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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really wish this book didn’t make me wanna Jekyill myself.
An absolute atrocity, it’s not my vibe, not in the slightest, but regardless of my personal tastes in literature, this was simply a bad narrative.
It’s a little fortnight squad of grown ass men that were besties then stopped being besties. However, the main character feels the need to probe his way into Jekyl’s life when he explicitly doesn’t want him to.
His only inkling that something is wrong comes from his prejudice against the disabled and deformed Hyde “not being right”.
A shit show from start to finish. It was only 100 pages, but I wanted it to be less than less. I think this story should only be told orally through summary.
An absolute atrocity, it’s not my vibe, not in the slightest, but regardless of my personal tastes in literature, this was simply a bad narrative.
It’s a little fortnight squad of grown ass men that were besties then stopped being besties. However, the main character feels the need to probe his way into Jekyl’s life when he explicitly doesn’t want him to.
His only inkling that something is wrong comes from his prejudice against the disabled and deformed Hyde “not being right”.
A shit show from start to finish. It was only 100 pages, but I wanted it to be less than less. I think this story should only be told orally through summary.
dark
mysterious
fast-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
Very old style of prose (obviously expected as it was written in 1886!) which sometimes made it a bit unclear as to what was actually happening. Knowing the story helped get the gist of things. It was interesting to read the original story and to see the points of difference between its various iterations.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The page master made it seem like this book would be much scarier
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Two good stories, followed by 200 pages of filler.
I quite enjoyed The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde, as well as Will o' the Mill. They were quick, and fun, and had a poignant theme. Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde, of course, has become a classic. It was dark and mysterious, and very Lovecraftian, before Lovecraft. I would have liked to see more of Mr Hyde's perspective and personality. We hear a lot about how vile and evil he is, from Dr. Jekyll, and others, but the only evil things we see Mr Hyde do are push a child in the streets and kill a man for seemingly no reason. There is a wide gap in the depravity between these two deeds, and there is no progression or development of the evil of Mr Hyde. Mostly we are just told how evil he is, without being shown his evil deeds. In a way, it left me somewhat more sympathetic to Hyde than what the author intended. Is he really that evil, or is he just being maligned and slandered by Dr. Jekyll? Regardless, it was a fun and enjoyable read that kept the plot moving and did not over stay its welcome. Will o' the Mill was much more wistful, sad, and remorseful. Will is a sympathetic and kind character. He does not commit any great crime or mortal sin. In many respects, you could even say that he lived a good and long life. Yet it is a shallow and unfulfilling life, full of regrets at missed opportunities and chances not taken. Again, the story is short and to the point, easily read in one sitting. I enjoyed Will 'o the Mill even more than Jekyll and Hyde. These two stories, alone, are easily worthy of 4+ stars, I would highly recommend both.
However, the rest of the book ranges from mediocre and pointless, to simply awful. Considering that nearly two-thirds of the book are taken up by these remaining 7 stories, they drag the overall rating way down. I think the nicest thing I could say about these other stories is that they are mostly fine as meaningless pulp-fiction. They are spooky and fun, but they are largely lacking in any resonant meaning or deeper theme, other than "scary story". Then there is Thrawn Janet. Written in a heavy Scottish accent, this story is incomprehensible and without merit. Truly one of the worst things I have ever read.
This collection is a bit of a mixed bag. Some good, some bad, mostly mediocre. The book itself is a beautiful volume, but I would hold out for a shorter collection. I would personally like to see a volume with Jekyll and Hyde, Will o' the Mill, and Treasure Island. If that exists, get it! If you are a big fan of ghost stories, then you might enjoy this book more than me. Otherwise, you might just want to pick and choose your short stories and move on.
I quite enjoyed The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde, as well as Will o' the Mill. They were quick, and fun, and had a poignant theme. Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde, of course, has become a classic. It was dark and mysterious, and very Lovecraftian, before Lovecraft. I would have liked to see more of Mr Hyde's perspective and personality. We hear a lot about how vile and evil he is, from Dr. Jekyll, and others, but the only evil things we see Mr Hyde do are push a child in the streets and kill a man for seemingly no reason. There is a wide gap in the depravity between these two deeds, and there is no progression or development of the evil of Mr Hyde. Mostly we are just told how evil he is, without being shown his evil deeds. In a way, it left me somewhat more sympathetic to Hyde than what the author intended. Is he really that evil, or is he just being maligned and slandered by Dr. Jekyll? Regardless, it was a fun and enjoyable read that kept the plot moving and did not over stay its welcome. Will o' the Mill was much more wistful, sad, and remorseful. Will is a sympathetic and kind character. He does not commit any great crime or mortal sin. In many respects, you could even say that he lived a good and long life. Yet it is a shallow and unfulfilling life, full of regrets at missed opportunities and chances not taken. Again, the story is short and to the point, easily read in one sitting. I enjoyed Will 'o the Mill even more than Jekyll and Hyde. These two stories, alone, are easily worthy of 4+ stars, I would highly recommend both.
However, the rest of the book ranges from mediocre and pointless, to simply awful. Considering that nearly two-thirds of the book are taken up by these remaining 7 stories, they drag the overall rating way down. I think the nicest thing I could say about these other stories is that they are mostly fine as meaningless pulp-fiction. They are spooky and fun, but they are largely lacking in any resonant meaning or deeper theme, other than "scary story". Then there is Thrawn Janet. Written in a heavy Scottish accent, this story is incomprehensible and without merit. Truly one of the worst things I have ever read.
This collection is a bit of a mixed bag. Some good, some bad, mostly mediocre. The book itself is a beautiful volume, but I would hold out for a shorter collection. I would personally like to see a volume with Jekyll and Hyde, Will o' the Mill, and Treasure Island. If that exists, get it! If you are a big fan of ghost stories, then you might enjoy this book more than me. Otherwise, you might just want to pick and choose your short stories and move on.