House of Hunger, Alexis Henderson
House of Hunger, Alexis Henderson
2 Rating(s)
List: $22.50 | Sale: $15.75
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House of Hunger

Author: Alexis Henderson

Narrator: Jeanette Illidge

Unabridged: 10 hr 2 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 09/27/2022


Synopsis

WANTED - Bloodmaid of exceptional taste. Must have a keen proclivity for life’s finer pleasures. Girls of weak will need not apply.

A young woman is drawn into the upper echelons of a society where blood is power in this dark and enthralling Gothic novel from the author of The Year of the Witching.

Marion Shaw has been raised in the slums, where want and deprivation are all she know. Despite longing to leave the city and its miseries, she has no real hope of escape until the day she spots a peculiar listing in the newspaper seeking a bloodmaid.

Though she knows little about the far north—where wealthy nobles live in luxury and drink the blood of those in their service—Marion applies to the position. In a matter of days, she finds herself the newest bloodmaid at the notorious House of Hunger. There, Marion is swept into a world of dark debauchery. At the center of it all is Countess Lisavet.

The countess, who presides over this hedonistic court, is loved and feared in equal measure. She takes a special interest in Marion. Lisavet is magnetic, and Marion is eager to please her new mistress. But when she discovers that the ancient walls of the House of Hunger hide even older secrets, Marion is thrust into a vicious game of cat and mouse. She’ll need to learn the rules of her new home—and fast—or its halls will soon become her grave.

About The Author

Alexis Henderson is the author of the Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist, The Year of the Witching, and the forthcoming House of Hunger. When she's not writing, you'll find her tending to an assortment of houseplants or nursing a hot cup of tea.


Reviews

Goodreads review by MJ on January 21, 2021

Zimbabwean writer who perished of AIDS at 35, Marechera’s first longish work is a surreal stitching of rant, memoir, lyrical rumination, and sardonically observational prose, a striking and unique snapshot of post-war Rhodesia from the perspective of an over-educated outsider in a world of brutality......more

Goodreads review by Jonathan on October 28, 2020

Like pressing your eye and ear to a bleeding wound. Broken and torn and breaking and tearing anew with every word. A hard read because of it, but a vital one.......more

Goodreads review by PreciousNapetha on January 28, 2021

Marechera’s The house of Hunger debut novella. He was born in Rhodesia, 1952 and died in Zimbambwe, 1987. “I got my things and left” one of the best opening lines in African literature and as a reader, you already know that you are in for a ride. While indulging on this book, you keep on questioning t......more

Goodreads review by Jim on April 10, 2017

Growing up in colonial Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe)! Outstanding! Five stars!! The short stories are sublime. The author, who died at the age of 35, writes wonderfully imaginative similes. "And outside wet snow piled up softly like things which a man has chosen to forget, . . . . " (p. 140). "One learns a......more

Goodreads review by Vilis on October 25, 2020

Brīnišķīgas ainas un veseli stāsti mijās ar vienkārši dīvainām pasāžām, bet tādu labi dusmīgu izvirdumu kopumā ir vairāk, beigās sanāk gandrīz Zimbabves Selīns.......more


Quotes

"Delicious…Like a modern-day Anne Rice, Henderson has a gift for creating a world engorged with desire and death.” - The New York Times

House of Hunger is gorgeous and lushly dark, a nightmare vision that will pull you into its terrifying grip. Alexis Henderson is a master at creating enthralling fear.” -Simone St. James, New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Cold Cases

“The kind of book that deserves to be devoured. Deliciously brutal, hypnotic, and brimming with ravenous malice, Alexis Henderson has crafted a bloody, sapphic fever dream of a novel and I can’t wait to read it again.”– Francesca May, International Bestselling Author of Wild and Wicked Things

"A gory gem of a story that sinks in its teeth and won’t let up, House of Hunger proves that Alexis Henderson is one of the best Gothic writers out there."–Hannah Whitten, New York Times bestselling author of For the Wolf

"With decadent prose as bewitching and as dangerously sharp as a rare gemstone that could slice you open at any moment, Alexis Henderson's House of Hunger is a Gothic masterpiece that demands to linger like the coppery scent of blood in the air long after the final page is turned."-Eric LaRocca, author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke

"Readers will devour every page of House of Hunger. Alexis Henderson delivers a chilling, atmospheric tale shrouded in mystery, indulgence, deceit, and dangerous consequences."-N.E. Davenport, author of The Blood Trials

“It’s a lurid, luscious debauch of a book.” – The Guardian (UK)
 
“Rich with suspense and intrigue, the novel is equal measures addictive and haunting.” – The Independent (UK)

“Breathlessly paced and dripping with gothic decadence, Henderson’s second novel (after The Year of the Witching) cements her status as one of horror’s best new voices.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“With sumptuous prose and decadent, Gothic atmosphere, Alexis Henderson spins a lush tale of depravity, sensuality, and horror that kept me on my toes until the bitter end.”-Isabel Cañas, author of The Hacienda

“A beguiling Gothic feast. Every lush, gorgeous page oozes atmosphere and delicious dread. Alexis Henderson is an exhilarating talent, creating rich new worlds that terrify and enchant. House of Hunger is an exceptional work of dark fantasy. Magnificent.” –Rachel Harrison, author of Such Sharp Teeth and Cackle