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juliacg7's review
4.0
Some of these short stories were kind of boring , but others grabbed on to me with such intrigue I had to finish them. Good collection of works
vanessakm's review
2.0
What is the trickiest genre to find something you like in? Horror. What is the biggest gamble you can take on a shiny bookstore purchase? A short story anthology.
Who rolled the dice on both counts and lost? THIS GUY!
Blumhouse, in case the name doesn't ring a bell, is a horror film producer and they've made movies over the last decade or so that you've at least heard of and probably seen: Paranormal Activity, Get Out, the new Halloween. Also, weirdly, the excellent HBO production of The Normal Heart, Larry Kramer's play about the AIDS epidemic in New York City in the early 80's, which you could obviously say is a horror story of a different, tragic sort.
So, Blumhouse knows horror. And Jason Blum has a lot of connections with writers and actors who write, so this anthology is mostly filled with people of that sort rather than the usual writer suspects. I will say the first story, "Hellhole", by Christopher Denham, is EXCELLENT. It's about a hipster couple who buy the fixer-upper they can afford in Brooklyn only to find it comes with a creepy doll. And maybe a portal to Hell. And the next story by Eli Roth, "Valdivia", is really well-written because I stayed immersed in the story when nothing much happened until the last two pages.
But with each story, the quality slipped a little bit more. "Novel Fifteen" by Steve Faber was long and tedious and not really a horror story--I get that there are different types of horror, but if I have to read a wordsplosion like that I expect to get at least a jump scare in return and not some meandering tale about an entitled asshole with writer's block. "The Darkish Man" by Nissar Modi, about a serial killer who weaponizes his victim's fear of looking racist, had a somewhat original hook but it was vile. I've read enough first person killer POV's to last me a lifetime. Bring something truly original or thought-provoking to make the icky experience worthwhile or don't bother.
The biggest name contributor to this book besides Roth is Ethan Hawke, who contributed the short tale "1987". It was....decent.
I made it about halfway through, got to the point where I'd read too many disappointing things in a row, and my hands just sort of refused to open the book again. I really can't make myself keep going to the point where I don't even see the use in keeping this around to re-tackle later. It's going, unfinished, into the donation pile. DAMN IT!
Who rolled the dice on both counts and lost? THIS GUY!
Blumhouse, in case the name doesn't ring a bell, is a horror film producer and they've made movies over the last decade or so that you've at least heard of and probably seen: Paranormal Activity, Get Out, the new Halloween. Also, weirdly, the excellent HBO production of The Normal Heart, Larry Kramer's play about the AIDS epidemic in New York City in the early 80's, which you could obviously say is a horror story of a different, tragic sort.
So, Blumhouse knows horror. And Jason Blum has a lot of connections with writers and actors who write, so this anthology is mostly filled with people of that sort rather than the usual writer suspects. I will say the first story, "Hellhole", by Christopher Denham, is EXCELLENT. It's about a hipster couple who buy the fixer-upper they can afford in Brooklyn only to find it comes with a creepy doll. And maybe a portal to Hell. And the next story by Eli Roth, "Valdivia", is really well-written because I stayed immersed in the story when nothing much happened until the last two pages.
But with each story, the quality slipped a little bit more. "Novel Fifteen" by Steve Faber was long and tedious and not really a horror story--I get that there are different types of horror, but if I have to read a wordsplosion like that I expect to get at least a jump scare in return and not some meandering tale about an entitled asshole with writer's block. "The Darkish Man" by Nissar Modi, about a serial killer who weaponizes his victim's fear of looking racist, had a somewhat original hook but it was vile. I've read enough first person killer POV's to last me a lifetime. Bring something truly original or thought-provoking to make the icky experience worthwhile or don't bother.
The biggest name contributor to this book besides Roth is Ethan Hawke, who contributed the short tale "1987". It was....decent.
I made it about halfway through, got to the point where I'd read too many disappointing things in a row, and my hands just sort of refused to open the book again. I really can't make myself keep going to the point where I don't even see the use in keeping this around to re-tackle later. It's going, unfinished, into the donation pile. DAMN IT!
slipperygourd's review
4.0
A collection of horror stories ranging from incredibly interesting to grotesque for no real reason. Some tales will stick with you and make you think, others will make you wonder why you’re still reading. As a collective work there is more good than bad to be found here, it’s worth a read.
chosetoforget's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
pqlibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
I received this copy via Goodreads' giveaway for review. I don't normally enjoy short stories and I don't read a lot of horror (although I enjoy what I do read). While there are a few stories that I didn't care for, most are very, very good. So good that I wish they were expanded into full novel length. I would definitely read more anthologies edited by Mr. Blum.
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