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stephanieanneauthor's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I read this immediately after Nevill's other mini collection "Before You Sleep", and unfortunately I feel like this one is the weaker of the two collections. Not by a lot - as this is still a good collection - but none of the stories here topped my favourite from "Before You Sleep."
My favourite in "Before You Wake" has got to be "The Angels of London". As someone who has had to put up with two very horrible landlords in the past, this one felt believable but also scary. And as a Whovian, one scene reminded me a lot of the Weeping Angels (so obviously, I loved that).
My favourite in "Before You Wake" has got to be "The Angels of London". As someone who has had to put up with two very horrible landlords in the past, this one felt believable but also scary. And as a Whovian, one scene reminded me a lot of the Weeping Angels (so obviously, I loved that).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism, Addiction, Body horror, Confinement, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
magis1105's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
kylepotter's review
5.0
These are well-paced stories that take us interesting places in folk horror.
slavicreader's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I can't tell if I liked this more than the first three stories I read by the author. The writing seems somewhat stronger, which is understandable as the featured short stories were written later. Somewhat more sophisticated too.
Whilst reading these stories, I couldn't shake the feeling that they reminded me of Junji Ito's horror. Each story is very different, and all feature unique ideas!
Out of these three, I don't have a stand-out favourite. Perhaps the first one? I did enjoy the irony in it.
Whilst reading these stories, I couldn't shake the feeling that they reminded me of Junji Ito's horror. Each story is very different, and all feature unique ideas!
Out of these three, I don't have a stand-out favourite. Perhaps the first one? I did enjoy the irony in it.
afterplague's review
dark
mysterious
fast-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
1.5
I'm afraid that I really didn't enjoy Before You Wake. I feel like 2 stars is a little bit generous to be completely honest.
This is a collection of three short stories, and I think all of them had potential but none of them really delivered on that potential. The first story is about a man living in a run down apartment building being extorted for more and more money overtime. The second is about a taxi driver with a dark stain on his past who takes a series of strange passengers from one location to another. The third is about a ghost ship slowly drifting towards the shore.
I'm going to go in depth with spoilers, so please be warned.
So the first story follows Frank as he's confronted by his landlord Granby. Frank is trying to save up so he can leave the abandoned building turned unofficial apartments called the Angels. I think there is some interesting tension built in this story as we wonder about what might happen to Frank for his refusal to pay higher rent. He's told by a neighbor that he can't leave and he has to pay "or else" because of the family living on the top floor.
Because of the title there's no mystery here. The family is the angels and for some reason completely unexplained, they want money. They begin to haunt and taunt Frank, though they aren't described in a way I found particularly scary. He gets so panicked he promises that he'll do a better job than Granby if they spare him and make him the landlord. The angels agree, gruesomely murder Granby, and Frank moves into his apartment. The only part I felt the horror was when Frank sees all the bodies of the long line of landlords hung up in Granby's room.
There's just no space for this story to develop. Why do the angels want money? Why are they so short sighted about it? Because Granby could get them more money by improving the building or buying a better one. Are they actually angels? There's just nothing explained and the angels are only described as humanlike, with long arms and big wings. Not exactly terrifying.
Also there's a lot of homophobia in this story for no reason. One of the tenants is a transgender woman named Lilly, and they just misgender her and make fun of her for a few pages with no real purpose. At all.
The second story is about Ray, a taxi driver who killed a teenager in a hit in run. He drove away and managed to evade the consequences, but they catch up to him when he gets a strange request for a pick up. The man he picks up, John, has some kind of animal with him hidden away, and Ray attempts to ask about it but is ignored. He goes on this series of drop offs. He drops John at a house and picks up an Indian woman who also has a "pet". Drop off, pick up, drop off, pick up. It's insanely repetitive. At each house, he sees smoke rising from the backyard, someone screaming, and people cheering.
Finally, he picks up his last passenger and brings him back to the first house. He helps carry in the "pet" and then sees a pyre in the backyard. It turns out that the "pet" is a demon who, for a sacrifice, will allow you to see a dead loved on again. The last passenger Ray picked up was the father of the boy he killed. He's sacrificed.
While this is a little more of a complete story it's not nearly complete enough. None of the characters are ANYTHING, except Ray who sucks. The driving is incredibly repetitive and doesn't build the tension at all. The demon also isn't scary at all. She's described as similar to a chimpanzee, but with cloven hooves. Sorry, but that's just not that frightening.
The last story is the worst. It was so boring I nearly DNFed. It was just a description in slow, boring detail of every room of a ghost ship. Sure, there were some interesting moments and descriptions. I really liked the reveal of the "figurehead" of the ship, but to get there was just this slog. There are no characters, no tension, nothing. It's like it's a corporate brief for how they want an environment designed. I can't explain how painful it is to read through. Words can't describe.
Don't read this. Just don't. Not scary, not tense, not interesting. DON'T READ THIS.
This is a collection of three short stories, and I think all of them had potential but none of them really delivered on that potential. The first story is about a man living in a run down apartment building being extorted for more and more money overtime. The second is about a taxi driver with a dark stain on his past who takes a series of strange passengers from one location to another. The third is about a ghost ship slowly drifting towards the shore.
I'm going to go in depth with spoilers, so please be warned.
So the first story follows Frank as he's confronted by his landlord Granby. Frank is trying to save up so he can leave the abandoned building turned unofficial apartments called the Angels. I think there is some interesting tension built in this story as we wonder about what might happen to Frank for his refusal to pay higher rent. He's told by a neighbor that he can't leave and he has to pay "or else" because of the family living on the top floor.
Because of the title there's no mystery here. The family is the angels and for some reason completely unexplained, they want money. They begin to haunt and taunt Frank, though they aren't described in a way I found particularly scary. He gets so panicked he promises that he'll do a better job than Granby if they spare him and make him the landlord. The angels agree, gruesomely murder Granby, and Frank moves into his apartment. The only part I felt the horror was when Frank sees all the bodies of the long line of landlords hung up in Granby's room.
There's just no space for this story to develop. Why do the angels want money? Why are they so short sighted about it? Because Granby could get them more money by improving the building or buying a better one. Are they actually angels? There's just nothing explained and the angels are only described as humanlike, with long arms and big wings. Not exactly terrifying.
Also there's a lot of homophobia in this story for no reason. One of the tenants is a transgender woman named Lilly, and they just misgender her and make fun of her for a few pages with no real purpose. At all.
The second story is about Ray, a taxi driver who killed a teenager in a hit in run. He drove away and managed to evade the consequences, but they catch up to him when he gets a strange request for a pick up. The man he picks up, John, has some kind of animal with him hidden away, and Ray attempts to ask about it but is ignored. He goes on this series of drop offs. He drops John at a house and picks up an Indian woman who also has a "pet". Drop off, pick up, drop off, pick up. It's insanely repetitive. At each house, he sees smoke rising from the backyard, someone screaming, and people cheering.
Finally, he picks up his last passenger and brings him back to the first house. He helps carry in the "pet" and then sees a pyre in the backyard. It turns out that the "pet" is a demon who, for a sacrifice, will allow you to see a dead loved on again. The last passenger Ray picked up was the father of the boy he killed. He's sacrificed.
While this is a little more of a complete story it's not nearly complete enough. None of the characters are ANYTHING, except Ray who sucks. The driving is incredibly repetitive and doesn't build the tension at all. The demon also isn't scary at all. She's described as similar to a chimpanzee, but with cloven hooves. Sorry, but that's just not that frightening.
The last story is the worst. It was so boring I nearly DNFed. It was just a description in slow, boring detail of every room of a ghost ship. Sure, there were some interesting moments and descriptions. I really liked the reveal of the "figurehead" of the ship, but to get there was just this slog. There are no characters, no tension, nothing. It's like it's a corporate brief for how they want an environment designed. I can't explain how painful it is to read through. Words can't describe.
Don't read this. Just don't. Not scary, not tense, not interesting. DON'T READ THIS.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Gore, and Homophobia
Moderate: Car accident and Sexual assault
tabookish's review
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
xandra87's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
aidaninasia's review
3.0
This book consists of three short stories. The first one I’d rate 5 stars. All three are very well written. The author is exceptionally skilled at word-craft and if you are able to imagine things easily, you may love all three stories. I like the first story the most (The Angles of London) because it has a good plot that I wish was a full length novel. I am sad it is only a short story.