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A review by zraitor
Eldritch: Compendium of Strange & Dark Tales by Martin W. Francis
3.0
Unfortunately, I found these stories to have too much relating what is going on instead of just showing me. A lot of the mood and atmosphere was hurt by over-explaining everything. Just too much of they did this, and this exact thing happened, and not building up the tension enough.
Quite a few of them, especially the science fiction stories, seemed more like ideas and snippets of stories than anything fully realized. Now I really did think the ideas were great, the execution not so much.
I did enjoy the creativity and variety on display despite my issues though and I found this one to be just okay overall.
Short summary attempts:
Into The Dark- Two kids celebrating Halloween on their own seem to be hunted by some evil force.
Aspiration- In the future a resource-starved Earth attempts to send colony ships to another planet.
Jack's Lantern- A man makes a wager for his soul thinking he can outsmart the game.
Sable Woods- While at a cabin he uses for inspiration a horror writer finds his words and stories may be more real then he realizes.
Scourge of Colvine- A young man discovers a photo of his deceased grandfather that shows him an evil beast lurking in the woods.
Virtual Disjunction- A near-future Earth is heavily polluted and everyone is addicted to virtual worlds as an escape, ignoring the environmental dangers around them.
The Drenched Woman- A man sees a ghostly woman in the rain who is said to be an omen of death for a loved one.
Unforgotten- An elderly woman recalls the time she and her friends were attacked at a cabin in the woods.
Among the Fallen- We follow a young lady and her family trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world full of zombie-like creatures called the Fallen.
Spectre- A woman coming home on the subway alone finds herself stalked by some strange alien creature.
Quite a few of them, especially the science fiction stories, seemed more like ideas and snippets of stories than anything fully realized. Now I really did think the ideas were great, the execution not so much.
I did enjoy the creativity and variety on display despite my issues though and I found this one to be just okay overall.
Short summary attempts:
Into The Dark- Two kids celebrating Halloween on their own seem to be hunted by some evil force.
Aspiration- In the future a resource-starved Earth attempts to send colony ships to another planet.
Jack's Lantern- A man makes a wager for his soul thinking he can outsmart the game.
Sable Woods- While at a cabin he uses for inspiration a horror writer finds his words and stories may be more real then he realizes.
Scourge of Colvine- A young man discovers a photo of his deceased grandfather that shows him an evil beast lurking in the woods.
Virtual Disjunction- A near-future Earth is heavily polluted and everyone is addicted to virtual worlds as an escape, ignoring the environmental dangers around them.
The Drenched Woman- A man sees a ghostly woman in the rain who is said to be an omen of death for a loved one.
Unforgotten- An elderly woman recalls the time she and her friends were attacked at a cabin in the woods.
Among the Fallen- We follow a young lady and her family trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world full of zombie-like creatures called the Fallen.
Spectre- A woman coming home on the subway alone finds herself stalked by some strange alien creature.