Reviews

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes by Eric LaRocca

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jn16's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

jaidenrogers's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

thelexrose's review against another edition

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2.0

All three stories seemed to follow the same trajectory for me. Intrigue followed by abrupt disappointment.

First one (the titular "Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke") was the most memorable, but also seemed to just be upsetting for upsetting's sake. Eric LaRocca is very talented at conjuring disturbing imagery, but there really seems to be no organic place for it in this story. The characters are emailing back and forth and one them will just out of the blue go "Hey, here's a fucked up story I heard" and then proceed to detail the most disgusting unrelated tale of animal and/or child death you've ever laid your eyes on. Meh.

Second story felt more cinematic but, again, just crashed and burned towards the ending.

Third story had a good sense of tension and escalation... that also fell flat.

Maybe I'll circle back with LaRocca when they're a little more seasoned. Not sure I want to go through an entire novel of his only to be met with the same dissatisfaction.