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badseedgirl's review against another edition
2.0
Hey Kiddies! It's time again for one of Badseedgirl's famous open letters
Dear Mr. Straub:
Really this letter is for all horror writers, new and established. If you're ashamed of writing in the horror genre, well by all means just don't write in it. If you plan to make your money by writing horror fiction, please don't disparage this genre in your forward to a horror anthology.
I am a college educated person who likes horror fiction. I like all the aspects of the genre, some more than others, but have enjoyed everything from "The Weird," to "Splatterpunk." All these books have merit and are appropriate for different times in my life.
I know, Mr. Straub, that you were just trying to show the world that Horror has many shades, but to do it by stepping on the backs of other writers who you deem as lesser is no way to do it. You are just proving the point of people who disparage the genre, that it is somehow less than other genres.
The stories in this anthology are just one subgenre of horror, Slipstream Horror, Goodread defines it as:
Slipstream is a kind of fantastic or non-realistic fiction that crosses conventional genre boundaries between science fiction/fantasy or mainstream literary fiction.
The term slipstream was coined by cyberpunk author Bruce Sterling in an article originally published in SF Eye #5, July 1989. He wrote: "...this is a kind of writing which simply makes you feel very strange; the way that living in the twentieth century makes you feel, if you are a person of a certain sensibility." Slipstream fiction has consequently been referred to as "the fiction of strangeness," which is as clear a definition as any others in wide use. Science fiction authors James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel, editors of Feeling Very Strange: The Slipstream Anthology, argue that cognitive dissonance is at the heart of slipstream, and that it is not so much a genre as a literary effect, like horror or comedy.
Slipstream falls between speculative fiction and mainstream fiction. While some slipstream novels employ elements of science fiction or fantasy, not all do. The common unifying factor of these pieces of literature is some degree of the surreal, the not-entirely-real, or the markedly anti-real.
So in conclusion Mr. Straub, please think about the words you write, as you know words have power, for both benefit and harm. Your heart was in the right place in trying to show the world all the glories (or is it gory's) of horror. But you went about it in a way that tries to hurt other aspects of the genre, and that is just not good.
Sincerely,
Badseedgirl
PS. Like most anthologies, I enjoyed these stories to varying degrees. I finally read Joe Hill's "20th Century Ghost" the title story of his award winning collection that is still sitting on my TBR list. It made me want to finally get to this collection, so that is good.
The stories get a 3.5 of 5 stars, but I'm only giving the anthology itself 2 stars.
Dear Mr. Straub:
Really this letter is for all horror writers, new and established. If you're ashamed of writing in the horror genre, well by all means just don't write in it. If you plan to make your money by writing horror fiction, please don't disparage this genre in your forward to a horror anthology.
I am a college educated person who likes horror fiction. I like all the aspects of the genre, some more than others, but have enjoyed everything from "The Weird," to "Splatterpunk." All these books have merit and are appropriate for different times in my life.
I know, Mr. Straub, that you were just trying to show the world that Horror has many shades, but to do it by stepping on the backs of other writers who you deem as lesser is no way to do it. You are just proving the point of people who disparage the genre, that it is somehow less than other genres.
The stories in this anthology are just one subgenre of horror, Slipstream Horror, Goodread defines it as:
Slipstream is a kind of fantastic or non-realistic fiction that crosses conventional genre boundaries between science fiction/fantasy or mainstream literary fiction.
The term slipstream was coined by cyberpunk author Bruce Sterling in an article originally published in SF Eye #5, July 1989. He wrote: "...this is a kind of writing which simply makes you feel very strange; the way that living in the twentieth century makes you feel, if you are a person of a certain sensibility." Slipstream fiction has consequently been referred to as "the fiction of strangeness," which is as clear a definition as any others in wide use. Science fiction authors James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel, editors of Feeling Very Strange: The Slipstream Anthology, argue that cognitive dissonance is at the heart of slipstream, and that it is not so much a genre as a literary effect, like horror or comedy.
Slipstream falls between speculative fiction and mainstream fiction. While some slipstream novels employ elements of science fiction or fantasy, not all do. The common unifying factor of these pieces of literature is some degree of the surreal, the not-entirely-real, or the markedly anti-real.
So in conclusion Mr. Straub, please think about the words you write, as you know words have power, for both benefit and harm. Your heart was in the right place in trying to show the world all the glories (or is it gory's) of horror. But you went about it in a way that tries to hurt other aspects of the genre, and that is just not good.
Sincerely,
Badseedgirl
PS. Like most anthologies, I enjoyed these stories to varying degrees. I finally read Joe Hill's "20th Century Ghost" the title story of his award winning collection that is still sitting on my TBR list. It made me want to finally get to this collection, so that is good.
The stories get a 3.5 of 5 stars, but I'm only giving the anthology itself 2 stars.
the_enobee's review against another edition
2.0
This was a really uneven collection with some not quite new entries as well. Kinda weird, and not what I would have expected. I'd give this one a pass unless you're desperate for something spookable and this is the only option around.
smawj's review against another edition
4.0
I initially borrowed this from the library to read the Thomas Ligotti story which is excellent. For the most part these stories are very good, literary fiction with horror or creepy or weird overtones. There are a couple of clunkers and at least one that is ruined by it's ending. There is a lot of switching between characters, points of view and locations with no warning, it takes more than that to make a truly creepy story
professorfate's review against another edition
3.0
Unfortunately, this anthology ended with a string of stories that I just didn't get, so that lowered my rating.
benlundns's review against another edition
3.0
Not really a book of scary stories, some weird (in a good way), some weird (in a bad way), and some weird (in a WTF did I just read way). I did skip around in order to read Neil Gaiman, Steven King and Joe Hill last as those are authors I enjoy. Joe Hill especially knows how to write a chilly story, that one gave me goose bumps, the other ones I read mostly in order and found myself less and less impressed as I went on. A visit to the test site of a bomb, not really scary, or really much of anything, same as a story about a fellow who lives alone and likes music. Maybe this should have been called "stories about nothing in particular, most of which will have you scratching your head."
roese's review against another edition
3.0
Overall I enjoyed this anthology. As with any short story collection everyone will have different stories they love and hate. I am not going to recap all the stories here. I figure if you want to read them, do so. I did not think any were bad enough to make me warn a potential reader about a particular story.
My biggest complaint is that some of the stories really have no horror or even fantastical element in them at all. This does not make them bad stories just a bit puzzled at their inclusion in a book with "The New Horror" in it's title. In the forward Straub explains he is trying to pick stories that do not follow the blood, guts, gory violence idea of a horror story. Aiming for tales that more go bump in the night or make you think a little, he does hit the mark in his selections part of the time.
My favorites were "The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet" which I had read before but still really effects me and is King at the top of his game. The other story that stuck with me was "Leda". It was a disturbing story and does a nice, although not subtle, play on the Greek myth.
My biggest complaint is that some of the stories really have no horror or even fantastical element in them at all. This does not make them bad stories just a bit puzzled at their inclusion in a book with "The New Horror" in it's title. In the forward Straub explains he is trying to pick stories that do not follow the blood, guts, gory violence idea of a horror story. Aiming for tales that more go bump in the night or make you think a little, he does hit the mark in his selections part of the time.
My favorites were "The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet" which I had read before but still really effects me and is King at the top of his game. The other story that stuck with me was "Leda". It was a disturbing story and does a nice, although not subtle, play on the Greek myth.
rancidslopshop's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
cozylittlebrownhouse's review against another edition
2.0
What a disappointment.
I couldn't even read all of the stories, so many of them were THAT bad. This is not a horror anthology, or anything close to the horror genre. I know Straub had labeled it the "new" horror, but only a few of the many could be classified as anything close. Bummer, because I was looking for a gripping read. I liked a couple of stories, which is why I gave it two stars instead of one.
I couldn't even read all of the stories, so many of them were THAT bad. This is not a horror anthology, or anything close to the horror genre. I know Straub had labeled it the "new" horror, but only a few of the many could be classified as anything close. Bummer, because I was looking for a gripping read. I liked a couple of stories, which is why I gave it two stars instead of one.