Mr. Shivers
Robert Jackson Bennett
2009 · 327 pages · Horror
How it reads
Mr. Shivers is horror (historical supernatural horror, specifically), and its dominant mood is eerie. It's atmospheric and uncanny, with a sense that something is wrong. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.
It's set in a rural setting, in the historical past, told in the third person, staying close to one character. Its central concerns are loss and grief, survival and redemption. In weight it's heavy and literary — denser, more serious, and more demanding of you.
It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending is dark — no rescue, no neat bow. At 327 pages it's an ordinary novel's length. It's moderately known: read by plenty of people, but not a household name.
Pick it up if…
- you're in the mood for something eerie
- you want something to chew on
- you want a complete story in one book
Maybe not if…
- you need something cosy or heartwarming
- you need a happy ending
All 15 dimensions
- Genre
- horror
- Author gender
- male
- Author experience
- debut
- Setting: place
- rural
- Setting: time
- historical
- Mood / feeling
- eerie
- Pace
- moderate
- Tone / weight
- heavy and literary
- Length
- medium
- Narrative style
- third person, one viewpoint
- Publication era
- modern classic
- Popularity
- moderately known
- Series vs standalone
- standalone
- Themes
- loss and grief, survival, redemption
- Ending style
- dark
What these mean: the 15 dimensions of a book.
Books with a similar reading
The closest books in Match Book's catalogue across the same dimensions, and what they share.
- Desert CreaturesKay ChronisterShares: horror, eerie mood, heavy and literary tone, moderate pace
The Girl from RawbloodCatriona WardShares: horror, eerie mood, heavy and literary tone, moderate pace
The Shape of DarknessLaura PurcellShares: horror, eerie mood, heavy and literary tone, moderate pace- HellmouthGiles KristianShares: horror, eerie mood, historical supernatural horror, dark ending
- Recessive NatureBrandon Perras-SanchezShares: horror, eerie mood, heavy and literary tone, moderate pace
- Reluctant ImmortalsGwendolyn KisteShares: horror, eerie mood, heavy and literary tone, moderate pace
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