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octopusarms's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
cimorene1558's review against another edition
4.0
A fine bunch of creepy stories! I especially like Mr. Justice Harbottle--scary stuff!
laefe's review against another edition
3.0
Trattasi di una raccolta di racconti "del terrore" (ma dai?), di cui in realtà mi ha appassionato dall'inizio alla fine solo l'ultimo, "Carmilla". Degli altri invece di solito mi piaceva l'inizio, o qualche scena, ma mai tutto, e mai la fine, che lascia per strada l'atmosfera mistica e la tensione per fare una mini cronaca fredda degli avvenimenti.
read247_instyle_inca's review against another edition
3.0
Carmilla alone deserves a 5 star (incredible vampire story that inspired Bram Stoker). However, I felt the rest of the short stories were very repetitive.
gsatori's review against another edition
4.0
I decided to read Sheridan Le Fanu and I do not know what took so long! This Irishman paints some amazing scenes, macabre and tense, and given that these were written some two hundred years ago, they are still able to deliver chills.
"Green Tea" is a profound tale of the outer manifestation of a man's evil, and its theme of sight into a spirit world foreshadows H.P. Lovecraft's "From Beyond. " The story "The Familiar" echoes the first, but delivers a story of retribution. And what is so astonishing about that piece is the protagonist' s inability to pray, and his disbelief in God. A professed athiest!!! In the early 1800s in Ireland. I can't imagine how shocking that would have been for a reading public. And yes, we must take into some consideration the mores and values of when a book was written.
The best story remained "Carmilla." This is an early vampire story, with heavy sexual overtones, and a feeling of dread. It is amazing how well it reads, moving swiftly along to a bloody climax. Loved this book, and I am betting Bram Stoker did too, using many of the vampire conventions used by Fanu in Dracula.
"Green Tea" is a profound tale of the outer manifestation of a man's evil, and its theme of sight into a spirit world foreshadows H.P. Lovecraft's "From Beyond. " The story "The Familiar" echoes the first, but delivers a story of retribution. And what is so astonishing about that piece is the protagonist' s inability to pray, and his disbelief in God. A professed athiest!!! In the early 1800s in Ireland. I can't imagine how shocking that would have been for a reading public. And yes, we must take into some consideration the mores and values of when a book was written.
The best story remained "Carmilla." This is an early vampire story, with heavy sexual overtones, and a feeling of dread. It is amazing how well it reads, moving swiftly along to a bloody climax. Loved this book, and I am betting Bram Stoker did too, using many of the vampire conventions used by Fanu in Dracula.
lindseysparks's review against another edition
3.0
The star of this collection is definitely Carmilla. Predating Bram Stoker's Dracula by about 30 years, this was a chilling story about a lesbian vampire. Who didn't sparkle or fall in love. It's not as well developed as Dracula, but it's also much shorter so that makes sense.
I liked the first story, about a demonic monkey/hallucination partly caused by drinking too much green tea. 😂 The next two stories were too similar to this one.
The fourth story was good, but it needed to either be shorter or longer with more character development. It didn't really get good until the end but then had a great payoff.
I liked the first story, about a demonic monkey/hallucination partly caused by drinking too much green tea. 😂 The next two stories were too similar to this one.
The fourth story was good, but it needed to either be shorter or longer with more character development. It didn't really get good until the end but then had a great payoff.
acutefauna's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5