6th September, 2021
Review: The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher (Titan Books)
This was my second book by T. Kingfisher after reading The Twisted Ones a few months ago. I was expecting the same kind of creepyness but this novel was a bit different. However, before I say more, let's see what the story is actually about:
Pray they are hungry.
Kara finds these words in the mysterious bunker that she’s discovered behind a hole in the wall of her uncle’s house. Freshly divorced and living back at home, Kara now becomes obsessed with these cryptic words and starts exploring the peculiar bunker—only to discover that it holds portals to countless alternate realities. But these places are haunted by creatures that seem to hear thoughts…and the more you fear them, the stronger they become.
I think it's clear why this synopsis had me intrigued. Unfortunately I found the story to be a bit all over the place which is why it didn't fully convince me. 
The plot starts out a bit slow with Kara aka Carrot moving in with her uncle after her divorce and beginning to work in his fabulously quirky "Museum of Wonders". When she discovers a hole in the wall and, behind it, a bunker that leads to an alternate reality, this immediately conveyed House of Leaves vibes as that part of the story transported the same sense of claustrophobia and foreboding as Danielewski's masterpiece. Once Carrot and Simon pass through the portal and get lost, this feeling turns into something we know from Stranger Things or the Alien movies. From here on, it was all about indescribeable monsters hiding behind the different layers of reality. We have some rather creepy passages, for example involving a school bus, and again I could feel the hopelessness and despair oozing from the pages. So thumbs up for that!
BUT, to me personally, it all seemed a bit of a hot mess. I loved how weird the book is but somehow it all felt a bit convoluted. This may have been the author's intention in order to have us share the protagonists' confusion, but with me it left the impression that at some points Kingfisher wasn't really sure herself where the story would be going. In addition, I was annoyed with Carrot for not seeing what had actually opened the portal because it was RIGHT IN HER FACE ALL THIS TIME, and she could have ended all of this a lot earlier. Eventually she realises what's happening but not before we have a supernatural stampede messing up the museum.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book but I would have loved a bit more ... I don't know ... common sense in the main characters. Despite its "flaws", The Hollow Places is an atmospheric novel that's perfect for this time of year. If you like weird stories, give it a go. :)
Rating: 3.5/5 stars