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tarynwanderer's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
forg_tful_'s review
While a lot of these stories have compelling plots, I felt the writing never quite captured any of the characters' discomfort or fear they way I was expecting. The writing lacked emotion and as a result didn't have the same feeling of "wrongness" the character would feel that accompanies this genre. It's difficult to feel a sense of fear when I'm not quite convinced that the characters feel it.
Short stories usually have a different plot structure than a novel so I didn't go in to this series with a skewed expectation. However, often I'd finish a story and it would end so abruptly or at such an awkward place, I would have to go back to skim through it again to make sure I didn't miss something. I was disappointed each time to realize that I was wrong.
There also seemed to also be a lack of a connecting theme across the stories, making it a disjointed read. I was a little confused on why these stories were in a collection together.
With other books by Tremblay so highly recommended, I was excited for this series. I really tried to finish this book; I tried reading it in order and then tried skipping around, but I decided to DNF this book when I realized all the stories were lacking the horror element I was look for when I originally picked it up.
Short stories usually have a different plot structure than a novel so I didn't go in to this series with a skewed expectation. However, often I'd finish a story and it would end so abruptly or at such an awkward place, I would have to go back to skim through it again to make sure I didn't miss something. I was disappointed each time to realize that I was wrong.
There also seemed to also be a lack of a connecting theme across the stories, making it a disjointed read. I was a little confused on why these stories were in a collection together.
With other books by Tremblay so highly recommended, I was excited for this series. I really tried to finish this book; I tried reading it in order and then tried skipping around, but I decided to DNF this book when I realized all the stories were lacking the horror element I was look for when I originally picked it up.
ezrasupremacy's review
2.0
2.5 stars maybe but i didn’t round it up bc i don’t want to.
book 2/18 for my october horror challenge and this was, like, barely horror, and also very boring.
a few stories i did kinda enjoy (the postal zone: the possession edition, the blog at the end of the world, the last conversation), but they didn’t make up for the fact that i genuinely did not like a single of the other ones. not because they were bad, just because they were so. very. boring.
book 2/18 for my october horror challenge and this was, like, barely horror, and also very boring.
a few stories i did kinda enjoy (the postal zone: the possession edition, the blog at the end of the world, the last conversation), but they didn’t make up for the fact that i genuinely did not like a single of the other ones. not because they were bad, just because they were so. very. boring.
hyphae's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
fkshg8465's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.75
I found almost every story frustratingly incomplete. This is my most common complaint about short stories.
abbiemens's review
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
bookish_withsky's review
3.0
I have started to enjoy short stories more, but it's always a struggle at the end to try and figure out how to rate it. Essentially, I took the average of all of the ratings each short story had, which is around a 3 star. There were some stories that I adored and found spectacular, then there were others that I just kind of enjoyed. There weren't any I found to be necessarily bad and that is largely thanks to Tremblay's writing. He knows how to up the tension and have me nearly on the edge of my seat. I dont think this is his best work, but there were definitely some gems in here.
amberpants's review against another edition
challenging
dark
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death