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jessthebookslover's review
4.0
Wow. Wow. Wow.
This short story was INCREDIBLE. Loved Harris' writing style, loved the post-apocalyptic scenery, and that end.... I didn't forsee it.
20 pages full of scenes that will make your heart throb. Like. For real. No kidding.
I WANT MORE OF THIS!!!
This short story was INCREDIBLE. Loved Harris' writing style, loved the post-apocalyptic scenery, and that end.... I didn't forsee it.
20 pages full of scenes that will make your heart throb. Like. For real. No kidding.
I WANT MORE OF THIS!!!
traditionson's review
4.0
There are always reasons for rules, you may not like finding out the reason why. A short story that leaves a mystery still at the end. It was interestingly written.
dtaylorbooks's review
3.0
Eh. It’s okay. I’ve definitely read worse.
CURFEW is set in a non-descript post-apocalyptic world in Anywhere, Planet Earth with a never-ending war and people dying and being orphaned and bloodshed. But apparently there are still cameras and TV stations and the focus of this short story decides, after losing his mother, to pick up a camera and document his world.
He gets stuck outside after curfew and that’s when the creepy crawlies come out. Literally. The concept of the monsters here is interesting and definitely creepy, especially how they operate. But I think the lead-up to it did the suspense a bit of a disservice. I just don’t think the story built for the reveal in the way that it should have.
I mean no way, after 160 years, is this secret being kept. People are going to know. Whether they would know specifics or not, I don’t know and that can be left up for debate. But people would know something. The army isn’t going to be that good in cleaning up after itself. And neither are the monsters. So that was a bit much for my suspension of disbelief.
But I guess because this was such a well-kept secret there was no trickle-in effect through the rest of the story. Yeah, war is bad and everything’s ugly, but does a story about war need actual monsters too? And if it does, there should be some threading in there. In CURFEW there wasn’t. So the ending ends up being a bit of a dump, these things getting sprung on you almost out of nowhere. Maybe that kind of jump scare works in movies but it doesn’t translate very well in writing, I don’t think.
CURFEW wasn’t necessarily a bad story. It just wasn’t great. It lands in the okay realm.
3
CURFEW is set in a non-descript post-apocalyptic world in Anywhere, Planet Earth with a never-ending war and people dying and being orphaned and bloodshed. But apparently there are still cameras and TV stations and the focus of this short story decides, after losing his mother, to pick up a camera and document his world.
He gets stuck outside after curfew and that’s when the creepy crawlies come out. Literally. The concept of the monsters here is interesting and definitely creepy, especially how they operate. But I think the lead-up to it did the suspense a bit of a disservice. I just don’t think the story built for the reveal in the way that it should have.
I mean no way, after 160 years, is this secret being kept. People are going to know. Whether they would know specifics or not, I don’t know and that can be left up for debate. But people would know something. The army isn’t going to be that good in cleaning up after itself. And neither are the monsters. So that was a bit much for my suspension of disbelief.
But I guess because this was such a well-kept secret there was no trickle-in effect through the rest of the story. Yeah, war is bad and everything’s ugly, but does a story about war need actual monsters too? And if it does, there should be some threading in there. In CURFEW there wasn’t. So the ending ends up being a bit of a dump, these things getting sprung on you almost out of nowhere. Maybe that kind of jump scare works in movies but it doesn’t translate very well in writing, I don’t think.
CURFEW wasn’t necessarily a bad story. It just wasn’t great. It lands in the okay realm.
3
odbookreviews's review
5.0
Description: As a child the most traumatic moment of his life was captured on film making him the poster boy for the cost of war. Now as an adult he makes a living off photographing the ruins of civilization.
In a country ravaged by unending war and violence a man who has already lost everything discovers more to lose in the darkness after curfew.
In Short: This is a scary short story full of violence and frightening creatures. If you like dark short stories, supernatural and dystopian genres, lots of danger and suspense, check this one out.
“It’s a dangerous area; most nights my sleep is disturbed by gunfire, and the walls run with black water when it rains, but the danger brings with it plenty of material for photographs.”
Pros: This story is well written, fun to read and has a chilling ending. Very dark and full of thrilling suspense. I was really cheering for our protagonist as he hid and I didn’t think it was going to end the way it did. In the end the story comes full circle with the beginning, filling in some blanks and leaving a lot of darkness up to the readers imagination. I love the description of the creatures. Very unique and frightening. A lot of story is packed into 26 pages. Great sample of the authors writing skills and creativity. I would have liked to see a lot more of this world, I wish the story was longer. The briefness of the story did help make the really sad parts of the story easy to swallow.
Cons: I just wish it wasn’t so short and brief. A lot of questions remain and much more could have been felt.
Parent’s Guide: Violence, death, gore.
Full review on the blog.
In a country ravaged by unending war and violence a man who has already lost everything discovers more to lose in the darkness after curfew.
In Short: This is a scary short story full of violence and frightening creatures. If you like dark short stories, supernatural and dystopian genres, lots of danger and suspense, check this one out.
“It’s a dangerous area; most nights my sleep is disturbed by gunfire, and the walls run with black water when it rains, but the danger brings with it plenty of material for photographs.”
Pros: This story is well written, fun to read and has a chilling ending. Very dark and full of thrilling suspense. I was really cheering for our protagonist as he hid and I didn’t think it was going to end the way it did. In the end the story comes full circle with the beginning, filling in some blanks and leaving a lot of darkness up to the readers imagination. I love the description of the creatures. Very unique and frightening. A lot of story is packed into 26 pages. Great sample of the authors writing skills and creativity. I would have liked to see a lot more of this world, I wish the story was longer. The briefness of the story did help make the really sad parts of the story easy to swallow.
Cons: I just wish it wasn’t so short and brief. A lot of questions remain and much more could have been felt.
Parent’s Guide: Violence, death, gore.
Full review on the blog.
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