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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
To keep it short all these stories were interesting but my favourite's were "Suffer The Children" by Kelly Armstrong because it was well written, great characters and it kept you intrigued.
However, My overall favourite out of these stories is:
"A Bad Season For Necromancy" By David Liss I will defiantly be looking into more books from this author the whole premiss of the story was so creative and captivating. All the characters in the story were very well written, I didn't want to stop reading this section.
"Pipers" By Christopher Golden was interesting enough I would never think to put zombie and the cartels' together. It also had some good twists.
"Alive Day" By Jonathan Maberry To start off I'm not really into reading military stories unless the story is taking place sometime in the past. Those stories to me are more enjoyable because of the language used and how it's written. The mood in those stories seems more captivating as well. This story wasn't too bad it just took be a bit to get through this one.
However, My overall favourite out of these stories is:
"A Bad Season For Necromancy" By David Liss I will defiantly be looking into more books from this author the whole premiss of the story was so creative and captivating. All the characters in the story were very well written, I didn't want to stop reading this section.
"Pipers" By Christopher Golden was interesting enough I would never think to put zombie and the cartels' together. It also had some good twists.
"Alive Day" By Jonathan Maberry To start off I'm not really into reading military stories unless the story is taking place sometime in the past. Those stories to me are more enjoyable because of the language used and how it's written. The mood in those stories seems more captivating as well. This story wasn't too bad it just took be a bit to get through this one.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
This was a consistent collection for me. There was at least one that took part in an existing "universe" but it was stand-alone (with a good intro to the universe as a bonus). The only story I had issues with was Pipers - the ending was bizarrely abrupt and there was no real resolution of the story threads. It read like an excerpt from a novel.
This review is only for "Suffer the Children" by [author: Kelley Armstrong]. That was freaking creepy! It would make a great horror movie. I wish there'd been a bit more tying up of loose ends, but I guess that's part of what makes it so unsettling.
Before this book I’d only read two out of the four authors, Maberry and Armstrong. All of the author’s have strong writing styles and skills, but after reading the book, I’m not convinced the idea behind it was a great one. Four authors writing with the same subject matter, but in a very specific sense. I’ve read anthologies all about vampires, or pixies, or Prom Dates From Hell, etc., but this one had each story feeling so very close to one another, it was easy for me to get bored. Unfortunately, by the last story, I wasn’t into it anymore and it took me awhile to get through it. And that was Maberry’s story – of whom I have liked his other writings!
David Liss’s story was the one that made me cringe the most and I also enjoyed the most. I think it was because his main character felt the fullest and there was more to him than just raising the dead. It wasn’t what I expected and the horrible father is what made me cringe time and time again. I will definitely be looking for more reads from him!
Book Received: For free from publisher in exchange for an honest review
Reviewer: Jessica
David Liss’s story was the one that made me cringe the most and I also enjoyed the most. I think it was because his main character felt the fullest and there was more to him than just raising the dead. It wasn’t what I expected and the horrible father is what made me cringe time and time again. I will definitely be looking for more reads from him!
Book Received: For free from publisher in exchange for an honest review
Reviewer: Jessica
From the Introduction:
“It has been said that there are only seven basic plots, and that each and every story can be reduced to fit within the parameters of one of those fundamental structures. While the authors of Four Summoner’s Tales could debate that assertion for eons, that dinner conversation brought Golden and Maberry into a tangential discussion about diverse works that share the same root plot, and how the quality and value of a story comes in the details and in the approach of the individual writer.
In other words, it’s all in the execution.
Wouldn’t it be interesting, they mused, to give a group of very different writers the same short, simple premise—just a single sentence, without any other parameters—and see what the result would be?”
A strange visitor comes to town, offering to raise the townsfolk’s dearly departed from the dead—for a price.
For the full review: Awake at Midnight
“It has been said that there are only seven basic plots, and that each and every story can be reduced to fit within the parameters of one of those fundamental structures. While the authors of Four Summoner’s Tales could debate that assertion for eons, that dinner conversation brought Golden and Maberry into a tangential discussion about diverse works that share the same root plot, and how the quality and value of a story comes in the details and in the approach of the individual writer.
In other words, it’s all in the execution.
Wouldn’t it be interesting, they mused, to give a group of very different writers the same short, simple premise—just a single sentence, without any other parameters—and see what the result would be?”
A strange visitor comes to town, offering to raise the townsfolk’s dearly departed from the dead—for a price.
For the full review: Awake at Midnight
Four authors were given this premise: “A stranger comes to town, offering to raise the townsfolk’s dearly departed from the dead—for a price.” The stories that emerged caution you to be careful what you wish for, because the price might be higher than you can pay.
The stories:
Kelley Armstrong; “Suffer the Children.”
David Liss; “A Bad Season for Necromancy.”
Christopher Golden; “Pipers.”
Jonathan Maberyy; “Alive Day.”
Ranging from lost children to lost soldiers, innocent victims and more questionable dead, the stories are eerie and chilling, and sometimes sad. Grief can make people do terrible things, and somewhere out there are people willing to capitalize on that grief and use it towards their own ends.
Would you make a bargain, or accept your loss?
The stories:
Kelley Armstrong; “Suffer the Children.”
David Liss; “A Bad Season for Necromancy.”
Christopher Golden; “Pipers.”
Jonathan Maberyy; “Alive Day.”
Ranging from lost children to lost soldiers, innocent victims and more questionable dead, the stories are eerie and chilling, and sometimes sad. Grief can make people do terrible things, and somewhere out there are people willing to capitalize on that grief and use it towards their own ends.
Would you make a bargain, or accept your loss?
Four short stories of horror revolving around the basic plot of someone offering to raise the dead...for a price.
Series:
“Alive Day” (Joe Ledger - 06.5)
My Take
All four were horrorific in varying degrees. And all four were well written as complete stories with backgrounds and developed characters.
The Stories
Kelley Armstrong’s “Suffer the Children” is a nasty bit of complex betrayal in a small village outside Ontario in the nineteenth century, and I cried so at the end.
Christopher Golden’s “Pipers” was the most depressing as events fall apart around the townsfolk. People who mostly hoped to bring back their loved ones, but were pushed and blackmailed into continuing with a deadly plan.
David Liss’s “A Bad Season for Necromancy” was my least favorite as the “hero” was such a weak man who preyed on others for his own advancement. Although Liss did provide for this aspect of Reginald/January with the effects of being revived.
Jonathan Maberry’s “Alive Day” is the most horrific, partially because Maberry leaves so much to my confused imagination, and partially because he was so brilliant in pulling me into the terror of what happened to Finn in Afghanistan.
The Cover
The cover is actually not so scary with its behatted man in a leather coat, his back to us as he stands in the rain in the middle of a cemetery.
The title is short and to the point, for these are Four Summoner’s Tales. Hope they never summon you!
Series:
“Alive Day” (Joe Ledger - 06.5)
My Take
All four were horrorific in varying degrees. And all four were well written as complete stories with backgrounds and developed characters.
The Stories
Kelley Armstrong’s “Suffer the Children” is a nasty bit of complex betrayal in a small village outside Ontario in the nineteenth century, and I cried so at the end.
Christopher Golden’s “Pipers” was the most depressing as events fall apart around the townsfolk. People who mostly hoped to bring back their loved ones, but were pushed and blackmailed into continuing with a deadly plan.
David Liss’s “A Bad Season for Necromancy” was my least favorite as the “hero” was such a weak man who preyed on others for his own advancement. Although Liss did provide for this aspect of Reginald/January with the effects of being revived.
Jonathan Maberry’s “Alive Day” is the most horrific, partially because Maberry leaves so much to my confused imagination, and partially because he was so brilliant in pulling me into the terror of what happened to Finn in Afghanistan.
The Cover
The cover is actually not so scary with its behatted man in a leather coat, his back to us as he stands in the rain in the middle of a cemetery.
The title is short and to the point, for these are Four Summoner’s Tales. Hope they never summon you!
A pretty good collection of stories about people tangling with dark summoners or summoning rituals, and why you should never ever be involved with them. All of the stories were good, but my favorite was the last one, “Alive Day” by Jonathan Maberry. It had a lot of action, danger, mystery, and reality to it. Definitely worth checking out!