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ithilwen22's review against another edition
5.0
This is an intriguing collection of stories ranging from dark comedy, to traditional ghost stories, to thoughtful and melancholy. The framing device was pretty interesting, as you could see discrepancies right away but they aren't fully explained until the end. This is a good book for anyone who enjoys folktales.
foxconfessor's review against another edition
4.0
A delightful mix of short stories, framed as written by different people from the same small town. Very enjoyable read, some of these would make great campfire stories. A good balance of strange and creepy.
gbdill's review against another edition
4.0
A series of semi-fictional accounts of weird happenings in the unknown and no longer existing town of Uncanny Valley, PA. These stories are likely the works of legends and myths passed down from generation to generation spanning several centuries. Fun, entertaining, quick, and easy to read. If you are looking to get away from the same genre and want something new and different, try out "The Uncanny Valley: Tales from a Lost Town".
_viscosity_'s review against another edition
4.0
[b:Dandelion Wine|50033|Dandelion Wine (Green Town, #1)|Ray Bradbury|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1374049845s/50033.jpg|1627774] meets "Trick 'r Treat". I approve.
2shainz's review against another edition
4.0
I read The Uncanny Valley: Tales from a Lost Town as one of my read-a-thon books during Bout of Books 12. The Uncanny Valley is a collection of flash fiction about a small town in Pennsylvania. After a radio station prompts listeners to write in about strange occurrences in their hometowns, thirty-three residents of Uncanny Valley, PA share short tales about the weird, mystical, and downright horrifying happenings they've experienced in their little slice of the USA. You've got ghosts, vampires, psychics, murderers, accidents and plenty in between that has no name but will still creep the bejeezus out of you. Though many of the stories were unrelated beyond the setting of the town, there was a loose narrative to them, and the three or so closing vignettes in the novella revealed the fate of this bleak little town that "has a way of keeping its own where they are."
My favorite stories in the collection were "The Great Unknown," (a college-bound man chooses between two adventures), "Don't Tell!" (a young boy gets to know a very, very old woman), "Here and There," (a photographer explores a condemned house not as abandoned as he'd thought it was), "The Good Job" (two waitresses' Halloween night goes awry), and "Miss Jennings' Family" (creepy dolls, 'nuff said).
Miller manages to craft believable and disparate characters in very small spaces, with some of the stories spanning less than a single page. Most of the thirty-three protagonists we meet in The Uncanny Valley had individual voices and life outlooks. Many authors can't do this when given 300+ pages to write a novel, and it's refreshing to read someone with such a rich capacity for characterization.
I really enjoyed exploring horror last year and hope to read more in 2015, but I continue to be let down by it. Don't get me wrong—the stories in this collection are ominous and eerie, but I want my pants scared off by a book in the way that only movies have managed so far (see: The Babadook, The Blair Witch Project). Maybe I'm just really bad at visualizing scary imagery and need it fed to me via film. Maybe I expected these stories to be something they aren't meant to be, and I'm just not reading the right books for what I want. Any advice? Julianne, this is definitely a question up your alley.
Overall, The Uncanny Valley was a quick, absorbing read, and horror fans (who are more open-minded than I am, apparently) should delight in these morsels of terror. I'm, however, still on the hunt for that horror novel.
My favorite stories in the collection were "The Great Unknown," (a college-bound man chooses between two adventures), "Don't Tell!" (a young boy gets to know a very, very old woman), "Here and There," (a photographer explores a condemned house not as abandoned as he'd thought it was), "The Good Job" (two waitresses' Halloween night goes awry), and "Miss Jennings' Family" (creepy dolls, 'nuff said).
Miller manages to craft believable and disparate characters in very small spaces, with some of the stories spanning less than a single page. Most of the thirty-three protagonists we meet in The Uncanny Valley had individual voices and life outlooks. Many authors can't do this when given 300+ pages to write a novel, and it's refreshing to read someone with such a rich capacity for characterization.
I really enjoyed exploring horror last year and hope to read more in 2015, but I continue to be let down by it. Don't get me wrong—the stories in this collection are ominous and eerie, but I want my pants scared off by a book in the way that only movies have managed so far (see: The Babadook, The Blair Witch Project). Maybe I'm just really bad at visualizing scary imagery and need it fed to me via film. Maybe I expected these stories to be something they aren't meant to be, and I'm just not reading the right books for what I want. Any advice? Julianne, this is definitely a question up your alley.
Overall, The Uncanny Valley was a quick, absorbing read, and horror fans (who are more open-minded than I am, apparently) should delight in these morsels of terror. I'm, however, still on the hunt for that horror novel.
stiricide's review against another edition
5.0
Things that usually suck:
Flash fiction.
Flash fiction horror stories.
Free books from the Kindle store.
Things that did not suck at all:
Uncanny Valley.
Uncanny Valley is a collection of short flash fiction (some previously published, some written for the collection) of day-to-day stories that have taken place in the town of Uncanny Valley. (Maybe I've lived in PA for too long, but I had my fingers crossed that the town name was a riff on Happy Valley. Turns out Miller is from State College. I'm not saying, I'm just saying.)
The premise gives us a story-within-a-story: a radio station ran a contest asking for short stories about a day in the life in your town. When all the entires were submitted, the radio station that all the stories from one place, Uncanny Valley, were a bit... peculiar. And, even stranger, they couldn't find a town on a map. Presented in their entirety, as received (grammar and spelling errors and all), the station has published Tales from a Lost Town because, well, how could you not.
Y'see, something seriously creepy is up in Uncanny Valley. Not enough. Not everywhere. But tiny things, small moments of weirdness. A few gruesome deaths here and there. Wishes granted, a garden that never dies. Butterflies in the winter. A vampire. Dolls.
Each story is written by one of the townspeople, so you hear tales from the 50 year old janitor and childhood recollections from a then 11 year old piano student. College kids, parents, teachers. The weirdness isn't isolated, or concentrated, it's just... there.
Uncanny Valley is sweet and meandering and creepily terrifying, in all the best ways. It's pull the covers close and hold your breath horror, not run for your life and scream at the tortureporn.
And, like any good horror collection, it's offset by some seriously creepy illustrations (go ahead, tell me the pictures didn't make Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark what it is).
I plunked the rest of Miller's work on to my wishlist for immediately. Definitely give this one a shot.
Flash fiction.
Flash fiction horror stories.
Free books from the Kindle store.
Things that did not suck at all:
Uncanny Valley.
Uncanny Valley is a collection of short flash fiction (some previously published, some written for the collection) of day-to-day stories that have taken place in the town of Uncanny Valley. (Maybe I've lived in PA for too long, but I had my fingers crossed that the town name was a riff on Happy Valley. Turns out Miller is from State College. I'm not saying, I'm just saying.)
The premise gives us a story-within-a-story: a radio station ran a contest asking for short stories about a day in the life in your town. When all the entires were submitted, the radio station that all the stories from one place, Uncanny Valley, were a bit... peculiar. And, even stranger, they couldn't find a town on a map. Presented in their entirety, as received (grammar and spelling errors and all), the station has published Tales from a Lost Town because, well, how could you not.
Y'see, something seriously creepy is up in Uncanny Valley. Not enough. Not everywhere. But tiny things, small moments of weirdness. A few gruesome deaths here and there. Wishes granted, a garden that never dies. Butterflies in the winter. A vampire. Dolls.
Each story is written by one of the townspeople, so you hear tales from the 50 year old janitor and childhood recollections from a then 11 year old piano student. College kids, parents, teachers. The weirdness isn't isolated, or concentrated, it's just... there.
Uncanny Valley is sweet and meandering and creepily terrifying, in all the best ways. It's pull the covers close and hold your breath horror, not run for your life and scream at the tortureporn.
And, like any good horror collection, it's offset by some seriously creepy illustrations (go ahead, tell me the pictures didn't make Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark what it is).
I plunked the rest of Miller's work on to my wishlist for immediately. Definitely give this one a shot.
mckenzierichardson's review against another edition
2.0
For more reviews, check out my blog: Craft-Cycle
For me, this book was just okay. I liked the idea behind it and the structure was interesting, but I prefer stories that are thorough and fleshed out. Many of these just felt like creepy descriptions rather than complete stories. I will say, I was expecting something entirely different based on the whimsical, colorful cover.
Definitely a collection of uncanny and macabre stories. As with any collection, some were better than others. I would warn those who don't do well with animal violence to find something else to read. The majority of animals mentioned in the book get hurt or die, usually in grotesque ways. After the first story, I almost stooped reading because of this. But I hate not finishing something I started.
There are a few gems that stand out, but for me there was nothing spectacular. Many of the stories were previously published in other sources and it shows. They're all set in the same place, but they don't really connect outside of the last handful that suddenly add an overarching plot that has nothing to do with the previous stories.
Okay read for a free ebook.
For me, this book was just okay. I liked the idea behind it and the structure was interesting, but I prefer stories that are thorough and fleshed out. Many of these just felt like creepy descriptions rather than complete stories. I will say, I was expecting something entirely different based on the whimsical, colorful cover.
Definitely a collection of uncanny and macabre stories. As with any collection, some were better than others. I would warn those who don't do well with animal violence to find something else to read. The majority of animals mentioned in the book get hurt or die, usually in grotesque ways. After the first story, I almost stooped reading because of this. But I hate not finishing something I started.
There are a few gems that stand out, but for me there was nothing spectacular. Many of the stories were previously published in other sources and it shows. They're all set in the same place, but they don't really connect outside of the last handful that suddenly add an overarching plot that has nothing to do with the previous stories.
Okay read for a free ebook.
jerefi's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this one. I liked how I started piecing together the individual stories into the bigger picture story of this town. It was cute.
jdeternal's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this. It just sucks you in. And you question whether it's real or fiction.
campsey0914's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0