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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Necesito más terror escrito por Lisa Tuttle, por favor.
Todo un descubrimiento. Nevsky saca una traducción al castellano, una antología a no dejar escapar.
Lo veo clásico y muy bien escrito. Muchas veces tiene moraleja, más o menos, pero sin molestar ni eclipsar la historia. A veces consigue dar muy mal rollo. Es un planteamiento del horror muy psicológico, doméstico.
Lo veo clásico y muy bien escrito. Muchas veces tiene moraleja, más o menos, pero sin molestar ni eclipsar la historia. A veces consigue dar muy mal rollo. Es un planteamiento del horror muy psicológico, doméstico.
I discovered this book from reading Grady Hendrix's Paperbacks from Hell, and I'm glad I did because I really had a good time checking out A Nest of Nightmares, which I'd classify as a collection of "old school" horror stories!
It's so refreshing to find a collection which features a believable female main character or protagonist in nearly every story. That comes as no surprise, as I've read that author Lisa Tuttle was a feminist. I'd say the one exception was the story "Community Property" which seemed to be told more from the man's point-of-view, but it was still great. I saw what Tuttle had in store for the ending before I got there, but that did not lessen my enjoyment of that particular story at all.
Overall, I think the horror was written with subtlety and a kind of eerie eloquence. The writing was fantastic, specifically Tuttle's descriptions.
I think the two stories that contained the most "in your face" horror were "Bug House" and "Sun City." "Sun City," in particular, really had some delightfully gross imagery: "The gutted shell of some other human being flapped grotesquely against his own." and "The strange cloak ended in blackened tatters that hung over his hands and feet, and the hood had ragged holes torn for eyes and mouth..."
Some of the other stories were more subdued and touched on common fears and anxieties like the struggles of motherhood, abandonment, issues with self perception and self worth, as well as loss.
I think my favorites were "Treading the Maze" and "The Horse Lord." I also really loved "The Other Mother" where the main character grapples with how to find balance between parenting and her artwork, resulting in chilling and unforeseen consequences.
Strong collection of stories that I would recommend to any horror fan, especially to those who enjoy low-key, creepy horror. It doesn't contain over-the-top gore, if that's what you fancy, but it still shines.
It's so refreshing to find a collection which features a believable female main character or protagonist in nearly every story. That comes as no surprise, as I've read that author Lisa Tuttle was a feminist. I'd say the one exception was the story "Community Property" which seemed to be told more from the man's point-of-view, but it was still great. I saw what Tuttle had in store for the ending before I got there, but that did not lessen my enjoyment of that particular story at all.
Overall, I think the horror was written with subtlety and a kind of eerie eloquence. The writing was fantastic, specifically Tuttle's descriptions.
I think the two stories that contained the most "in your face" horror were "Bug House" and "Sun City." "Sun City," in particular, really had some delightfully gross imagery: "The gutted shell of some other human being flapped grotesquely against his own." and "The strange cloak ended in blackened tatters that hung over his hands and feet, and the hood had ragged holes torn for eyes and mouth..."
Some of the other stories were more subdued and touched on common fears and anxieties like the struggles of motherhood, abandonment, issues with self perception and self worth, as well as loss.
I think my favorites were "Treading the Maze" and "The Horse Lord." I also really loved "The Other Mother" where the main character grapples with how to find balance between parenting and her artwork, resulting in chilling and unforeseen consequences.
Strong collection of stories that I would recommend to any horror fan, especially to those who enjoy low-key, creepy horror. It doesn't contain over-the-top gore, if that's what you fancy, but it still shines.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Nice collection! I think the first short story was the strongest and my favorite; the others fell a bit flat on the horror/mystique side and I thought they were weak. Especially The one about the author character? I got that she was regressing into the person she once was, but like.. why. The horror of not having grown as a person? What?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Rape: Rape is the twist at the end of the first story. I think it's very good, but definitely steer clear if that's a no for you. It's mildly explicit, but the horror is heavy. Also, bugs!
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've liked what I've read by Lisa Tuttle (for a long time, her Lost Futures was my favorite from the Abyss imprint), but she's never been an author whose novels have made me want to read everything she's written. A Nest of Nightmares has never pinged my radar, but I've enjoyed the Paperbacks from Hell imprint, and I do love supporting Valancourt books so they'll keep reprinting classic gems from the heyday of horror.
Like any short story collection, I liked some, disliked others, and loved a handful, but when I think about the ones that I loved, it's enough to bump the rest of the collection up to four stars. "Treading the Maze" and "A Friend in Need" are less horror and more supernatural, since they're gentle stories of relationships. There's a blunt nature to Tuttle's stories, with a lot of exposition written in a sentence or two, but they're very effective. Most of them, in fact, spend a lot of time building up the entire story to end with a sentence or two that chills you. It's a good feeling.
Her stories tend to focus on female identity, and about how hard it is to have one -- mother, daughter, or sister -- and still be an individual. Interestingly, I found that a lot of her stories are about failure, and I don't know if those two themes are supposed to intersect. Is it a failure of self to take on the roles that are defined through other people?
Like any short story collection, I liked some, disliked others, and loved a handful, but when I think about the ones that I loved, it's enough to bump the rest of the collection up to four stars. "Treading the Maze" and "A Friend in Need" are less horror and more supernatural, since they're gentle stories of relationships. There's a blunt nature to Tuttle's stories, with a lot of exposition written in a sentence or two, but they're very effective. Most of them, in fact, spend a lot of time building up the entire story to end with a sentence or two that chills you. It's a good feeling.
Her stories tend to focus on female identity, and about how hard it is to have one -- mother, daughter, or sister -- and still be an individual. Interestingly, I found that a lot of her stories are about failure, and I don't know if those two themes are supposed to intersect. Is it a failure of self to take on the roles that are defined through other people?
I quite enjoyed how every story featured a woman as a protagonist, but I specially loved that each story had a life of its own. Often, short story collections have two or three entries that stand out while the others feel bland, but in this case, each entry was interesting, gripping, and left me waiting for the next turn of the page.
One thing I would like to add is that a few of the stories feature things that made me feel a little uncomfortable. You could say it was due to the time it was written and only for those characters, so I will assume they don't reflect the author's way of thinking, but I will still name them in case anyone feels uncomfortable reading them: the story Sun City features a racist main character, constantly referring to Mexicans as aliens as well as other derogatory terms, and A Trip to Byzantium has heavy talk about self-image, weight, self-esteem and confidence. A Friend In Need talks about mental illness and violence toward family members, suicide and death threats, and Bugs has a explicit rape scene.
One thing I would like to add is that a few of the stories feature things that made me feel a little uncomfortable. You could say it was due to the time it was written and only for those characters, so I will assume they don't reflect the author's way of thinking, but I will still name them in case anyone feels uncomfortable reading them: the story Sun City features a racist main character, constantly referring to Mexicans as aliens as well as other derogatory terms, and A Trip to Byzantium has heavy talk about self-image, weight, self-esteem and confidence. A Friend In Need talks about mental illness and violence toward family members, suicide and death threats, and Bugs has a explicit rape scene.
This collection of thirteen short stories includes lots of interesting themes such as hopelessness, loneliness, isolation, existentialism, belonging, wish fulfilment. Most of the stories are female focused and relate to being a women, and involve relationships, motherhood, and family.
My favourites were:
Bug House - a great, creepy opening story about a woman who visits her aunt and finds the house and her aunt are not in great shape.
Community Property - a couple going through a divorce have to decide who gets to keep the dog that they both love.
Flying to Byzantium - a science-fiction author is invited to attend a convention to talk about her novel. She has spent years trying to escape her home town and the person she was and now that starts to unravel as she regresses from the new life she has struggled to create for herself.
The Other Mother - a mother of two young children is trying to get back into her art after years of putting it n the back burner. She sees a ghost which inspires her to start a new painting.
Sun City - a woman works a night shift at a hotel. She starts to have nightmares about a really disturbing incident that occurred some years ago.
The Nest - two sisters buy a house together and find something strange in the attic.
Overall it's an excellent collection of bleak and unsettling stories. I definitely recommend checking it out!
My favourites were:
Bug House - a great, creepy opening story about a woman who visits her aunt and finds the house and her aunt are not in great shape.
Community Property - a couple going through a divorce have to decide who gets to keep the dog that they both love.
Flying to Byzantium - a science-fiction author is invited to attend a convention to talk about her novel. She has spent years trying to escape her home town and the person she was and now that starts to unravel as she regresses from the new life she has struggled to create for herself.
The Other Mother - a mother of two young children is trying to get back into her art after years of putting it n the back burner. She sees a ghost which inspires her to start a new painting.
Sun City - a woman works a night shift at a hotel. She starts to have nightmares about a really disturbing incident that occurred some years ago.
The Nest - two sisters buy a house together and find something strange in the attic.
Overall it's an excellent collection of bleak and unsettling stories. I definitely recommend checking it out!