I didn’t care too much for A Memory Called Empire, but I could see from it that Arkady Martine was an author I wanted to try more from someday. I am so glad I did give them another shot! Rose/House is an excellent story, short but packed full of mystery and a creepy AI house. It succeeds in creating an atmosphere of being watched, observed, and even judged by a house.

If you’re a fan of the Teixcalaan books, I do believe you will like this too. And if you’re like me and looking to give this author a second chance, definitely pick this up!

Note: ARC kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for honest review.
5 stars

4.5 stars-Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novella!

I was SO EXCITED for an Arkady Martine ARC; I love her writing and her Teixcalaan duology so I was really interested to read a different kind of piece by her. This is a short but gripping sci-fi murder mystery with a locked room murder, except the room is a house designed by a renowned architect that is "haunted" by an artificial intelligence. There are multiple viewpoint characters, including two police officers investigating the murder and a former student of the architect who has been designated his "archivist" and is the only person allowed to enter the house since his death. For such a short read, all of the characters are well-developed. The book also really succeeds in the short format-with novellas I often either feel that they should have just been a short story or alternately should have been expanded into a full-length novel, but Martine does a great job keeping the story tight and fast-paced within the given pages while also weaving in larger narratives about art and design, narrative, AI, language, and more.

Martine's writing remains really impressive, and I really enjoyed her take on a different genre. Definitely recommended, looking forward to reading her next work!

I almost never read novellas, but I rushed to pick this one up because I will read anything Arkady Martine writes. This ABSOLUTELY did not disappoint.

This is unsettling, atmospheric sci-fi at its best. If liked the 2014 movie, Ex Machina, you should definitely give this novella a try.

On the surface level, this is a locked room mystery, as we follow a detective trying to investigate a death that took place in an AI-haunted house, which was meant to be completely closed off. But the creeping sense of dread and confusion is the real draw here. Don’t come in expecting a tidy, tied off story.

Practically finished it in one sitting; absolutely fantastic read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Subterranean Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've tried to read Martine's long works prior to this, and didn't have much luck. I know they're popular enough in certain circles, so maybe I'm just jaded. I saw enough potential in what I did read that when I saw this short story available, I requested it. I'm glad I did - it's a quick, smart read that requires some thought at the end to understand what really happened (that pesky house!).

This is another cross-genre story (might be Martine's first, but they're all over the place). The sniff test is always, would it stand on its own with all the science fiction elements removed? The answer here is no, it's not a dressed-up locked-room mystery. This has to be sci-fi, so the author did well in that regard.

There's not much plot I can reveal (beyond what's in the blurb) without ruining it for you, so I will say this. If you're a fan, get it. If you want to be a fan but aren't yet, start here.

Dr. Selene Gisil is the only person allowed in the infamous and isolating Rose House ever since its creator Basit Deniau, Selene's old mentor slash nemesis slash who knows what else, died. (and was compressed into a diamond, but that is not even close to the weirdest thing about this book.)

Selene's singular ability to visit and enter Rose House (her allowance is seven days per year) is frustrating to many people, including herself. her split from Basit was a decade ago and by all accounts a bitter thing. she is the only person allowed to look at Basit's otherwise impregnable materials, his notes and sketches and everything else secreted away there. she can speak to Rose House at length, and Rose House can tell her things it could not tell anyone else.

Selene remains in uneasy frustration over the situation with the house and Basit until she receives a (perhaps inevitable) phone call from the local police informing her that there's a dead body in the house. detective Maritza Smith is holding down the fort at the small China Lake Police Precinct, with only her partner, Oliver Torres, for company. she calls Selene to ask her to return to China Lake and escort Maritza into the house, so she can recover the body and (hopefully) figure out who killed them slash what killed them slash why.

hands-down my favorite part of this novella was Rose House itself. the vibes !!!! god tier. will I ever recover from their deadpan sass, idk. "I'm a piece of architecture, detective. how should I know how humans are like to die?"

Rose House being a hot take on the haunted house trope was just a delight. the spookiest thing about this lovely, brightly lit, well manicured house is the AI that haunts it and I just loved that. it is unlike anything I've read before, honestly. Rose House's dialogue is top notch, especially its conversations with Maritza.

for those wanting a bit more humor, Oliver Torres is a whole ass mood this entire book. he's the first one to say out loud how creepy the house is; he's the first one to turn the hell around and drive back to the precinct when he hears Rose House teasing them. he's also got this incredible quote: "Oliver considered hating her, and decided he could hate her when he had less to do and was looking for a hobby".

absolutely gorgeous novella, I'm gonna be recommending it to anyone who will listen to me. thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc!

Wow, I love Arkady Martine so much. This book was an interesting departure from her Teixcalaan series, but in all the best ways. She’s established herself as a capable science fiction writer in multiple venues and I cannot wait to see what she does next. Rose/House was a very quick read and the writing was absolutely beautiful. There were a couple moments where things were obfuscated by the lyrically of the prose, but I was still able to remain engaged with the story. Can’t wait to see what she does next!

I really enjoyed this book, a sci-fi haunted house!

I just reviewed Rose/House by Arkady Martine. #RoseHouse #NetGalley

Rose House is haunted, everyone says so. Not by a person, but by itself, by the AI that controls every element of the home from climate to lighting and all the rest. It sits in the desert alone, empty, save for a treasure of archival material and blueprints left behind by its builder, art, and . But now there is something else in Rose House, something that doesn't belong and doesn't make much sense... a dead body whose presence requires the house to reach out to local law enforcement and thus set in motion this terrifically creepy tale.

Arkady Martine deftly shows that she can pack just as much of a punch in novella form as she can with full length novels, creating a truly unnerving story that examines the idea of AIs, legacy, and more. Rose House is a wonderful character, completely unnerving and threatening in a way that really stuck with me. I would have loved for this to be a full length novel just so that I could spend more time in this world she created.

This slim but complex book by Arkady Martine displays the narrative skill and sophisticated styling that have already earned her science fiction’s top honors. This is very different than the dense far-future space opera of her other novels.

Using very spare narrative, Martine sketches a near future of economic decline, scarred by climate change. Technology has marched forward and nanotechnology and AI figure prominently.

The story centers around Rose House, the final work of a genius architect who lies improbably entombed in the house. The house contains an AI and, in fact is an AI - a haunt, as it is described. The house is closed to all but one archivist, an estranged former student of the creator. When an unknown body is revealed to be in the house, an unconventional investigation ensues, pursued by a police detective and a non-partner colleague, and involving the archivist and others.

This isn’t an easy book. It explores identity, perception, art, fanaticism, and madness. It is deliberately vague and leaves the reader to fill in many narrative blanks. I found it fascinating, engrossing, and compelling, driving me to read to the end. Very well done.

This is hard for me to describe, but I'll try.
The story is just creepy. Even the way the author writes us creepy. A house that seems to know all and appears to even think? I felt like I was being watched while reading this book! I know that's not the case, but it IS that creepy! A house built in the shape of a rose. A house that has an AI advanced enough to know laws and recognize people. It's fanatical, but it's extremely interesting! I would recommend this book to all.

I loved Arkady Martine’s Teixcalaan novels, so I was thrilled to receive an ARC of Martine’s forthcoming novella. Rose/House combines a murder mystery with speculative fiction set in the near future. Preeminent architect Basit Deniau passed away one year ago, leaving his archive locked within his most legendary creation: Rose House, a fantastical house built as an artificial intelligence. Dr. Selene Gisil, Deniau’s former disciple, thought she had successfully cut ties with Deniau until she was appointed his executor and the only individual permitted access to Deniau’s legacy. Selene is determined to resist the posthumous sway of Deniau and Rose House, when Selene receives notice that a dead body is on the property and she’s a prime suspect.

Martine initially tees up Rose/House as a police procedural with Detective Maritza Smith trying to solve the case with Selene’s conflicted assistance. Rose/House is infused with a deliciously creepy yet understated atmosphere reminiscent of film noir. Further, its desert setting is stark and magnificent. However, in this novella, ideas predominate over everything (including the plot) – ideas on artificial intelligence and legacy, narrative and language, ego and volition. Rose/House is a very smart, philosophical work; reading it I highlighted over thirty lines. It made for an especially good buddy-read.

Rose/House also left me with a number of questions, making me wish Martine had fleshed Rose/House out into a full length novel and provided us with a few more answers. Even so, I found it extremely thought-provoking and look forward to her next work.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advance copy upon request via NetGalley.com.

Arkady Martine wrote the hell out of this novella, and I was simultaneously wanting to read fast to see what happens next and also slow down to enjoy the writing (reading quickly won out in the end). Definitely one of, if not the, best novellas I have read this year.

An amazing standalone novella that blew my socks off. I've loved Martine’s Teixcalaan series for it's intricacy and political detail, but I didn't know how that would translate into shorter works. Well, she's done it, and it's great. Multiple lines made me stop reading and just think about them and their poignancy. About halfway through the book, Martine starts writing prose that hearkens back to ee cummings’ poetry and style. She captures the eternal conflict between auteur and protege, with who created whom, who gets credit for whose work, and how this relationship effects both parties emotionally. As well as the toxicity of those relationships when they go bad. Once you get into the meat of the house and story, it becomes creeping in the way that House of Leaves (Danielewski) made you wary of hallways and staircases. And, finally, I think the discussion of AI and computers controlling our lives and environments is very interesting and Martine took it in a direction that makes sense but that I honestly haven't read in other AI sci fi. Recommend this book for people who like creepy houses, AI houses, The Veldt by Ray Bradbury, and generally anyone who likes an uncommon murder mystery.

I'm not really sure what I just read. It was confusing, things were told that didn't make sense. It's a murder mystery but there also appears to be some body possession sci-fi aspect? The setting in the desert is atmospheric and the descriptions of the house made it seem like a mirror maze haunted fun-house. I wish there had been more on the architect who designed it, since he was supposed to be encased in diamond which I think is pretty cool and could have made some interesting plot points. Maybe they did and I didn't catch it. This story just left me feeling odd.

The haunt... Rose House is haunted. Not by ghosts, or the dead man who created it and now sits as a diamond, all humanity compressed into a single gemstone, and not by the second dead man who is not supposed to be there. Rose House is haunted by itself. It is the haunt. It is Rose House.

This is a fantastic novella. Creepy, chilling, intriguing, and speculative, I gobbled it down in a single sitting and found myself immediately wishing for more. It's a haunted house in the future, haunted by its own artificial intelligence. What an incredible concept, and such incredible execution. A fabulously creepy writing style, a wonderful portrayal of an AI, and an ending that will leave you starving for answers... What are you waiting for, an invitation? Rose House does not invite visitors.

Arkady Martine has written a postmodern mystery set in a near-future SF universe where resources are scarce, AI is advanced, but humans are just as self-centered as ever. Rose/House is saying something about storytelling or how we derive meaning from narrative - and by narrative, we mean the stories (or lies) humans tell ourselves. The novella has a plethora of viewpoint characters, each of whose different perspective builds on the others to give the reader a choice or what to believe.

It's also about art and artists, about ego and ownership, about friends and enemies and colleagues and mentors. If you're looking for a detective story all wrapped up with a bow, you're not getting that. But if you're looking for SF that makes you think, you're in the right place.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novella.

Genre: speculative fiction, science fiction, postmodern mystery

All of renowned Architect’s Basit Deniau’s houses are haunted. But his final design, Rose House, is the best, and also the most haunted. A couple hundred years into the future, most architecture has Artificial Intelligence integrations, and Rose House is no exception…other than that its AI seems to have evolved into making intelligent decisions. Maritza Smith of the China Lake police precinct gets a call on the tipline from the house itself about a dead body on its premises. Maritza opens an investigation, but discovers she cannot access the house without Dr. Selene Gisil, Deniau’s protege.

Rose/House is an interesting novella. For just over a hundred pages, it has a lot going on: there is a murder of course, and the mysteriousness of the house as the basic plot. But this is focused more on ideas than plot. It’s an unsettling approach, and yet I think it works well. There is critique on the concept of narrative, on the limits (or lack of limits) on AI, and on the limits of personal agency. As someone who has worked in architecture for over thirteen years, I appreciated some of the subtexts that felt like design vs Design and architecture vs Architecture (or the practical versus the highbrow). I’ll be recommending this novella to all of my colleagues, for sure!

I couldn’t have picked a better group to read this - the three of us all loved Martine’s space opera duology, and while this could not be more different from Martine’s more typical narratives, we read widely enough to have an in depth discussion on what Martine may be trying to do with this. I’ll actually be really interested to hear more from Arkady Martine to see how close we were while discussing the limits of motive and narrative.

Don’t discount the page length on this one - I found myself needing to reread parts of it to try to understand it. I’d strongly recommend this one to those who like their science fiction to edge more towards speculative and that makes you think after reading. Rose/House isn’t a new favorite, but I’ll be thinking about it for a while and certainly plan to reread it.