If you were asked to describe The House of Rumour to a friend in 30 words or less (or thereabouts), what would you say?

I have been having trouble doing just that, describing this novel. I think I would say it was a unique blend of history and fiction, sci fi and the occult, imagination and wonder. It does not have much plot, but also does not suffer for that same problem. The explanation would not be simple, I'd likely only recommend it to people I know would like it and then tell them to just read it.

I agree mostly with what jeffs wrote. I would add that Wars are often fought by misinformation, rumours, lies etc & so we need to be alert to being led astray. I would alert people to look out for examples of that in the book.

Wow, what a challenge. A marvelous mix of fact and fiction about World War II, the worlds of occult (and cults), science fiction, espionage, and new wave music, and how they all intersect (and are manipulated).

History being written by the victors frequently gives only the one explanation of what happened. House of Rumours suggests that there are several sides to a story- everyone in it has a different perspective. I was fascinated by the quote from Ovid. Perhaps it's all rumour!!!

It would depend on which friends. I have a couple that really like the unique and unusual. They would appreciate this book.

" House of Rumour" traces history from the 1930's when SF and fantasy was gaining readers thru magazines like "Azimov's Science Fiction, writers like Robert Heinlein and Phillip K. Dick and fictional characters on a unique journey to the present. Pay attention to main tarot cards as chapter headings and to the quote from Ovid's "The Metamorphoses" before diving into the narrative.

Then I would eagerly await their reactions and the discussion that would follow.

I would first be selective as to whom I would recommend it. And for someone I thought would appreciate it I would say simply be prepared to have to pay attention to who people are and where they are and when they are there or you will get totally lost. The connection between all people, places and time periods is rather tenuous and hard to figure out sometimes.

This book is difficult to pin down, it really defies description and being pigeon-holed into one genre.

A series of interwoven stories, with some historical elements and people. Each story linked to the major arcana of the Crowley tarot deck.

I would describe it as a book that blends several genres and story threads and requires rather a lot of work on the part of the reader. I would also caution the prospective reader that lack of knowledge of historical events and personages of the 1930s and 1940s may be a handicap to understanding some of the story lines.

I almost can't. It was hard to get my arms wrapped around it. It is so disjointed that I had to put it down for days at a time because I was so annoyed.

I too have attempted to give mini-revviews of this book to fellow book lovers and am sure that I fell far short of what could/should be said. I found the book difficult to read, to really "get into." Like ylhoff, I found the book a difficult one as far as holding my attention. I did slog through it, however, but can't actually recommend it. The author worked hard on it; that much is evident, and has some interesting parts throughout. However, I found it hard for me to follow along and that's partially my responsibility and partially the author's. I don't expect every book that I read to be "easy" but this one was beyond my comfort level for most of the time I spent with it.......and that was more time than I would usually spend with a fiction book of this length.

I posted before on this thread, when i wasn't so far into the book. Now that I am almost finished, I would have to say that if I were describing The House of Rumor to anyone, I would have to be honest and tell them that I don't feel it's worth the work. Reading fiction for pleasure should not have to feel like you're back in graduate school.