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pacardullo's reviews
278 reviews
Found and Other Stories by Todd Rigney
4.0
"Found" is an intriguing and truly disturbing novella dealing with brotherly love, the horrors of middle school, and the consequences of discovering your big brother is a serial killer. (Not a spoiler - you find out on the first page.) Told from the younger brother's point of view, Rigney really captures the cadence of middle schoolers. Perhaps the story resonated more with me because my two sons are around the same ages as the boys in the book. Nonetheless, the novella builds the dread slowly but effectively. Then, the floor drops out from under the reader when everything comes to a logical but no less terrifying end. Good stuff.
The other stories in the collection show that Rigney has other tricks up his sleeves and that he can effectively write in other "voices" as well.
The other stories in the collection show that Rigney has other tricks up his sleeves and that he can effectively write in other "voices" as well.
Under the Skin by Michel Faber
5.0
Excellent, thought-provoking, inventive, surprising, hard-to-classify, and well worth a read. It is best to head into this one "cold" - as part of the enjoyment comes from the long, slow reveal of the nature of the characters and the plot over the course of the story. This reveal doesn't feel artificial; at no point does it seem like the author is obfuscating the plot. Instead, the reader brings to this story, and anything theyy read, their own assumptions. Faber just lets the reader harbor those assumptions, until he "casually" lets slip details that alter those perceptions. It take probably 1/3 of the book before you have a good picture of everything involved. Good stuff.
Sesqua Valley & Other Haunts by W. H. Pugmire
4.0
Wonderful collection of Pugmire's eerie Sesqua Valley tales. Atmospheric and Lovecraftian, but also hauntingly beautiful, in a weird and creepy way. Pugmire's stories have a personal, lyrical, and mystical quality all their own. The author's afterwards to each of the stories really adds to the enjoyment of this collection.