Cover Image: Thirteen Storeys

Thirteen Storeys

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Member Reviews

For my final review of Hallowe’en 2020 I’m going to review a book not due out for a couple of weeks yet. However, I enjoyed it so much I thought that it might be worth a little heads-up.

Thirteen Stories is a great example of an anthology novel – one where a number of stories are connected together by a framing story. I used to love these anthologies as movies too – anyone who has seen old Amicus movies such as Tales from the Crypt (1972), Asylum (1972) or Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (1965) will know what I mean.

In this case the framing story is that of billionaire Tobias Fell, who was found dead in mysterious circumstances in his penthouse in the flats he owned in Banyan Court, London.

We are told that on the night of his death Fell had a meal with thirteen invited guests, all seemingly unconnected to himself. They did not know each other, nor had met Fell before that evening. Each of the thirteen guests tells a story here, until the end where things connect for a final conclusion.

This is a great setup. You may know Jonathan from his audio podcast, The Magnus Files, where Jonathan narrates stories as the archivist of strange tales, and I can see that this would work very well in that format. From the first character, Jonathan piles on the chills to create an effective atmosphere throughout.

The characters are expectedly diverse, which makes the reader wonder what common connection they share. They all have very different backgrounds which suggest that they wouldn’t normally socialise. There are rich people and poor people (living in the less salubrious part of the block at the back of the building).There are students, lifestyle gurus, cleaners and maintenance men, concierges, estate agents, rich girls living off Daddy’s money, single parents struggling to make a living and children left alone to amuse themselves, amongst others.

Part of the fun is working out how all of the thirteen characters are connected. Some of them meet in their respective stories, although their reason for being at the banquet is not clear until towards the end. We discover along the way that throughout all the mysterious billionaire pervades everything. Tobias is not a nice person, which makes the reason for the invitations all the more intriguing.

All is resolved at the end, and the ending makes both logical sense and is a suitable ending to the novel.

I picked this one up with no knowledge of its contents or the author, and as a result was pleasantly surprised by what I read. I found it to be a book that starts slowly but grips and builds to an effective end. A book that takes old traditions and gives them a contemporary spin. Happy Halloween, all.

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What a weird, confusing, brilliant book.

First off all I need to say that the blurb on the back of the book is completely misleading. If you are going into this expecting a thriller (like I was) you will be disappointed and may even not finish reading. So if you completely ignore the description and read it as individual short horror stories you will love it. Once I adjusted my expectations, I found myself really enjoying it.

Each chapter introduces you to a new character and story and I found that some worked for me and I loved, whilst others dragged and I couldn't wait to move onto the next chapter.

Well written, creative, weird, creepy, foreboding and with an unexpected dark humour.

Was it the book I was expecting to read? No.
Did I enjoy it? Yes.

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I will start by saying that this is not the book that I was expecting. The book is more like a book of short stories. Each story is about a different resident of an apartment building owned by billionaire Tobias Fell. Each of these residents have a unique paranormal experience and at the end of each story they get an invitation to a dinner party hosted by Tobias Fell. We know right from the start that Tobias Fell was murdered at this dinner party but none of the guests admit to knowing anything. The book ends with the residents attending the dinner party.

As with all collections of short stories I enjoyed some more than others. I liked that each story was unique and we got to meet very different characters. The horror within these stories is psychological which was a relief to me because I was worried there might be body horror.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes a good ghost story with a touch of horror.

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I really enjoyed this book all the way through. It had a really good plot, great main characters and really keeps you hooked on the plot. I would highly recommend this book.

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My thanks to the Author publishers and NetGalley for providing me with a Kindle version of this book to read and honestly review.
This is a very clever descriptive engaging tale, atmospheric with brilliantly drawn characters who leap off the page. Thirteen Storeys refers to a block of flats in London owned by a reclusive billionaire who lives in the penthouse, but very cleverly also refers to thirteen chapters each a short story about a particular individual character, but all ultimately linked to complete the tale of an very original haunted house but on a grand scale.
Totally recommended.

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Tobias Fell, rich owner of Banyon Court, is dead. He died during a dinner party in front of 12 guests. None of the guests had met Fell before and they didn’t really know each other either. The only thing that connects them is that they live in Banyon Court - either in the luxury apartments or in the affordable housing and all of them had had some very strange experiences in the run up to the invitation. None of the guests are willing to say what happened during the dinner party or who killed him so it will remain a mystery.

This was a really interesting read. We meet each of the twelve guests individually and get to know about the strange, unnerving experiences they have had in the run up to receiving the invitation from Fell and then we get to the dinner party - so thirteen stories! A really good read.

Thanks to Netgalley, Orion Publishing and Jonathan Sims for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

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This was a very strange book and although it was different to how I thought it would be I found it to be a completely riveting read. I have to admit that at first I wasn’t so sure this was going to be a read I would enjoy as each chapter is a different story and I’m not a lover of short stories but the difference here is that each story is connected and I have to say these stories were weird, creepy and downright gruesome in some cases and they all led to one hell of a horrifying finale.
Difficult to describe more about this book as it was so many things bordering on horror its very cleverly written and I was surprised this was a debut because the of complexity of the read.
It’s a book to send shivers down you spine and draw you into a strange and weird world ... I liked it a lot it was unusual and even though at times it was just a bit too graphic in the descriptions I found it to be a very entertaining read.
My thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group, Gollancz for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

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I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Orion Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review.

I was incredibly hyped to read this book and I have to say, I'm a little disappointed. I think the blurb is rather misleading and it gave me the wrong impression of what this book was. Rather than it being a set of alibis/ghost stories presented after the billionaire has died mysteriously, it is instead a short story collection of various people in the building encountering various ghosts before being invited to a dinner with the billionaire. The short stories themselves are only connected by a few characters and the building, so this book resembles more of an anthology than one cohesive narrative. It is only the final story where the billionaire dies and you find out what happens at the dinner party, tying the stories together.

Having said that, once I got over my disappointment with the premise, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The stories can get a little repetitive with the structure, but some of the ghost ideas are exceptionally cool. I particularly liked the haunted smart house, the concierge one and the imaginary friend. Apart from the smart house story, the final one is easily the best. It was a brilliant payoff to the premise promised by the blurb and had much needed (if a bit heavy handed) social commentary.

I do really wish this had been a full length novel. You could have taken 3 or 4 of the characters and focused on them, plus the billionaire. It would have allowed for more interaction between the characters and a deeper exploration of the ghost stories and social themes. But for what it is, Thirteen Storeys is decent. It's a shame the anthology format did it no favours.

Overall, I would still recommend this book to anyone who enjoys ghost stories and is looking for one with a more modern/unusual twist. There are plenty of interesting ghost concepts and goings on to enjoy, and the bonus of the last story tying everything together really does make this collection worth a look.

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

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I enjoyed this novel despite it being quite hard to follow but I suspect that's because I read it in several sittings. Read it in two or three for best results as all the threads are pulled tight at the end and the more you remember the more satisfying it is.
An interesting and unique premise that was very well written and it's freaked me out!
All set over a short space of time in one tower block in London
That cover is everything!

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I chose to read and review a free eARC of Thirteen Storeys but that has in no way influenced my review.

Some books pass you by. They're instantly forgettable and not your thing at all. Other books - like Thirteen Storeys - have the ability to stop you dead in your tracks and make you feel like you're missing out on something incredibly special if you don't read them. I saw this book reviewed on another blog and it absolutely sang to me. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I couldn't get the cover out of my head. I feel like I'm being very melodramatic but oh well, it felt like there was an actual real life connection between me and Thirteen Storeys. And what a corker of a read it was!

Normally at this point in one of my reviews I would recap the blurb for you. I've decided to not do that when it comes to Thirteen Storeys as the publisher's blurb tells you everything you need to know and I think my 'take' on it wouldn't add anything. In fact, I'm concerned I may say something I shouldn't so, to save my blushes, please refer to the blurb if you haven't done so already 😂

This cracking book opens with a newspaper report on the anniversary of the death of multi-billionaire, Tobias Fell. Fell's many achievements - including the commission of a high rise tower block in Whitechapel, Tower Hamlets called Banyan Court which, incidentally, is the home of many of the guests - is noted. But what the reporter really draws attention to is Fell's very unusual and highly suspicious death. Witnessed by thirteen guests at a very exclusive dinner party, no one is really sure how he died (quite so horrifically) and one thing is for sure, they are certainly not going to talk about it. Each chapter tells the story of one of those thirteen guests in the lead-up to that notorious dinner party. Giving the reader a tantalising and intriguing glimpse into thirteen very different lives and what ultimately connects them. There are strange and creepy goings-on at Banyan Court and the author has done a masterful job of creating an outstanding cast of characters, all of whom pull the reader into their world.

Each story is individual and stands tall, but the tendrils of Banyan Court run through them all with familiar characters appearing all over the place and memorable events being seen from different view points. I loved this book and found the author's approach very refreshing. It's a short story collection, but not. All of the events and characters in Thirteen Storeys are under one big horror laden umbrella. It's a very clever and well-written novel.

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. Thirteen Storeys is a beautifully written contemporary horror novel that I know for sure will leave its mark on me. I don't remember reading anything like this before and it was an absolute delight. The excitement I felt as I approached the end of the book, having lived through the characters' trauma with them, was palpable. I couldn't wait to find out what had happened to Fell. It was a thrilling ride and I was deeply satisfied with the stomach-churning conclusion. I loved this book and would happily read more by this author. Highly recommended.

I chose to read and review an eARC of Thirteen Storeys. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

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This is a very different, portmanteau selection of tales from different residents who all live,or work in Banyan Court.
The principle storyline is centered around the mysterious disappearance of architect and billi0naire, Tobias Fell who dropped off the face of the earth following a dinner party with 13 residents from his property. The front of the building is there for those who have, whilst the back of the building is there is for those without.
Each chapter is a self contained story, or 'storey' which concludes with someone having an invite to the fatal dinner, concluding with the thirteenth tale.
It's a gory, an , excuse the pun, elevated tale that marks out Jonathan Sims as an author to watch. He plays his readers like a fiddle as you wander from room to room , meeting the residents of Banyan Court without fully seeing the whole picture until the end.
It reminded me of the Hammer and Amicus partwork films, like 'Asylum', with one overarching plot pulling the threads of a tale together, it's a great autumnal/Halloween read and I have the feeling it will be very big when it hits bookstore shelves in January!

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I received an advance copy of, Thirteen Storeys, by Jonathon Sims. I just could not get in to this book, I really tried. It was to chaotic a story, with two many people. I really wanted to like this book but could not.

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Thanks to Orion Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

High concept novels tend to be hit or miss - usually a miss. Usually this is because the author’s focus is on the delivery of the concept and not the hard yards that actually make a story. Superficial and flimsy plotting usually ensues. This is certainly not the case with ‘Thirteen Storeys’, which rather reminded me of something the late JG Ballard would have written, with certain thriller-esque tropes added!to great effect. Ballard’s pioneering works examined and tested, in surreal detail, certain innovations in contemporary living and its effects on the human psyche, find echoes here, too. The results were usually disturbingly dystopian, something that seeps into the bricks and mortar of the socially stratified building of ‘Thirteen Storeys’. Then there are the thirteen interconnected stories that are linked to the death of a billionaire at a dinner party, of the very same diverse inhabitants whose stories we voyeuristically glimpse throughout the book. Somehow these stories culminate in murder. Why? The answers are as unexpected as they are ingenious. This book literally has it all: simply faultless. A majestic tour de force of the imagination.

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You’re invited to a dinner party in the penthouse of a ludricously expensive building. You arrive and you know no one – and your host doesn’t even know who’s arriving or why. But the end of the night, the host is dead and no one, really, no one mentions what happened. But before that, the reader meets those invited to this macabre evening and once you read their stories, well, things will look a little different. I found some of this quite unsettling; it made me uncomfortable and it was uncomfortable reading but there’s no doubt about how powerful it is and the lasting effect it will have.

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Blimey this one steals your sleep, not only because its such a page turner but it is very very creepy…I spent several nights waking up suddenly thinking someone was watching me…yep that’s a sign of a great piece of storytelling right there.

We open with a retrospective of an unsolved mystery – that of the death of a rich entrepreneur at his own dinner party…to this day his guests have remained tight lipped claiming no knowledge of how it occurred. Reader, we are about to find out..

Strange events, ghostly goings on, a snapshot of disparate and diverse lives as each separate character is lead inexorably towards one night in a penthouse suite that ends in visceral violence. It is scarily beautifully crafted, the author subtly linking each tale, carefully leading you to a brutal and edgy finale. I loved every minute of this despite the distinct feeling of underlying doom each separate strand offers.

Very clever indeed, this is a haunted house story on acid. Here’s one talented author for sure. Highly recommended

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In one apartment building, a number of stories are unfolding. Each story is connected only by the dinner invitation each character receives from the building's owner. By the end of the dinner, the owner will be dead, and no-one's talking.

This is essentially a collection of interconnected short stories, that each follow a different character within the same building. There's a theme of the supernatural and creepy running throughout, and the atmospheric tension builds with each story. It's unsettling and haunting, and very well written. I find with horror that setting the scene is often half the job to creating something truly scary. This certainly manages that.

I will say that I found that there were too many stories, and too many characters at times. Often we do not get to see much of one character before we're rushing on to the next one. This leaves little room for development, and there isn't much complexity to the characters and sometimes verged on the repetitive. I also found the ending very disappointing. It's incredibly rushed given the wonderful build up, and leaves everything feeling a little flat.

Great concept, great atmosphere but fall's a little flat on execution.

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Fantastic. That's all I have to say!

But to elaborate, I have never read anything like this before. I wouldn't usually read 'horror' but this novel was so immersive and descriptive that I felt I physically couldn't put it down. The main reason for 5 stars is that the plot was clever. So clever. Each character was entirely different and they were all haunted in a very specific and diverse way, leading to a fantastic ending that really, truly surprised me.
The descriptions of the hauntings where totally chilling and so creepy - perfect reading for dark, Halloween evenings in.

Even if you don't usually go for this genre, give Thirteen Storeys a try - you won't be disappointed!

Thank you to Netgalley and Orion Publishing for this e-arc in exchange for my unbiased and honest review!

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As a massive fan of Jonathan Sims writing for his podcast, I was really excited to get the ARC.
Thirteen Storeys is effectively a collection of linked short stories. They range from vaguely unnerving to outright horrific, and all of them are really engaging.
However, the downfall of this book is the ending. It feels very rushed, and doesn’t really explain any of the recurring themes that have been brought up. There’s then a very short epilogue tagged on the end, as some sort of ‘happy ending’, which really doesn’t work.
A great set of short stories, but much better to be read apart instead of part of an overarching plot.

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This was an exciting thriller that started of as a literal rollercoaster and never slowed down. The characters were well drawn and the storyline flowed seamlessly. Highly recommended!

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I love horror reads, and I loved "The Magnus Archives," but this book was solidly an okay book.

There was a BIG concept underway for the book, but I'm not sure it quite worked for me. The book is essentially a collection of short stories, some better than others. This method made it very difficult to stay engaged, knowing the next chapter was going to completely shift focus. I understood, functionally, that each story was supposed to be happening in the same weird apartment building. It didn't make a whole lot of sense to me that an entire "side" was like a building in a rundown part of town, dingy, full of 'bad' characters, falling apart, while the other part was a luxury condo building. I know the concept of juxtaposed class and economic disparity was important to the idea of the book, but it felt like a big forced concept shoved into a novel. I think it would have worked better to begin in a room with all of the story-guests, then diverge to individual stories, and to go back and forth between story and combined-room action. I think Sims wrote the book like he was approaching a podcast, rather than a novel, and perhaps that is some of the disconnect for me?

I will say that some of the stories were sufficiently spooky, creepy, and gory, and I could have probably done without the tie-together thing at the end, as it just didn't quite work well for me. My favorites included the story about Anna (and Penny), Violet, Alvita, Jason (and Max), Jesus, and Janek. The more investigative stories were less interesting to me.

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