The concept of a novel being supported by pictures is fascinating to me. This is a young adult novel, and it has pictures! But these are not ordinary pictures. Oh, no! These pictures (or rather, photographs) enhance the story by unfathomable magnitudes.
I realize that what I am saying can also be applied to children's books or graphic novels, but the concept utilized in Asylum is much bigger! In children's books and graphic novels, the pictures really do make the story. When pictures are utilized in novels, it enhances the story.
Asylum is about, well, a summer school whose dormitories are in an abandoned mental hospital which housed grotesque "cures" on the patients. It only makes sense that a summer student (or two) would become possessed within the course of their tenure at the school. The novel by itself is creepy enough to give you nightmares, but when the novel is paired with photographs (actual, albeit somewhat edited, old photographs from asylums back in the day), be prepared for a sleepless night.
This is undoubtedly a quick and satisfying read with a cliffhanger that will leave you hungry for the sequels.
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