caracabe's reviews
65 reviews
Diaboliad and Other Stories by Mikhail Bulgakov
challenging
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Bulgakov might have been addicted to morphine, but he often wrote like a coked-up Kafka. (That’s a good thing.)
The Low, Low Woods by Carmen Maria Machado
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Haunted Legends by Ellen Datlow, Nick Mamatas
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror by Joe Vallese
emotional
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Each essay focuses on one movie (or in two cases, two movies). Sometimes the author’s life experiences illuminate the movie, sometimes it’s the other way around. I like best the essays that do both, but they are all moving, thought-provoking, occasionally funny, and well written.
The Withering: Poems of Supernatural Horror by Ashley Dioses
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
Negative Space by B.R. Yeager
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Negative Space pulls the reader sentence by sentence into a weirder, darker world, the ground shifting underfoot at every step. I’m not sure where I ended up when I closed this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Body horror, Toxic friendship, Drug abuse, Mass/school shootings, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Ableism, Addiction, and Car accident
A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Both witty and creepy, with a good prose style.