Reviews

Silverweed Road by Simon Crook

thefolklorefaery's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

radiatorpasta's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Super compelling. Interconnected short stories with good dread. I especially enjoyed the 'Beyond Belief: Fact Or Fiction' style interludes between each story. 

chrissypops's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

readundancies's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Perhaps my favourite short story collection of 2023? Time will tell, but I definitely went out to purchase a physical copy of this, so you know it’s legit.

What I loved about this interconnected collection of short stories is how Crook managed to structure the stories as a cohesive unit. The entries of Detective Chief Inspector Jim Heath really captured that which terrifies within the everyday mundanity that encompasses suburban horror.

I cannot praise the structure of the many narratives enough because the writing is just that tight. Each individual tale either highlights a different writing style or really establishes the tone of the story with how wonderfully descriptive the writing can be. Crook has specialized in horror cinema as a film journalist and it has certainly served him well as an author. Because the writing is just so well done. Like it’s completely engrossing and atmospheric and I’m in awe of how much natural tension the author builds in such short snippets.

As for the stories individually? Well I’ve summarized my thoughts below.

• No. 31 - The Jackdaw: 4.5/5
  • Very strong start to this collection.
  • A tale of revenge and a bitter rivalry between man vs bird paired with the stagnancy and stasis of a fraying marriage between a couple unable to deal with the aftermath of a stroke.
  • This was perfectly paced and with a karmic justice that unfolded in such a satisfying manner.

• No. 25 - The Pool: 4.25/5
  • This was good. Very Elizabeth Báthory, Blood Countess meets The Devil Wears Prada sort of vibes if the Devil wore Picasso instead, ya know?
  • I loved the reveal and how gorgeous the writing was even when disaster had fallen upon Cleo. There was beauty in her unwilling sacrifice to Margaret and it made it all the more devastating.
  • And the ending? With the strip of sheepskin left to hang among the hawthorn branches? So incredibly satisfying when a callback hits so good.

• No. 17 - Caught Red-handed: 3.75/5
  • The appearance of yet another or perhaps even the same jackdaw in the third story of the collection suggests some level of significance, no? The repetition simply cannot be ignored.
  • Augustus is rather deplorable, and yet it’s fine because karmic justice is doled out accordingly.
  • Not my favourite of the collection, but considering Augustus makes a further appearance where his crummy attitude is actually warranted? We’ll allow it.

• No. 4 - Cuttlefish, Cuttlefish: 4/5
  • This one had some predictable elements to it as well as some not so predictable ones alongside yet another appearance of a jackdaw.
  • Loved the science behind this one and the focus on cuttlefish which are truly some of the more interesting sea creatures.
  • The slow spiral of Dr. Eric Akoto in his logged entries was perfectly supplemented by Detective Inspector Jim Keith’s account of Akoto’s colleagues who disappear without a trace once the fallout occurs. And the appeal at the end to the readers to sign a petition was a nice touch.

• No. 10 - Crash Flowers: 4.25/5
  • It’s taken me a hot minute but I’ve finally reached enlightenment regarding the numbers of each chapter - they’re house numbers! Which is yet another layer that has been laid to interconnect these stories and I love it for that. Getting to see the perspectives of each person from each house and their opinions of one another however briefly is such a treat.
  • The jackdaw strikes again. Alongside a creepy florist serial killer that murders even in death? Fantastic.
  • I freaking love the blog extracts after each story. They add this layer of comprehension and heighten the impact of each story perfectly. And every single one of them hits so good with additional info and a clear voice of a detective character that clearly cares about the strange occurrences of Silverweed Road and despite being labelled a crock believes in getting the truth out there.

• No. 16 - Darts with the Devil: 4.25/5
  • Part of me wonders if I knew what the I believe to be German words in this short story meant that maybe it’d get a bit of a higher rating. But I am a lazy creature, so no.
  • I loved how this plot played out. It was prophetic and obvious in hindsight but was executed so well. Terry’s story in light of his introduction in Crash Flowers makes me think there was a slight typo in that story though when it comes to his house number.
  • I also really liked the character work in this. I felt bad for Marie. And seeing Augustus again was a unexpected throwback that I still enjoyed. But my favourite was Heath’s cameo. I didn’t recognize it until I read his blog entry after but when I did, I got a bit giddy, not gonna lie.

• No. 30 - The Vanslow Fox: 4/5
  • It was a little hard to get into, and I think it was a bit shorter than I would’ve preferred, but when things finally clicked for me like a quarter/third of the way into the story, it all just builds so well to the climax.
  • That last line hits so good. Especially since the story as a whole is very Brothers Grimm meets cautionary tale with a slice of HEA for Vanslow Lee who’s a bit of a tragic MC that has a kind heart amidst a sea of misfortune.
  • And everyone’s favourite clueless Chief Detective Inspector Jim Heath’s account of the event is just such a beautiful side of gravy to the story because he’s so far out of loop but gosh darn it he is endearing anyways. Off his rockers in the best possible conspiracy inclined manner for an intermittent narrator that is connecting the stories of each house on Silverweed Road.

• No. 15 - The Mogon: 4/5
  • The cyclical plotlines are everything. It’s the little callbacks between stories and houses alongside the much larger ones like the interminable jackdaw and the house number throwbacks and foreshadowing but also how well they are interwoven in the construct that is Silverweed Road. There’s such a solid narrative constructed between this set of stories that allows them to exist as single entities that are impressive in their own right but as a collective whole flourish in a way that can’t be achieved without such a well crafted concept and a vision that pans out perfectly.
  • The repetition in this one didn’t hit the same as some of the other stories but the cyclical nature of it definitely worked. The power of art is really taken to a whole new level in this story and it paired so well with Giuseppe’s need for vengeance and his tragic demise.
  • And the Detective Chief Inspector’s insights are officially my favourite parts of this collection - they are fantastic, every single one of them and I cannot get enough of them. They inject such levity into the horror and remind me of prime time ghost hunting television except the supernatural lens is more tangible than ghosts; it is demons.

• No. 41 - Dust: 4.5/5
  • This is a great story at the halfway point. Brutal, vindictive and cruel, but brilliant in nature.
  • ‘Justice has been done.’ Damn, this was fantastic. And Detective Chief Inspector Jim Heath is quickly becoming one of my favourite detectives despite him being entirely horrible at his job.
  • This is the penultimate story of this collection and I love how we’re clearly building to some sort of climax through the telling of these stories.

• No. 22 - Behind the Curtain: 4.75/5
  • This collection is so good. I can’t stress that enough. It has such a clear intent and purpose and just goes and bloody achieves it like it was always meant to exist.
  • This father-daughter duo is plagued with resentment but they’re also kinda of a dream team. And that’s saying something since I thought for sure the person behind the curtain of No. 22 was a nosy old lady.
  • Jim Heath’s blog is both the ramblings of a mad man and a desperate cry for help from a man who simply wants to find the truth and I think this story culminates to a truth and answer that unfortunately he’ll never know. And there’s something inherently dismal yet honest about that.

This was a fantastic collection of short stories and definitely worth picking up for the spooky season.

hattieparris's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

caitsidhe's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny 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? Yes

3.0

I like the concept of a set of horror shorts connected by one, strange community, all the terrible things interconnecting and happening almost at once. The weakest part was the police officer notes, and as always happens some stories were much better than others. Overall worth a read, but not brilliant.

allyreadabook's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

A solid, thrilling anthology. Crook’s prose is both beautiful and terrifying. The villains in these stories rang from the supernatural to the more mundane, but each is fearsome in its own right. The stories are so creative and can stand alone. The device that links them all together is just the cherry on top of the sundae.  Would definitely read more of Crook’s work.

annaonthepage's review against another edition

Narration was too monotonous (a few stories in).

catsandbones's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

cilie's review against another edition

3.5

Really liked the first couple of stories, but then I felt like it quickly became just more of the same, until the last story that explores why all these things are happening on this particular road. I liked the nods to those who came before seeing nods to Poe's "the Raven", Tolkien's "the lord of the rings" and Hellraiser, there were probably more that I missed. I also liked the interconnections of the stories, that events form earlier stories shows up as a sidenote in later stories.  
A little to much body horror to my taste and I would personally have wanted it to be shorter.