pacardullo's reviews
276 reviews

Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

5.0

Dark, disturbing, and thought provoking. The horror comes from both how matter-of-fact the central idea is handled/presented and from what it says about how, in the real world, people dehumanize other and overlook atrocities. Not an easy read, for certain, but an excellent and effective tale.

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle

5.0

With Camp Damascus, Chuck Tingle, prolific author known for his shorter fiction with rather long and descriptive titles, shows that they can write really effective, more serious, long-form horror. The story is gripping, creepy, disturbing, horrifying (in multiple ways), heart-breaking, and life/love-affirming. This really is some good stuff. Highly recommended.

A Spectre is Haunting Greentree by Carson Winter

dark fast-paced

5.0

There is a lot packed into this novella - horrors both real and fictional. Evil scarecrows and folk horror live side-by-side with crushing anxiety attacks, toxic capitalism, and domestic violence. Gripping, disturbing, creepy, atmospheric, and empowering stuff. Well worth a read. Give this one a gander.

Pounded In The Butt By My Reluctance To Buy A Humble Bundle Featuring Stories With Gay Characters As Though That Has Some Kind Of Bearing On My Own Sexuality Or The Quality Of The Product Then Eventually Realizing It's Pretty Good And I'm Fine by Chuck Tingle

funny lighthearted fast-paced

4.0

My first Tingler. So much meta-fun. Or is it super-meta, who knows. The title pretty much says it all. 

Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare

fast-paced

4.0

Fun older YA slasher. While it hits a lot of the tropes, it still felt surprisingly fresh (even if the twists are not that surprising.) Fun, gory read.

The Grin of the Dark by Ramsey Campbell

dark funny slow-paced

5.0

Fantastic novel of creeping dread, discomfort, and (according to the author) paranoid comedy. Campbell combines silent film comedy, academic angst, strained familial relations, and internet message boards into a deeply unsettling (and yes, sometimes humorous) tale of unease. This one will sit with me for quite a while.

Don't Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones

5.0

Excellent second installment of The Indian Lake Trilogy. It expands and enhances the characterizations from the first book. It pulls off that difficult balancing act of a second book - it gives you both something familiar and something new, in equal parts. Good stuff.

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater or Pearls Before Swine by Kurt Vonnegut

5.0

Excellent social commentary by Vonnegut. His biting satire targets the greedy and ignorant while showing deep compassion for the less fortunate. I appreciate Vonnegut most when he inspires us to be more loving and human, even in the face of pervasive greed and ignorance. I needed this book right now.

Committal Chamber by Russell Braddon

fast-paced

3.5

Quick suspense tale. It does stumble a little in the end but still worth a read.

The Strange Franco Santanarium de Marco by Henrik Sandbeck Harksen

5.0

Excellent chapbook w/ three creepy tales. Give it a read.