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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
A collection of horror short stories will always be my bread and butter.
This collection runs really hot and cold--some of the stories are absolute stinkers, but some of them are among his best: The Next in Line, The Lake, Touched with Fire, The Small Assassin, The Scythe, The Man Upstairs. Don't let the Poker Ch ip of H. Matisse story at the beginning get you discouraged...you're allowed to skip that one. Keep reading.
The first few stories didn’t really stand out to me though after those things started to pick up when I got to Skeleton. Very much enjoyed most of these stories especially The Jar, The Crowd and The Scythe to name a few.
Essential reading for October. Bradbury is, as always, a genius and his macabre stories here are unsettling in the most subtle way. As in most anthologies, some stories were better than others but I think overall each story was magnificent in their own right. I particularly loved "Next In Line", "The Lake", and "The Emissary"
Beautiful writing as usual with Bradbury, but the stories themselves left a lot to be desired.
Favorites (in no particular order other than order of appearance): Skeleton, The Jar, The Emissary, The Small Assassin, The Crowd, Jack-in-the-Box, The Scythe, The Wind, The Man Upstairs.
I borrowed this book because it was October and I wanted a concentrated dose of spooky, something that was quintessentially Halloween. I mean, look at that title! That cover! Surely if any book in the whole world had those things it'd be this one, right?
But... well, it wasn't like that. Not at all.
It's tricky to describe a vibe and then classify something as having it or not. But I feel confident in saying that this book resembles October very little.
What these 19 stories actually evoke is something like The Twilight Zone or Weird Tales. Those are good things, and these are good stories, but that's not October. Not really. These stories are the type told over a campfire during a warm summer evening, or at recess when it's too humid to run around, or on a long car trip with your siblings stuffed in the back seat.
What I wanted were tales that you whisper at night when the air is crisp and the moon is cold and the leaves scrape across the window asking to be let inside.
I'm complaining a lot, so let's get one thing straight: these stories are very good. Bradbury was a great author who knew exactly how to take an idea and explore it juuuuust enough, and that's what you want in a collection of short stories.
There are a handful of clunkers - weirdly they're almost all at the front - but nearly every story is memorable in some way, whether it's sad or funny or interesting or unsettling. Some are exceptionally wonderful, where you almost wish they were expanded into full novels, but you're equally glad they're not because somehow the magic would be lost. I love that feeling and felt it many times reading this anthology.
The stories about that dealt with mortality and weirdos living ordinary lives were my favorites. The Lake, The Scythe, Uncle Einar, The Emissary, There Was an Old Woman, and The Wonderful Death of Dudley Stone were all 5/5.
But let's get a rename on this one, huh? The Campfire Country. There. Fixed it. Forward me the royalty checks whenever you have a chance.
But... well, it wasn't like that. Not at all.
It's tricky to describe a vibe and then classify something as having it or not. But I feel confident in saying that this book resembles October very little.
What these 19 stories actually evoke is something like The Twilight Zone or Weird Tales. Those are good things, and these are good stories, but that's not October. Not really. These stories are the type told over a campfire during a warm summer evening, or at recess when it's too humid to run around, or on a long car trip with your siblings stuffed in the back seat.
What I wanted were tales that you whisper at night when the air is crisp and the moon is cold and the leaves scrape across the window asking to be let inside.
I'm complaining a lot, so let's get one thing straight: these stories are very good. Bradbury was a great author who knew exactly how to take an idea and explore it juuuuust enough, and that's what you want in a collection of short stories.
There are a handful of clunkers - weirdly they're almost all at the front - but nearly every story is memorable in some way, whether it's sad or funny or interesting or unsettling. Some are exceptionally wonderful, where you almost wish they were expanded into full novels, but you're equally glad they're not because somehow the magic would be lost. I love that feeling and felt it many times reading this anthology.
The stories about that dealt with mortality and weirdos living ordinary lives were my favorites. The Lake, The Scythe, Uncle Einar, The Emissary, There Was an Old Woman, and The Wonderful Death of Dudley Stone were all 5/5.
But let's get a rename on this one, huh? The Campfire Country. There. Fixed it. Forward me the royalty checks whenever you have a chance.
There are sublime standouts in this excellent collection but I have brain rot from my cellphone so a select handful of these stories did not hold my attention.
"The Scythe" and "The Crowd" go hard tho
"The Scythe" and "The Crowd" go hard tho
Aces all the way.
If you are looking for a true master of the short story format and want something to chill your bones for this spooky month of October, look no further. By turns dark and devious, inventive and spilling over with brilliantly turned out prose, this book is perfection and a perfect companion for the creep in all of us.
If you are looking for a true master of the short story format and want something to chill your bones for this spooky month of October, look no further. By turns dark and devious, inventive and spilling over with brilliantly turned out prose, this book is perfection and a perfect companion for the creep in all of us.