Scan barcode
dantastic's review
3.0
Two men swap tales of terror from opposite sides of a bathroom stall door.
This is the final book in my Kindle Unlimited Experiment. For the 30 day trial, I'm only reading books that are part of the program and keeping track what the total cost of the books would have been.
I left the choice of my final Kindle Unlimited book to my Booklikes followers. I only got two suggestions so this one got the nod, mostly due to the use of a frame narrative, one of my favorite seldom-used literary devices. Two men get into a dispute in a bathroom and begin telling stories in an effort to top one another. How's that for a unique frame?
Thankfully, the stories aren't nested so things don't get too crazy. The men tell the stories of a haunted house, a carnival of death, a museum of oddities with a flea circus, an insect-loving teacher, and several others.
As the book goes on, the stories become more and more twisted, involving parallel worlds and such. I have to say that if someone tries to talk to me through the bathroom stall door at the train station, I'll probably engage them in a story swapping contest. Three out of five stars.
Final Kindle Unlimited Savings Total: $137.82.
This is the final book in my Kindle Unlimited Experiment. For the 30 day trial, I'm only reading books that are part of the program and keeping track what the total cost of the books would have been.
I left the choice of my final Kindle Unlimited book to my Booklikes followers. I only got two suggestions so this one got the nod, mostly due to the use of a frame narrative, one of my favorite seldom-used literary devices. Two men get into a dispute in a bathroom and begin telling stories in an effort to top one another. How's that for a unique frame?
Thankfully, the stories aren't nested so things don't get too crazy. The men tell the stories of a haunted house, a carnival of death, a museum of oddities with a flea circus, an insect-loving teacher, and several others.
As the book goes on, the stories become more and more twisted, involving parallel worlds and such. I have to say that if someone tries to talk to me through the bathroom stall door at the train station, I'll probably engage them in a story swapping contest. Three out of five stars.
Final Kindle Unlimited Savings Total: $137.82.
trudilibrarian's review
4.0
Proof that very great things can come in tiny little packages. First, I love that whacked out cover ... seriously dude, wtf? I never wanted to read a book so keenly based solely on the cover art. Do I want to know what's beyond the door? Goddamn straight.
Secondly, this little book has some creepy, weird secrets to tell, but very quiet like, it wants to whisper them in your ear. Sans flash, pizzazz, or the implementation of jazz hands, my attention was grabbed and held. The stories are sneaky, the creep subtle, leaving me feeling uneasy and a little off kilter by the time I was finished (or it was finished with me). It reminded me of how I felt after seeing the video for Soundgarden's Black Hole Sun for the first time. Remember that mind bender?
I can't even really describe what I read, I'm left more with an impression than a clear picture, like my memory's been wiped.
Weird, very weird.
charshorrorcorner's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
This isn't a short story collection, but it is.
A man accidentally opens a bathroom stall only to find that it's occupied. Miffed, the man says "Where I come from, we lock the door to the bathroom stall", and from there the game is on. What ensues are a bunch of short stories that are traded by the two men, one in the stall and the other out.
It sounds like a strange premise, and I guess it is, but I enjoyed the hell out of it. The stories were very cool (especially the one regarding the headless woman), strange and unique. I will be checking out more works by this author in the future.
This isn't a short story collection, but it is.
A man accidentally opens a bathroom stall only to find that it's occupied. Miffed, the man says "Where I come from, we lock the door to the bathroom stall", and from there the game is on. What ensues are a bunch of short stories that are traded by the two men, one in the stall and the other out.
It sounds like a strange premise, and I guess it is, but I enjoyed the hell out of it. The stories were very cool (especially the one regarding the headless woman), strange and unique. I will be checking out more works by this author in the future.
More...