On their third anniversary, young couple June and Carson take a weekend camping trip in the secluded Ohio woods to celebrate their love. But when a freak storm moves in, destroying everything in its path, their peaceful getaway quickly turns into a desperate struggle for survival.
As they search for shelter from the high winds and constant lightning strikes, they stumble upon an abandoned cabin. It is while they’re exploring this cabin that the two of them uncover an old library of leatherbound books—all of them without credited authors, all of them with titles written in red.
Although hesitant at first, June and Carson decide to pass the time by reading one of these strange books. They settle on “Dandelion,” a seemingly innocent coming-of-age tale that grows more and more sinister the further into the story they get.
Soon, the whispers from these pages echo through the cabin and into reality, and June and Carson realize that the fictional horrors within just may be creeping into their own lives.
When I saw Joe Hempel narrating this one, it immediately grabbed my attention. I hadn’t read Flint Maxwell before, and this book is honestly a great starting point for his work as it showcases his fast-paced, layered style of horror that he seems to be known for. It’s a short novel (just over 200 pages) and the first in a two-book series, and I was impressed by how much it packs in—an isolated, locked-room main narrative with a story-within-a-story structure, where both stories are immersive and unsettling. As I was reading, I got a strong sense that the horror inside the book the characters were reading was somehow bleeding into their reality—a bit spine-tingling in the best way. And there’s a unique combo of tropes—relentless storm, isolated cabin in the woods, locked-room horror, escalating threat, cosmic/supernatural horror, and more!
The main narrative is told in third-person following June and her boyfriend Carson, who are celebrating their anniversary on a camping trip. Right from the first chapter, you know that something’s going to go wrong. After a violent (supernatural-like) storm rolls in, damaging their car and literally blowing their belongings away, they have no other option but to take shelter in an abandoned cabin in the woods—talk about a creepy setup! You immediately see their contrasting outlooks and personalities—June is unsettled by the cabin and reluctant to stay, while Carson is calm, curious, and wants to explore. After hearing strange noises coming from the basement, they find a library of strange books—one of them titled Dandelion. Once they start reading it, the “story within a story” structure begins, making the book much more layered and difficult to put down. The story in Dandelion blends coming-of-age themes with late 90s/early 2000s nostalgia, bullying, and cosmic horror involving a group of teen boys. It frequently cuts back to June and Carson reacting to what they’re reading, and also experiencing increasingly unsettling events that could possibly be related to the horror they’re reading—you have to decide!
With straightforward writing, short chapters, and constant forward momentum, you can realistically fly through this in a single sitting. The climax of the Dandelion story is quite intense, and you’ll literally be feeling creeping dread and may even become emotional or reactive in the final scenes. As for June and Carson’s story, it ends in a more unsettling, anticlimactic cliffhanger, and you get the sense that the horror is just beginning for them—you’ll want to pick up the next book right away! If you’re an audio lover (and a big fan of Joe Hempel like me), the audiobook for book 2 is coming in June!
Narrator Performance
The Cabin of Nowhere: Dandelion is narrated by award-winning voice actor Joe Hempel. Hempel portrays June with a controlled, slightly anxious voice for most of the story and captures how rattled she becomes by the violent storm, as well as her increasing unease about the cabin and everything happening around them. In contrast, Hempel portrays Carson with a calmer, curious, and sometimes overly confident voice that makes him sound like he’s not taking things as seriously as he should. He emphasizes their conflicting reactions to staying in the abandoned cabin with emotional nuance—he adds more reluctance and fear to June’s tone, while Carson sounds very curious to explore, and the tension between them is palpable.
Hempel does a great job transitioning between the main narrative and the “Dandelion” story, giving each its own distinct tone and rhythm so it feels like you’re listening to two separate books. In the Dandelion story, following friends Jamie, Colin, and Eugene, Hempel brings a nostalgic, cinematic feel to their friendship and interactions with the bullies, almost reminiscent of Stand by Me. The scenes where the boys descend into the cave are vividly narrated, and you can feel the creeping dread build. During the climactic scenes, when the cosmic horror escalates, he heightens the sense of unease while keeping listeners rooted in Jamie’s POV, making the final scenes equally terrifying and emotional!
Back in the main storyline, Hempel keeps the tension alive as June and Carson react to what they’ve just read. In the final scenes, despite nothing overly thrilling occurring, you still feel a sense of impending doom—and the cliffhanger ending is delivered in a way that will make you want to jump straight into the next book. The next installment on audio is expected in early June, so be sure to mark your calendars.
Narrator Performance
The Cabin of Nowhere: Dandelion is narrated by award-winning voice actor Joe Hempel. Hempel portrays June with a controlled, slightly anxious voice for most of the story and captures how rattled she becomes by the violent storm, as well as her increasing unease about the cabin and everything happening around them. In contrast, Hempel portrays Carson with a calmer, curious, and sometimes overly confident voice that makes him sound like he’s not taking things as seriously as he should. He emphasizes their conflicting reactions to staying in the abandoned cabin with emotional nuance—he adds more reluctance and fear to June’s tone, while Carson sounds very curious to explore, and the tension between them is palpable.
Hempel does a great job transitioning between the main narrative and the “Dandelion” story, giving each its own distinct tone and rhythm so it feels like you’re listening to two separate books. In the Dandelion story, following friends Jamie, Colin, and Eugene, Hempel brings a nostalgic, cinematic feel to their friendship and interactions with the bullies, almost reminiscent of Stand by Me. The scenes where the boys descend into the cave are vividly narrated, and you can feel the creeping dread build. During the climactic scenes, when the cosmic horror escalates, he heightens the sense of unease while keeping listeners rooted in Jamie’s POV, making the final scenes equally terrifying and emotional!
Back in the main storyline, Hempel keeps the tension alive as June and Carson react to what they’ve just read. In the final scenes, despite nothing overly thrilling occurring, you still feel a sense of impending doom—and the cliffhanger ending is delivered in a way that will make you want to jump straight into the next book. The next installment on audio is expected in early June, so be sure to mark your calendars.
The Cabin of Nowhere: Dandelion is narrated by award-winning voice actor Joe Hempel. Hempel portrays June with a controlled, slightly anxious voice for most of the story and captures how rattled she becomes by the violent storm, as well as her increasing unease about the cabin and everything happening around them. In contrast, Hempel portrays Carson with a calmer, curious, and sometimes overly confident voice that makes him sound like he’s not taking things as seriously as he should. He emphasizes their conflicting reactions to staying in the abandoned cabin with emotional nuance—he adds more reluctance and fear to June’s tone, while Carson sounds very curious to explore, and the tension between them is palpable.
Hempel does a great job transitioning between the main narrative and the “Dandelion” story, giving each its own distinct tone and rhythm so it feels like you’re listening to two separate books. In the Dandelion story, following friends Jamie, Colin, and Eugene, Hempel brings a nostalgic, cinematic feel to their friendship and interactions with the bullies, almost reminiscent of Stand by Me. The scenes where the boys descend into the cave are vividly narrated, and you can feel the creeping dread build. During the climactic scenes, when the cosmic horror escalates, he heightens the sense of unease while keeping listeners rooted in Jamie’s POV, making the final scenes equally terrifying and emotional!
Back in the main storyline, Hempel keeps the tension alive as June and Carson react to what they’ve just read. In the final scenes, despite nothing overly thrilling occurring, you still feel a sense of impending doom—and the cliffhanger ending is delivered in a way that will make you want to jump straight into the next book. The next installment on audio is expected in early June, so be sure to mark your calendars.
