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scythefranz's review
4.0
Average rating: 3.7. Rounding up to 4.
Instructions on How to Disappear is a collection of short stories that is somehow familiar yet offer a fascinating take on speculative fiction. The short stories are well-thought and compelling on each own.
Instructions on How to Disappear is a collection of short stories that is somehow familiar yet offer a fascinating take on speculative fiction. The short stories are well-thought and compelling on each own.
vance_31's review
4.0
This is a collection of short stories of different genres. This is my second time reading this. This is not one of my favorite collections, but it's still decent.
BARGAINS ⭐⭐⭐
It's okay.
STATIONS ⭐⭐.5
A mediocre sci-fi.
THIS SIDE OF THE LOOKING GLASS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Probably the best story in this collection.
TABULA RASA ⭐⭐⭐
'Salright.
HUNGER ⭐⭐⭐
A nice little horror story. This story made me realize that I hate stories told in 2nd POV.
CAPTURE ⭐⭐⭐
'Salright.
HONESTY HOUR ⭐⭐⭐⭐
It would have been perfect with better dialogue.
THE NAMELESS ONES ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A good fantasy story. Is it really fantasy? Not sure.
AUGUST MOON ⭐⭐⭐.5
A cliche type of story, but still pretty good.
EYES AS WIDE AS THE SKY ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I loved it.
INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO DISAPPEAR ⭐⭐⭐
It's okay.
OVERALL ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (3.5)
BARGAINS ⭐⭐⭐
It's okay.
STATIONS ⭐⭐.5
A mediocre sci-fi.
THIS SIDE OF THE LOOKING GLASS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Probably the best story in this collection.
TABULA RASA ⭐⭐⭐
'Salright.
HUNGER ⭐⭐⭐
A nice little horror story. This story made me realize that I hate stories told in 2nd POV.
CAPTURE ⭐⭐⭐
'Salright.
HONESTY HOUR ⭐⭐⭐⭐
It would have been perfect with better dialogue.
THE NAMELESS ONES ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A good fantasy story. Is it really fantasy? Not sure.
AUGUST MOON ⭐⭐⭐.5
A cliche type of story, but still pretty good.
EYES AS WIDE AS THE SKY ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I loved it.
INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO DISAPPEAR ⭐⭐⭐
It's okay.
OVERALL ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (3.5)
eulenesd's review
4.0
First speculative fiction book that I have read. It was not really my genre but I enjoyed it. Personal favorites are: Tabula Rasa, August Moon, and Instructions on how to disappear.
mariaellabetos's review
4.0
There are some similarities with other Pinoy works like David Hontivero's Xerox, Dean Alfar's The Kite of Stars, and Eliza Victoria's A Battle of Storm Clouds but it has her personal touch, perhaps on the romantic inclinations or those with the Prose relating to heartbreak.
clar2d2's review
4.0
While I wasn't crazy about some of the first stories, and there were a few typos, I still thoroughly enjoyed most of the stories here! The stories were a mixture of sci-fi, fantasy, magical realism and horror, and I actually found myself really surprised by how much I enjoyed some of them.
This is, I think, only the second short story collection I ever finished reading, since I seem to struggle to get into them, and the first one to make me think that maybe I could actually enjoy short stories, since I normally actually avoid them.
My favorite stories here were definitely the last two, namely Eyes as Wide as the Sky and Instructions on How to Disappear.
I definitely look forward to reading more from this author and to reading more short story collections in the future!
INDIVIDUAL STORY REVIEWS:
I hesitated to put my ratings for each story, just because as I type this there are no other Goodreads reviews on this book yet so I don't want others judging this book based on my ratings alone, but some of you may be curious, so I will include them here anyway.
Just take note that my rating system is heavily influenced by my personal preference and experience with each of these stories, so it is not particularly "objective". You may have different experiences than I did for some of these stories, but maybe you'll find my ratings helpful to you, especially if we have similar taste in stories. :)
Bargains: 2/5
It was okay, but came off as a bit typical and predictable to me.
Stations: 3.5/5
I liked this because I generally enjoy sci-fi, but also because it was interesting seeing a sort of dystopian Philippines.
This Side of the Looking Glass: 1/5
The message of this story, at least the one I got from it because of the very ending of it, was really shallow, which I didn't appreciate at all. Maybe you'll get something different from it if you read it, but I didn't enjoy my experience.
Tabula Rasa: 3/5
If anything, it was just a bit difficult for me to suspend my disbelief that the characters were acting certain ways, but the concept of this was so fascinating!
Hunger: 3/5
I enjoyed how Philippine mythology was incorporated into more modern society.
Capture: 3/5
I'm actually not sure what to say about this story, except that dragons are great, and I did enjoy this story overall.
Honesty Hour: 3/5
It was maybe a bit too dramatic for my personal taste, but I definitely felt the suspense the whole time I was reading it!
The Nameless Ones: 4/5
Maybe I'm biased by the genre, because I love fantasy and was fascinated by the magic in this world. I was ready to give this story 5 stars, but the ending left me a bit unsatisfied.
August Moon: 3.5/5
I love a good mystery, and enjoyed the use of flashbacks to figure out what was happening.
Eyes as Wide as the Sky: 4.5/5
Maybe I'm, again, biased by the genre, because this story seemed kind of sci-fi, but it amazed me how this story was able to introduce me to this post-war world, as well as a bit of the history behind it, in just a few pages!
Instructions on How to Disappear: 4.5/5
This was just a story that I really felt. When I finished it I knew it was one of my favorites in the collection.
OTHER NOTES:
For people who don't understand Filipino, while majority of the writing is in English, there is some dialog and a couple of words that come up that you may not understand, just so you're aware. :)
This is, I think, only the second short story collection I ever finished reading, since I seem to struggle to get into them, and the first one to make me think that maybe I could actually enjoy short stories, since I normally actually avoid them.
My favorite stories here were definitely the last two, namely Eyes as Wide as the Sky and Instructions on How to Disappear.
I definitely look forward to reading more from this author and to reading more short story collections in the future!
INDIVIDUAL STORY REVIEWS:
I hesitated to put my ratings for each story, just because as I type this there are no other Goodreads reviews on this book yet so I don't want others judging this book based on my ratings alone, but some of you may be curious, so I will include them here anyway.
Just take note that my rating system is heavily influenced by my personal preference and experience with each of these stories, so it is not particularly "objective". You may have different experiences than I did for some of these stories, but maybe you'll find my ratings helpful to you, especially if we have similar taste in stories. :)
Bargains: 2/5
It was okay, but came off as a bit typical and predictable to me.
Stations: 3.5/5
I liked this because I generally enjoy sci-fi, but also because it was interesting seeing a sort of dystopian Philippines.
This Side of the Looking Glass: 1/5
The message of this story, at least the one I got from it because of the very ending of it, was really shallow, which I didn't appreciate at all. Maybe you'll get something different from it if you read it, but I didn't enjoy my experience.
Tabula Rasa: 3/5
If anything, it was just a bit difficult for me to suspend my disbelief that the characters were acting certain ways, but the concept of this was so fascinating!
Hunger: 3/5
I enjoyed how Philippine mythology was incorporated into more modern society.
Capture: 3/5
I'm actually not sure what to say about this story, except that dragons are great, and I did enjoy this story overall.
Honesty Hour: 3/5
It was maybe a bit too dramatic for my personal taste, but I definitely felt the suspense the whole time I was reading it!
The Nameless Ones: 4/5
Maybe I'm biased by the genre, because I love fantasy and was fascinated by the magic in this world. I was ready to give this story 5 stars, but the ending left me a bit unsatisfied.
August Moon: 3.5/5
I love a good mystery, and enjoyed the use of flashbacks to figure out what was happening.
Eyes as Wide as the Sky: 4.5/5
Maybe I'm, again, biased by the genre, because this story seemed kind of sci-fi, but it amazed me how this story was able to introduce me to this post-war world, as well as a bit of the history behind it, in just a few pages!
Instructions on How to Disappear: 4.5/5
This was just a story that I really felt. When I finished it I knew it was one of my favorites in the collection.
OTHER NOTES:
For people who don't understand Filipino, while majority of the writing is in English, there is some dialog and a couple of words that come up that you may not understand, just so you're aware. :)
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