Reviews

Love & Other Dead Things by Astrid Addams

novelbloglover's review

challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

 

Book Review 

Title: Love and Other Dead Things by Astrid Addams 

Genre: Short Stories, Horror 

Rating: 4.5 Stars 

My reviews for short story collections tend to be shorter than my other reviews, purely because I don’t want to spoil the stories for other readers. Horror short stories are also hit or miss for me, because of the length of the stories some have a huge impact, while others completely fall flat. The first story, Jimmy Fucked Up was good and a nice introduction to the collection as it looks at revenge and parenthood in an interesting way with plenty of horrific moments from Jimmy himself and others but it felt a little rushed which isn’t uncommon with short stories but I will see where the collection goes. 

The next story, He’s Behind You was a strange combination of psychological horror and almost gothic horror featuring a mysterious entity and a murderous teddy bear haunting the life of Gemma. I thought it to be a depiction of mental health with how the people that died were people who abused Gemma before the creature came for her like she killed them and then committed suicide and created the creature to not take responsibility for the crimes but it could be something else entirely. The third story, The Tower, was a good story especially if you liked the vibes of The Shining. This was quick, creepy and definitely gory featuring a similar bathroom scene but it really focused on how spirits linger after death and what that means for the living and I would have liked for this to have been longer. 

Dead Men at Dead Man’s Cliff might just be my favourite story of the collection so far as it was heart-breaking but at the same time hopeful and once again focuses on revenge but the kind you see far more often in real life than in fiction. The next story, Love and Other Chainsaws, was a story that could have been an amazing full length novel with the premise. Essentially it asks what if war and other corruptions created by humans created demons who further corrupt and destroy creating more of themselves over time but it also had themes of love, loyalty and family which added a nice twist to it. The Rubies was a story that reminded me of The Handmaid’s Tale, while I haven’t read the book or seen the show, the premise is well known but this was far darker and gorier than I expect The Handmaid’s Tale is and honestly I was down for it. If The Handmaid’s Tale has a tenth of the intrigue and terror that this story had then I am going to love it when I eventually get to it. 

Beware was a story that sparks memories of Halloween horror films in the back of my brain and I’m almost certain it would make a great slasher film and if you like over the top gore with witchcraft and revenge elements then this would definitely be the story for you. Then we reach the story that gives its name to the collection, Love and Other Dead Things. This story was amazing it had a real chilling atmosphere, interesting characters and a different look on vampires. The vampires features in this story are more like the vampires of folklore rather than the ones created in popular culture like Dracula and Twilight so if that’s your thing then definitely check this story out. In Memory Of was a seriously dark and disturbing story focusing on mental illness and child abuse so I would recommend seriously checking out the trigger warnings before diving into this collection because it was taxing to get through at times especially this story. I swear Poppy is going to haunt me for the rest of my days. 

The Blue Dress was another haunting story and this one had a twist that I didn’t see coming, in fact, it had two that took me completely by surprise. One thing I have been loving about this collection is the LGBT representation with both gay and lesbian couples as well as a transgender character as well as amazing but horrific depictions of mental illness in its many forms. Judge Dead is the last story in the collection and it was a unique look on zombies as well as making some social commentary which I found extremely interesting. Overall, this collection didn’t look like much in the beginning but it definitely held some real gems. My favourite story would be a tie between The Tower and The Blue Dress and I highly recommend this collection to fans of the slasher genre.