Reviews

I didn't realize how many Mythos Barron did. The men from Porlock is probably one of my favorite mythos stories. It was even better the first time. All in all it was a solid collection.

nonesensed's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

4.5

An enjoyable collection of short stories for fans of cosmic horror! A few of the tales went predictable places in a way that stole their thunder, but I've chewed my way through plenty of stories in this particular sub-genre of horror, thus that could be just a me-thing. The stories taking place in a shared universe without too many overlapping characters allowed for a lot of foreshadowing that enhanced the tension of the stories.

Of the lineup of tales, The Redfield Girls ended up being my favorite for its creeping horror and mystery (and the empty dread our main character is left with), followed by The Men from Porlock due to its excellent callbacks and mounting terror. I enjoyed Blackwood's Baby, Hand of Glory, The Carrion God in Their Heaven, The Siphon and Jaws of Saturn, while Vastation and More Dark weren't quite for me (I've read/seen too many "eldritch horror mage doing trippy time bullshit" and "authors of horror actually writing The Truth" stories I think).

All in all, definitely a recommended read if you're looking for chilling tales about the unspeakable things that can come for you in the night - or during the day, they don't really care about time ;)

fresh_water's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

joshadkins's review against another edition

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3.0

Some of these stories are gems. Blackwood's Baby, The Redfield Girls, Hand of Glory, and The Carrion Gods In Their Heaven stand out from the rest in my mind. Each story conveys a sense of cosmic dread, but some, such as Jaws of Saturn, are mired in a tangle of needless complexity. Definitely worth a read. I'm curious to check out some of Barron's other work someday.

achurxh's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

rhuntern's review

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slow-paced

3.5

While not a bad book in the slightest, I felt that it wasn't as well written as Barron's first two collections. Something about the prose felt stilted in almost every story, save for one or two. Overall, it's my least favorite collection of his so far, and it wasn't helped by the lack of the cosmic horror I had come to expect from the others.

hectaizani's review against another edition

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4.0

I've been wanting to read this one for a while so when it came up as included with my Audible subscription I jumped at the chance.

Laird Barron certainly has a way with words. He knows how to put them together in a manner that is pleasing to my brain! As with any short story collection there were some that I liked and some that I was meh about. The theme was cosmic horror so there was a certain Lovecraftian air to each.

Two favorites - Blackwood's Baby and Hand of Glory.

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