and I’d be interested to read more from this author. Overall a 3.5 star read from me.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author of this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was okay. I wouldn't add it to my favorite horror books for sure but it was enjoyable. The perspective and way the narrator told the story was a bit off. I had a hard time getting into the story. I think if the book was longer, I would have disliked the book but the length it was was good in my opinion.

The description of this book made the story seem much more sinister and frightening than it was. I found myself wanting much more about the house itself and the haunting. In the description, Rose is the main focus but in actuality the story is more about the history of owners and the tragedies that took place.

A very different type of haunted house book. The story was told from the past to present. I really enjoy books written this way because it is nice to know the back story as the new story progresses. This book was not terribly spooky just had a creeping dread to it. Once you discover all the secrets to the house, the reader is quite glad to not live in a place such as this. This book was fast paced and I will recommend it to others.

This was a really fun read. It felt new and refreshing instead of tired and stale. The perspective definitely helped the haunting feeling of the story. While the subject matter wasn’t fun at all, it was an easy read.

"A Voice Calling" is the perfect novella for a gloomy afternoon read. The story is told from a collective voice (that I think is the townsfolk but maybe not) that reads like a classical Greek chorus, and I loved that. The story starts with a standard, creepy haunted house, but the story develops into a dark tale of generational trauma and misogyny. This story was excellent!

A Voice Calling offers an intriguing premise and beautifully crafted prose, and the author skillfully weaves a tale of mystery and self-discovery. While the narrative is engaging, I personally found the pacing a bit slow, it took me a while to fully appreciate the depth of the characters and the plot but once I did, I could not stop reading.

This was a solid read for those who enjoy reflective and atmospheric storytelling and haunted houses. Can't wait to read new things from this author! Also, can't help but imagine this being adapted by Mike Flanagan, it would be so good!

While I wouldn’t describe this book as horror, I did enjoy it. The way it is written is new to me and it feels more like a story being told around a campfire as a “spooky” story. There’s not a whole lot of dialogue, so I didn’t get pulled into the story.


Thank you to @netgalley and Pyschopomp for this Arc!

(I received this book from the editor and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

But is the house truly haunted?
Of course the house is haunted.

And of course I’m right here, reading along, trying to uncover the secrets of Button House.
I honestly think Christopher Barzak’s A Voice Calling could be seen as an exercise in narrators and the huge part they play in a novel.
The narrator of A Voice Calling is an invisible but palpable “we”, the point of view of a town forced to live next to a haunted house. Because it is haunted, they are completely sure. So what this “we” does, what they tell the reader, is a compilation of every little piece of information and gossip they have, every twist and every turn, so that they can prove it to those who are still suspicious of something supernatural happening in there.
And they (this “we”) tells it as if they were having a tea party with you, very delicately, with intricate descriptions and moments that may not be entirely true, because this “we” was never really there, were they? But they are so very confident in what they say that it is impossible not to listen to them and nod. And maybe, just maybe, they are the voice that is calling, nothing supernatural at all, but just a nameless, faceless entity that needs to share what they know. So that nobody forgets.

A well written and interesting story. Too bad there wasn't more explanation. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

Novellas aren’t a commonly used form, but they can be very effective when done well. It’s said that they’re hard to publish and market, but I like them.

I didn’t realize that A Voice Calling by Christopher Barzak was a novella until I started reading it tonight. That was fine by me, though, and allowed me to read the whole thing in about 1 hour and 40 minutes. It’s not a long book, but it is a rather good one.

A Voice Calling is a haunted house story, but it’s not the typical type. Instead, we have a narrative that is told from the perspective of a town, as opposed to any other way. This is unique, and separates the reader from the action, as “We” replaces “I” or “They.” It allows for multiple time periods to be described and gone over, though, and works quite well.

That said: if you are looking for something scary, this isn’t it.

This is the tale of the aptly titled Button House, in rural Ohio. Situated not far from the border with Pennsylvania, it was built by an unnamed family but most recently served as a home for a button manufacturer and his heirs.

Of course, we quickly learn that something is wrong with this house; particularly its bathroom, where the letter ‘B’ is sometimes found written on the steamy mirror, and red curls are occasionally found in the sink. Its latest resident — a girl from town named Rose — says she can hear what haunts this home, and listens instead of speaking.

Over the course of its 100+ pages, we are told about Button House’s history and its previous residents’ outcomes. That’s the last I’ll say about the plot, to avoid spoiling anything.

This is a rather well written book, which surprised me at times. I admittedly didn’t love the first half of it, but I also didn’t dislike it. The second half hooked me, though, and I especially enjoyed learning more about the button factory. As a whole, I found it to be a good book, and my overall opinion obviously improved after the halfway point (or thereabouts).

Don’t check out A Voice Calling by Christopher Barzak if you want a more typical, or simply scary, haunted house story. Do check it out if you’re in the mood for a bit of a different take on the formula, and are open to something short. This is a good tale, and I recommend it.

We received an advanced digital copy from NetGalley and the book’s publisher. Receiving a free copy did not sway our opinion.