This book was a bit different than books I normally read. It is classified as horror and while I enjoy horror movies, I have a hard time enjoying horror books. In the past, it has felt like the things that scared me in horror movies, like the jump scares, were too difficult to replicate in writing. While that may be true, I find that a well written horror story gives the reader this feeling of unease, and at times, dread. I think this book did just that. The amount of detail in this book was fantastic. Each new place the characters experienced was so descriptive that you felt you were with them (and that wasn’t always a good thing). I also felt the characters had great depth and backstories that allowed you to understand them better. Some of the scenes were difficult to read, but I truly think that is the finesse in a horror novel. Some of middle parts were a bit slower in the pacing but overall I was enraptured the whole time. I found the overall story of the book to be very intriguing and hope to read more by this author in the future.

Overall: 4.4/5 ⭐️


Thank you to Del Ray and Random House Publishing for this advanced reader copy. All thoughts and comments are my own.

I loved this take on the classic urban legend of a "staircase to nowhere." Fans of horror, true crime, and folklore will love this!

3.5 out of 5 stars, rounded up to 4.

Chuck Wendig's The Staircase in the Woods is a strong novel in concept, with excellent descriptive writing and creative ideas. Perfect for those who like paranormal mysteries, or when they enjoy authors just traumatizing the characters over and over again. Owen, Lore, Nick, and Hamish have split from one another after a traumatic incident involving a staircase in the woods and the fifth member of their high-school friend group, Matty. Two decades later, the group reunites and is dragged into a horrific journey of trauma, despair, and mind-warping encounters when they try to find him again.

This book can keep the reader entertained, if not just to see how the book would end. I want to love it, but some pieces don't fit right for me. It feels like a combination of Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves meets Stephen King's It, with a bit of urban legend thrown into the mix. Lots of horrific imagery and set dressings, too. Please keep an eye on trigger warnings for this book, too--some stuff just hits you unexpectedly, and even though I didn't find them triggering, I could easily see how it could for others.

I like this book--the concept is excellent and only builds momentum once the group gets to the staircase again. Additionally, I feel like there are two really good ideas mixed into this novel, but weren't meshing together as well as they could have. However, some elements took me out of it; Wendig wants to write a wide variety of characters, but he doesn't write some of them...well. There were interactions at the beginning of the book that had me thinking, "Man, I hate these characters," but I sat and toughed it out to see if the premise would be worth it. Thankfully, it was!

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for a digital advanced readers copy.

Noted: Steer clear of random creepy lone staircases - should seem easy enough.
Chuck Wendig took me into the deepest darkest centre of wtfery, which I am sure was he plan and had me bawling and crawling my way back out.

There are so many things to love about horror (especially as a queer woman), but always always always my favourite horror trope is the importance of friendship, chosen family and platonic love. And Wendig gives that to me in spades in this book! Part coming over age part second chance and a whole lot of wtf, why and Jesus christs did we really need to put that visual in my head. Wendig has crafted a story of regret, hope, forgiveness and horror.

Gods I love when horror is this good!

7/10

The Staircase in the Woods follows four young friends who find a creepy staircase in the woods while tripping on various substances.

One decides to climb the staircase and vanishes into thin air.

Inevitably fracturing the group, causing them to go their separate ways over time until 20 years later, they are brought back together for a camping trip.

What follows is the story of fractured friends coming together, from what seems like an impossible impasse.

Staircase in the Woods explores the way we change and drift over time from our childhood friends, the damage of a constantly social online young adult journey, the need to carve your path and create your own identity, and the costs that each of those takes on us and those around us.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, while I didn't find it too horrific it does have its moments, there is the element of how we can be our own worst villain.

My concern was the way Lore (Lauren) was written, and overall a generally disjointed first half, I struggled to connect to these characters in part because of the way Wendig throws you into the middle of it uncovering the history as the story progresses, and this was a blocker from me feeling for the result at the end.

More attention needs to be paid to each of the characters, and more care to Lore specifically, I felt her depiction was insensitive, the addition of her being an angry woke gender fluid tyrant at the start, added nothing to the conversation and was just moved on from.

I would like to see that part of her handled better and fleshed out more, or just removed.

The pacing was good, I have a fondness for Wendig's prose and especially his use of punctuation, it did make the story easy to consume.

Recommended for those who like thrillers and light horror that revolves around personal development.

I was incredibly excited to be offered this as an ARC to read, in fact I was so eager to read this that it ended up at the top of my priority TBR. I had heard so many good things about Chuck Wendig's writing, and having never read any of his books, I was very excited to read this book. Unfortunately, all I got was disappointment.

I really struggled to get into this book. The pacing felt off right from the start for me. It felt like one big story about just how much people suck, and even then it was far too long for the story that was written. I feel like this would have worked far better as a novella over a full length novel.

About the only thing I liked in this book was the atmosphere, it definitely fit the spooky horror category. Honestly I don't know that anyone could pay me enough to walk up a random creepy staircase in the middle of the woods...

Which leads me into the (very long) list of things that I didn't enjoy in this book. Firstly the characters, dear god the characters were so insufferable that I just couldn't like a single one of them. I understand that they all have childhood trauma, and that childhood trauma has shaped exactly who they are, but not a single character was likeable in this entire book. That alone made it quite difficult to read, because I found myself not caring at all what happened to any of them. Also, I don't understand how these people could have ever been friends. They don't read like a friend group, they read more like a bunch of people who have been forcefully thrown together and none of them like each other in the slightest.

Then there was the random political rants throughout the book. This is usually enough for me to DNF a book, I get assaulted with more than enough politics in my daily life without having to suffer through it in a book. Not everyone cares about American politics, not everyone wants to be lectured about your opinion on the politics of your country, and its really getting out of control the amount of this crap that is in books. It was completely unnecessary and added absolutely nothing to the story. Added to that, I'm pretty sure every single buzzword was represented in the form of one character, and it made that character even more insufferable. Again, it added absolutely nothing to the story.

Lastly, and I think this could just be a me problem, the dual timeline with a group of friends going through some kind of trauma has been done to death. Its time for something different. The flashbacks were terribly timed and really interrupted the flow of the story, which made it even more difficult to read, I think it might have helped to have had less flashbacks, but even then this whole style has been done to death at this stage and I'm really just over reading it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

I struggled to get into this - I have both an EARC and a physical ARC of this from NYCC. I tried both mediums to attempt to help me really become immersed in the story, but I struggled immensely with the writing. It's not *bad*, it just wasn't entirely what I was looking for. The plot is premised on a unique concept (see: a staircase in the woods), but I'm left feeling lukewarm.

It's been a week since I finished the book and I still don't understand what was happening.
Ironically, it really felt more like a simulation, not a book.
It was hard to define where each part started and ended. One moment they were looking for clues, the next they reach a conclusion, and by the end of the chapter, they realize that no, they got all of it wrong.
At some point, I gave up trying to remember what the last point or discovery meant. If they say the house is evil, then it's evil. The house is not real? Who am I to say otherwise!
And honestly, this mindset made it easy for me to only focus on the emotions the book invoked in me. Namely, being creeped out of my mind.
It wasn't simple fear, just a persistent, uncomfortable sense of creepiness.
But, the plot wasn't my only problem. The characters were also a bit of a nuisance.
Lore was getting on my nerves, she was just there for the author to show his political standing and world views.
Hamish and Nick were vague, they were... Lame. For Nick, he was one dimensional, just the friend who has a rude streak. Hamish was just there mainly as the opposite of Lore, at least at the beginning.
Owen was my favorite. His character had a lot of layers and his character development was also well written.
Overall, I didn't not like it, but it's not worth the hype.
*I received an ARC of this book through netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig is a gripping horror fiction thriller that delves into the mystery of a strange staircase deep in the woods. The story centers around five high school friends, who have made an oath to protect one another. During a camping trip, they discover the eerie staircase, and when one of their friends ascends it and vanishes, the remaining friends are left traumatized, each copes with the event differently.

It is now 20 years, and the friends are drawn back together as the staircase reappears in the woods. United once more, they decide to confront their past and the staircase. The novel beautifully balances flashbacks with the present, revealing the group's diverse background and shared traumatic experiences, which are disturbingly unresolved.

Wendig masterfully creates an atmospheric sense of danger and dread, with the creepy and shifting landscape enhancing the feeling of unease. The intertwining timelines and the haunting setting make this a twisty, compelling read. Fans of horror will enjoy navigating the disturbing journey of the characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

I read and enjoyed "The Book of Accidents." The author does an amazing job of imagining other worlds and bringing you there. However, I found this one difficult to grasp because it felt so unreal. While I understand the concept of time travel, the house was hard to comprehend, which made parts of the story difficult to follow, especially since time was never referenced. The sections in the house also felt more drawn out than necessary. During those times, I felt there wasn’t much character development and wished it would speed up.

Towards the end of searching the house, when their past traumas surfaced, the characters started to feel more developed and the story began to come together. Overall, it was an enjoyable read, and I ended up liking the story. I just felt that more understanding and less detail about the rooms would have been helpful. The ending left me hanging, and I need to know what happens next.

Maybe I’m immune but it didn’t feel creepy to me at all.

Chuck Wendig man…. He gets me!
Honestly, I loved this one way more than I anticipated- after seeing the trope of ‘five friends reunite to fight evil’, I was sceptical but I tell ya, this is a great take on it. And Wendig’s writing style is like a cozy little reading nook- but you might wanna keep the lights in for this one:)

I ended up really enjoying this book it was super hard to put down and very eerie. It did take me a little bit to get into the characters wasn’t a huge fan at first just not super relatable.

The Staircase in the Woods by Chuck Wendig is a truly original story about a group of teenage friends who are traumatized by the disappearance of a member of their group. The book is very dark, and I felt the portion of the book dedicated to the search for their lost friend was too long, however, it had some good messages to get across. Some of the characters have major issues caused by childhood trauma, but we find that even the ones who supposedly had perfect, enviable lives had their share of pain as well. We never truly know what goes on in the private lives of others and shouldn't be so quick to judge and compare.

Overall, this book was well written and original but much too dark for my taste. If you're a fan of the horror genre, then you will probably enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read the unedited version.

This book feels so much like a darker, more adult version of my favorite childhood book - The Forever House, Mark Rivers - that it's difficult for me to be completely unbiased. I'm a sucker for malevolent, labyrinthine house stories, apparently.

Once the action got going, I couldn't put this book down. Obviously I loved the premise, and even though I didn't necessarily like all of the characters, they felt very real, and flawed, and I was invested in them. The atmosphere was wonderfully intense, and the writing solid and descriptive. I was completely fine with the two timelines and flashback chapters, as they sold the deep friendship that is mostly absent in the present.

Oh, and the tie-in to Black River Orchard was fun and unexpected!

However, the pacing was the tiniest bit off. It took a long while to get going, and I struggled through some of the beginning chapters, especially Lore's sections. And although I happily read from 30% on in a single sitting, there was a point in the second half that did start to feel repetitive.

Finally, I have to mention another topic that's popped up in a few reviews...the political rants. I applaud Wendig for trying to educate readers, and I agree with all of the points made, but purely from a storytelling perspective, they felt out of place, and awkward. It did take me out the story at times, unfortunately.

Overall, this was a fantastic read, one that will absolutely stay with me for a while. A huge recommendation from me!

It would be hard for any writer to follow up a fantastic book like Wanders, which was very long but gripped me the entire time. This book had a cast of characters that were more on the outside of society and struggling with their place in their own worlds and the world they created together in their past. I struggled with some of the more fantasy elements of the story. Wendig's writing was quite good as normal, but I just struggled with some of the backstories adding up for each character in this one.

I didn’t care for this one at all. The ideas were too abstract, it was too confusing and there weren’t any characters to root for. A rare dud for Wendig, who I typically love.

The Staircase in the Woods had so much potential but never met the expectations I had for it. Chuck Wendig always has fascinating hooks and story setups and while this book had that, I felt Wendig never takes full effect with it and only looks at it surface level.

I will not be giving feedback for this book. I was unaware of the genera I do not read paranormal horror

It was the perfect book to start the year with. The story was so gripping and fast-paced (at times repetitive, though 🙄), I couldn’t put it down. It was definitely atmospheric, spooky, I could imagine/feel myself being there with the characters.
Although the political agenda seemed mannered and there were plot holes, I had a fantastic time. I can absolutely recommend this book but check the TWs.
4.5 ⭐️ rounded down.

Told in dueling timelines, this book revolves around 5 high school friends who dub their group "the covenant" and the covenant is envoked whenever one of them needs help from the other.

In high school, the 5 of them embark on a camping trip that will forever change their lives and their bond. They come across a random staircase that doesn't seem to go anywhere, and likewise doesn't seem like it came from an abandoned home either. When one of the 5 climbs the stairs and disappears along with the steps, their future is forever altered.

As adults, the group (who were no longer really a group) tried to stay in touch but old wounds and that fateful night make it too hard. Owen is suffering from PTSD and severe anxiety, Lor is a successful game designer but lonely, Hamish now lives a white picket fence life with his wife and kids, and Nick remains obsessed with finding out what happened to their friend, Matty, all those years ago.

Nick reaches out to everyone, invoking the covenant, on grounds that he is dying of cancer and wants to see everyone one more time. When they all get out there, Nick has other plans on mind.... And they involve a staircase in the middle of the woods.

This was SO GOOD 80% through, but it started to get really repetitive and Owen started to get insufferable. I also not only wanted, but needed, more from the ending. But once again, another great book from Chuck Wendig!