First of a two part series. It was good enough on it's own right. Well written and thought out. But Lumley should have kept it there and not went out of his way for the second one. Just a carbon copy. Lumley is my favorite modern writer. Have all his work and read all his work. This is just fodder for his fans. ( )

This science-fictional horror novel was fast-paced, with 48 short chapters often shifting their focus among various characters. The story was made decidedly less mysterious and less horrific by supplying the villain's-eye view on a regular basis.

The basic premise is that an interstellar civilization has sent an "invigilator" to ensure that no civilized species would be disrupted by their plan to seize and remodel the Earth. This agent has at his disposal a "synthesizer" which can simulate environments in which to test subject species, and this machine/setting is the title's House of Doors.

The human protagonist Spencer Gill is a sort of technopath, capable of intuiting the working of machines. It is obvious from early on that his talent is to be the salvation of the six humans picked up by the House, as well as possibly that of the whole human race. A romantic subplot comes off as, well, mechanical.

I picked up this book solely on the virtue of Lumley's authorship, but it was something of a disappointment. While he did make the alien technology sufficiently exotic to pass muster, the narrative and characterizations failed to hold my attention. Towards the end, I was mostly looking forward to being done with it.

As part of some kind of alien test, several people are sucked into a series of artificially created worlds, some of which are based around their worst personal fears. They are accompanied by one of the aliens in disguise as a fellow human, but unfortunately for them he's determined to make sure they fail.

It's a potentially fun premise, if not a particularly original one. Alas, in pretty much every other possible respect the book ranges from mediocre to (in the case of its treatment of the lone female character) offensively bad, which I think averages it out to "moderately terrible." Strangely enough, that doesn't mean it's entirely devoid of entertainment value. I think a review on Amazon compared it to a B movie, and I think that's a very apt description. Heck, in my mind, even the special effects were pretty bad. Unfortunately, I don't think it ever quite reaches "so bad it's good" levels. More like "so bad it's readable." And sadly, after nearly 500 pages, even whatever B-movie amusement value it possesses starts to get old. ( )

this is one of the few books i've read twice. i read it a second time so i'd remember everything before reading the sequel, Maze of Worlds (House of Doors: The Second Visit in the UK), and also, because i remembered it was great fun.

if you're a fan of the Cube film series, this is right up your alley. utilizing light sci-fi, Lumley introduces us to a microcosmic universe in which the door you choose to open, in an attempt to escape this universe, introduces you to your worst nightmares. this was hip before Saw ever came along, and much more interesting. Lumley comes up with truly inventive and scary worlds behind the doors, not to mention the nasties populating said worlds.

Lumley's characters aren't very developed; he seemed more bent on coming up with cool ways to scare people. this is ok by me, as i wasn't expecting complex characters, but rather, a quick, carnival ride of a tale. i got it. ( )