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nayabimtiaz's review
5.0
Handsdown 5 stars. As someone who adores sci-fi and horror fantay I LOVED this book. Since it was a collection of short stories, I found it to be very satisfying. Planning on reading The Way of Kings but like it's not only a 1000+ paged book, but also a series with more than 3 books so I am reallyy struggling but if that's even half as good as this, ig it'll be worth it??
sausome's review
4.0
This was a great collection of stories. Definitely "a bit creepy" applies to all, though some are a bit more horror/murdery than others. Having just read a NYTimes bestselling and all-the-accolades-given collection of short stories ("Exhalation") and finding myself unenthusiastic, bored, and a bit stupid, if I'm honest, this book was a breath of fresh air. Some stories are longer, because the creepy takes longer to establish, and there's more of an arc happening, but these longer stories are paced well enough that you don't feel overburdened by ridiculously long short stories in a short story collection -sometimes when that happens I think, is this collection just like a book-preview or something?? I'd be actually really excited to read a full book by this author, since he obviously knows what he's doing.
And to provide a reference point, I actually really enjoy open-ended, subtle-creep stories, so I don't NEED it to be all shocking and gross to enjoy it. I love Shirley Jackson, for example. If you need all gore all the time, then I'm not sure this book will be for you, and maybe just go read about serial killers.
And to provide a reference point, I actually really enjoy open-ended, subtle-creep stories, so I don't NEED it to be all shocking and gross to enjoy it. I love Shirley Jackson, for example. If you need all gore all the time, then I'm not sure this book will be for you, and maybe just go read about serial killers.
marden's review
5.0
Hands down this book is now one of my favorite short story collections. This was my first time reading a book by Brian Evenson, and I still don’t understand how come I never heard of him before since his genre is right up my alley.
In Song for the Unraveling of the World Evenson masterfully lays the groundwork with the opening sentence of the first story. He then proceeds to reveal a series of surrealist fiction than range from body horror to psychological thriller. Some stories weirder than others, but all with a compelling prose.
I personally enjoyed how Evenson seems to intertwine some stories with either recurring themes, ideas, or concepts. Regardless of whether or not such links are intentional, I believe they add some depth to the fiction.
In conclusion, I love this collection. It neatly presents the philosophical and the eeriness of social behavior and psyche, and unceasingly drives your imagination.
In Song for the Unraveling of the World Evenson masterfully lays the groundwork with the opening sentence of the first story. He then proceeds to reveal a series of surrealist fiction than range from body horror to psychological thriller. Some stories weirder than others, but all with a compelling prose.
I personally enjoyed how Evenson seems to intertwine some stories with either recurring themes, ideas, or concepts. Regardless of whether or not such links are intentional, I believe they add some depth to the fiction.
In conclusion, I love this collection. It neatly presents the philosophical and the eeriness of social behavior and psyche, and unceasingly drives your imagination.
dreamydarcy's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
nomorefalseheavens's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
cloudyqueer's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
adammusprime's review
2.0
I think the only story in this collection I actually enjoyed was "Sisters". There really wasn't anything about the others that stood out to me. They were well written, but they weren't suspenseful or that weird, and often they were fairly predictable.
ooopha's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0