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britishkneecap's review against another edition
I borrowed it from the library and just have too many books myself now that I dont think I will go through the effort to borrow it again to finish it rip
verkisto's review against another edition
2.0
I'll admit that I didn't quite get all of the stories in this collection, but even among those stories that eluded me, there was a sense of strength in them that made me pay attention to them, as if to say, "There's something important here, if only you dig to find it." The stories I did get, though, were powerful, with an imagery that will linger for weeks, if not years.
"Tissue Ablation and Variant Regeneration: A Case Report" is the story most people know (and for good reason), but they shouldn't overlook the title story, "Drown Yourself", "Shed His Grace", "Keeping House", "The Wet Suit", "The Thing Itself", or "Bestseller". They're all powerful in their own ways, moreso because Blumlein has a clinical, straightforward way of telling the stories that makes their emotion that much more effective when they sneak up on you. You feel like you're reading clinical reports, not stories, but then he surprises you.
We lost Blumlein last year. I don't just mean he died; I mean we lost a talent way too soon.
"Tissue Ablation and Variant Regeneration: A Case Report" is the story most people know (and for good reason), but they shouldn't overlook the title story, "Drown Yourself", "Shed His Grace", "Keeping House", "The Wet Suit", "The Thing Itself", or "Bestseller". They're all powerful in their own ways, moreso because Blumlein has a clinical, straightforward way of telling the stories that makes their emotion that much more effective when they sneak up on you. You feel like you're reading clinical reports, not stories, but then he surprises you.
We lost Blumlein last year. I don't just mean he died; I mean we lost a talent way too soon.
charshorrorcorner's review
4.0
3.5 Stars!
Michael Blumlein is not only an author, he's a doctor too. His medical background influences a lot of the stories in this collection.
A few of these tales really knocked me back-most especially "Tissue Ablation and Variant Regeneration: A Case Study." It was told in Blumlein's crisp, cold, prose and I think that made the story even more horrific than it already was.
Tissue Ablation was the second story in this collection and it was so good, my expectations were raised,(perhaps unreasonably high?), for the rest of this book. I didn't feel the remaining stories lived up to the promise set by the first few tales.
The remaining stories were well written, (I did enjoy the one with the talking cat, though in the end, it was very sad), but they didn't have the impact on me that Tissue Ablation did.
Overall I enjoyed this collection and I'm glad that I read it, but I'm not sure if I will track down any of Michael Blumlein's novels. If I do, it will be at a later time anyway, as I'm still in the midst of this novel reading slump.
Recommended to fans of weird tales and medical fiction!
Michael Blumlein is not only an author, he's a doctor too. His medical background influences a lot of the stories in this collection.
A few of these tales really knocked me back-most especially "Tissue Ablation and Variant Regeneration: A Case Study." It was told in Blumlein's crisp, cold, prose and I think that made the story even more horrific than it already was.
Tissue Ablation was the second story in this collection and it was so good, my expectations were raised,(perhaps unreasonably high?), for the rest of this book. I didn't feel the remaining stories lived up to the promise set by the first few tales.
The remaining stories were well written, (I did enjoy the one with the talking cat, though in the end, it was very sad), but they didn't have the impact on me that Tissue Ablation did.
Overall I enjoyed this collection and I'm glad that I read it, but I'm not sure if I will track down any of Michael Blumlein's novels. If I do, it will be at a later time anyway, as I'm still in the midst of this novel reading slump.
Recommended to fans of weird tales and medical fiction!
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