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gaelstorm's review
2.0
Not a great story. But cute edition. I’m glad there was a preface talking about the tradition of reading ghost stories at Christmas time and not to expect the story to necessarily have anything to do with Christmas or winter. If the edition hadn’t warned me, I would have been disappointed (most of the action takes place on/around October 31 in fact). But the story was boring and confusing. 2 stars instead of 1 because it was short and the edition is cute, haha.
charlottesometimes's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
sisteray's review
2.0
I’d been curious about Malden for a while. He was supposedly a friend to MR James and thought himself a spiritual successor. I picked this up cheap thinking it wasn’t in his Nine Ghosts collection (something that usually goes for over a hundred dollars if hou can find it, but lately was reissued cheap on paperback). Had I known better I would have gotten the complete collection at twice this meager price.
That said, I am not sure if I am missing anything. Malden clearly took the formatting of James, but stripped out any kind of mystery, suspense, or really horror even.
James has a clinical proceduralism to his writing, but it is frequently punctuated by gruesome moments amid rising tension. Here everything is just kind of presented matter-of-factly with no stakes, no twist, and no hook.
It’s hard to believe this was published in 1943. It felt so archaic and stuffy that I figured that it was done in the late 1800s before many of the horror greats had shown people the way. The fact that he completely ignored their influence, makes me think even less of Malden.
In some ways I wish I would’ve gotten the complete collection as I am vaguely curious if any of the stories are better or have a different approach, but this might have actually saved me a lot of time and energy to dedicate to more appealing writers.
That said, I am not sure if I am missing anything. Malden clearly took the formatting of James, but stripped out any kind of mystery, suspense, or really horror even.
James has a clinical proceduralism to his writing, but it is frequently punctuated by gruesome moments amid rising tension. Here everything is just kind of presented matter-of-factly with no stakes, no twist, and no hook.
It’s hard to believe this was published in 1943. It felt so archaic and stuffy that I figured that it was done in the late 1800s before many of the horror greats had shown people the way. The fact that he completely ignored their influence, makes me think even less of Malden.
In some ways I wish I would’ve gotten the complete collection as I am vaguely curious if any of the stories are better or have a different approach, but this might have actually saved me a lot of time and energy to dedicate to more appealing writers.
jvan's review
2.0
Spooky, simple, short, kinda obvious but still a little creepy, this is a perfectly suitable Christmas Ghost Story if you're meaning to read several. It should not be the star of an evening, because it's fine, it's okay, but it's not great.
ritajlwang's review
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
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