This was such a great read for October! Overall enjoyed it but felt some aspects of it were repetitive. Despite those parts and lengthy dialogue, the story definitely pulled me in and was super creepy (which I usually don't get creeped out by books). Would recommend!

The plot of this was extremely intriguing so I was happy to be able to read an ARC of this. The mysterious staircase was freaky and I enjoyed the pop culture references. However the four remaining characters seemed too immature and the talk of politics, covid, and gender had me skipping a lot of parts. While this book was not one of Wendig's best, I do give an A for effort.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Worlds for an ARC copy of The Staircase in the Woods.

I was really intrigued by the premise but unfortunately I DNF at 10% when politics, gender, sexuality, and covid was introduced. If I wanted to hear people argue about all these topics I would turn on the news. Definitely not tolerable to me when I read for enjoyment.

5 teenagers enter a forest. Only 4 exit.
Fast forward many years and there will be ... a reckoning with the past.

I wanted to love this but the psychological immaturity of the characters became too grating for me. They are mentally stuck in their teenage years and this is a main theme of the novel, but I just didn't root for any of them.

This was well-written with a lot of heart, in a typical Wendig style with short chapters and pop culture references. It is very cinematic but I think it needed to be shortened (mostly the inner dialogues) in order to keep the momentum going. I loved the first 50% but after the first horrific scenes it became too repetitive. It really pains me not to be more positive because I can understand what Wendig is doing here, and he put so much thought and love into telling this story about friendships, but it didn't work for me.

I’m not usually one to rate horror five stars, but this one truly captivated me from start to finish.
The mystery of the staircase in the woods had me completely hooked, and the tension kept me on edge the entire time. The characters are incredibly fleshed out, each one complicated and relatable in their own way. Lore, the pansexual, nonbinary, angsty video game designer, stood out as my favorite.
Without giving too much away, this novel is best approached with little to no expectations—just like I did.
It scared me as a horror should, but it also made me emotional, weaving in beautiful themes of friendship that added so much depth.

Mr. Wendig said it best in the afterward:
“This is a book very much about fear, and very much about friendship-both friendships of the past and adult friendships and the difficulty of keeping them and the pain of losing them and the joy of reclaiming them.”

Very much recommend!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc!

I think that this was an interesting book, but not the right book for me. I did not understand a lot of the references. I wish it would have mention in the summary how the book was kind of a simulation.

The setup for this book is pretty straightforward. A group of childhood friends get together years after a mysterious event and attempt to rectify the past. What Chuck Wendig does with this trope is not at all ordinary. If you found The Haunting of Hill House a bit quotidian and House of Leaves too pretentious, this is for you. It’s the sweet spot between the two. Highly recommended.

I saw the title! I saw the author! Immediately I was Over-the-Moon! I read the book! Over-the-Moon from Page One! Does Chuck Wendig ever KNOW how to bring an "A" game that few others can match!!

Do not attempt to read this at intervals: carve out whatever necessary block of time, lock your doors, silence your phone, feed your pets. Settle in to the amazing, horrifying, inescapable Universe that Chuck Wendig spins. You will never forget.

I loved the beginning and what the overall message of the book is. I can't say much without giving away what happens when they reach the top of the stairs; but based on the synopsis, there was so much potential but the adventure felt a bit flat.

I'm so disappointed. This one had great potential but overall fell really flat. The blurb was intriguing and I loved certain aspects. However I struggled to connect with this one.

I've read books from this author in the past and really enjoyed them but the writing style of this book just didn't work for me.
The blurb was intriguing and I thought it had the potential to be really suspenseful, unique and thrilling but overall it just kind of fell flat. I think I probably would have DNF'd this one had it not been an ARC.

I would definitely pick up another book from this author in the future, this one just wasn't for me.

Thank you Chuck Wendig, Net Galley and Random House Worlds for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Five high school friends go on a camping trip in the forest, where they find a mysterious staircase leading to nowhere. One friend walks up the staircase and is never seen again. The staircase then disappears.

Twenty years later, the staircase reappears and the friends re-unite to attempt to find their lost friend.

This had the potential to be a suspenseful, thrilling edge-of-the-seat read, but the lengthy conversations and flashbacks interrupted the flow of the plot. Parts of the book were repetitive, like when the friends were moving through the various rooms and their rehashing of the past, without revealing any new information.