The High House by James StoddardMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Teenage me would have loved The High House, first in the Evenmere Chronicles series. Middle-aged me has seen enough of the classic heroic fantasy genre.
Evenmere is a Victorian mansion of apparently infinite size, containing entire nations within it, somehow linked to the entire universe. Wind the clocks, light the lamps, keep Order and Chaos in check within the house, or else the entire universe suffers the consequences. The son of the Master of the House, Carter Anderson, has lived away from the House but must take over when his father disappears and is presumed lost. He has to find his way and learn the powers he needs to become Master and keep Evenmere safe and secure.
This story is very familiar fantasy, with lots of magic, some fantastic creatures, and mystical forces. It's also a pretty standard "hero's journey" story, with the unready youngster given a trial by fire and emerging heroic. Other than Carter, the characters are largely one-dimensional stereotypes who fill one role with little complexity. The idea of an infinite house is a bit out of the ordinary, but it's divided into nations and regions much like any fantasy world.
Reading through The High House feels almost like deja vu. Hey, this bit sounds like Lord of the Rings. There's a part that reminds me of Narnia. Oh, some strange people that would fit nicely into the Wizard of Oz. Hey, that odd creature could be right out of Alice in Wonderland. And so on. This isn't a bad thing, exactly, it just means that I've read so much of the classic heroic fantasy genre that the story needs something pretty significantly different to stand out. And the infinite-house setting just wasn't enough do it, for me at least.
I didn't dislike The High House by any means, but I wasn't drawn into the story either. It just was too much like other similar series to hold my interest, so I'm in no rush to read the other books. Others who like this kind of fantasy story, particularly those who aren't as prone to compare to the classics as I am, may like it better.
