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A review by archergal
Echoes: The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories by Ellen Datlow, Dale Bailey
3.0
Sometimes I want to read something spooky, but not TOO spooky. The horror I like to read is usually stories that are subtle and unsettling. Ghost stories can fill this bill pretty well sometimes.
This is a large and far-ranging collection. There are a couple of older stories, like "The Medium's End" by Ford Madox Ford and "The Upper Berth" by F. Marion Crawford. There are stories about abuse; about murder; about trauma and its effects over time. There's a lot of musing about death (duh, ghost stories.) There are lines like the one in Paul Tremblay's story: "Time doesn't run out; it continues forward and it continues without you."
I learned a new word from Terry Dowling's story "The Unwrapping": "quatorzième" - a professional dinner guest, chosen to bring the number of people at a party from 13 (unlucky) to 14.
Creepiest story? IMO, it's "Mee-Ow" by Garth Nix. Holy carp.
"About the O'Dells" by Pat Cadigan is a pretty straight-forward ghost story with a satisfying ending.
I bounced off the Aliette de Bodard story "A Burning Sword for Her Cradle". This has happened before with me and her stories. I'm sure it's me. But it was my least favorite.
"Deep, Fast, Green" by Carole Johnstone sticks in my brain for ways that trauma can last for years and can affect every one around the traumatized person.
"Natalya, Queen of the Hungry Dogs" by John Langan is a great story to end the book. It's about death and friendship and loss and anger and hope.
Good stuff here. A solid 3.5 stars.
This is a large and far-ranging collection. There are a couple of older stories, like "The Medium's End" by Ford Madox Ford and "The Upper Berth" by F. Marion Crawford. There are stories about abuse; about murder; about trauma and its effects over time. There's a lot of musing about death (duh, ghost stories.) There are lines like the one in Paul Tremblay's story: "Time doesn't run out; it continues forward and it continues without you."
I learned a new word from Terry Dowling's story "The Unwrapping": "quatorzième" - a professional dinner guest, chosen to bring the number of people at a party from 13 (unlucky) to 14.
Creepiest story? IMO, it's "Mee-Ow" by Garth Nix. Holy carp.
"About the O'Dells" by Pat Cadigan is a pretty straight-forward ghost story with a satisfying ending.
I bounced off the Aliette de Bodard story "A Burning Sword for Her Cradle". This has happened before with me and her stories. I'm sure it's me. But it was my least favorite.
"Deep, Fast, Green" by Carole Johnstone sticks in my brain for ways that trauma can last for years and can affect every one around the traumatized person.
"Natalya, Queen of the Hungry Dogs" by John Langan is a great story to end the book. It's about death and friendship and loss and anger and hope.
Good stuff here. A solid 3.5 stars.