Scan barcode
A review by jeremyfee
The Hand That Pulls You Under—Tales of Absurdity and Lunacy by James Flynn
4.0
I want to thank the author James Flynn for providing me with a free e-book copy of the short story collection The Hand That Pulls You Under—Tales of Absurdity and Lunacy. Despite receiving a free digital copy of the book, this review is my honest opinion.
I really enjoyed reading these ten weird, interesting tales. I read them over the course of about two weeks, in between reading other works. During that time, I had some strange dreams (even some nightmares) and I feel these stories may have been the inspiration for some of that. I also spent quite a bit of time thinking about the philosophical and social messages inherent in the stories, which to me is a sign of great writing.
This collection includes stories with interesting, creative, and often unique ideas. I found that to be refreshing, since I’ve read several collections of horror and weird stories in the last year. I also enjoyed the mix of science-fiction with the horror elements. Sometimes the stories ventured into the extreme, but the journey was worth it. Two of the tales include graphic sexual content, but I felt it wasn’t simply for the sake of adding sex to the stories since they ultimately delivered a message about society. My only real criticisms would be that (1) the author occasionally uses what I thought to be awkward similes and metaphors that would take me out of the scene and (2) sometimes events felt like they were happening too quickly, glossing over something I would have enjoyed getting more details about; other than those minor quibbles though, it was a delight to read.
I recommend this collection to fans of horror, fans of the weird, and fans of science-fiction that mixes in weird horror elements.
I really enjoyed reading these ten weird, interesting tales. I read them over the course of about two weeks, in between reading other works. During that time, I had some strange dreams (even some nightmares) and I feel these stories may have been the inspiration for some of that. I also spent quite a bit of time thinking about the philosophical and social messages inherent in the stories, which to me is a sign of great writing.
This collection includes stories with interesting, creative, and often unique ideas. I found that to be refreshing, since I’ve read several collections of horror and weird stories in the last year. I also enjoyed the mix of science-fiction with the horror elements. Sometimes the stories ventured into the extreme, but the journey was worth it. Two of the tales include graphic sexual content, but I felt it wasn’t simply for the sake of adding sex to the stories since they ultimately delivered a message about society. My only real criticisms would be that (1) the author occasionally uses what I thought to be awkward similes and metaphors that would take me out of the scene and (2) sometimes events felt like they were happening too quickly, glossing over something I would have enjoyed getting more details about; other than those minor quibbles though, it was a delight to read.
I recommend this collection to fans of horror, fans of the weird, and fans of science-fiction that mixes in weird horror elements.