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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
A wonderful collection of eerie Gothic tales consisting of psychological terrors, doppelgangers, hallucinations, and mysterious deaths. My favorite story, "The Room in the Dragon Volant," actually doesn't contain any hints of the supernatural. Instead, it relates an amazing con-artist scam that seems reminiscent of later 20th century noir tales, complete with a femme fatale and drugged sequences. The secret passages and midnight meetings in the woods add a nice Gothic element. Although I knew what was happening long before the ending, I think Le Fanu wanted the reader to be one step ahead. Part of the fun of noir is watching the protagonist's world unravel as he goes deeper into the quagmire. It's not so much about "solving the crime" as it is experiencing, along with the protagonist, the consequences of foolish choices. This story, like the others in this collection, was ahead of its time.
dark
mysterious
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Green Tea and The Familiar are okay. Carmilla is really good. I like how these stories focus on psychological horror and mental illness.
An excellent collection of traditional yet unfamiliar tales of the supernatural. I even enjoyed "Carmilla", despite not being into vampire stories. For me, however, the standout was "Mr. Justice Harbottle", a truly creepy ghost story, that's made even more interesting in that it was written by a Victorian but set in the "old days" of the 18th century. Highly recommended for fans of classic horror.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
To see “through a glass” — a mirror — “darkly” is to have an obscure or imperfect vision of reality. The expression comes from the writings of the Apostle Paul; he explains that we do not now see clearly, but at the end of time, we will do so. (from dictonary.com)
Five short tories of one of the, so they say, first writers to incorporate vampires in a novel and thus became an inspiration to Bram Stokers Dracula. All stories that some way or another did the title justice because what is real in these haunting, thrilling or Victorian horror stories?
Would I review them individually and tally up my ratings to then convert them to an average this review would top with 3,5 stars... but... I am biased and in love, so I don't care that not all off them were equally as good. Nonetheless, here are my short reviews of each of them:
Green Tea
Poor Doctor filled with guilt and sorrow for he could nog safe mr. Jennings :( Wow! 5 Stars! Such beautiful writing and I connected with every part of this, all the more powerful as it is only 32 pages long.
The Familiar
For one moment, the title startled me, thinking it could have a connection to MZD's unfinished series, but no need to worry there! Nevertheless, only 2 starts for this one for me. It was so not like the first story. Somewhere admirable to think that Le Fanu could write his characters in such a way it is almost impossible to connect and thus you must dislike the not so nice characters. Also, it was too long yet gave a feeling it's still unfinished or maybe just a first draft.
Mr. Justice Harbottle
It got worse! Only 1 star... The Judge... the judge... the judge... I have an allergy to an excessive amount of the use of one name. Also I didn't really get this one either. It was a though read and had a lack of the beauty that Green Tea possessed.
The Room in Le Dragon Volant
4,5 stars. This one may be called predictable, 'cause it is. But that didn't bother me one bit. I Enjoyed it thoroughly only once or twice did I feel the story was dragging on a bid and actually could have been shorter. Thus, 0,5 deduction of a 5 star read.
Carmilla
5 stars though I must amid. It was a rollercoaster ride and we have landed at the top. For an awesome review I would recommend watching Better Than Food: https://youtu.be/9Ud5eTMh-5Y
"Carmilla" était vraiment la meilleure histoire de ce recueil, et elle mérite haut la main son 4 étoiles sur 5. Sinon, pour les autres nouvelles:
3/5 pour "Green Tea", qui mine de rien me hante depuis une semaine;
2/5 pour "The Familiar", qui n'était ni très effrayante, ni très mémorable;
2/5 pour "Mr Justice Harbottle", pour les mêmes raisons que "The Familiar";
et 3/5 pour "The Room in the Dragon Volant", qui commençait VRAIMENT (trop) lentement: ça aura pris 70 pages avant que soudainement, ça devienne un proto locked-room mystery, et puis ensuite que ça parte ailleurs encore vers une finale qui, somme toute, était un pas pire pay off pour la platitude qui précédait.
3/5 pour "Green Tea", qui mine de rien me hante depuis une semaine;
2/5 pour "The Familiar", qui n'était ni très effrayante, ni très mémorable;
2/5 pour "Mr Justice Harbottle", pour les mêmes raisons que "The Familiar";
et 3/5 pour "The Room in the Dragon Volant", qui commençait VRAIMENT (trop) lentement: ça aura pris 70 pages avant que soudainement, ça devienne un proto locked-room mystery, et puis ensuite que ça parte ailleurs encore vers une finale qui, somme toute, était un pas pire pay off pour la platitude qui précédait.
I found the whole concept of this book and the way it was put together was such an interesting idea and really ingenious. Some of the stories I loved, but I just found it was too scientifically/technically heavy for me to completely enjoy it.
enjoyed this more than i thought i would. especially the room in le dragon volant and carmilla. brb looking for new books that are this suspenseful and centered on the supernatural
I read this only for Carmilla, which I found very interesting, especially as a Dracula fan. However the other stories I found to be past their expiry date.
eh. the first stories are pretty decent (although the second to last is fairly predictable), Carmilla is really the gem here though. None of them are scary, though Carmilla gave me very weird dreams, all of them are interesting. Carmilla is a bit predictable as well, since if you have ever heard of vampires it is obvious Carmilla is one, but its such an interesting read you don't mind most of the time when Laura, even hearing her symptoms described as having happened to someone else and being the result of a vampire, is delighted to see her friend. I imagine if someone were to adapt this to the screen, big or small, they'd make much of the 'romance' between Laura and Carmilla, though, which would be a shame.