Scan barcode
deearr's review
Gregory Miller has developed a different concept and applied it to "The Uncanny Valley." The Prologue opens the book with a television station in Pennsylvania asking viewers to submit, in 2000 words or less, a description of a specific event that describes the culture in your home town. The 33 submissions from Uncanny Valley comprise the body of the book.
These stories detail enough of the facts and then allow the reader to fill in the rest, basically giving each of us the opportunity to apply our own brush strokes of horror. Some of the stories intertwine, mentioning characters who also have submissions, and each are from the viewpoint of the individual writer (who range from young children to folks at the end of their days). These stories are tame enough for your children to read, although there are a few vulgarities here and there (the number of which can be counted on one hand). The author weaves the 33 stories together into one gigantic tale of the town, creating a fitting climax for the book.
I considered giving the book three to three-and-a-half stars, as (inevitably in a collection this large) some of the stories had the same feel to them and I could guess where they were going. However, the stories are told with individual charm (right down to the "on purpose" misspellings by the kids) and the entire book is a clever concept. This is an easy read which I finished over my morning coffees. Four stars.
These stories detail enough of the facts and then allow the reader to fill in the rest, basically giving each of us the opportunity to apply our own brush strokes of horror. Some of the stories intertwine, mentioning characters who also have submissions, and each are from the viewpoint of the individual writer (who range from young children to folks at the end of their days). These stories are tame enough for your children to read, although there are a few vulgarities here and there (the number of which can be counted on one hand). The author weaves the 33 stories together into one gigantic tale of the town, creating a fitting climax for the book.
I considered giving the book three to three-and-a-half stars, as (inevitably in a collection this large) some of the stories had the same feel to them and I could guess where they were going. However, the stories are told with individual charm (right down to the "on purpose" misspellings by the kids) and the entire book is a clever concept. This is an easy read which I finished over my morning coffees. Four stars.
More...