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toddbert's review
dark
fast-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? It's complicated
2.0
moonlit_shelves's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-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? It's complicated
3.0
pygment's review against another edition
2.0
I did not finish reading this. It's a series of really short stories that never gave me the chance to get into any of it. I just stopped reading.
twitchyredpen's review against another edition
1.0
Fan fiction about classic horror, written by someone far too convinced of his writing's artistic merit. The preface goes on longer than any of the stories to tell you just how clever and twisting and painful these stories are. Painful is right.
Plots are basically "What if this story was EVEN WORSE OOOOOO" [holding flashlight under chin]; writing is the present tense tone of someone telling you about their day with about as much narrative skill as you'd expect from someone who insists on telling about their day in the present tense.
What if Victor Frankenstein's brain got put into another monster OOOOOOO what if the wolfman didn't know what would happen to his body OOOOO What if Christine felt something for the phantom of the opera OOOOOOO What if someone drank/smoked themselves to death because they were worried about a vampire OOOOOO What if a ghost could never scream at someone because it waited too long OOOOOO....
Nickelodeon's "Are You Afraid of the Dark" series of scary campfire tales for preteens was more twisty, painful, and clever than this.
Positives about this book:
Is very short
Not so awful that it can't be finished (helped by being short)
Nothing that made my editing senses tingle though I disagree with some of the commas
Plots are basically "What if this story was EVEN WORSE OOOOOO" [holding flashlight under chin]; writing is the present tense tone of someone telling you about their day with about as much narrative skill as you'd expect from someone who insists on telling about their day in the present tense.
What if Victor Frankenstein's brain got put into another monster OOOOOOO what if the wolfman didn't know what would happen to his body OOOOO What if Christine felt something for the phantom of the opera OOOOOOO What if someone drank/smoked themselves to death because they were worried about a vampire OOOOOO What if a ghost could never scream at someone because it waited too long OOOOOO....
Nickelodeon's "Are You Afraid of the Dark" series of scary campfire tales for preteens was more twisty, painful, and clever than this.
Positives about this book:
Is very short
Not so awful that it can't be finished (helped by being short)
Nothing that made my editing senses tingle though I disagree with some of the commas
pizzamcpin3ppl3's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-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? It's complicated
4.5
invisibleninjacat's review against another edition
2.0
A set of "short stories" that are more story ideas than actual stories, based on fiction with monsters/the Other. Several of the stories I didn't recognize the source, which made the story idea make no sense. However, most of the ideas would have been interesting to read in actual short story form, with enough explanation of the source given to understand the story even if you haven't read the source.
jeffhall's review against another edition
3.0
This volume is an interesting read, if a minor addition to the overall work of Thomas Ligotti, the best living writer of weird fiction. These short pieces that extend the well-known narratives of famous works of weird literature (from Lovecraft, Poe, Stevenson, etc) are clever, occasionally thought provoking, and beautifully written. While best read one-at-a-time over an extended period, they're certainly worthwhile, but not at all comparable to Ligotti's original stories (as collected in other volumes). The physical presentation of the book itself, sumptuously packaged by the Centipede Press, is attractive, if a bit overdone for so slight a work.
ryanxvx's review against another edition
4.0
A fun - and surprisingly funny - retelling of classic horror stories.
twitchyredpen's review
1.0
Fan fiction about classic horror, written by someone far too convinced of his writing's artistic merit. The preface goes on longer than any of the stories to tell you just how clever and twisting and painful these stories are. Painful is right.
Plots are basically "What if this story was EVEN WORSE OOOOOO" [holding flashlight under chin]; writing is the present tense tone of someone telling you about their day with about as much narrative skill as you'd expect from someone who insists on telling about their day in the present tense.
What if Victor Frankenstein's brain got put into another monster OOOOOOO what if the wolfman didn't know what would happen to his body OOOOO What if Christine felt something for the phantom of the opera OOOOOOO What if someone drank/smoked themselves to death because they were worried about a vampire OOOOOO What if a ghost could never scream at someone because it waited too long OOOOOO....
Nickelodeon's "Are You Afraid of the Dark" series of scary campfire tales for preteens was more twisty, painful, and clever than this.
Positives about this book:
Is very short
Not so awful that it can't be finished (helped by being short)
Nothing that made my editing senses tingle though I disagree with some of the commas
Plots are basically "What if this story was EVEN WORSE OOOOOO" [holding flashlight under chin]; writing is the present tense tone of someone telling you about their day with about as much narrative skill as you'd expect from someone who insists on telling about their day in the present tense.
What if Victor Frankenstein's brain got put into another monster OOOOOOO what if the wolfman didn't know what would happen to his body OOOOO What if Christine felt something for the phantom of the opera OOOOOOO What if someone drank/smoked themselves to death because they were worried about a vampire OOOOOO What if a ghost could never scream at someone because it waited too long OOOOOO....
Nickelodeon's "Are You Afraid of the Dark" series of scary campfire tales for preteens was more twisty, painful, and clever than this.
Positives about this book:
Is very short
Not so awful that it can't be finished (helped by being short)
Nothing that made my editing senses tingle though I disagree with some of the commas
ctwrites's review
1.0
Each story is very short and requires at least a basic knowledge of the original horror stories in order to completely understand. Less really than short stories, more like moments after the ending of another story, but I don't see much that they add to the originals.
A quick read and if you're really into horror maybe a quaint one, but not much on its own.
A quick read and if you're really into horror maybe a quaint one, but not much on its own.
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