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A review by michaelrcalkins
Autumncrow by Cameron Chaney
4.0
4.5/5 stars.
A perfect halfway to Halloween read for any spooky people.
Chaney delivers some really great stories here, and builds a fascinating mythology around the town of Autumncrow. I felt like every story I read built more and more lore and it made it difficult to put down!
Particular stories i want to shout out (although all are great!)
“Pumpkin Light”: a beautiful little spooky story with a great emotional hook that I found surprising. Got a little misty eyed and loved the resolution.
“Saving Face”: might be the story that freaked me out the most honestly, just because of some of the gruesomeness towards the end. Read this story in bed with the lights off and a particular action the main character took made me cringe hard.
“I Have No Mouth and I Must Feed”: Probably my favorite story of the book, with a great central conceit and setting. I love carnival/funhouse/haunt set horror stuff and this did a great job bringing that flavor to the equation. Chaney seemingly incorporates a viral internet video that freaked the living hell out of me as a child to brilliant effect. Also loved how he foreshadowed the finale with setup conflict. Also, kinda want to try a grilled apple and cheese sandwich? Never heard of that before!
Also CRYP-TV is really cool, and it becomes really wholesome at one point, luring you into a false sense of security and then Chaney just hits you with a tire iron haha. Loved that.
I do also want to talk about “There Are Monsters Here”, which I think is a really strong story, tackling trauma and how we can run from the past, while also seemingly being an allegory for anxiety and depression, at least that’s how I read it. I really connected with those themes and thought the way Chaney brought it all to a head was thrilling and i couldn’t stop flipping the pages. It was a bit jarring to hop from Autumncrow stories, filled with autumnal atmosphere and the Halloween atmosphere to something so emotionally brutal and very unrelated. But I do want to stress that it’s a great story that I totally recommend.
Overall, Autumncrow is a book I can’t help but enthusiastically recommend, especially to those of us for whom Halloween is a year round celebration. Pick this up on Amazon or kindle, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed! Cannot wait for Autumncrow High!
A perfect halfway to Halloween read for any spooky people.
Chaney delivers some really great stories here, and builds a fascinating mythology around the town of Autumncrow. I felt like every story I read built more and more lore and it made it difficult to put down!
Particular stories i want to shout out (although all are great!)
“Pumpkin Light”: a beautiful little spooky story with a great emotional hook that I found surprising. Got a little misty eyed and loved the resolution.
“Saving Face”: might be the story that freaked me out the most honestly, just because of some of the gruesomeness towards the end. Read this story in bed with the lights off and a particular action the main character took made me cringe hard.
“I Have No Mouth and I Must Feed”: Probably my favorite story of the book, with a great central conceit and setting. I love carnival/funhouse/haunt set horror stuff and this did a great job bringing that flavor to the equation. Chaney seemingly incorporates a viral internet video that freaked the living hell out of me as a child to brilliant effect. Also loved how he foreshadowed the finale with setup conflict. Also, kinda want to try a grilled apple and cheese sandwich? Never heard of that before!
Also CRYP-TV is really cool, and it becomes really wholesome at one point, luring you into a false sense of security and then Chaney just hits you with a tire iron haha. Loved that.
I do also want to talk about “There Are Monsters Here”, which I think is a really strong story, tackling trauma and how we can run from the past, while also seemingly being an allegory for anxiety and depression, at least that’s how I read it. I really connected with those themes and thought the way Chaney brought it all to a head was thrilling and i couldn’t stop flipping the pages. It was a bit jarring to hop from Autumncrow stories, filled with autumnal atmosphere and the Halloween atmosphere to something so emotionally brutal and very unrelated. But I do want to stress that it’s a great story that I totally recommend.
Overall, Autumncrow is a book I can’t help but enthusiastically recommend, especially to those of us for whom Halloween is a year round celebration. Pick this up on Amazon or kindle, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed! Cannot wait for Autumncrow High!