I acquired a evaluate copy from the writer. This doesn’t have an effect on the contents of my evaluate and all opinions are my very own.

The Staircase within the Woods by Chuck Wendig

Mogsy’s Ranking: 3.5 of 5 stars

Style: Horror

Collection: Stand Alone

Writer: Del Rey (April 29, 2025)

Size: 400 pages

Creator Info: Web site

I not often miss choosing up a brand new Chuck Wendig ebook, which is why I actually needed to like The Staircase within the Woods. I assume in some methods, I did—but it surely additionally took me manner longer to complete than I anticipated. Regardless of a powerful starting and finish, I discovered myself slowed down by the center part which felt repetitive and a bit bloated, slowing down momentum.

Nonetheless, there’s no denying this ebook has one hell of a killer premise! It encompasses a group of youngsters—Owen, Lore, Matty, Hamish, and Nick—who expertise a supernatural tragedy one summer time, reuniting many years later to confront the reality of what actually occurred. All of it started in highschool, when throughout one in all their traditional hangouts within the woods, the 5 buddies bump into a wierd spiral staircase rising out of the bottom and resulting in nowhere. One fateful night time, buzzed on booze and bravado, Matty decides he desires to climb it—and he’ll even do it by himself, if the others are too rooster. Solely, upon ascending, he vanishes with out a hint. The remainder of the group is left traumatized and grief-stricken, blamed by the group for his or her good friend’s disappearance. Shattered by guilt and unanswered questions, they finally graduate and go their separate methods.

Twenty years later, nonetheless, Nick reaches out to the others with dire information and a request: first, he has terminal most cancers, and second, he desires to search out out what occurred to Matty. Reluctant however unable to refuse their dying good friend, Lore, Owen, and Hamish agree to fulfill. They be taught that Nick has discovered the damned staircase once more, and this time when he leads them to it, all of them make the climb. However the thriller of what befell Matty isn’t going to be solved so simply. Actually, issues get bizarre quick. The chums discover themselves inside a home that shouldn’t exist, a surreal place the place every room forces them to face their deepest fears and relive their worst recollections. They quickly notice the home is taking part in with them, feeding off their ache. And whereas they’ve come to search out Matty, it’s unsure now whether or not any of them will make it out alive.

I’ll begin with the positives. The supernatural components in The Staircase within the Woods are definitely efficient on the subject of the nippiness issue, much more so once I discovered from the creator’s observe that he drew inspiration from actual stories of mysterious staircases discovered in the course of wooded areas, together with one he personally encountered. Whereas many of those sightings prove to have completely rational and mundane explanations—like remnants of outdated pictures and searching platforms, or deserted homes the place the remainder of the construction has fallen across the staircase and lengthy since been reclaimed by nature—the concept nonetheless struck me as creepy. In any case, the imagery itself is relatively unsettling, making it straightforward to think about different uncanny prospects.

Clearly, a lot of the novel was additionally pushed by tensions between the characters, a results of all their psychological and emotional baggage. Because the saying goes, you’ll be able to run however you’ll be able to’t cover, and irrespective of how exhausting they’ve tried, not one of the remaining 4 buddies can transfer on from what occurred to Matty. Even after attaining reasonable success as a sport designer, Lore stays deeply sad and feels victimized by everybody round her (and a few of her political rants could be a bit a lot). Owen is a nervous wreck, and his nervousness has solely worsened since his highschool days. Hamish, the one one married with youngsters, is nonetheless unhappy and self-destructive. And though Nick could act like a clown, the humor is merely a masks that hides the true desperation inside him. To be sincere, none of them are significantly likeable, however they’re advanced and really feel real. I beloved studying about their relationships previously and within the current, and essentially the most rewarding half was seeing how these connections are damaged and healed once more.

However now for the not-so-great. Like I stated, not every little thing labored for me, significantly the story’s pacing. Whereas it was clean crusing for many of the first half, quickly after, the plot began spinning its wheels. The characters find yourself splitting up, spending a very long time transferring by way of this home of horrors, with every room throwing increasingly more horrible issues at them till these scenes start to lose all which means. Sooner or later, all of it feels finished for the sake of shock worth. The scares additionally blur collectively and develop into extra of the identical outdated, usual. I undoubtedly struggled to get by way of this center part, placing the ebook down a number of occasions then discovering it exhausting to encourage myself to select it again up once more.

That stated, choosing it again up once more I did, and I’m glad. As soon as the holding sample lastly breaks, the plot will get proper again all the way down to enterprise, pushing ahead relatively than lingering in its personal sluggish ambiance. The payoff on the finish of the ebook was nicely well worth the wait, and the story’s decision tied its themes of friendship, grief, and restoration again to the way in which issues had been for the characters earlier than Matty’s disappearance tore them aside. Evidently, I used to be proud of the conclusion, which was each satisfying and touching.

Regardless of my misgivings into its pacing points, I might nonetheless suggest The Staircase within the Woods, particularly should you take pleasure in tales about unexplained mysteries, haunted forests, and reunions between much more haunted buddies. Admittedly, this one took a little bit of a climb for me, however in the long run there was nonetheless a lot to love.