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lene_kretzsch's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
mindysbookjourney's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
3.5
I received a copy for review through NetGalley.
This new collection from a Lisa Tuttle collects stories previously published between 1986 and 2017 with a new expanded version of 'The Dragon's Bride'. The stories seem to fit together in that they all explore unconventional types of relationships from the female prospective. The plots themselves are varied. Some worked better for me than others. This is a great release from Valancourt Books from this great author of Nest of Nightmares and Familiar Spirit.
Ride the Nightmare: Being second to a man in an open marriage isn't easy. For Tess it brings on a prophetic nightmare.The nightmare imagery is great. 4 stars
Bits and Pieces: A woman realizes the men that leave her life leave parts of themselves behind. In the pursuit of creating a perfect man she goes to great lengths to get what she wants. 3 stars
The Mezzotint: A woman finds a picture in her partner's office that reminds her of the messotint in the M. R. James story. 3 stars
After the End: This story tells that last case of C. Auguste Dupin. A very gothic feeling story. 3 stars
The Third Person: A woman asks her best friend to use her apartment once a week to have an affair which leads to unforeseen circumstances. 3 stars
The Wound: Two male teachers become friends over a love of opera that can become more complicated that you would think. 3 stars
The Man in the Ditch: A woman sees a man in the ditch on the drive to see their new home. She keeps having visions of this same man over her time in the house. This one has a great ending. 4 stars
The Last Dare: Two friends pass on the story of their experience in The Tower House, a creepy house in the neighborhood, to their grandchildren. Those grandchildren decide to explore the house as well. 4 stars
A Home in the Sky: A woman who has dreams of owning her own house has a strange experience in a miniature version of house being built in the area. 4 stars
The Hungry Hotel: A woman has a fling with a traveling musician while her fiance is out of town. 4 stars
The Dragon's Bride: A woman has repressed her visit to her aunt's house in England. When she returns after the death of her aunt she begins to remember. 4 stars
Average Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Miscarriage
nikki_in_niagara's review
4.0
A collection of recent work by Lisa Tuttle. A great talent for horror short stories. Most of these were 4 and 5 stars for me. The novella at the end was fantastic. Recommended.
1. Riding the Nightmare - Tess hasn't had the dream of the mare since her mother died. But she's having it again, unhappy with her relationship with a man who has an open marriage. Great writing. A story that gets darker and darker following dreams that bring death. (4/5)
2. Bits and Pieces - When Fay's boyfriend breaks up with her she finds he's left his feet behind. Each time she sleeps with a man for the last time he leaves a part of himself in her bed. Fay finds her perspective of men has changed and she goes for what she wants now. Very creepy with a twist ending that shocks (4/5)
3. 'The Mezzotint' - This is based on MR James' story of the same title (which I've read). Mel finds a mezzotint of a house on her partner's office wall which he swears was always there. This is a bit of a brain teaser and one wonders if the narrator is reliable. A bit spooky. (3/5)
4. After the End - This tells of C. Auguste Dupin's last case. A conclusion to Edgar Allan Poe's famous stories. Tuttle wrote this beautifully using Victorian language, style, and spelling. It's a shocking tale and so fun to read. (5/5)
5. The Third Person - A woman's best friend asks to use her apartment once a week with her lover. When she comes home each evening, she dreams about them being in her bed. Intense. Didn't suspect the ending. (4/5)
6. The Wound - Two male teachers become friends. This is a strange one. I think the point being made is that women are made to suffer pain. (3/5)
7. The Man in the Ditch - Linzi is being driven to the spot where their new house is being built when she thinks she sees a dead man in the Ditch. She continues to have visions of him. The tension kept mounting in this until the ending totally surprised me. (5/5)
8. The Last Dare - Two old friends get together with their grandchildren and tell the tale of the tower house just down the street. Of course, the children go exploring. Based on "The Riddle" by Walter de la Mere. This was really good. (4/5)
9. A Home in the Sky - A short and abrupt story of a woman who comes across a miniature facsimile of houses to be built on a lot. Odd and simple. (3/5)
10. Voices in the Night - A young woman hears voices at night and goes to investigate. A decent story but predictable. (3/5)
11. The Hungry Hotel - A woman is telling of her weekend romance with a musician while her fiance was away on an internship. Romantic and gripping. (4/5)
12. The Dragon's Bride - To end the book, this is a short novella. Isobel remembers nothing about her visit to her aunt in England as a child. Now, upon the aunt's death, she and her boyfriend return and hear her memory begins to return. This was amazing. So much is told in the short space. We get Isobel's background and character development. The story has atmosphere and I was totally fascinated as I read. The ending shocked me. The best story in the book. (5/5)
1. Riding the Nightmare - Tess hasn't had the dream of the mare since her mother died. But she's having it again, unhappy with her relationship with a man who has an open marriage. Great writing. A story that gets darker and darker following dreams that bring death. (4/5)
2. Bits and Pieces - When Fay's boyfriend breaks up with her she finds he's left his feet behind. Each time she sleeps with a man for the last time he leaves a part of himself in her bed. Fay finds her perspective of men has changed and she goes for what she wants now. Very creepy with a twist ending that shocks (4/5)
3. 'The Mezzotint' - This is based on MR James' story of the same title (which I've read). Mel finds a mezzotint of a house on her partner's office wall which he swears was always there. This is a bit of a brain teaser and one wonders if the narrator is reliable. A bit spooky. (3/5)
4. After the End - This tells of C. Auguste Dupin's last case. A conclusion to Edgar Allan Poe's famous stories. Tuttle wrote this beautifully using Victorian language, style, and spelling. It's a shocking tale and so fun to read. (5/5)
5. The Third Person - A woman's best friend asks to use her apartment once a week with her lover. When she comes home each evening, she dreams about them being in her bed. Intense. Didn't suspect the ending. (4/5)
6. The Wound - Two male teachers become friends. This is a strange one. I think the point being made is that women are made to suffer pain. (3/5)
7. The Man in the Ditch - Linzi is being driven to the spot where their new house is being built when she thinks she sees a dead man in the Ditch. She continues to have visions of him. The tension kept mounting in this until the ending totally surprised me. (5/5)
8. The Last Dare - Two old friends get together with their grandchildren and tell the tale of the tower house just down the street. Of course, the children go exploring. Based on "The Riddle" by Walter de la Mere. This was really good. (4/5)
9. A Home in the Sky - A short and abrupt story of a woman who comes across a miniature facsimile of houses to be built on a lot. Odd and simple. (3/5)
10. Voices in the Night - A young woman hears voices at night and goes to investigate. A decent story but predictable. (3/5)
11. The Hungry Hotel - A woman is telling of her weekend romance with a musician while her fiance was away on an internship. Romantic and gripping. (4/5)
12. The Dragon's Bride - To end the book, this is a short novella. Isobel remembers nothing about her visit to her aunt in England as a child. Now, upon the aunt's death, she and her boyfriend return and hear her memory begins to return. This was amazing. So much is told in the short space. We get Isobel's background and character development. The story has atmosphere and I was totally fascinated as I read. The ending shocked me. The best story in the book. (5/5)
grimdreadful's review
3.0
3 stars - I liked it.
This book contains 12 short stories, some I thought were great and others felt really unsatisfying. Some of these didn't really feel like horror, more strange and fever dream like. I really enjoyed the writing and weirdness of each story.
my favourites were:
-The Mezzotint
-After The End
-The Third Person
-The Man In The Ditch
^^ All of these were so bizarre and made me feel uneasy.
the ones I didn't like:
-The last Dare
-A Home In The Sky
-Voices In The Night
^^ for me personally, these were confusing, felt like they weren't finished.
Overall, a fun read of short stories.
Thanks to netgalley and Valancourt Books for sharing a digital copy for me to read and review. As always, opinions are my own 🤘🏻💀🤘🏻
This book contains 12 short stories, some I thought were great and others felt really unsatisfying. Some of these didn't really feel like horror, more strange and fever dream like. I really enjoyed the writing and weirdness of each story.
my favourites were:
-The Mezzotint
-After The End
-The Third Person
-The Man In The Ditch
^^ All of these were so bizarre and made me feel uneasy.
the ones I didn't like:
-The last Dare
-A Home In The Sky
-Voices In The Night
^^ for me personally, these were confusing, felt like they weren't finished.
Overall, a fun read of short stories.
Thanks to netgalley and Valancourt Books for sharing a digital copy for me to read and review. As always, opinions are my own 🤘🏻💀🤘🏻
paperwitches's review against another edition
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Too many trigger warnings to count.
house_of_hannah's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Thank you so much to RDS Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC; it is greatly appreciated.
This cover is perfectly suited to the first story in this collection, which also shares the book's name: Riding the Nightmare. The creativity that is shown throughout these stories is superb. There are subtleties, and things left unsaid that weave these stories into darker tales than you might think at first glance.
Horror might not seem like the correct genre at first, but these stories are meant to sit with you a bit and let the true horror sink in. I found myself reading the last paragraph or two of some stories over again to make sure that I really understood what was going on. It may be a quick read, but there are stories in here that will really grab your attention and make you shiver.
This cover is perfectly suited to the first story in this collection, which also shares the book's name: Riding the Nightmare. The creativity that is shown throughout these stories is superb. There are subtleties, and things left unsaid that weave these stories into darker tales than you might think at first glance.
Horror might not seem like the correct genre at first, but these stories are meant to sit with you a bit and let the true horror sink in. I found myself reading the last paragraph or two of some stories over again to make sure that I really understood what was going on. It may be a quick read, but there are stories in here that will really grab your attention and make you shiver.
midnitebrz's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Thank you netgalley and publishers for providing this eARC for me to review :)
Riding the Nightmare lives up to it's name. 12 short horror stories that will each take you for a ride. She does a great job of setting up a story, getting you hooked, and turning it around to a dark ending in a short span of time. I've read collections of short horror stories before and this was one of the better ones, with only one below four stars. I definitely recommend this for some quicker reads.
Riding the Nightmare: 5⭐
Bits and Pieces: 5⭐
The Mezzotint: 4.5 ⭐
After the End: 3⭐
The Third Person: 4.5⭐
The Wound: 5⭐
The Man in the Ditch: 5⭐
The Last Dare: 4⭐
Home in the Sky: 4⭐ (cute, but not scary)
Voices in the Night: 4⭐
The Hungry Hotel: 4⭐
The Dragon's Bride: 5⭐
Riding the Nightmare lives up to it's name. 12 short horror stories that will each take you for a ride. She does a great job of setting up a story, getting you hooked, and turning it around to a dark ending in a short span of time. I've read collections of short horror stories before and this was one of the better ones, with only one below four stars. I definitely recommend this for some quicker reads.
Riding the Nightmare: 5⭐
Bits and Pieces: 5⭐
The Mezzotint: 4.5 ⭐
After the End: 3⭐
The Third Person: 4.5⭐
The Wound: 5⭐
The Man in the Ditch: 5⭐
The Last Dare: 4⭐
Home in the Sky: 4⭐ (cute, but not scary)
Voices in the Night: 4⭐
The Hungry Hotel: 4⭐
The Dragon's Bride: 5⭐
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