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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
lf you have are like me and full of morbid curiosity then this collection of short, horror stories will not disappoint.
There's something really wrong in Renfield County and yet I feel like I need to visit 😂 very much like Derry in Stephen King's novels. You just can't help but feel a pull towards these cursed places and Renfield County has a whole load of monsters. It's not like other places and there's a long history of horrors showing the poison affecting people that are unfortunate to live there.
The stories are pulled together by the ramblings of Rachel who's trying to reach her brother whilst revealing some of the history of Renfield that she'd been delving into. The correspondence is broken with mini tales of horror and woe. They're all wonderfully written, with twists and turns and a different monster each time. Hard to say which is my favourite as they're all really different. I did like Wag who shows that it doesn't always pay to be curious and maybe some folk should just be left alone 🤣 My name is Ellie is also a fun read and reminds us of family and the importance of tradition and handing them down to the next generation
There's something really wrong in Renfield County and yet I feel like I need to visit 😂 very much like Derry in Stephen King's novels. You just can't help but feel a pull towards these cursed places and Renfield County has a whole load of monsters. It's not like other places and there's a long history of horrors showing the poison affecting people that are unfortunate to live there.
The stories are pulled together by the ramblings of Rachel who's trying to reach her brother whilst revealing some of the history of Renfield that she'd been delving into. The correspondence is broken with mini tales of horror and woe. They're all wonderfully written, with twists and turns and a different monster each time. Hard to say which is my favourite as they're all really different. I did like Wag who shows that it doesn't always pay to be curious and maybe some folk should just be left alone 🤣 My name is Ellie is also a fun read and reminds us of family and the importance of tradition and handing them down to the next generation
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I know it’s only January, but I can see this becoming my favourite short story collection of the year!I could read short horror stories all day long and never tire of them. This is the first book I’ve read by Sam, and I’m already running to the store to buy his first novel. I guarantee it won’t be the last! Each story kept me on the edge of my seat and made me feel uncomfortable, squeamish, and creeped out.
Hear me out here, these stories gave me Twin Peaks vibes. The way the whole place had something not quite right about it. I loved how the stories in a way were all connected to each other! Some of my favourites were, Hector Brim, My Name Was Ellie, Wag, So My Cousin Knew This Guy, Allison’s Face.
“When you’re curious, you gotta be a little evil. Right? What’s science without a few dissected frogs? To learn about something, you gotta tear it apart.”
Hear me out here, these stories gave me Twin Peaks vibes. The way the whole place had something not quite right about it. I loved how the stories in a way were all connected to each other! Some of my favourites were, Hector Brim, My Name Was Ellie, Wag, So My Cousin Knew This Guy, Allison’s Face.
“When you’re curious, you gotta be a little evil. Right? What’s science without a few dissected frogs? To learn about something, you gotta tear it apart.”
I feel it is important to point out that the version I read is an advanced reader copy and may different slightly from the finished version.
Overall, I enjoyed this quite a bit. I loved the way it was set up. This isn’t just any short story collection. All these stories are connected and the way they are laid out is fantastic!
Some stories are better than others but some of them literally made me squirm in my seat.
I did feel like some parts were a little drawn out, especially the epilogue but overall this was extremely interesting and entertaining!!
Big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this!
Overall, I enjoyed this quite a bit. I loved the way it was set up. This isn’t just any short story collection. All these stories are connected and the way they are laid out is fantastic!
Some stories are better than others but some of them literally made me squirm in my seat.
I did feel like some parts were a little drawn out, especially the epilogue but overall this was extremely interesting and entertaining!!
Big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this!
Sam Rebelein has created an amazing collection of true modern horror.
The Poorly Made and Other Things expands upon the world created in Rebelein's debut novel, Edenville, a book which I recommend often.
Edenville and Poorly Made are set in Renfield County, in upstate New York. Renfield County is a cursed and evil place, haunted by acts of violence, disturbance, and bad intentions. Rebelein builds this world so thoroughly, with history and mythology, patterns and influences, secrets and obsessions. Every story in this collection has ties to the evil within Renfield, and the Interstitials between each story slowly weave tension, history and a loosening sanity.
The collection opens with a truly terrifying tale of Hector Brim, a man who "helps' the newly grieved. Hector shows up again in another story and it is chilling. My Name is Ellie and Wag are other favorites, And the terror in Ellie's story shows up again in the spectacular, So My Cousin Knew This Guy. And Glitch is just a shocking, unraveling tale of depression and body horror.
Every story is so approachable, so illogically logical, and the reader has such a strong sense of place and time in Renfield, that it is even MORE terrifying, because you feel like, Yeah, I heard of that guy too! or Yeah, that urban myth sounds familiar...
Such smart, interwoven, deeply clever horror stories.
The Poorly Made and Other Things expands upon the world created in Rebelein's debut novel, Edenville, a book which I recommend often.
Edenville and Poorly Made are set in Renfield County, in upstate New York. Renfield County is a cursed and evil place, haunted by acts of violence, disturbance, and bad intentions. Rebelein builds this world so thoroughly, with history and mythology, patterns and influences, secrets and obsessions. Every story in this collection has ties to the evil within Renfield, and the Interstitials between each story slowly weave tension, history and a loosening sanity.
The collection opens with a truly terrifying tale of Hector Brim, a man who "helps' the newly grieved. Hector shows up again in another story and it is chilling. My Name is Ellie and Wag are other favorites, And the terror in Ellie's story shows up again in the spectacular, So My Cousin Knew This Guy. And Glitch is just a shocking, unraveling tale of depression and body horror.
Every story is so approachable, so illogically logical, and the reader has such a strong sense of place and time in Renfield, that it is even MORE terrifying, because you feel like, Yeah, I heard of that guy too! or Yeah, that urban myth sounds familiar...
Such smart, interwoven, deeply clever horror stories.