You've read about them, seen them in movies, you know how they work. Big, mysterious mansions atop a lonely hill that induce mysterious car trouble for anyone traveling alone at night. You go to knock on the door and ask for a phone, and you disappear forever.
Robbie, predictably, experiences car trouble while driving past one such a mansion late at night. He promptly finds himself trapped in a house of robots, vampires, werewolves, old ladies with secret agendas, ghosts, psychos, musical squid, and a whole host of other creatures. But Robbie isn't just going to sit back and disappear without a fight...
Entertainment: ★★★★★
This book is hilarious. It's snarky, clever, and unique. I loved it.
Plot: ★★★★
Although essentially Death Mill Mansion is a compilation of cliches, it still manages to be intelligent, interesting, unique, and exciting.
Characters: ★★★★★
I loved how the authors turn cliches on their heads, sometimes exaggerating them (one of my particular favorites: the main characters attract a vampire by dressing a female party member in a nightgown and putting her in an old-fashioned bedroom; the vampire arrives within minutes, irresistibly drawn) sometimes overturning them, and in general breathing new life into them.
Writing: ★★★★★
I don't think I've ever read anything similar (except maybe Terry Pratchett) and I absolutely loved it. There were hilarious footnotes (books with footnotes are almost always great), I could visualize everything perfectly, and I enjoyed reading the book which is of course the most important thing.
End Result: five stars. A really excellent book. Read it.
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