This is a difficult book to review. Don’t get me wrong, I truly loved it! But, due to the nature of the storyline, it is very hard to write a good review without giving anything away.

I’ll tell you up front this isn’t a typical post-apocalyptic story. In fact, what it amounts to is a story about people trying to prevent an apocalypse.

There’s a lot going on in this book. Nate is your average Joe, working a dead end job, just about broke, no girlfriend. He needs an apartment and, as luck would have it, gets a lead on a decent place. Low rent, close to work, decent neighbors. Not too long after he moves in, he discovers this apartment building is…different. Each unit is unique, in both size and configuration. One unit might be a two-story loft, and next door is a glorified broom closet with kitchenette. Some doors are padlocked shut and appear to have been so for quite some time.

His neighbors, too, each appear to have secrets. Nobody is who they seem to be on a surface level. While I guess you could say that about anyone, a few of these folks take it to an extreme.

As Nate and his new friends delve deeper into the mysteries in the building, they discover just how deep those mysteries go.

Prior to reading this book, if you’d told me the story involved both Tesla and Lovecraftian Elder Gods, and it works, I’d have replied, “Go ahead, pull the other one.” But, it does work. The story is well-written and keeps you captivated. The author pulls you along, bit by bit, with each discovery intelligently leading to the next.

The best comparison I can give you is this — imagine if the TV show LOST had been better written and that the story had ended in a way that really made sense. That’s what you get with -14- by Peter Clines.

The characters are detailed just enough to make them realistic, without having to resort to umpteen pages of back story on each one. I particularly liked Tim, probably because he reminded me of an old friend. Xela too was a lot of fun.

All in all, I really enjoyed the book. It isn’t the sort of story that grabs you by the throat. Rather, it taps you on the shoulder and says, “Hey, wanna see something neat?”