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A review by exorcismofemilyreed
Terror is Our Business: Dana Roberts' Casebook of Horrors by Kasey Lansdale, Joe R. Lansdale
4.0
Terror is Our Business was a fun read, and I enjoyed seeing the way that the stories changed and progressed from beginning to end. This book is made up of 7 stories - the first 4 are written by Joe, and they are told in a club storytelling format - Dana shares each story with a group. The last 3 stories are written by both Joe & Kasey, and they are told from the POV of Dana's new assistant Jana.
I really liked the introductions from Joe & Kasey. They work well together, and it sounds like they had a lot of fun writing.
I enjoyed the last half of the book much more than the first. The first few stories are a little too stilted/formal - Dana isn't a very warm character, which is fine, so at times it felt like a large disconnect between storyteller and readers I much preferred hearing about her through Jana.
The one thing that I found most frustrating was Dana explaining her phrasing of "supernormal" over and over. It felt really pretentious by the end, and I started rolling my eyes whenever she would correct someone who said "supernatural". I could have done with less of that.
Some of the stories were promisingly spooky! I really enjoyed The Case of the Bleeding Wall, The Case of the Ragman's Anguish, The Case of the Four Acre Haunt, and The Case of the Angry Traveler in particular. Bleeding Wall was definitely my favorite, though.
I hope to read more from Joe & Kasey Lansdale soon! Terror is Our Business will be out on 5/29. Thank you to Smith Publicity for sending early copies to the Nightworms!
I really liked the introductions from Joe & Kasey. They work well together, and it sounds like they had a lot of fun writing.
I enjoyed the last half of the book much more than the first. The first few stories are a little too stilted/formal - Dana isn't a very warm character, which is fine, so at times it felt like a large disconnect between storyteller and readers I much preferred hearing about her through Jana.
The one thing that I found most frustrating was Dana explaining her phrasing of "supernormal" over and over. It felt really pretentious by the end, and I started rolling my eyes whenever she would correct someone who said "supernatural". I could have done with less of that.
Some of the stories were promisingly spooky! I really enjoyed The Case of the Bleeding Wall, The Case of the Ragman's Anguish, The Case of the Four Acre Haunt, and The Case of the Angry Traveler in particular. Bleeding Wall was definitely my favorite, though.
I hope to read more from Joe & Kasey Lansdale soon! Terror is Our Business will be out on 5/29. Thank you to Smith Publicity for sending early copies to the Nightworms!