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kowai_mangl's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
very interesting
some stories were a bit boring but a few of them really got under my skin and freaked me out.
I had no idea there was a story by Bram Stoker in here until I got to it, it was so good.
A short fun spooky read for October, I ain't mad about it
some stories were a bit boring but a few of them really got under my skin and freaked me out.
I had no idea there was a story by Bram Stoker in here until I got to it, it was so good.
A short fun spooky read for October, I ain't mad about it
tricky's review against another edition
4.0
The book has the following short stories:
The Travelling Grave - LP Hartley
The Ghost Ship - R Middleton
Squire Toby's Will - J Sheridan le Fanu
The Voice in the Night - William Hope Hodgson
Three Miles Up - Elizabeth Jane Howard
The Rocking Horse Winner - DH Lawrence
The Wendigo - Algernon Blackwood
The Crown Derby Plate - Marjorie Bowen
The Trains - Robert Aickman
The Old Nurse's Story - Mrs Gaskell
Seaton's Aunt - Walter de la Mare
The stories varied in their complexity but all were unique. I really liked The Ghost Ship and it was a story that stayed with me for a couple of days. I will have to go back and re-read 'The Trains' as while I got the gist of the tale, I really think I missed the subtlety that the author was trying to imply.
It was, for me, a great read as I brought me back to those younger days when I used to read vast amounts of Poe and others of his ilk, who were my first inspiration for wanting to write.
The Travelling Grave - LP Hartley
The Ghost Ship - R Middleton
Squire Toby's Will - J Sheridan le Fanu
The Voice in the Night - William Hope Hodgson
Three Miles Up - Elizabeth Jane Howard
The Rocking Horse Winner - DH Lawrence
The Wendigo - Algernon Blackwood
The Crown Derby Plate - Marjorie Bowen
The Trains - Robert Aickman
The Old Nurse's Story - Mrs Gaskell
Seaton's Aunt - Walter de la Mare
The stories varied in their complexity but all were unique. I really liked The Ghost Ship and it was a story that stayed with me for a couple of days. I will have to go back and re-read 'The Trains' as while I got the gist of the tale, I really think I missed the subtlety that the author was trying to imply.
It was, for me, a great read as I brought me back to those younger days when I used to read vast amounts of Poe and others of his ilk, who were my first inspiration for wanting to write.
sexton_blake's review against another edition
1.0
This anthology series, spanning 1972 to 1984, is comprised of twenty books, each containing ten to fourteen stories, so Robert Aickman, the editor of the first eight volumes, wasn’t doing it much of a service when he began his introduction to this initial collection with the following sentence: “There are only about thirty or forty first-class ghost stories in the whole of western literature.” Nice one, Bob. You’re fired. And if the eleven tales selected for this initial volume are taken from that list of thirty or forty, then it further demonstrates Aickman’s lack of judgement, because these are all dusty old relics from the likes of William Hope Hodgson, Algernon Blackwood, Walter de la Mare, and Mrs. Gaskell, gathered here at the expense of any contemporary material (circa '72). So, all in all, a very bad start for a series that had to compete with the overwhelmingly superior PAN BOOK OF HORROR STORIES. (Incidentally, there’s no great improvement until the ninth collection onwards, after Aickman’s departure).
milos_dumbraci's review
2.0
in their time, the late 1800s, these stories would have been mediocre (some) and good (not very good) some. For today's reader, unfortunately, they are rather lame, many even boring. Furthermore, the writing style of the age, with endless sentences 5 lines long and endless expositions for a little twist are just tiring.
The only one still holding its ground was, for me, "The Monkey Paw" - WW Jacobs.
The only one still holding its ground was, for me, "The Monkey Paw" - WW Jacobs.
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