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pineconek's review against another edition
5.0
A+ marketing for pitching this as "a sequel to let the right one in and other stories" and putting said sequel at the end of the collection. The journey made me feel like I was indeed living deliciously.
Lindqvist is phenomenal at writing about love and human relationships, and chooses unleash that power in horror which makes me very happy.
A lot of the stories were not really my thing: a shoplifters union, a troll, a Lovecraftian demon, a sea creature seeking revenge... Are all backdrops that I typically sidestep as I prefer having my horror grounded in reality. But gosh did I like these. The prose is so beautiful and paints a vivid picture of Swedish life. My favorite stories were the border (the one with airport security and neighbor's baby), let the old dreams die (Stefan and Karin tho), tindalos (our main characters marriage wrecked me tbh), and the one with the leaning apartments as well as the one with the unborn baby and husband who almost drowns.... oh, and the one with the corpse who covered.himself with a blanket (what the hell!!), oh and..
You see where I'm going with this. The only skips in this collection were stories that were only a few pages long and read like a writing exercise. Everything substantial was damn weird and damn good. 4.5 stars rounded up.
Recommended if you loved let the right one In (and if you haven't read it, go change that) and want more paradoxically gentle Swedish horror in your life.
Lindqvist is phenomenal at writing about love and human relationships, and chooses unleash that power in horror which makes me very happy.
A lot of the stories were not really my thing: a shoplifters union, a troll, a Lovecraftian demon, a sea creature seeking revenge... Are all backdrops that I typically sidestep as I prefer having my horror grounded in reality. But gosh did I like these. The prose is so beautiful and paints a vivid picture of Swedish life. My favorite stories were the border (the one with airport security and neighbor's baby), let the old dreams die (Stefan and Karin tho), tindalos (our main characters marriage wrecked me tbh), and the one with the leaning apartments as well as the one with the unborn baby and husband who almost drowns.... oh, and the one with the corpse who covered.himself with a blanket (what the hell!!), oh and..
You see where I'm going with this. The only skips in this collection were stories that were only a few pages long and read like a writing exercise. Everything substantial was damn weird and damn good. 4.5 stars rounded up.
Recommended if you loved let the right one In (and if you haven't read it, go change that) and want more paradoxically gentle Swedish horror in your life.
txcoach25's review against another edition
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This collection of short stories is masterfully written, encompassing not only classic horror story themes but also touching on new and varied ideas. "Let the Old Dreams Die" does contain two "sequels" to Lindqvist's prior novels such as "Let the Right One In" and "Handling the Undead" which is what lead me to purchasing the book, but those I have found were not even my favorite tales.
annelienvan's review against another edition
5.0
A bunch of very different short stories, two of which revisit the worlds from 'let the right one in' and 'handling the undead'. Each has its own world, explaining short or long. I gladly compare this collection to the likes of Neil Gaiman.
milesjmoran's review against another edition
3.0
This book presents some delicious horror and humour. By far, the best stories were 'Equinox', 'Majken', 'Let The Old Dreams Die' and 'The Final Processing'.
claudia_juliet_reads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Really interesting collection of short stories that I almost liked as much as let the right one in. Sadly some of the stories were a bit underdeveloped but all of them were really interesting premises and it was refreshing to have such bite size chunks of dark and mysterious books that didn’t draw out the ending. Very graphic in places with elements of the spiritual and the supernatural which were spoken about in a very matter of fact way, making them far more believable. Will always love this writers style and the macabre imagery he paints is second to none.