Scan barcode
fyoosha's review
2.0
I didn't like a single story in this collection.
Perhaps it was my mistake going in, thinking I was picking up a horror book, when instead I was actually reading weird fiction. There are few things in the world I hate more than weird fiction. And the stories in this collection were certainly weird.
Many of them feature flat characters who become completely obsessed with bizarre phenomenon or who are approaching the edges of madness in some way. The utter flatness of the characters would have been passable had the plots been intriguing, but most of the stories just seemed to meander from scene to scene, with little to connect them all together. Also, most of the male characters were completely detestable - I understand that this served to establish realism, but it also got quite tiring being in these characters' heads.
Some stories seemed to have potential, appearing to build up to a satisfying conclusion, but instead culminate in frustrating ambiguity. I kept searching for some kind of conclusive answer but found nothing. This works sometimes, if the perhaps features compelling characters, but given that the characters here almost seemed to be stand-ins, it only served to further detract from the overall narrative. In the end, most of the stories felt choppy, uneven, and incomplete.
The only reason I didn't give this one star is because the writing is decent, and I actually managed to get through the entire thing, even though it took me over a month. But again, maybe if weird fiction is your thing, you'll like this collection. I understand the author is pretty prolific and this has been a generally well-received book, so it's probably not objectively bad or anything, just really, really not my thing.
Perhaps it was my mistake going in, thinking I was picking up a horror book, when instead I was actually reading weird fiction. There are few things in the world I hate more than weird fiction. And the stories in this collection were certainly weird.
Many of them feature flat characters who become completely obsessed with bizarre phenomenon or who are approaching the edges of madness in some way. The utter flatness of the characters would have been passable had the plots been intriguing, but most of the stories just seemed to meander from scene to scene, with little to connect them all together. Also, most of the male characters were completely detestable - I understand that this served to establish realism, but it also got quite tiring being in these characters' heads.
Some stories seemed to have potential, appearing to build up to a satisfying conclusion, but instead culminate in frustrating ambiguity. I kept searching for some kind of conclusive answer but found nothing. This works sometimes, if the perhaps features compelling characters, but given that the characters here almost seemed to be stand-ins, it only served to further detract from the overall narrative. In the end, most of the stories felt choppy, uneven, and incomplete.
The only reason I didn't give this one star is because the writing is decent, and I actually managed to get through the entire thing, even though it took me over a month. But again, maybe if weird fiction is your thing, you'll like this collection. I understand the author is pretty prolific and this has been a generally well-received book, so it's probably not objectively bad or anything, just really, really not my thing.
maleficentknits's review
4.0
Some truly, wonderfully twisted and creepy tales in this collection of shorts. Standouts for me being:
Namesake
Skein and Bone
Preservation
Wordsmith
Senbazuru
V.H. Leslie's short tales are definitely a recommended read.
Namesake
Skein and Bone
Preservation
Wordsmith
Senbazuru
V.H. Leslie's short tales are definitely a recommended read.
More...