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stepriot's review
4.0
I didn't realize how many Mythos Barron did. The men from Porlock is probably one of my favorite mythos stories. It was even better the first time. All in all it was a solid collection.
nonesensed's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
4.5
An enjoyable collection of short stories for fans of cosmic horror! A few of the tales went predictable places in a way that stole their thunder, but I've chewed my way through plenty of stories in this particular sub-genre of horror, thus that could be just a me-thing. The stories taking place in a shared universe without too many overlapping characters allowed for a lot of foreshadowing that enhanced the tension of the stories.
Of the lineup of tales, The Redfield Girls ended up being my favorite for its creeping horror and mystery (and the empty dread our main character is left with), followed by The Men from Porlock due to its excellent callbacks and mounting terror. I enjoyed Blackwood's Baby, Hand of Glory, The Carrion God in Their Heaven, The Siphon and Jaws of Saturn, while Vastation and More Dark weren't quite for me (I've read/seen too many "eldritch horror mage doing trippy time bullshit" and "authors of horror actually writing The Truth" stories I think).
All in all, definitely a recommended read if you're looking for chilling tales about the unspeakable things that can come for you in the night - or during the day, they don't really care about time ;)
Of the lineup of tales, The Redfield Girls ended up being my favorite for its creeping horror and mystery (and the empty dread our main character is left with), followed by The Men from Porlock due to its excellent callbacks and mounting terror. I enjoyed Blackwood's Baby, Hand of Glory, The Carrion God in Their Heaven, The Siphon and Jaws of Saturn, while Vastation and More Dark weren't quite for me (I've read/seen too many "eldritch horror mage doing trippy time bullshit" and "authors of horror actually writing The Truth" stories I think).
All in all, definitely a recommended read if you're looking for chilling tales about the unspeakable things that can come for you in the night - or during the day, they don't really care about time ;)
fresh_water's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
3.25
joshadkins's review
3.0
Some of these stories are gems. Blackwood's Baby, The Redfield Girls, Hand of Glory, and The Carrion Gods In Their Heaven stand out from the rest in my mind. Each story conveys a sense of cosmic dread, but some, such as Jaws of Saturn, are mired in a tangle of needless complexity. Definitely worth a read. I'm curious to check out some of Barron's other work someday.
achurxh's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
rhuntern's review against another edition
slow-paced
3.5
While not a bad book in the slightest, I felt that it wasn't as well written as Barron's first two collections. Something about the prose felt stilted in almost every story, save for one or two. Overall, it's my least favorite collection of his so far, and it wasn't helped by the lack of the cosmic horror I had come to expect from the others.
hectaizani's review
4.0
I've been wanting to read this one for a while so when it came up as included with my Audible subscription I jumped at the chance.
Laird Barron certainly has a way with words. He knows how to put them together in a manner that is pleasing to my brain! As with any short story collection there were some that I liked and some that I was meh about. The theme was cosmic horror so there was a certain Lovecraftian air to each.
Two favorites - Blackwood's Baby and Hand of Glory.
Laird Barron certainly has a way with words. He knows how to put them together in a manner that is pleasing to my brain! As with any short story collection there were some that I liked and some that I was meh about. The theme was cosmic horror so there was a certain Lovecraftian air to each.
Two favorites - Blackwood's Baby and Hand of Glory.
sandygx260's review
4.0
As with any short story collection, there are highs and lows. As usual Barron hits far more high notes and occasionally he hits the stars. Anyone who loves "weird fiction" needs to grab this collection, settle down with some blood-red pinot noir, and enjoy having your mind flayed.
killstorm's review
4.0
Interesting collection of quite varied and oddball horror/speculative fiction short stories.
Two excellent stories: The Siphon which has the NSA dealing with Evil.
The Carrion Gods in Their Heaven with its lead women dealing with an ex.
Two excellent stories: The Siphon which has the NSA dealing with Evil.
The Carrion Gods in Their Heaven with its lead women dealing with an ex.
abbiem85's review
DNF
To be fair, I haven't finished all the stories. I am rating on an average of what I HAVE finished. Review from random notes I took as I read.
Blackwood's Baby - 3 stars
The suspense is decent throughout. A little overwhelmed with names without getting much description of all named. Why give all the characters a name when they aren't of any importance at all? Why ALWAYS state their first and last name? The ending felt a little abrupt and anticlimactic after all the suspense. Expected a little something more.
The Redfield Girls - 1 star
Complete garbage- the way it was written, the way the characters communicate, the plot and plot devices. The "ending" (if you could call it that) was heavily glossed over. Garbage.
Hand of Glory - 2 stars
Another anticlimactic ending. Pointless and not very entertaining.
The Carrion Gods in Their Heaven - 2 stars
The dialogue is like the women grew up in the 40s and 50s. The writing in general is as if the author is familiar with the current times. Cell phones exist, so clearly we're in the 90s on. Difficulty really placing the setting. Another story that goes nowhere. Very boring.
Overall, all the stories all have descriptions so heavily vague or disjointed that most of the time you either can't get a visual (which is important to creating a creepy atmosphere) or you don't actually know what's happening. They all feel like dreams- no depth of character, you don't feel as if they've had a life or background, you're thrown into one moment of their lives and none of it feels real. No one reacts within the bounds of reality or common sense to any of the scenarios. It just gives the disjointed and vagueness of a dream, but leaves you completely unfulfilled in any way.
I very much doubt that I will go back and finish the rest of the stories, no matter how short.
To be fair, I haven't finished all the stories. I am rating on an average of what I HAVE finished. Review from random notes I took as I read.
Blackwood's Baby - 3 stars
The suspense is decent throughout. A little overwhelmed with names without getting much description of all named. Why give all the characters a name when they aren't of any importance at all? Why ALWAYS state their first and last name? The ending felt a little abrupt and anticlimactic after all the suspense. Expected a little something more.
The Redfield Girls - 1 star
Complete garbage- the way it was written, the way the characters communicate, the plot and plot devices. The "ending" (if you could call it that) was heavily glossed over. Garbage.
Hand of Glory - 2 stars
Another anticlimactic ending. Pointless and not very entertaining.
The Carrion Gods in Their Heaven - 2 stars
The dialogue is like the women grew up in the 40s and 50s. The writing in general is as if the author is familiar with the current times. Cell phones exist, so clearly we're in the 90s on. Difficulty really placing the setting. Another story that goes nowhere. Very boring.
Overall, all the stories all have descriptions so heavily vague or disjointed that most of the time you either can't get a visual (which is important to creating a creepy atmosphere) or you don't actually know what's happening. They all feel like dreams- no depth of character, you don't feel as if they've had a life or background, you're thrown into one moment of their lives and none of it feels real. No one reacts within the bounds of reality or common sense to any of the scenarios. It just gives the disjointed and vagueness of a dream, but leaves you completely unfulfilled in any way.
I very much doubt that I will go back and finish the rest of the stories, no matter how short.