Reviews

Lost Places: And Other Stories by Sarah Pinsker

meganglloyd's review

adventurous 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? No

3.75

Loved getting to try short stories out

linneahedvig's review

4.0

Have not stopped thinking about Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather or Science Facts! (Science Facts! novel when??)!

bhagestedt's review

adventurous challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

kbhenrickson's review

dark emotional funny 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? It's complicated

4.0

Another great selection of stories by Sarah Pinsker! I had read a few of these already, and most of them were previously published elsewhere, but there is one completely new story, “Science Facts,” which was one of my favorites from the collection. The ones I liked the most were:

“Two Truths and a Lie” - I had read this one before, and it is good but very creepy / disturbing
“Everything is Closed Today” - hopeful choices made during a lockdown
“Escape from Caring Seasons” - I seem to have a soft spot lately for stories with spunky old woman protagonists :-)
“Science Facts” - summer camp trip becomes complicated

suzannnn's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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

3.5

rubyhosh's review

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective fast-paced

5.0

scuttlingclaws's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

bookishlibrarian's review

4.0

These lovely, slightly speculative stories cover a wide range of themes, topics, and even genres. The stories in this collection were uniformly strong, but my favorites were:

"Two Truths and A Lie" about a woman who finds old VHS copies of a local TV show from her childhood. This one was menacing and foreboding.

"Escape from Caring Seasons"  a technologically advanced housing complex for seniors, a resident who escapes, and a drone she encounters  This one was creepy but realistic with an unexpected ending.

"A Better Way of Saying" a boy hired to speak the cards in silent movies discovers an ability to alter the stories slightly--which also bleeds into real life

"That Our Flag Was Still There"  a disturbingly (enforced) patriotic futuristic society where the flags are human symbols

"Remember This For Me" an artist with dementia, her career retrospective, and her artistic muse

"Where Oaken Heartes Do Gather"  a folk song ballad told through its Wiki 

"Science Facts"  a group of campers on a hike encounter something mysterious 

and my favorite story in the collection was "Everything is Closed Today" . After a mysterious threat closes everything down, including communication, a librarian starts teaching the young girls in the neighborhood into skateboarders -- and activists.

pussreboots's review

challenging dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0