Scan barcode
beckylouise2904's review
5.0
Absolutely fantastic collection of short stories - some of which will stay longer with you than others, skin crawling!
loonyboi's review against another edition
4.0
This is a very good collection of short stories. Not all great, but very much worth reading. Crazy that it took the Paperbacks from Hell series to get it published in America! Well worth seeking out.
hbic's review against another edition
4.0
Some stories were very good (My fave being The other Mother) some were average.
I enjoyed the female perspective though.
I enjoyed the female perspective though.
corvidquest's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
2.75
An uneven but interesting collection of dark, female-centered horror stories where the threat originates as much from women's status in society as from the supernatural.
For example, in "The Memory of Wood", a woman struggles with telling her husband about the strange sounds coming from a chest they bought at a yard sale because she fears he will refuse to take her seriously. As the threat grows, his being an incredibly sound sleeper - almost hostiley so! – drives the tension as much as the threat from the chest as she bitterly recalls how he always slept through the cries of their baby, leaving her to care for it on her own.
Although the stories don't always come off, Tuttle puts a menacing spin on divorce, motherhood, female relationships, etc., and at her best manages this double tension beautifully.
For example, in "The Memory of Wood", a woman struggles with telling her husband about the strange sounds coming from a chest they bought at a yard sale because she fears he will refuse to take her seriously. As the threat grows, his being an incredibly sound sleeper - almost hostiley so! – drives the tension as much as the threat from the chest as she bitterly recalls how he always slept through the cries of their baby, leaving her to care for it on her own.
Although the stories don't always come off, Tuttle puts a menacing spin on divorce, motherhood, female relationships, etc., and at her best manages this double tension beautifully.
bucketofentrails's review against another edition
1.0
Ok so I had to quit this anthology because the first story contains a very graphic, very triggering rape scene and I just couldn't come back from that. Also the 3rd story is apparently about some people who put their dog to sleep because they are getting a divorce and can't decide who gets to keep him. It might not have been about that, I didn't finish it. The 2nd story was quite boring and that is where the single star comes from. A rollercoaster in all the worst ways.
davicalpa's review against another edition
4.0
Un nido de pesadillas parece un lugar lleno de peligros. El hogar perfecto en donde se originan todos aquellos males que nos atormentarán a la hora de irnos a la cama. Lisa Tuttle consigue en esta recopilación de relatos anidar en nuestra cabeza muchos de esos fantasmas que atormentan a los lectores pero, sobre todo, es capaz de reflejarlos partiendo de realidades que son mucho más aterradoras que cualquiera de las criaturas que pueblan cada una de estas pequeñas narraciones.
Y es que cuando uno trata de encontrar un nexo que una las trece historias que contemplan este Nido de pesadillas tiene claro que la fragilidad de sus protagonistas y la pérdida de control de los que las rodea merece toda la atención. Una fragilidad muy alejada del concepto de debilidad, que lleva a los personajes que pueblan las narraciones a enfrentarse a sí mismas más que a los peligros que las rodean. Eso convierte estos relatos en auténticos dramas cotidianos con los que uno empatiza con facilidad, acercándonos a las historias desde esa cercanía que nos proporciona el haber experimentado en nuestras vidas el peso de la ruptura, del desapego, de la incomprensión, el abandono, la incertidumbre…todas las fracturas emocionales que nos envuelve en el torbellino de miedos que arrastra cualquier fracaso sentimental.
Lisa Tuttle te lleva a esos pasadizos para después dejarte solo y aislado ante la oscuridad que tienes delante. Porque una vez te sientas desprotegido, sin nada ni nadie en donde poder apoyarte, cuando aparezca frente a ti los fantasmas que tanto temías a la hora de irte a la cama, es cuando el terror triunfa sobre la cordura.
Trece relatos que te paralizan por dentro en donde navegan criaturas paganas, terroríficas deidades celtas, sangrientos profetas, laberintos irreales y toda serie de extraños seres sobrenaturales que se asocian a los auténticos terrores que paralizan al más valiente, su propia imaginación.
Muchos de esos relatos son crueles y te despedazan por dentro. Es algo que siempre he admirado en los grandes autores de terror, su capacidad para el desconcierto, para dejarte sin palabras ante lo que acabas de leer. Y es que Tuttle no quiere que el lector disfrute de sus historias sino que las sienta y hará lo que considere necesario para que apartes la mirada del libro en más de una ocasión.
Este nido de pesadillas está lleno de esas historias y merece ser aplaudido por conseguir plasmar en palabras lo que otros autores esconden entre litros de sangre. El auténtico terror anida en nuestra mente y espera agazapado a que bajes la guardia para estremecerte.
Y es que cuando uno trata de encontrar un nexo que una las trece historias que contemplan este Nido de pesadillas tiene claro que la fragilidad de sus protagonistas y la pérdida de control de los que las rodea merece toda la atención. Una fragilidad muy alejada del concepto de debilidad, que lleva a los personajes que pueblan las narraciones a enfrentarse a sí mismas más que a los peligros que las rodean. Eso convierte estos relatos en auténticos dramas cotidianos con los que uno empatiza con facilidad, acercándonos a las historias desde esa cercanía que nos proporciona el haber experimentado en nuestras vidas el peso de la ruptura, del desapego, de la incomprensión, el abandono, la incertidumbre…todas las fracturas emocionales que nos envuelve en el torbellino de miedos que arrastra cualquier fracaso sentimental.
Lisa Tuttle te lleva a esos pasadizos para después dejarte solo y aislado ante la oscuridad que tienes delante. Porque una vez te sientas desprotegido, sin nada ni nadie en donde poder apoyarte, cuando aparezca frente a ti los fantasmas que tanto temías a la hora de irte a la cama, es cuando el terror triunfa sobre la cordura.
Trece relatos que te paralizan por dentro en donde navegan criaturas paganas, terroríficas deidades celtas, sangrientos profetas, laberintos irreales y toda serie de extraños seres sobrenaturales que se asocian a los auténticos terrores que paralizan al más valiente, su propia imaginación.
Muchos de esos relatos son crueles y te despedazan por dentro. Es algo que siempre he admirado en los grandes autores de terror, su capacidad para el desconcierto, para dejarte sin palabras ante lo que acabas de leer. Y es que Tuttle no quiere que el lector disfrute de sus historias sino que las sienta y hará lo que considere necesario para que apartes la mirada del libro en más de una ocasión.
Este nido de pesadillas está lleno de esas historias y merece ser aplaudido por conseguir plasmar en palabras lo que otros autores esconden entre litros de sangre. El auténtico terror anida en nuestra mente y espera agazapado a que bajes la guardia para estremecerte.
voidedlux's review against another edition
5.0
Every single short story in this collection was gripping.
Each of these stories were written with strong-willed female-focused protagonists. Glorious!!
My favorites were ‘Community Property’ and ‘The Other Mother.’
Lisa Tuttle, adopt me.
Each of these stories were written with strong-willed female-focused protagonists. Glorious!!
My favorites were ‘Community Property’ and ‘The Other Mother.’
Lisa Tuttle, adopt me.
jennifer60656's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
talkingmongoose's review against another edition
5.0
There's very little of the grotesque in A Nest of Nightmares.
Instead, it's quiet, unsettling horror. The kind that gets under your skin and settles in the pit of your stomach so that you feel a little uncomfortable.
There's that domestic abuse analogy about a frog in a pot. Turn up the heat slowly enough and the frog won't realise it's being boiled alive.
This book is like that. You know something is wrong, but you can't quite put your finger on it. Then, BAM. You're a dead frog.
Instead, it's quiet, unsettling horror. The kind that gets under your skin and settles in the pit of your stomach so that you feel a little uncomfortable.
There's that domestic abuse analogy about a frog in a pot. Turn up the heat slowly enough and the frog won't realise it's being boiled alive.
This book is like that. You know something is wrong, but you can't quite put your finger on it. Then, BAM. You're a dead frog.
zumiey's review against another edition
4.0
I've been wanting to read Lisa Tuttle for a while without paying exorbitant international prices and thankfully her stuff is now being released in the US!! I was happy to snag this lil paperback (which has one of the best/worst covers ever) unexpectedly, and now await her second collection of short stories.
This is often cited as a feminist horror collection which upon reading it I was like "um because it's about women and not solely as victims?" yknow times it was published and all. But it's really because of the undercurrent in almost every story of fear of hysteria. Women being disbelieved, women being trapped in circumstances that can see no way out, women afraid to be seen as impolite or dismissed. I only picked up on it halfway through.
The collection was also WELL-CURATED??? Like the stories flowed so perfectly to each other in the right order and thematically gelled and I'm not used to this in short story collections at all.
Horse Lord was one of the creepiest most wonderful horror stories I've read in a while. Other Mother and the Memory of Wood were also strong standouts. Flying to Byzantium I hated initially, but because it was so effective at conveying pervasive self doubt, gaslighting, and helplessness.
This collection does contain rape, child death, and racist characters/language (I think done in a way that condemns it? But ymmv).
This is often cited as a feminist horror collection which upon reading it I was like "um because it's about women and not solely as victims?" yknow times it was published and all. But it's really because of the undercurrent in almost every story of fear of hysteria. Women being disbelieved, women being trapped in circumstances that can see no way out, women afraid to be seen as impolite or dismissed. I only picked up on it halfway through.
The collection was also WELL-CURATED??? Like the stories flowed so perfectly to each other in the right order and thematically gelled and I'm not used to this in short story collections at all.
Horse Lord was one of the creepiest most wonderful horror stories I've read in a while. Other Mother and the Memory of Wood were also strong standouts. Flying to Byzantium I hated initially, but because it was so effective at conveying pervasive self doubt, gaslighting, and helplessness.
This collection does contain rape, child death, and racist characters/language (I think done in a way that condemns it? But ymmv).