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paulmslima's review
3.0
More like a series of 2- to 5-page anecdotes. Some a quite humerous with fun twist endings. Some fall flat - thunk. But Brown is a witty writer.
shanehawk's review
4.0
A fun little collection.
Fredric Brown is reminiscent of Bradbury although he is less flowery. I suppose it could be the fact this was written in the same decade as some Bradbury collections.
It’s a mixed bag of horror, speculative, and crime. Keep in mind 1960s horror is subtle and distinct from contemporary notions of the genre. Tame by our standards. Still fun and enjoyed his humorous touch.
Fredric Brown is reminiscent of Bradbury although he is less flowery. I suppose it could be the fact this was written in the same decade as some Bradbury collections.
It’s a mixed bag of horror, speculative, and crime. Keep in mind 1960s horror is subtle and distinct from contemporary notions of the genre. Tame by our standards. Still fun and enjoyed his humorous touch.
charshorrorcorner's review
5.0
This was a thoroughly enjoyable collection of short stories, superbly narrated by Matt Godfrey. I can see now why Stephen King gave Fredric Brown and specifically this collection a special mention in his non fiction book about influential horror written during the 1950's through the 1970's: Danse Macabre.
Within this volume, there are nearly 50 stories, most of them very short. There were some sci-fi tales mixed in, but most of these were horror. For whatever reason, these tiny gems brought me back to the stories I read when I first got into horror. I would say the period after Poe, but before King. I did a lot of short story reading back then; I used them as a way to find new authors, and then longer works written by them. Somehow, I never discovered Mr. Brown back then, but I'm so glad that I've discovered him now.
There are too many tales to get into here, but a few of the standouts to me were:
The Geezenstacks This was Just. Plain. Fun! How can you go wrong with a horror story about dolls?!
Cat Burglar That ending cracked me the hell up!
There were several stories that began with "Nightmare in..." and I pretty much loved all of those.
Matt Godfrey does a tremendous job narrating these stories. I've listened to a few of his audios now, and he's quickly becoming one of my favorite narrators. Will Patton had better watch out!
This collection really stands above most others of its kind, not only from that time period, (the 60's), but this time period as well. That's not to say that some of these stories don't feel dated, because some do, but I don't feel as if that affected their impact. Also, Nightmares and Geezenstacks will not work for everyone, especially those who love their tales to be extra bloody or leaning towards bizarro. Horror was tamer in the 60's, and these stories are a product of their time.
That being said, I loved this collection. It had short stories that were actually short, it had a great deal of variety, most tales packed a real punch and the narration was wonderful. I give this my highest recommendation!
*I received this audio free from the narrator, in exchange for my honest review. This is it.*
Within this volume, there are nearly 50 stories, most of them very short. There were some sci-fi tales mixed in, but most of these were horror. For whatever reason, these tiny gems brought me back to the stories I read when I first got into horror. I would say the period after Poe, but before King. I did a lot of short story reading back then; I used them as a way to find new authors, and then longer works written by them. Somehow, I never discovered Mr. Brown back then, but I'm so glad that I've discovered him now.
There are too many tales to get into here, but a few of the standouts to me were:
The Geezenstacks This was Just. Plain. Fun! How can you go wrong with a horror story about dolls?!
Cat Burglar That ending cracked me the hell up!
There were several stories that began with "Nightmare in..." and I pretty much loved all of those.
Matt Godfrey does a tremendous job narrating these stories. I've listened to a few of his audios now, and he's quickly becoming one of my favorite narrators. Will Patton had better watch out!
This collection really stands above most others of its kind, not only from that time period, (the 60's), but this time period as well. That's not to say that some of these stories don't feel dated, because some do, but I don't feel as if that affected their impact. Also, Nightmares and Geezenstacks will not work for everyone, especially those who love their tales to be extra bloody or leaning towards bizarro. Horror was tamer in the 60's, and these stories are a product of their time.
That being said, I loved this collection. It had short stories that were actually short, it had a great deal of variety, most tales packed a real punch and the narration was wonderful. I give this my highest recommendation!
*I received this audio free from the narrator, in exchange for my honest review. This is it.*
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