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her_twistedmind's review against another edition
2.0
I was expecting more from this book and that expectation is left unfulfilled. Majority of the short stories here are bad (for me) and the remaining few are only more or less decent at best. I am all for bizarreness in a story and this can be seen with most of the works in this book, but the strange premises have become too nonsensical that it has made the reading experience a waste of time. Most short stories here do not even attempt to explain the strange phenomena, and there is nothing wrong with it, but they could have at least provided a "clue" that will at least help discover a piece of the enigma. Only "Room Tone" and "Kindred Spirit" managed to relay a satisfying bizarre horror story. Below are my individual rating for each story found in this book.
1. No Matter Which Way We Turned - 2/5
2. Born Stillborn - 2/5
3. Leaking Out - 3/5
4. Song For The Unraveling Of The World - 3/5
5. The Second Door - 3/5
6. Sisters - 3/5
7. Room Tone - 4/5
8. Shirts And Skins - 3.5/5
9. The Tower - 3.8/5
10. The Hole -3.5/5
11. A Disappearance - 3/5
12. The Cardiacs -2/5
13. Smear - 2/5
14. The Glistening World - 3.5/5
15. Wanderlust - 2
16. Lord Of The Vats - 2.5/5
17. Glasses - 2/5
18. Menno - 2/5
19. Line Of Sight - 2/5
20. Trigger Warnings - 2/5
21. Kindred Spirit - 4/5
22. Lather Of Flies - 3.8/5
1. No Matter Which Way We Turned - 2/5
2. Born Stillborn - 2/5
3. Leaking Out - 3/5
4. Song For The Unraveling Of The World - 3/5
5. The Second Door - 3/5
6. Sisters - 3/5
7. Room Tone - 4/5
8. Shirts And Skins - 3.5/5
9. The Tower - 3.8/5
10. The Hole -3.5/5
11. A Disappearance - 3/5
12. The Cardiacs -2/5
13. Smear - 2/5
14. The Glistening World - 3.5/5
15. Wanderlust - 2
16. Lord Of The Vats - 2.5/5
17. Glasses - 2/5
18. Menno - 2/5
19. Line Of Sight - 2/5
20. Trigger Warnings - 2/5
21. Kindred Spirit - 4/5
22. Lather Of Flies - 3.8/5
pangnaolin's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I really enjoyed this collection! I found every story fun, and a solid few had really unique writing and ideas (though some of those ideas then got a bit repeated and predictable in following stories). I definitely loved Evenson's style and felt like every story was just very easy to read, a bit creepy, and fun.
I wouldn't say it's especially profound or striking as a collection, though-- it sort of felt like reading a book of really good r/nosleep stories-- so if you're looking for something intense, I'd direct you more toward authors like Carmen Maria Machado. If you're a sci-fi or horror fan and just want some interesting, fun, captivating stories, then I'd say this is definitely for you. Awesome read!
I wouldn't say it's especially profound or striking as a collection, though-- it sort of felt like reading a book of really good r/nosleep stories-- so if you're looking for something intense, I'd direct you more toward authors like Carmen Maria Machado. If you're a sci-fi or horror fan and just want some interesting, fun, captivating stories, then I'd say this is definitely for you. Awesome read!
dogsbooksandpizza's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
The strong stories were really great, but I felt like a lot of elements got too repetitive. It made me want a novel that incorporated those elements instead of predictably stringing them through multiple stories. I found myself getting frustrated when yet another “fluttering” came around, and a tendriled sentient thing entered a human. It was cool in the first half, but this 200 page collection actually felt long because of all the repetition. I enjoyed the first half the most, and there were still some solid entries toward the end (“Wanderlust” was a big standout), but they did start blurring together for me. I will still read all of Evenson’s stuff because I think he’s a great writer; this collection just felt a bit bloated to me.
aalessi's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It reminds me of r/nosleep
Some great stories. Some bad ones. A lot of predictable ones.
Some great stories. Some bad ones. A lot of predictable ones.
ferns_citruscorner's review
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
_tourist's review
some pertinent unraveling occurs, but i havn’t quite worked out what i think of horror; what its functions are. i have not read enough to know what to expect.
some stories i particularly liked: leaking out, wanderlust, lather of flies. plenty of others seemed non-urgent.
some stories i particularly liked: leaking out, wanderlust, lather of flies. plenty of others seemed non-urgent.
rpcroke's review
4.0
Really really liked the most stories. A few we're a bit uneven but this is a great collection. The strongest stories are incredibly strong.
jennitheghost's review
4.0
I was tempted to give this three stars but I decided to give it 4 because I usually just don't like collections of short stories !! Like, I enjoyed these stories, they were creative and varied and spooky but I am always left wanting I love to get involved in stories !! I also definitely didn't get some of them but I'm sure that's on me :) it had some cool ideas that I hope will haunt me in the future
rocketiza's review
3.0
These were well written but never really took off for me. I am interested in checking out his longer works though.