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bickleyhouse's review
4.0
This is a delightful collection of short stories, and my first experience with the author. I really enjoyed these stories, some very brief, indeed.
There seems to be a variety of genres, in my opinion, even though the book is categorized as "horror literature and fiction."
There are some tales that are chilling, and some that kind of left me scratching my head at the end. But I don't mind that at all.
I will list some of my favorites of the 22 Tales.
"Shells," in which a young girl encounters a new friend on the beach while looking for unique sea shells. Her new friend soon learns the terrible, unexpected truth, though, about this young girl.
"The Subject" is probably my very favorite of the collection. In this one, a man is talking to someone (we learn who as we approach the end) about an artist friend of his, who encountered a new girlfriend/muse. Again, there is a bit of a surprise ending, almost "O'Henry-esque."
"Par One" is a story that I would not categorize as horror. It is simply a charming story about an old man who returns to a boardwalk area, bringing his new wife, only to find that hardly anything was the same.
"Come True," in which a birthday girl's unexpected birthday wish comes true on the spot, as she blows out the candles. It was the last birthday party she would have until her friends forced one on her as an adult.
"To Be" is a chilling tale about the ghost of a man, doomed to wonder the earth for eternity.
"The Key," in which an idea to get rid the town of a ghost has undesired consequences.
"Miss Riley's Lot," in which a woman does not seem to be able to die. Until she does something heroic.
"The Character," in which an author decides to begin writing stories about people he encountered in a book store cafe. Again, an undesired, surprise ending.
"Graduation Day," in which Patrick gets a glimpse of his future life. This one is rather sad.
The title (I almost said "track," haha) story, "On the Edge of Twilight," is a ghost story which left me wondering who the real ghost is.
The final story, "Supper-Time," is difficult to describe, but involves elderly people who find themselves all in the same "dream" every night, playing in their old neighborhood as children. But is it really a dream? Another sad one, as they gradually drop out of the dream as they pass away.
Again, this is a delightful short story collection that I am glad I took the time to read.
There seems to be a variety of genres, in my opinion, even though the book is categorized as "horror literature and fiction."
There are some tales that are chilling, and some that kind of left me scratching my head at the end. But I don't mind that at all.
I will list some of my favorites of the 22 Tales.
"Shells," in which a young girl encounters a new friend on the beach while looking for unique sea shells. Her new friend soon learns the terrible, unexpected truth, though, about this young girl.
"The Subject" is probably my very favorite of the collection. In this one, a man is talking to someone (we learn who as we approach the end) about an artist friend of his, who encountered a new girlfriend/muse. Again, there is a bit of a surprise ending, almost "O'Henry-esque."
"Par One" is a story that I would not categorize as horror. It is simply a charming story about an old man who returns to a boardwalk area, bringing his new wife, only to find that hardly anything was the same.
"Come True," in which a birthday girl's unexpected birthday wish comes true on the spot, as she blows out the candles. It was the last birthday party she would have until her friends forced one on her as an adult.
"To Be" is a chilling tale about the ghost of a man, doomed to wonder the earth for eternity.
"The Key," in which an idea to get rid the town of a ghost has undesired consequences.
"Miss Riley's Lot," in which a woman does not seem to be able to die. Until she does something heroic.
"The Character," in which an author decides to begin writing stories about people he encountered in a book store cafe. Again, an undesired, surprise ending.
"Graduation Day," in which Patrick gets a glimpse of his future life. This one is rather sad.
The title (I almost said "track," haha) story, "On the Edge of Twilight," is a ghost story which left me wondering who the real ghost is.
The final story, "Supper-Time," is difficult to describe, but involves elderly people who find themselves all in the same "dream" every night, playing in their old neighborhood as children. But is it really a dream? Another sad one, as they gradually drop out of the dream as they pass away.
Again, this is a delightful short story collection that I am glad I took the time to read.
jdeternal's review
3.0
Not as good as Uncanny, but still holding that small town charm as many stories link back to Still Creek. Not really scary, but thrilling all the same.
aseleener's review
2.0
I had never really read a collection of short stories before, but I had a few days in between finishing one novel and when my next one was available at the library. I got three of these collections by this author when they were free on Kindle. I would say this one was just "ok". It started off strong. The first few stories had nice little dark twists that I didn't really expect and that were pretty clever. But most of the rest of them left me saying, "Huh?" They either ended rather abruptly without any conclusion to the story or they ended in a really bizarre way. I wasn't thrilled. Not necessarily looking forward to reading the other two collections by this author.
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