Scan barcode
A review by seedssown
The Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories, Vol. 1 by Ryan Cagle, James D. Jenkins
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
This Valancourt anthology had a lot of potential. Such a collection of translated horror stories is incredibly unique, and I went into it very open minded and excited about the different approaches to horror I would undoubtedly read. I knew I wouldn't love every horror story -- that was inevitable, but I was left a bit disappointed.
The first few stories, and some others, were quite good. The first story in the book, Uironda by Luigi Musolino, was a fantastic way to get started, and the third story, The Time Remaining by Attila Veres, was especially phenomenal and left me feeling delightfully uneasy. I enjoyed that the editors included little blurbs about the authors before each story. There were stories with magic, creatures, realism, and twilight-zone like worlds. I very much enjoyed that aspect of it. Overall, the translation of the stories seemed to be well-done, though occasionally the word-choices seemed a bit literal or off.
I think, the most disappointing part of all of it all, was the actual quality of the physical book. I purchased the paperback new for nearly $20 --- part of the last fourth of the book was literally falling apart. I was gentle with the book, but there were many pages that were not bound to the spine. I know these are small publishers, and I really wanted to support them, but that quality of printing is unacceptable. I'm hoping I just got a bad copy and that this isn't their standard.
Additionally, though I have no problem with sex-themed horror in stories, there seemed to a little too much representation of this type of horror. It got a bit tiring starting a new story, and realizing that, yeah, sex plays a part again in this one. It felt like a greater variety of horror would have been so easy to accomplish with this type of book, but I think the mark was missed there -- especially since the editors admit at one point that one of more sex-focused stories isn't actually horror, but they felt it was worth including anyway. I understand that sex is a very common element in horror and I usually embrace it, but there are only so many short stories I can read in a row where "someone has or wants sex or is horny, bad things happen" until it feels repetitive. All in all, I would say I liked about half the stories, loved a handful of those, while about a third were felt "meh", and one or two I actively disliked. That said, there are some really excellent stories in the book that left me feeling content with having read the full book, and I would consider reading an eBook version of the second one.
The first few stories, and some others, were quite good. The first story in the book, Uironda by Luigi Musolino, was a fantastic way to get started, and the third story, The Time Remaining by Attila Veres, was especially phenomenal and left me feeling delightfully uneasy. I enjoyed that the editors included little blurbs about the authors before each story. There were stories with magic, creatures, realism, and twilight-zone like worlds. I very much enjoyed that aspect of it. Overall, the translation of the stories seemed to be well-done, though occasionally the word-choices seemed a bit literal or off.
I think, the most disappointing part of all of it all, was the actual quality of the physical book. I purchased the paperback new for nearly $20 --- part of the last fourth of the book was literally falling apart. I was gentle with the book, but there were many pages that were not bound to the spine. I know these are small publishers, and I really wanted to support them, but that quality of printing is unacceptable. I'm hoping I just got a bad copy and that this isn't their standard.
Additionally, though I have no problem with sex-themed horror in stories, there seemed to a little too much representation of this type of horror. It got a bit tiring starting a new story, and realizing that, yeah, sex plays a part again in this one. It felt like a greater variety of horror would have been so easy to accomplish with this type of book, but I think the mark was missed there -- especially since the editors admit at one point that one of more sex-focused stories isn't actually horror, but they felt it was worth including anyway. I understand that sex is a very common element in horror and I usually embrace it, but there are only so many short stories I can read in a row where "someone has or wants sex or is horny, bad things happen" until it feels repetitive. All in all, I would say I liked about half the stories, loved a handful of those, while about a third were felt "meh", and one or two I actively disliked. That said, there are some really excellent stories in the book that left me feeling content with having read the full book, and I would consider reading an eBook version of the second one.