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readerette's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Entertaining and quick reads. I would not rank these among the best short stories I've read, but they were fun. I particularly enjoyed "Preserves," not so much for the story as for the glimpse of the world and the way the smallest household task came to life.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence
Minor: Bullying, Death of parent, Gore, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness
gretchen3's review
4.0
A collection of spooky and horror story stories was the exact right read for the Halloween season. There are a few reworkings of familiar stories - Dracula and others - with focus on women, and usually queered. My favorite was "Bluebeard's Wife", with a twist on the fairy tale as well as an explanation as to Jack the Ripper's sudden disappearance.
errantdreams's review
5.0
There are some suitably old-fashioned paranormal stories in Catherine Lundoff’s anthology Unfinished Business: Tales of the Dark Fantastic, as well as some highly creative and unusual short stories. The old fashioned tales wend and wind, with narrators spilling everything primarily in first or even second person. Some of the stories tell different versions (or a different side of) tales we’re already familiar with. There’s The Mask and the Amontillado, for example, with a fascinating main character who is a man who was born as a woman–and who has kept this secret so far. In Miss Lucy’s Glass, a portion of the tale of Dracula is told, from the point of view of Miss Lucy’s maid, Shaw, who is in love with her mistress. There’s also Bluebeard’s Wife, which is told from Jack the Ripper’s point of view, and is very satisfying to read.
There’s one story that depicts a devastatingly powerful ghost (Duchess), and a beautifully horrifying tale about a woman trying to contact the ghost of her lover in a slightly steampunk version of reality (Medium Mechanique). A Splash of Crimson left me a little confused as to what happened, but it’s still an intriguing haunting tale.
Cherubim is a tidy little tale of cosmic horror, while Preserves is kinda-sorta science fiction, in that the main character is aware that ash blankets the sky and generation ships are being created to save mankind. However, all may not be as it seems…
Home Staging, with Phantasm is just a fun little tale about someone who flips haunted houses. Firebird is a dash of flash fiction that hints at so much in such little space (for instance, the phrase “last ballet company on Earth” is pretty much the only way in which it’s indicated that there’s an apocalypse going on). The Temporary is intriguing–a temp starts to fade and vanish at her desk as she works.
I really enjoyed these stories. One tale is a bit on the humorous side, while most of the rest are more dark and serious. All of them are intriguing, with a skilled, enjoyably garrulous narrative and engaging characters.
Content note for domestic abuse and a little muted gore. Also, happily, several same-sex relationships.
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/10/review-unfinished-business-catherine-lundoff/
There’s one story that depicts a devastatingly powerful ghost (Duchess), and a beautifully horrifying tale about a woman trying to contact the ghost of her lover in a slightly steampunk version of reality (Medium Mechanique). A Splash of Crimson left me a little confused as to what happened, but it’s still an intriguing haunting tale.
Cherubim is a tidy little tale of cosmic horror, while Preserves is kinda-sorta science fiction, in that the main character is aware that ash blankets the sky and generation ships are being created to save mankind. However, all may not be as it seems…
Home Staging, with Phantasm is just a fun little tale about someone who flips haunted houses. Firebird is a dash of flash fiction that hints at so much in such little space (for instance, the phrase “last ballet company on Earth” is pretty much the only way in which it’s indicated that there’s an apocalypse going on). The Temporary is intriguing–a temp starts to fade and vanish at her desk as she works.
I really enjoyed these stories. One tale is a bit on the humorous side, while most of the rest are more dark and serious. All of them are intriguing, with a skilled, enjoyably garrulous narrative and engaging characters.
Content note for domestic abuse and a little muted gore. Also, happily, several same-sex relationships.
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/10/review-unfinished-business-catherine-lundoff/
skjam's review against another edition
3.0
Per the author’s introduction, the style of stories in this volume were inspired by her love for the artwork of Edward Gorey and Victorian ghost stories. And so we have a dozen short stories of horror and dark fantasy.
“The Mask and the Amontillado” is a riff on Edgar Allan Poe’s classic story, which is more specific about Montresor’s motive. It’s an okay opener.
“A Splash of Crimson” is–perhaps–a ghost story. Or perhaps the governess is simply hallucinating the shade of her dead mistress, with whom she shared secrets. And perhaps more.
“Bluebeard’s Wife” examines the domestic arrangements of Jack the Ripper. Have you ever wondered why the Ripper crimes suddenly stopped? A prime example of a man’s blind spots. Among other things, has domestic abuse.
“Duchess” is told in second person as “you” are sent to discuss contracts with a Duke whose wife has passed away. There’s something creepy about the portrait of her, but the Duke’s insistence on finding a new bride seems creepier.
“Medium Mechanique” is edging towards the steampunk, as a seance is held by a woman with a mechanical eye. The spirits she summons are fearsome, but are they more fearsome than Madame LaFarge’s clients?
“Miss Lucy’s Glass” is parts of Dracula told from the perspective of Lucy Westenra’s maid. She’s very close to her mistress, and as you might imagine, it does not go well with her.
“Cherubim” has an abused young woman lash out against her father with a spell she has learned behind his back. But she has summoned up something she cannot send back, so what are her next steps?
“Preserves” takes us into science fiction, as a woman prepares the last batch of blood orange marmalade on Earth. There is a generation ship leaving soon, but who will be on it?
“Haunted” is set in a nursing home where one of the residents is hearing a voice long dead.
“Home Staging, with Phantasm” is a twist on exorcising a haunted house, using the ghost’s prejudices against it.
“Firebird” concerns the last prima ballerina in the last ballet company. Will this be her last leap?
“The Temporary” closes out the volume with an office worker discovering that she’s turned invisible. But the changes don’t end there.
The stories range from slight to quite good; my favorites are “Preserves” and “Bluebeard’s Wife.” This volume is slim, and some of the stories, like “Firebird” are short-shorts that are barely there. Modern attitudes about sexual attraction and gender are present, which leavens the Victorian settings of some of the tales.
Recommended to dark fantasy fans, and you may want to purchase it directly from Queen of Swords Press.
“The Mask and the Amontillado” is a riff on Edgar Allan Poe’s classic story, which is more specific about Montresor’s motive. It’s an okay opener.
“A Splash of Crimson” is–perhaps–a ghost story. Or perhaps the governess is simply hallucinating the shade of her dead mistress, with whom she shared secrets. And perhaps more.
“Bluebeard’s Wife” examines the domestic arrangements of Jack the Ripper. Have you ever wondered why the Ripper crimes suddenly stopped? A prime example of a man’s blind spots. Among other things, has domestic abuse.
“Duchess” is told in second person as “you” are sent to discuss contracts with a Duke whose wife has passed away. There’s something creepy about the portrait of her, but the Duke’s insistence on finding a new bride seems creepier.
“Medium Mechanique” is edging towards the steampunk, as a seance is held by a woman with a mechanical eye. The spirits she summons are fearsome, but are they more fearsome than Madame LaFarge’s clients?
“Miss Lucy’s Glass” is parts of Dracula told from the perspective of Lucy Westenra’s maid. She’s very close to her mistress, and as you might imagine, it does not go well with her.
“Cherubim” has an abused young woman lash out against her father with a spell she has learned behind his back. But she has summoned up something she cannot send back, so what are her next steps?
“Preserves” takes us into science fiction, as a woman prepares the last batch of blood orange marmalade on Earth. There is a generation ship leaving soon, but who will be on it?
“Haunted” is set in a nursing home where one of the residents is hearing a voice long dead.
“Home Staging, with Phantasm” is a twist on exorcising a haunted house, using the ghost’s prejudices against it.
“Firebird” concerns the last prima ballerina in the last ballet company. Will this be her last leap?
“The Temporary” closes out the volume with an office worker discovering that she’s turned invisible. But the changes don’t end there.
The stories range from slight to quite good; my favorites are “Preserves” and “Bluebeard’s Wife.” This volume is slim, and some of the stories, like “Firebird” are short-shorts that are barely there. Modern attitudes about sexual attraction and gender are present, which leavens the Victorian settings of some of the tales.
Recommended to dark fantasy fans, and you may want to purchase it directly from Queen of Swords Press.
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