For some reason I seem to like to get novelisations of supposedly horror games. After playing the 7th Guest I looked on TV-Tropes and got a bit more backstory on the game, and I think everything was taken from this book. The first chapters being the intro sequence from the game with Stauf how he murdered the church-going lady, got visions of a doll and then began selling them. Inbetween each of the Stauf chapters there is a time jump to the "present" and how each guest got the invitation and setting up their motivation. Edward Knox meeting a couple of hired goons that want to cash in on his debt, Martine that returned from New York after she was dumped by her then boyfriend and feeling distanced from this small town and wanting something grander, Brian Dutton who have nightmares about seeing the death of his brother as he fell into the lake and drowning while they were iceskating which gave him the opportunity to make something of himself, Julia that have been fired from her banking job due to being drunk on her job and finally Hamilton Temple, the former stage magician that have grown to old to continue his acts of magic.
Interesting set up for the characters, but most is given to Henry Stauf and what drives him, namely the voices in his head. It appears the book hints that Stauf is given instructions by some spirits from another dimension, demons or something, and their goal is to accumulate enough child spirits to open a portal to earth so that they can pass through and wreck havoc upon the world. We could probably guess something like that was happening due to knowing that children were trapped in the dolls and how he seemed to have demonic powers at the end, but it is neat to have the end goal spelled out. Something that wasn't explained in the game is that after the murder he is taken into custody, but are not suspected on the murder due to another drifter being caught stealing the coat of the victim (which leads to that person hanging himself after two days of "questioning" by the local police that even roughed up Stauf for begging, according to the police at least). The money he got went to pay back the latest victim of a theft he caused, but I thought he used the money to get some drinks that then lead to exchanging the doll he carved for room and board. But the doll was all he had.
After this it's basically going for the people arriving at the scene and every scene is described in chronological order so you get what is happening since the game is a bit out of order. Which is a strength since you have the scene of Julia strangling Hamilton fairly early creating this feeling of what happened? The game has the advantage of seemingly giving different death scenes, Hamilton either gets strangled by Julia or is killed by an apparatus in the lab, Dutton either gets stabbed by Edward or gets some flesh eating chemicals that eat through his arms (I thought at least while playing the game, I mean, his room lead to a laboratory). Martine seemed to escape unharmed in the games if you look past the turning into a monster in the crypt or disappearing into the bath, in the book she just dies in the crypt as Edward is killed by Hamilton, which probably also shows a bit of problem with the book since it tries to tie up loose ends and it doesn't always succeed. An example is, how did Hamilton get to the lab? It is past the chapel behind Duttons room and the book just hand-waves it that he went through some doors and ended up there. Same near the ending as Julia is just sent from one floor to where Tad is and then is brought up to the attic to Stauf. They explain it that the powers behind Stauf alters the house for him.
Overall, a couple of scenes was added that you didn't see in the game. First is the things that happened they describe in the library scene (the one that gates you from continuing after doing some puzzles), the mad choir Dutton hears, the blood running in the basement that Elinor experience and some kind of Lovecraftian horror that Hamilton sees in the library that tries to get through the glass-doors. Then we had two scenes with Elinor, the first is after looking through the mace in her room she gets a vision of a man sitting beside her and beginning kissing her, but she resist that as it then turns into Stauf. Which is interesting since it mirrors Edwards fall as he is seduced by Martine, but he doesn't even try or not for long at least. The second scene is as she goes to the attic after learning about the children together with Hamilton and she begins the transformation to the mannequin. Which is kinda horrifying. One scene that disappeared was the bathroom scene with Martine, I guess because nothing actually happens, no dialogue, it was more selling on its sex appeal which isn't that easy in the book. Maybe if they had done it like a thing before the library gathering, but she was sceptical which means they would have to redo the scene.
One thing that bothers me in both the game and the book is that the ending doesn't make sense. The main player is playing as an older version of Tad that now have gotten a second chance to make right (I assume it failed the first time since they all haunted the mansion) and somehow send Stauf to the devil. The book makes an explanation that the souls of the children channeled through Elinor Knox (that is described to being psychic, or almost the Shining from the Stephen King novel) somehow allows the good ending to happen. It's a bit messy. And it's ends very abrupt like in the game, but I wonder if Tad escaped the mansion (all adults are pretty much dead so that ain't happening). And if that happens, how is Tad's future version supposed to exist? I haven't been able to play the 11th hour as of yet and it doesn't appear to be a book version, the only book is some children book.
Final note, it was decent enough, probably only for those that have played the game. Which makes the book better since you can hear the voices of the characters as they speak. Especially Hamilton and his overacting style. I mean... REAL Magic, could STAUF do this, FOR ME? It's awesome!
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