[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 483: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 112: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 112: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/bbcode.php on line 112: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is no longer supported, use preg_replace_callback instead [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/functions.php on line 4668: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at [ROOT]/includes/functions.php:3815) [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/functions.php on line 4670: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at [ROOT]/includes/functions.php:3815) [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/functions.php on line 4671: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at [ROOT]/includes/functions.php:3815) [phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/includes/functions.php on line 4672: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at [ROOT]/includes/functions.php:3815) Horror World • View topic - Floating Staircase
"[Ronald Malfi] keeps you guessing at the answer all the way to the final chapter, while stringing along the argument for each option so that they all remain strong possibilities." —Chicago Center for Literature and Photography (March 1, 2011)
"Part classic haunting and part fast-paced thriller." —Adrienne Jones, author, Brine
"Malfi's lyrical prose and sensitive approach only heighten his tale's emotional impact, and the final turn of events is both surprising and expertly set up." —Publishers Weekly (August 1, 2011)
"Shamrock Alley (2009) was a fine crime thriller, The Ascent (2010) was a compelling story of self-redemption, and this is a clever, emotionally resonant foray into horror." —David Pitt, Booklist (August 2011)
"Floating Staircase is an outstanding achievement in the supernatural horror genre." —Jordan Norton, www.TheCrowsCaw.com (August 2011)
Joined: Wed May 30, 2007 12:14 am Posts: 1454 Location: Kitchener, ON
I just started FLOATING STAIRCASE and it is really too early to talk about the story, but your descriptions of the house are awesome. You have great vocabulary and a natural talent for word placement. In the first 35pgs I kept looking at the cover, thinking, is this Poe? Nope, Ron Malfi. Another ten pages, is this Shirley Jackson, NO, it’s Malfi!
I also must say that you and Medallion Press are awesome together. Physically, the book is a phenomenon from decades ago. The pages are thick and crisp. The fonts are big enough that no magnifying glass is required with generous spacing margin spacing. Awesome cover and great shadow graphics at the beginning of each chapter. For mass market, this is a gorgeous book. I am surprised that more authors that left Leisure have not migrated there.
Thanks for the kind words. The reviews so far for this book have been fantastic--I couldn't be happier. And to hear readers' reactions being so positive, well, that just makes my day.
As for Medallion, I think they're one of the best kept secrets in publishing. They put out a great product and are incredibly supportive of their authors, not to mention my editor is one of the best in the business. I've got two more books contracted through them and expect to have more as I continue to write them. Medallion Press is the type of publisher every reader should be supporting.
Nice blog! To be honest with you, maybe because of my age, but I didn't think twice about the payphone bit in the book. I think the lack of technology makes the horror more real for me, but again, I grew up without kindles, nooks, cell phones and the like.
But as an aside, my spell check doesn't recognize the word "payphone".
That was a nice essay. I can understand a lot of the confusion about The Ascent, but really shouldn't good books be read no matter what genre they might fall into or what genre lines they may blur? The Ascent was a kick ass story, period.
You keep writing them and we'll keep reading them.
I finished this today and I have to say this book kicks all kinds of ass.
I'll post some more in-depth thoughts in a day or two, but I do want to say that I thought Floating Staircase was a nice companion piece to The Ascent. I noticed this once with two Steve Vernon stories (unfortunately, I don't remember which now) and the farther along in Floating Staircase I got, the more I thought about it. The Ascent is more thriller than horror tale, but it does have some supernatural elements to it (or does it). Floating Staircase is a little more equal between thriller and horror, but it has strong supernatural elements to it. And the protaganists in each is very haunted by their pasts (and presents). Hopefully, I'm not reading to much into that, but I thought I'd point it out.
There were several things that really stuck out to me in Floating Staircase.
The first, as I mentioned and Ronald confirmed, is that is a nice companion piece to The Ascent. In The Ascent, the character (sorry, I forget his name) thinks his dead wife is haunting him at certain points in his life, but he's really not sure. In Floating Staircase, Travis Glasgow actually sees the figure of a small boy in the shadows of his house, hears doors opening and closing, and witnesses other evidence of the haunting. The thing about Travis is he's not sure if it's the boy who drowned in the lake behind the house or his dead brother, whom he feels he killed when they were children. The two hauntings tend to blend in Travis' mind.
Travis is an author. There are a lot of stories about characters who are authors moving into haunted houses, and a lot of times the fact they're authors is really played up. Ronald doesn't let you forget Travis is an author, but not in a way that feels like he's beating you over the head with it. It feels more natural than that, with nice little touches here and there. For example, while watching the police investigate a crime scene, Travis watches them and realizes he's always written those scenes in his books wrong from an emotional point of view.
The relationship between Travis and his wife Jodie feels completely natural. Too often, the spouse has a tendency to overreacting, but you don't see that here. Jodie experiences a small fraction of what Travis does, but she's coming at it from a more rational direction than Travis. When she does move out of the house because of Travis' behavior, it feels more like "I can't live with you while you're scaring me like this but I love you" as opposed to the usual "you're a sick person and I just can't live with that and this separation feels totally forced because I didn't express any of these feelings until I left."
I also like that Travis makes mistakes while he's investigating the death of the boy. He does some things he knows is wrong, or at least morally fuzzy, but the desire to learn the truth is too much for him. And, as his police officer brother Adam points out, sometimes you wonder if Travis is doing this for the boy or to ease his own guilt about the death of his brother.
The police officers in the book don't feel like stock characters. You don't learn much about them beyond Adam and the police chief, but they feel more like real people than the cookie cutter cops from any other book or tv show.
The story about Travis and his brother is told in flashbacks throughout the book. I know a lot of people don't like flashbacks, but here they're excellently placed and don't hurt the flow of the story, but enhance it. Another nice touch is that, though the guilt from his brother's death weighs heavily on Travis, it takes Adam to point out that all of Travis' books are about his brother's death. He's so invested in the guilt that he can't see the obvious.
One thing I did figure out was one of the secrets of David and Veronica Dentman, who were uncle and mother to the dead boy. David's last line in the book pretty much confirmed it for me, but guessing it really didn't affect my enjoyment of the story.
I really dug Floating Staircase and I hope everyone else gives it a try. Thanks for a wonderful book.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 7 guests
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum