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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
My first time reading anything by M.R. James. Each story is a pleasure (and deliciously creepy) to read.
I quite liked the stories - very atmospheric. I was reading one at work and had to close up in the dark afterwards and imagined all sorts of demonic presences around. It certainly does its job of creeping me the hell out
3,25
(I would reread the 4 and 5 star stories, nothing else)
Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book = ★★★☆☆
Lost Hearts = ★★★★★
The Mezzotint = ★★★★★
The ash-tree = ★★★☆☆
Number 13 = ★★★☆☆
Count Magnus = ★★★☆☆
'Oh whistle, and I'll come to you, my lad' = DNF
The Treasure of Abbot Thomas = ★★★★☆
(I would reread the 4 and 5 star stories, nothing else)
Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book = ★★★☆☆
Lost Hearts = ★★★★★
The Mezzotint = ★★★★★
The ash-tree = ★★★☆☆
Number 13 = ★★★☆☆
Count Magnus = ★★★☆☆
The Treasure of Abbot Thomas = ★★★★☆
I dnf’ed it after 100 pages of trying. It put me in a such a huge reading slump.
Very boring and not scary at all even though it’s about ghosts.
Very boring and not scary at all even though it’s about ghosts.
A couple of these stories are wonderful, classic horror- but some just serve to remind us that Poe was revered for a reason.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
dark
slow-paced
I don't know if it's the style or the edition that I picked up, but these stories were just terrible to get through. Thick paragraphs and an older style that I just could not get into.
Read this for my book club, but for a collection that's seen as "the original ghost stories," these were boring.
I could maybe see how someone might enjoy them, considering their "cozy" appeal, just not for me.
Read this for my book club, but for a collection that's seen as "the original ghost stories," these were boring.
I could maybe see how someone might enjoy them, considering their "cozy" appeal, just not for me.
I was shocked how many times I made a horrified face while reading. I think I even gasped once or twice!
You have to understand that I'm not a reactive reader generally. But something about these stories brought it out in me. The story goes at a stately pace, like the narrator is telling you while on a healthful walk through the gardens; the narrator tells you, he tells you that there is a horrible thing that happened, that left everyone involved mentally scarred, but then he goes on to describe an old book, or the minutiae of a day, or how he doesn't understand golf so won't try to relate the details of the game these men played, but will just skip right to the -- night.
In other words, it's not like I didn't know what was coming, and yet, and yet I still gaped in horror.
Oh, and there is one story that horrified me for a split second but mostly amused me becauseit is so obviously where the cartoon idea of the ghost under the sheet comes from. It is literally a terrifying though ineffectual ghost underneath bedclothes. So ‘Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad’ was not nearly as scary as I had been led to believe.
Rating by story
Canon Alberic’s Scrap-Book - 7
Lost Hearts - 8
The Mezzotint - 9
The Ash-Tree - 9
Number 13 - 8
Count Magnus - 6
‘Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad’ - 7
The Treasure of Abbot Thomas - 7
You have to understand that I'm not a reactive reader generally. But something about these stories brought it out in me. The story goes at a stately pace, like the narrator is telling you while on a healthful walk through the gardens; the narrator tells you, he tells you that there is a horrible thing that happened, that left everyone involved mentally scarred, but then he goes on to describe an old book, or the minutiae of a day, or how he doesn't understand golf so won't try to relate the details of the game these men played, but will just skip right to the -- night.
In other words, it's not like I didn't know what was coming, and yet, and yet I still gaped in horror.
Oh, and there is one story that horrified me for a split second but mostly amused me because
Rating by story
Canon Alberic’s Scrap-Book - 7
Lost Hearts - 8
The Mezzotint - 9
The Ash-Tree - 9
Number 13 - 8
Count Magnus - 6
‘Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You, My Lad’ - 7
The Treasure of Abbot Thomas - 7
M.R. James be like yes people are golfing. No I will not tell you about it