Out of the Basement, Thriller Review

Out of the Basement by author James Rourke

Thank you so much to author James Rourke for providing me with a copy of Out of the Basement in exchange for this honest review.

Out of the Basement is an unusual combination of genres that makes for a unique read. It’s part thriller and part self help book. Definitely not a typical crossover.

The protagonist, Michael, is on a book tour for his new best seller entitled “Bruce and Buddha: How Rock and Roll and Ancient Wisdom Can Guide your Life.” Another atypical combination but I’m down with it.

He’s having nightmares and a lot of trouble getting enough sleep. Yet another thing I can definitely and unfortunately relate to.

Michael is the epitome of smooth talking though and can win over any coworker or audience with all the right words at just the right times. But he has some dark secret that not many people know and the reader wont discover until near the end.

The book follows him on his book tour as he gives many presentations and speeches about philosophy, becoming a more complete person, and how life lessons can be found anywhere. You don’t have to take a course in philosophy or religion to gain wisdom, Bruce Springsteen has a lot of wisdom in much easier to understand lyrics!

As someone who has a book called “The Simpsons and Philosophy” sitting proudly on my shelf I certainly understand the need to approach ancient wisdom through modern context. It’s just so much easier that way and the result is essentially the same.

Author James Rourke, according to the book jacket, is a teacher of history, psychology, and philosophy himself. He certainly brings a discernible knowledge to the text in his book. It seems he is disguising his own philosophy and self help book within the pages of a thriller.

I do wish Out of the Basement was a little heavier on the thriller side and a little lighter on the self-help speeches. It’s a short novel that seemed to get a little bogged down with whole speeches to read as well as philosophy quotes at the start of each chapter break.

By the end it is a touching story about Michael being able to find his way out of the metaphorical basement he has been trapped in since childhood. It’s a tale of redemption and self forgiveness as well as how to accept that which you cannot change.

There is some good advice in these pages and the story is entertaining enough to make the harder lessons go down a littler easier. A much better read than the traditional self help book for sure.

3/5 basement doors 🚪🚪🚪

For more indie horror check out Mike Rankin

in order to keep me up to my ears in books please consider using the following amazon affiliate link to purchase this product. it’s at no extra cost to you and would really help me out, thank you and happy reading!

Buy it here: Out of the Basement