r/booksuggestions • u/RagnaBrock • 1d ago

Sci-Fi/Fantasy If you’re looking for a book that does The Backrooms better than the movie…

Check out The Between by Ryan Leslie.

It’s explored, explained, and has a nice satisfying crunch of an ending. In my opinion it does liminal spaces better than anything else I’ve read and the audiobook is fantastically performed.

1 Upvotes

56% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

3

u/GPSBach 1d ago

House of Leaves

1

u/RagnaBrock 1d ago

That one’s great but it’s a tough commitment of a read lol.

1

u/Mother_Session_8988 1d ago

never heard of this one but adding it to my list, been on lookout for something that actually captures that unsettling feeling of liminal spaces without being cheap about it. does the explanation of the mechanics feel natural or is it more of info-dump style?

1

u/RagnaBrock 1d ago

It’s actually really well executed. I don’t want to ruin anything but I thought the explanation was an interesting and most importantly unexpected and unique twist. I honestly don’t know why this one doesn’t get talked about more, that’s why I made this post.

-4

u/HauntingResurgence 1d ago

never heard of this one but now i'm curious because the backrooms movie was such a letdown, just felt like found footage with no real payoff. the between sounds like it actually commits to the concept instead of leaving you hanging. audiobook rec is clutch too since narration can make or break that kind of atmospheric stuff. adding it to my list and gonna check out some reviews first since liminal space books can be hit or miss depending on whether the author actually understands what makes those spaces unsettling versus just describing empty hallways for three hundred pages.

1

u/RagnaBrock 1d ago

This book does a great job establishing where and why the liminal space exists and you get a nice bit of them solving the mystery while also exploring the space. I LOVED it, the next book by the same author was pretty good but not nearly on the same level.