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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book has five stories: one is great, two are good, one is good but silly, and one is so-so.
My favorite thing about classic horror is that there are no rules—anything can be scary; weird phenomena can be caused by anything; the genre simply did not have the framework it has today. As such, Le Fanu has met my expectations with at least one truly out of left field, completely off-the-wall theory of the scary and the unknown. That being said, these stories won’t be scary to a modern reader; they’re simply fun and vaguely spooky.
My favorite thing about classic horror is that there are no rules—anything can be scary; weird phenomena can be caused by anything; the genre simply did not have the framework it has today. As such, Le Fanu has met my expectations with at least one truly out of left field, completely off-the-wall theory of the scary and the unknown. That being said, these stories won’t be scary to a modern reader; they’re simply fun and vaguely spooky.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a fun little collection of Victorian era horror by Irish writer Le Fanu. There's a little bit of everything here: demon ghost monkeys, premature burial, lovely lesbian vampires...oh, and my personal favorite character, (bit part though he had) the guy who said this:
Much of the older (as in 18th century) gothic horror stories (i.e. [b:The Monk|93157|The Monk|Matthew Gregory Lewis|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1365712491s/93157.jpg|3095060]) come across to the modern reader as (unintentionally?) hilariously over the top. Le Fanu, however, is obviously writing from a later 19th century frame of mind because much --though not all--of his horror may be rooted in those weird, psychological recesses that were just starting to be recognized then...and which we still don't understand completely. Despite treading the (by now) well-worn paths of horror, I still found this collection very atmospheric, and creepily enjoyable. The ghost stories in particular made a few tingles run up my spine while reading after dark. I AM a total horror wimp, but enjoyed these for what they are.
‘At Ligny, the other day, where we smashed the Prussians into ten hundred thousand milliards of atoms, a bit of a shell cut me across the leg and opened an artery. It was spouting as high as the chimney, and in half a minute I had lost enough to fill a pitcher. I must have expired in another minute, if I had not whipped off my sash like a flash of lightning, tied it round my leg above the wound, whipt a bayonet out of the back of a dead Prussian, and passing it under, made a tourniquet of it with a couple of twists, and so stayed the haemorrhage and saved my life. But, sacré bleu! Gentlemen, I lost so much blood, I have been as pale as the bottom of a plate ever since. No matter. A trifle. Blood well spent, gentlemen.’ He applied himself now to his bottle of vin ordinaire.
Much of the older (as in 18th century) gothic horror stories (i.e. [b:The Monk|93157|The Monk|Matthew Gregory Lewis|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1365712491s/93157.jpg|3095060]) come across to the modern reader as (unintentionally?) hilariously over the top. Le Fanu, however, is obviously writing from a later 19th century frame of mind because much --though not all--of his horror may be rooted in those weird, psychological recesses that were just starting to be recognized then...and which we still don't understand completely. Despite treading the (by now) well-worn paths of horror, I still found this collection very atmospheric, and creepily enjoyable. The ghost stories in particular made a few tingles run up my spine while reading after dark. I AM a total horror wimp, but enjoyed these for what they are.
Carmilla is by far the best story in this collection, but I enjoyed Mr Justice Harbottle and Green Tea as well. The Familiar started out good but lost my interest, and The Room in the Dragon Volant was entirely too long! I’m really impressed with Le Fanu’s ability to adjust his writing style to fit each of the characters writing the stories, though. I wish Carmilla was more well known in popular culture!
dark
mysterious
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Novella Dragon Volant, 3 stars
Novella Carmilla, 5 stars
Novella Carmilla, 5 stars
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated