Nine Rooms in the House, by Dave Ellis

Nine Rooms in The House is an unflinching exploration of life, death, and what might—or might not—come after.

In “John’s Book,” humanity has reached its quiet, inevitable end. John Ringrose, perhaps the last of his kind, lives contentedly among ruins, anticipating that the planet and its creatures will soon celebrate humanity’s final breath. His journey to a decaying house on a hill, haunted by the ghosts of the past, marks the beginning of an unsettling meditation on extinction.

The story shifts to Virgil John, a flawed writer confronting his own mortality. In “Alison’s Book” and “Scap’s Book,” Virgil navigates a surreal afterlife—guided first by a nameless spirit, then by his loyal dog, Scap—through rooms that echo his failures and regrets. Each space forces a reckoning with what can’t be undone. Finally, in “Virgil’s Book,” he emerges into a distorted version of life, where the familiar feels alien. Is this redemption or something far stranger?

A dark, unconventional narrative inspired by The Divine Comedy, Nine Rooms in The House is for readers who embrace bewilderment, reject tidy conclusions, and find beauty in discomfort.