pacardullo's reviews
278 reviews

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.

The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin

5.0

Great follow-up to The City We Became

The Only Safe Place Left Is the Dark by Warren Wagner

4.5

Excellent novella. Interesting (and heartbreaking) take on zombies, with a not-so-subtle connection to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Dark Matter by Michelle Paver

4.5

Excellent, creepy, atmospheric ghost story

Of Foster Homes and Flies by Chad Lutzke

4.0

Dark by ultimately life-affirming coming-of-age tale. Quick read. Compelling. Touching. 

The Loved Dead And Other Tales by C.M. Eddy Jr., Jim Dyer

3.0

Ok pulpy collection. The rather notorious eponymous story (supposedly co-written w/ Lovecraft) is probably the strongest entry in the book. Others (such as the two "caveman" stories) are way too shallow and dated, belying their pulp origins. 

Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk

dark funny fast-paced

3.0

Generally, I like Palahniuk, but it took me a while to get into this one. It picked up for me in the second half (or is that the first half?). Not bad, but not my favorite.

Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman

3.0

I am torn on this one. I generally liked it, but there were bits that brought it down a star. While it tries to deal with racism and the legacy of slavery, it ends up including some racist tropes. I am not talking about the narrator's and others' use of racist language. That felt period-appropriate. It was that at least one of the plot points involved a particularly heinous racist trope - and it did not feel like it was included as a commentary on that trope, but simply using it as it has been in the past.

If you do read it, go in "blind" as part of the fun is trying to figure out what is going on.

My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

4.5

 Excellent tale by Stephen Graham Jones. At first, it may feel too much like "Scream in book form" - but as it goes on, one gets more invested in the main character's story. While it does have a few dangling threads by the end, the ending still feels satisfying and complete. Then, you realize that it is only "Book 1" - so the dangling threads become less of an issue. It can be a slow burn and some may not like the main character at first, but if you stick with it, it is well worth it. Good stuff.