Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

The Vampyre and Other Tales of the Macabre by John Polidori

1 review

brnineworms's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

The Vampyre and Other Tales of the Macabre is a bit of a mixed bag, like any anthology, but I quite liked it overall.
My thoughts on each individual story (listed best to worst rather than in the order in which they appear):

Monos and Daimonos – 4.5☆
Honestly, I really liked this one. Beautifully written and even comedic at times, with a paradoxical main character who feels realistically complex despite being confined to an eight-and-a-half-page story

Passage in the Secret History of an Irish Countess – 4.5☆
A gut-wrenching tale of abuse and violence that really got under my skin

Life in Death – 4.0☆
Nice imagery and an interesting premise which deserves more than seven pages. Francis’s transition from a carefree young man to a ruthless manipulator ought to have been explored more thoroughly, I think

Confessions of a Reformed Ribbonman – 4.0☆
Evocative yet, at the same time, economical. Not sure how I feel about the author’s literal demonisation of Ribbonism, though

The Vampyre – 3.5☆
It’s a solid metaphor for sexual assault and generally predatory behaviour by men in positions of power, but it’s not particularly well written. It feels very rushed and there’s a lot the reader is told instead of shown

Post-Mortem Recollections of a Medical Lecturer – 3.5☆
This one was alright. It’s funny, in a grim way, that the story told from the perspective of a medical professional is based around the idea of recovery through willpower. Basically “well, have you tried not being dead?”

The Curse – 3.5☆
This story is more tragic than macabre. The opening paragraph is very strong but the tangential story-within-a-story really does mar the pacing. I did like the theme of change, though

Sir Guy Eveling’s Dream – 3.0☆
Literally just a guy trying to woo a ghost. It’s not especially scary or spooky, just kind of weird

The Bride of Lindorf – 3.0☆
This one is a mess. It begins with some beautiful prose but gradually falls apart – the last page in particular feels like some very lazy writing. As for the story itself, if incestuous relationships upset you, give this one a hard pass

The Victim – 3.0☆
No supernatural elements (metaphorical or otherwise), just a straightforward murder. Many stories from this time are quite misogynistic but this one felt especially dehumanising and objectifying, what with the corpse kissing and all

Some Terrible Letters from Scotland – 3.0☆
I don’t really know what to make of this one. It’s not bad but it’s not particularly memorable either

My Hobby,—Rather – 3.0☆
An intriguing start, with a narrator who is seemingly obsessed with observing and documenting macabre events. Disappointingly, the “monster” is just an ordinary cat (which is killed)

The Master of Logan – 2.5☆
A moral tale about resisting temptation and turning to God for protection against evil. I found it dull

The Red Man – 2.0☆
Another story I found dull and unmemorable. I struggled to keep track of what was happening because I just wasn’t invested, unfortunately. It doesn’t help that it’s one of the more sexist and racist tales in this collection
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