A review of “It Waits on the Top Floor (Horror Lurks Beneath Book 1) by Ben Farthing

Full disclosure. I was provided with a copy of this book by the author or their representative, however, have voluntarily chosen to write a review. All opinions are my own.

Tower of Hell

In the middle of the night in a Richmond, Virginia suburb a skyscraper appears. Where there was once an empty lot now stands a hulking mammoth of glass and steel. After waking up to his wife leaving him and his newly adopted son, this is the last thing that Chris Haberman wants to see. As a struggling architect with his career almost destroyed at the hands of his “mentor” this building seems too familiar. And when his professional nemesis appears on his doorstep with an offer to work with him to determine how the building appeared in a matter of hours, Chris is skeptical. But with his current situation, the money being offered would ensure that Eddie and himself did not become homeless in the near future. When Eddie overhears his dad’s conversation he decides to save the day and set out to the newly appeared building to find the treasure and save his family. Chris finds himself in a race against time as he joins up with his once mentor, an icon in the construction industry, and her associates with one goal in mind – break into the building and learns its secrets. But for Chris Haberman, he also needs to find Eddie before he falls victim to the evil lurking at the top of the tower.

The second I saw the cover for It Waits on the Top Floor, which features what I can only describe as an almost Cthulu-esque creature perched larger than life atop an equally eerie building I knew I had to read this book. It Waits is a wild ride that’s part Urban Exploration, part Twilight Zone and all deliciously sinister. Just when you think that the building cannot get any more bizarre, Farthing ups the ante with another floor and another anomaly. Tending to the seemingly abandoned tower are the “lurchers”, who for the most part mind their own business… unless you try to hurt their property.   The main character Chris is the perfect example of a father who will do anything to save his son, which adds to the charm and likeability of the character as an adopted father. Eddie is the personification of a broken child who only wants to be loved and tries to be helpful to keep the adults in his life from leaving. It’s heartbreaking, but Eddie’s child-like qualities including referencing a video game as his game plan for searching for the treasure in the tower really made the character a welcome respite from the evil lurking within and was probably my favorite character in the entire novel.  Farthing’s descriptions of the tower and each different floor were so vivid that the tower transcended from just a building and became part of the cast of characters as each nuance and twist was discovered. Farthings, descriptions of events, floors, and situations are so vivid it was not hard to imagine myself tagging along, trying to find the purpose of the tower, and then ultimately trying to make it out alive.

This is the first of Farthing’s books that I have had the chance to read, but I was not disappointed, and I am now looking forward to the second book in this series “They Cling to the Hull” which is set to be released later this year. If you like your horror twisted, mysterious, and unique It Waits on the Top Floor would be a great read.