Scan barcode
A review by kittykult
Come Join Us by the Fire by Theresa DeLucci
4.0
I was not expecting a free audiobook to be this enjoyable or impressive, but it absolutely was. I found some new authors I want to read more of and there were more than a few stories I might like to listen to again in the future. The background noises really amplified these stories and didn't distract from them at all, and almost all of the stories had themes which made me think past the story's end. Because there are 35 short stories in this collection and you can skip around on Spotify or wherever you may be listening to it, I'm going to start with my recommendations for the best stories.
5 stars:
“These Deathless Bones” – Cassandra Khaw, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld- wow yes. The entire time I felt like I was watching Game of Thrones (specifically, Joffrey) in a mash-up with a Disney Princess (specifically, the scenes were they communicate with animals, no spoilers!). This tale was delicious. Yes yes yes.
“Midnight Caller” – Stephen Graham Jones, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld - this is a play on the slasher genre, and had me laughing quite a bit.
“Spawning Season” – Nicholas Kaufmann, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo - although I predicted where this was going about halfway through, I still really enjoyed this tale and would have liked to have seen more of the mythos and culture of the people of the town
4 stars:
“That Which Does Not Kill You” – Lucy A. Snyder, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld - breakups are hell.
“It Washed Up” – Joe R. Lansdale, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo - I don't want to say anything about this because I'm afraid it will spoil it. Just listen to it.
“When the Zombies Win” – Karina Sumner-Smith, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo - an interesting look at what happens after the zombie apocalypse
“Ponies” – Kij Johnson, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld - What lengths will we go to in order to fit in? The ending made me sad.
“In Sheep’s Clothing” – Molly Tanzer, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld - felt it dragged a bit in the beginning but the story was very good
“The Design” – China Miéville, narrated by Gerard Doyle - wow this could have been a five if it had not been unnecessarily long. Repetitive and drawn out, it is more than twice as long as the rest of the stories in this collection. Even though I gave it 4 stars overall, it is also perhaps the most disappointing in the series.
“57 Reasons for the Slate Quarry Suicides” – Sam J. Miller, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo - This reminded me of a YA book, with a character who discovers they have secret powers and decides to use it against bullies. It was pretty fun, but I didn't quite get the logic that the main character was "a bad guy" just like the bullies simply because he got tricked by one of them. I think I would have liked it even more if the two main characters had stuck through the entire thing.
“The Anatomist’s Mnemonic” – Priya Sharma, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo - This was fucking weird. I figured out where it was going pretty quickly, but I really, really enjoyed it.
“Daddy” – Victor LaValle, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo - A doting father discovers someone is watching - and talking to - his child from the roof outside his bedroom. The twist at the end was unexpected.
“A Life That Is Not Mine” – Kristi DeMeester, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld - atmospheric, creepy, and the commentary about dead-end routines and jobs really upset me.
3 stars - Overall, there were parts I enjoyed about these, but I probably wouldn't need to give them a re-read:
“This Guy” – Chuck Wendig, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo
“Her Body, Herself” – Carmen Maria Machado, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld
“The Girls in the Horror Movie” – Gwendolyn Kiste, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld
“Black Bark” – Brian Evenson, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo
“Rabbit Heart” – Alyssa Wong, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo
“The Beasts of the Earth, The Madness of Men” – Brooke Bolander, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld
“Cold, Silent, and Dark” – Kary English, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld
“Harold the Spider Man” – Paul Tremblay, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo
“The Vault of the Sky, The Face of the Deep” – Robert Levy, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld
“Don’t Turn on the Lights” – Cassandra Khaw, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld
“Wasp & Snake” – Livia Llewellyn, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld
“Greener Pastures” – Michael Wehunt, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo
“And When She Was Bad” – Nadia Bulkin, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld
“El Charro” – John Langan, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo
“Dream Home” – Kat Howard, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld
“Was She Wicked, Was She Good?” – M. Rickert, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo
2 stars - don't have much to say about these, they were anticlimactic or just not that enjoyable:
“The Pond” – Paul Tremblay, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo
“Flayed Ed” – Richard Kadrey, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo - I would have liked this a lot more if it were about a fictional serial killer than a real one
“No Matter Which Way We Turned” – Brian Evenson, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo
“Stemming the Tide” – Simon Strantzas, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo
“Black Neurology” – Richard Kadrey, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo
“Beware of Owner” – Chuck Wendig, narrated by Ramon de Ocamp0
1 star - none, really, this collection was pretty strong and even the ones I didn't like weren't unbearable or awful to listen to.
5 stars:
“These Deathless Bones” – Cassandra Khaw, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld- wow yes. The entire time I felt like I was watching Game of Thrones (specifically, Joffrey) in a mash-up with a Disney Princess (specifically, the scenes were they communicate with animals, no spoilers!). This tale was delicious. Yes yes yes.
“Midnight Caller” – Stephen Graham Jones, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld - this is a play on the slasher genre, and had me laughing quite a bit.
“Spawning Season” – Nicholas Kaufmann, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo - although I predicted where this was going about halfway through, I still really enjoyed this tale and would have liked to have seen more of the mythos and culture of the people of the town
4 stars:
“That Which Does Not Kill You” – Lucy A. Snyder, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld - breakups are hell.
“It Washed Up” – Joe R. Lansdale, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo - I don't want to say anything about this because I'm afraid it will spoil it. Just listen to it.
“When the Zombies Win” – Karina Sumner-Smith, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo - an interesting look at what happens after the zombie apocalypse
“Ponies” – Kij Johnson, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld - What lengths will we go to in order to fit in? The ending made me sad.
“In Sheep’s Clothing” – Molly Tanzer, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld - felt it dragged a bit in the beginning but the story was very good
“The Design” – China Miéville, narrated by Gerard Doyle - wow this could have been a five if it had not been unnecessarily long. Repetitive and drawn out, it is more than twice as long as the rest of the stories in this collection. Even though I gave it 4 stars overall, it is also perhaps the most disappointing in the series.
“57 Reasons for the Slate Quarry Suicides” – Sam J. Miller, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo - This reminded me of a YA book, with a character who discovers they have secret powers and decides to use it against bullies. It was pretty fun, but I didn't quite get the logic that the main character was "a bad guy" just like the bullies simply because he got tricked by one of them. I think I would have liked it even more if the two main characters had stuck through the entire thing.
“The Anatomist’s Mnemonic” – Priya Sharma, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo - This was fucking weird. I figured out where it was going pretty quickly, but I really, really enjoyed it.
“Daddy” – Victor LaValle, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo - A doting father discovers someone is watching - and talking to - his child from the roof outside his bedroom. The twist at the end was unexpected.
“A Life That Is Not Mine” – Kristi DeMeester, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld - atmospheric, creepy, and the commentary about dead-end routines and jobs really upset me.
3 stars - Overall, there were parts I enjoyed about these, but I probably wouldn't need to give them a re-read:
“This Guy” – Chuck Wendig, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo
“Her Body, Herself” – Carmen Maria Machado, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld
“The Girls in the Horror Movie” – Gwendolyn Kiste, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld
“Black Bark” – Brian Evenson, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo
“Rabbit Heart” – Alyssa Wong, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo
“The Beasts of the Earth, The Madness of Men” – Brooke Bolander, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld
“Cold, Silent, and Dark” – Kary English, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld
“Harold the Spider Man” – Paul Tremblay, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo
“The Vault of the Sky, The Face of the Deep” – Robert Levy, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld
“Don’t Turn on the Lights” – Cassandra Khaw, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld
“Wasp & Snake” – Livia Llewellyn, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld
“Greener Pastures” – Michael Wehunt, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo
“And When She Was Bad” – Nadia Bulkin, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld
“El Charro” – John Langan, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo
“Dream Home” – Kat Howard, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld
“Was She Wicked, Was She Good?” – M. Rickert, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo
2 stars - don't have much to say about these, they were anticlimactic or just not that enjoyable:
“The Pond” – Paul Tremblay, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo
“Flayed Ed” – Richard Kadrey, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo - I would have liked this a lot more if it were about a fictional serial killer than a real one
“No Matter Which Way We Turned” – Brian Evenson, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo
“Stemming the Tide” – Simon Strantzas, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo
“Black Neurology” – Richard Kadrey, narrated by Ramon de Ocampo
“Beware of Owner” – Chuck Wendig, narrated by Ramon de Ocamp0
1 star - none, really, this collection was pretty strong and even the ones I didn't like weren't unbearable or awful to listen to.