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writertomg's reviews
387 reviews
When Things Get Dark by Ellen Datlow
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Fantastic short stories by some big names in the horror field, all written to pay tribute to the Master, Shirley Jackson. There were one or two that were iffy, but overall they were all good and creepy, and this collection is certainly worth a read if you like horror or Jackson.
The cream of the crop (IMHO) was Quiet Dead Things by Cassandra Khaw. Between this and Nothing But Blackened Teeth, she has become my new favorite author. Her work is amazing.
Also worth noting are Money of the Dead by Karen Heuler, Hag by Benjamin Percy, Special Meal by Josh Malerman, Tiptoe by Laird Barron, and Skinder's Veil by Kelly Link.
The cream of the crop (IMHO) was Quiet Dead Things by Cassandra Khaw. Between this and Nothing But Blackened Teeth, she has become my new favorite author. Her work is amazing.
Also worth noting are Money of the Dead by Karen Heuler, Hag by Benjamin Percy, Special Meal by Josh Malerman, Tiptoe by Laird Barron, and Skinder's Veil by Kelly Link.
The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle
dark
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? Yes
5.0
A retelling of HP Lovecraft's The Horror at Red Hook, but from the POV of Black Tom. Takes the racist story from the notoriously racist Lovecraft and puts the power of The Great Old Ones in the hands of a Black man who suffered from society. Black Tom is set entirely in Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos where the original story predated Cthulhu and was spottily tied to the mythos at best.
Overall, The Ballad of Black Tom was brilliant and amazing. HIGHLY recommended for anyone, but especially for those who like/prefer cosmic horror. I don't know what took me so long to read this book, but I'm glad it was required reading for my The Haunted Library lit class at Emerson.
I'll take Cthulhu over you devils any day.
Overall, The Ballad of Black Tom was brilliant and amazing. HIGHLY recommended for anyone, but especially for those who like/prefer cosmic horror. I don't know what took me so long to read this book, but I'm glad it was required reading for my The Haunted Library lit class at Emerson.
I'll take Cthulhu over you devils any day.
Midnight Pleasures by David Mann, Robert Bloch
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I see overall, this collection didn't get the best reviews. But it's been a while since I've read some short stories, and I've never read anything by Bloch before, so this book hit the spot for me. Obviously, not all the stories were winners, but when Bloch nailed the creepiness with the good ones, he really crushed it. Overall, I'm giving it 5 stars, but I think that's because this was the right book at the right time for me. If I reread it in the future, that rating might come down when I'm more objective.
The Rubber Room - Started with a story that seems, unfortunately, more relevant today about a Neo-Nazi striking out on his own to murder a Jewish girl and then wonder why people would arrest him for it. The twisty ending set the tone for the rest of the collection and let me know this was going to be a ride. 3.5 stars.
The Night Before Christmas - One of the best of the collection about an artist hired to paint the portrait of a rich man's wife. Creepy, atmospheric, killer ending. Perfect short story. 5 stars.
Pumpkin - The other cream of the crop. To be fair, putting The Night Before Christmas and Pumpkin back to back in the beginning of this book did a great disservice to the other stories. Nothing tops these two. Pumpkin is about a family that moves back to the old farm house where the husband grew up and had terrible nightmares. Again, killer ending and perfect short story. 5 stars.
The Spoiled Wife</b> - Not amazing but clever. About a man who pays to thaw out centuries-old, cryogenicly frozen women looking for a wife. I could see this really happening in the future. I did like the twist ending, calling back to the story's title. 3 stars.
Oh Say Can You See - Sci-fi story about aliens infiltrating Earth and coming to the conclusion that the Mafia controls the planet. One of the weak ones, it all feels like a setup for the last line and wasn't that twisty. 2 stars.
But First These Words - My least favorite about God trying to get his message to humanity to change their ways, but we ignore him for TV and entertainment. Even the ending was blah. 1 star.
Picture - Now we're back to the good, creepy stories with this one. A deal with the devil for one night with the girl our protagonist lusted after since school. Perfect ending for a Satan story. 4.5 stars.
The Undead - I liked this one a lot. Not perfect, like some of the others, but good and creepy in a short amount of words. A man is looking to buy an original copy of Stoker's Dracula manuscript. 4 stars.
Comeback - An old man who worked in the Golden Age of Hollywood throws a Halloween party. Pretty straightforward foreshadowing, and an ending that could be seen a mile away. But decent. 3 stars.
Nocturne - Not terrible. Gets creepier as the story goes on about a man talking to a woman he's been obsessed with. I feel like Bloch had the last sentence thought up and worked backwards. Again, it's all just a setup for the final sentence. 2 stars.
Die-Nasty - A 'what if' America televised executions and we devolved into a bloodthirsty society. Nothing great. No twists, per se. Totally skippable. 1 star.
Pranks - An old couple get prepared for trick or treaters on Halloween night. Holy Fuck. You could see it coming, but I couldn't stop reading. You know basically what's coming, but not how. After some iffy stories, this came out of nowhere like a sucker punch. 5 stars.
Everybody Needs A Little Love - A lonely guy starts talking to a manikin. Ending was predictable. 2 stars.
The Totem Pole - This was, about an expedition from Alaska that brought back a totem pole, was written in the 1920s and you can tell. Still, decent. And I can see how this would've put Bloch on people's radars as a writer. 3 stars.
The Rubber Room - Started with a story that seems, unfortunately, more relevant today about a Neo-Nazi striking out on his own to murder a Jewish girl and then wonder why people would arrest him for it. The twisty ending set the tone for the rest of the collection and let me know this was going to be a ride. 3.5 stars.
The Night Before Christmas - One of the best of the collection about an artist hired to paint the portrait of a rich man's wife. Creepy, atmospheric, killer ending. Perfect short story. 5 stars.
Pumpkin - The other cream of the crop. To be fair, putting The Night Before Christmas and Pumpkin back to back in the beginning of this book did a great disservice to the other stories. Nothing tops these two. Pumpkin is about a family that moves back to the old farm house where the husband grew up and had terrible nightmares. Again, killer ending and perfect short story. 5 stars.
The Spoiled Wife</b> - Not amazing but clever. About a man who pays to thaw out centuries-old, cryogenicly frozen women looking for a wife. I could see this really happening in the future. I did like the twist ending, calling back to the story's title. 3 stars.
Oh Say Can You See - Sci-fi story about aliens infiltrating Earth and coming to the conclusion that the Mafia controls the planet. One of the weak ones, it all feels like a setup for the last line and wasn't that twisty. 2 stars.
But First These Words - My least favorite about God trying to get his message to humanity to change their ways, but we ignore him for TV and entertainment. Even the ending was blah. 1 star.
Picture - Now we're back to the good, creepy stories with this one. A deal with the devil for one night with the girl our protagonist lusted after since school. Perfect ending for a Satan story. 4.5 stars.
The Undead - I liked this one a lot. Not perfect, like some of the others, but good and creepy in a short amount of words. A man is looking to buy an original copy of Stoker's Dracula manuscript. 4 stars.
Comeback - An old man who worked in the Golden Age of Hollywood throws a Halloween party. Pretty straightforward foreshadowing, and an ending that could be seen a mile away. But decent. 3 stars.
Nocturne - Not terrible. Gets creepier as the story goes on about a man talking to a woman he's been obsessed with. I feel like Bloch had the last sentence thought up and worked backwards. Again, it's all just a setup for the final sentence. 2 stars.
Die-Nasty - A 'what if' America televised executions and we devolved into a bloodthirsty society. Nothing great. No twists, per se. Totally skippable. 1 star.
Pranks - An old couple get prepared for trick or treaters on Halloween night. Holy Fuck. You could see it coming, but I couldn't stop reading. You know basically what's coming, but not how. After some iffy stories, this came out of nowhere like a sucker punch. 5 stars.
Everybody Needs A Little Love - A lonely guy starts talking to a manikin. Ending was predictable. 2 stars.
The Totem Pole - This was, about an expedition from Alaska that brought back a totem pole, was written in the 1920s and you can tell. Still, decent. And I can see how this would've put Bloch on people's radars as a writer. 3 stars.
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Gustave Doré, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Martin Gardner
adventurous
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Loved it! Lots of great potential quotes to use…
Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw
dark
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? Yes
5.0
Excellent novella by Cassandra Khaw. Definitely going to keep an eye out for more of her works. Very horrific and amazingly detailed. Thanks to Barnes & Noble for recommending this!
Reluctant Immortals by Gwendolyn Kiste
dark
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? It's complicated
5.0
Incredible book. Gives a satisfactory conclusion to two characters long forgotten by the literary world. Also includes the scariest version of Dracula on paper since Stoker's original story. Highly recommended if you liked Dracula, Jane Eyre, or anything dripping with gothic overtones. Five stars.
Little Comfort by Edwin Hill
mysterious
4.0
Took a while to finish this because of school, but it was a pretty good page-turner. I'd recommend it and getting ready to start The Missing Ones next.
Plot Perfect: How to Build Unforgettable Stories Scene by Scene by Paula Munier
informative
slow-paced
3.0
Started off dry (IMHO) but offers some good advice. Annoyed the cheatsheets at the end for all genres didn't include horror.
One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus
The title One of Us Is Lying implies that one of the four students accused of murder and denying it is actually a murderer. Finding out Simon killed himself makes none of the students a liar and therefore, the title is bullshit. Even if they are lying by omission (they all have secrets) then All of Them Are Lying. Still a bullshit title.
Plus, I hated the constant switching of POVs within a chapter. Sometimes even multiple POVs across multiple consecutive pages.
This book sucked. Terrible writing.
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Plus, I hated the constant switching of POVs within a chapter. Sometimes even multiple POVs across multiple consecutive pages.
This book sucked. Terrible writing.
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Really enjoyed this one. Well-written and touching.