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cal_jessamine's review
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
curlyhairedbooklover's review
medium-paced
4.0
I enjoyed them all, though some of them weren’t as strong for different reasons they were all good fun.
megadirt's review
4.0
I always thought that the first book I ever really enjoyed was at 12 years old when I first got my hands on the Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy but this was untrue. I recently discovered that my previous favourite and the epicentre of my fear of being buried alive was three years earlier, in the shape of R.L Stine’s ‘One day at Horrorland.’ I genuinely believed that my love of media rested exclusively in the ‘comedy’ camp. It is only recently I’ve discovered it was equally divided between comedy and horror. So it was inevitable I would discover and enjoy ’Dead Funny’.
Dead Funny is a collection of short horror stories edited by (horror fiction authority figure) Johnny Mains and co-edited by (comedian, actor, writer and broadcaster) Robin Ince. The stories are written exclusively by comedians and though some of them will make you laugh briefly, (I’m fairly sure Richard Herring’s is an amazing story I heard him mention on a podcast) they are horror stories and not comedy.
Right out’ve the gate Reece Shearsmith writes a story so visceral that I remember it every time I go to a park, but it also had such a specific blend of dark humour that you would’ve known exactly who had written it even if it hadn’t been clearly stated. It made me feel very uneasy many times, such as making me want to kick a blind child into a fire. Sara Pascoe creeped me out so much I re-told her story to everyone I met for two days. Charlie Higson’s story is really satisfying and has a slightly higher quality that reeks of ‘I do this for a living now’. Robin Ince has a great twist on a thoroughly explored horror genre that has the hallmarks of a workaholic comedian who sits around thinking up horror stories every time he is left alone without a microphone. Al Murray does the equivalent of a creepy documentary and Michael Legge utilised his infamously bottomless well of frustration and rage to craft one of the most satisfying stories in the book.
For at least a couple of the authors I know this is the first time they’ve attempted to write anything like this. Some of them didn’t really work for me though some of the stories I loved really irritated other people. Dead Funny has resurrected my love for horror stories, and made me want to go mad so I can write some. It is a satisfying read with a lot more authors than I’ve stated, I can’t imagine you are going to be crying yourself to death after reading them but I enjoyed them a hell of a lot.
I have genuinely had nightmares for the whole week I was reading Dead Funny, though that’s probably a lot more to do with my decaying mental stability and impending breakdowns than with these stories. Except Sara Pascoe’s story A Spider Remember which creeped me out permanently and has supplied me with a semi-permanent twitch. Copies of Dead Funny, at the moment at least, are available in a very physically attractive small format hardback book, and there’s a sequel collection on the way so you should buy it even if you just want to look more interesting to other people.
Dead Funny is a collection of short horror stories edited by (horror fiction authority figure) Johnny Mains and co-edited by (comedian, actor, writer and broadcaster) Robin Ince. The stories are written exclusively by comedians and though some of them will make you laugh briefly, (I’m fairly sure Richard Herring’s is an amazing story I heard him mention on a podcast) they are horror stories and not comedy.
Right out’ve the gate Reece Shearsmith writes a story so visceral that I remember it every time I go to a park, but it also had such a specific blend of dark humour that you would’ve known exactly who had written it even if it hadn’t been clearly stated. It made me feel very uneasy many times, such as making me want to kick a blind child into a fire. Sara Pascoe creeped me out so much I re-told her story to everyone I met for two days. Charlie Higson’s story is really satisfying and has a slightly higher quality that reeks of ‘I do this for a living now’. Robin Ince has a great twist on a thoroughly explored horror genre that has the hallmarks of a workaholic comedian who sits around thinking up horror stories every time he is left alone without a microphone. Al Murray does the equivalent of a creepy documentary and Michael Legge utilised his infamously bottomless well of frustration and rage to craft one of the most satisfying stories in the book.
For at least a couple of the authors I know this is the first time they’ve attempted to write anything like this. Some of them didn’t really work for me though some of the stories I loved really irritated other people. Dead Funny has resurrected my love for horror stories, and made me want to go mad so I can write some. It is a satisfying read with a lot more authors than I’ve stated, I can’t imagine you are going to be crying yourself to death after reading them but I enjoyed them a hell of a lot.
I have genuinely had nightmares for the whole week I was reading Dead Funny, though that’s probably a lot more to do with my decaying mental stability and impending breakdowns than with these stories. Except Sara Pascoe’s story A Spider Remember which creeped me out permanently and has supplied me with a semi-permanent twitch. Copies of Dead Funny, at the moment at least, are available in a very physically attractive small format hardback book, and there’s a sequel collection on the way so you should buy it even if you just want to look more interesting to other people.
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