Not what expected at all!

But to be fair, I don't even know what I expected in the first place, as this isn't my usual type of read.

However, I got hooked quite early in the book. The storyline kept me engrossed and at the edge of my seat, I found characters loveable and entertaining. Really, what a ride it has been!

The only reason I'm not giving 5 stars is - I would not pick this book up again. Not that's it bad, it's definetly not bad at all. It just lacked a little something for me to wish to re-read it.

If you thought Stephen King had conjured up the weirdest and darkest tower in existence, then Dan Hanks is here to prove you wrong in The Way Up is Death. In turns brutally disturbing, hysterically funny and soul-stirringly poignant, this extraordinarily bizarre acid trip of a survival adventure will melt your brain and crush your soul without remorse, and I love it all the more for it.

What would you do if one day, out of nowhere, you are mercilessly pulled out of your daily life and dropped along with 12 other strangers before a mysterious floating tower that demands you ASCEND. That, my friends, is just a tiny glimpse of the stupendously intriguing premise of The Way Up is Death. And as you can maybe guess from the title, it doesn’t take long for things to get disturbingly dark and absolutely batshit crazy in the best way possible.

Through the eyes of Alden, a lonely and grief-stricken teacher by day/singer by night, Nia, a weary and angry concept artist, and Dirk, a self-obsessed walking red flag of a celebrity children’s author, we get to experience the nightmarish madness contained within the tower from the front-row seat. While I sometimes had a hard time visualising the increasingly weird and mystifying settings that the tower contained, I never felt lost because these characters’ strong voices kept me so grounded throughout all the madness. Their virtues and vices are truly on full display (for better or worse; looking at you, Dirk), and I loved exploring how they each reacted in such an authentically unique way to the horrors that they were faced with over the course of the single day that they spend in this tower of terror (if they even make it that long).

See, on the surface this story might seem like just another brutal thrill fest of a race against death, but at its core it’s a deeply emotional and beautifully human story that just tugged on my heartstrings in all the most unexpected ways. The Way Up is Death is honestly more multi-layered than the twisted labyrinthine tower it’s set in, and I loved how with each new level the characters ascended, another layer of complexity and emotional depth was peeled back. Heavy themes such as grief, sexism, female rage, loneliness, sacrifice, morality, memory, love, humanity, and, naturally, mortality are all explored in surprisingly deep though often darkly entertaining ways without ever detracting from the addictive thrill factor of the narrative, which is exactly what makes this story stand out from the crowd to me.

Now, I do have to admit that I found some of the (side) characters to be little more than obvious cannon fodder or a mere vessel for the theme they were supposed to represent, which not only made some of the thematic messaging feel a bit on the nose, but also took away some of the stakes and unpredictability of the story for me. The slightly caricaturish character work combined with the break-neck speed pacing somewhat hindered my emotional investment in the wider cast of characters, and that ultimately made some of the supposedly hard-hitting moments fall a bit flat for me.

However, the key characters of the narrative absolutely carried the story for me (Rakie is the MVP, just saying), and I can’t deny that all the emotional gut punches just hurt oh so good in the end. For the longest time I was just along for the crazy ride, uncertain if or how we would get any satisfying answers to the deeper purpose behind the inexplicable mysteries and challenges of the tower, but Hanks managed to surprise me in all the best (or worst?) ways with the shocking revelations. The brutally bittersweet conclusion to The Way Up is Death was more satisfying than I could ever have hoped for, leaving me with only one big unresolved mystery in the end: how in the hell did Hanks manage to write a story that is simultaneously so bizarrely alien yet beautifully and relatably human?

Regardless of what your typical reading preferences are, The Way Up is Death is guaranteed to lure you in with its dangerously addictive storytelling, darkly alluring mysteries, visceral emotions, and scarily evocative imagery that will haunt your mind for days and nights to come. It’s got a bit of fantasy, sci-fi, horror, mystery, thriller, and arguably even a sick and twisted version of LitRPG, but ultimately it’s a powerfully moving and truly transcendental story that just speaks to the soul and showcases the incredible resilience of the human spirit. This is one of those stories that you simply can’t do justice to in a review, so please do yourself a favour and go experience its brilliant madness for yourself, if you dare.

I was lucky enough to receive a digital ARC of “The Way Up is Death,” by Dan Hanks!

I give this book 3/5 ⭐️. The title and cover are great, and are what made me so interested in this book to begin with. The concept of a tower randomly selecting 13 people from the area it “spawns” over is intriguing, and Hanks wastes no time in throwing us into the action. As the thirteen people begin to ascend as commanded by the tower, each floor is revealed to be pulled from one of the thirteen’s subconscious. To avoid spoiling anything, I’ll just say that the title of the book does not lie.

I felt the characters in this novel weren’t realistic enough, and at times it seemed like the writing involving them was slipping into the realm of caricature. It difficult for me to get emotionally attached to any of the thirteen, but it did make it very easy for me to hate Dirk! There was too much “telling” and not enough “showing,” especially when it came to characters’ emotions and relationships with one another. This was one of those books where I was aware of every page I was reading and struggled to immerse myself into the story. From what I’ve seen, a lot of other readers love this book, so I’ll accept it’s just not my cup of tea!

Filled with complex characters, attention to detail world building that makes you feel like you’re in the pages this is one of the best books I’ve read all year I devoured it!

It follows a bunch of strangers in London when a tower suddenly appears in the sky telling people to ascend., with horror and syfy vibes Dan hanks will have you on the edge of your seat!

Thirteen Strangers find themselves in front of a mysterious tower with one goal: ascend.

The Way Up is Death by Dan Hanks is my latest book from Net Galley. I’m very lucky to have gotten to read this one early. Ever since I heard about it, I wanted to read it. I loved Dan Hanks last back, Swashbucklers, and was excited to see what he would write next. As much as I loved Swashbucklers, The Way Up is Death is better. Oh my god this book is great.

I don’t want to give away too much about this book but I will say that it is, largely, a horror story. It also reminds me of A Light Most Hateful by Hailey Piper in that it introduces you to the main characters and then says “Buckle up! This is a ride!” I called this book an “absolute horror rollercoaster” on social media and it is.

And yet later in the book, we do get moments where the book slows down a little to reflect and pause. There are moments of pure beauty later in the book that make up for some of the horrifying images from earlier. As I said, I don’t want to spoil this story. Just know that the ride goes up and up and then down and whirls around and takes a slight pause and then goes up again. You’ll often find yourself going “Oh, those poor people.”

Well, okay, maybe you won’t feel sorry for all of them…

The Way Up is Death is a fantastic book. Its so well written, with complex characters and enough detail that you can picture whats going on very well but also can fill in the gaps with your own horrible brain too. This book is one of the best books I’ve read this year. Its going to be one of the books to come out next year!

You should not miss The Way Up is Death by Dan Hanks. The book comes out on January 14th, 2025. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for providing me with an early digital copy of this book. And thanks Dan Hanks for writing this one. Wow. What an amazing book.