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katiecatbooks's review
4.0
This is the fourth or fifth Mammoth book from Stephen Jones that I have read and like the rest, it delivers.
Pacing: As with the other Mammoth books, this is filled with many short and long stories, so you get a good variety of action and thrills. One thing to note is that many of the longer stories are subdivided into chapters, so you can read and put it down at your convenience.
Characters: These stories run the gambit of ordinary Joes, ex-military characters, and even the superhero variety. Something for everyone and every taste with a bit if cross-genre thrown in for flavor.
Language: Thrilling! I wouldn't describe these stories as gory or bloody, they are more of the thrilling variety.
Frame: Most of the stories take place on present day Earth (usually USA or England), though some take place in the past or a bit more sci-fi/fantasy present.
Of the stories in the collection I particularly enjoyed Peep (Ramsey Campbell). The "horror in 2007" and "necrology 2007" are always interesting additions to each annual collection. I don't think you can go wrong with a Mammoth Book and this one does not fail to deliver. Fans of Joe Hill and Neil Gaiman will enjoy their contributions to the collection.
Pacing: As with the other Mammoth books, this is filled with many short and long stories, so you get a good variety of action and thrills. One thing to note is that many of the longer stories are subdivided into chapters, so you can read and put it down at your convenience.
Characters: These stories run the gambit of ordinary Joes, ex-military characters, and even the superhero variety. Something for everyone and every taste with a bit if cross-genre thrown in for flavor.
Language: Thrilling! I wouldn't describe these stories as gory or bloody, they are more of the thrilling variety.
Frame: Most of the stories take place on present day Earth (usually USA or England), though some take place in the past or a bit more sci-fi/fantasy present.
Of the stories in the collection I particularly enjoyed Peep (Ramsey Campbell). The "horror in 2007" and "necrology 2007" are always interesting additions to each annual collection. I don't think you can go wrong with a Mammoth Book and this one does not fail to deliver. Fans of Joe Hill and Neil Gaiman will enjoy their contributions to the collection.
shannananahey's review
3.0
I gave 3 out of 5 because I liked 11 out of 26 stories. Just like other anthologies, there were some great stories, some okay ones, and a few just terrible ones that didn't make sense or fell into the trap of "I don't know how to end this so this will be the end in what feels like the middle of the story" problem. I've seen that problem a lot with movies as well. If it's available and you have time, read it. If not, I wouldn't recommend running out to get it as soon as possible.
gunner's review
2.0
I read this specifically to check out Thumbprint by Joe Hill; it was decent, but not as good as some of his other short stories.
Not a single 5-star story in this collection for me, though there were a number of 4's, with Michael Marshall Smith's and Joel Knight's sticking out for me as the best of them (Tim Pratt, Neil Gaiman, Glen Hirshberg, Joe R. Lansdale, and Mark Samuels all had good stories as well).
Far too many stories I just plain didn't like, however, to get more than 2 stars out of me for the collection. I could not bring myself to finish the novella at the end of the book, which did not interest me enough to commit to.
Took me more than a year, on and off, to slog through this collection; glad to finally be done with it.
Not a single 5-star story in this collection for me, though there were a number of 4's, with Michael Marshall Smith's and Joel Knight's sticking out for me as the best of them (Tim Pratt, Neil Gaiman, Glen Hirshberg, Joe R. Lansdale, and Mark Samuels all had good stories as well).
Far too many stories I just plain didn't like, however, to get more than 2 stars out of me for the collection. I could not bring myself to finish the novella at the end of the book, which did not interest me enough to commit to.
Took me more than a year, on and off, to slog through this collection; glad to finally be done with it.
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