Scan barcode
sanddanz's review against another edition
2.0
Taste of Tenderloin is comprised of eight unique stories based on life in the underbelly of San Francisco. All of the stories are connected, as they take place in the same neighborhood, and a recurring character pops up throughout to help show this connection. The language that O'Neill writes in is rich and vivid, showing he is a strong storyteller, but there was something about the stories in this particular collection that didn't grab me. All of the stories seem to end in doom and gloom and left me saddened after reading them. I guess maybe I just needed a happy ending while reading this book and was disappointed over and over again. This is definitely not a good book to be reading on an already gloomy day.
Contains: Violence, Adult Language, Adult Situations
Review also posted at MonsterLibrarian.com
Contains: Violence, Adult Language, Adult Situations
Review also posted at MonsterLibrarian.com
david_agranoff's review against another edition
5.0
I have walked through the Tenderloin in San Francisco a couple times. Now I wish I had paid more attention to this small and interesting neighborhood. I also wish I had paid attention to Gene O'Neill the author of this thin and instense collection of themed horror fiction.
The stories themselves are varied and diverse but the thread that holds tightly together is the setting of the Tenderloin neighborhood. The tenderloin business association probably wont endorse this book I sure as hell will. O'Neill is a a talented writer who drilled almost every single one of these stories straight out of the park.
Apex publishing also has a hit here with it's second excellent collection in one year(Mamma's boy by Fran Friel). The strongest story of this collection is a story the “Magic Words,” which I feel captures the tone of a twilight zone episode better than any new short story I've read in sometime. The opening story is also quite strong as well and touches on a recurring theme the tenderloin's veterans of war. Vietnam, Desert Storm and Afghanistan. The Bram Stoker award nominated story balance is the strongest of the Vet stories and is an important piece of socio-political horror.
The stories themselves are varied and diverse but the thread that holds tightly together is the setting of the Tenderloin neighborhood. The tenderloin business association probably wont endorse this book I sure as hell will. O'Neill is a a talented writer who drilled almost every single one of these stories straight out of the park.
Apex publishing also has a hit here with it's second excellent collection in one year(Mamma's boy by Fran Friel). The strongest story of this collection is a story the “Magic Words,” which I feel captures the tone of a twilight zone episode better than any new short story I've read in sometime. The opening story is also quite strong as well and touches on a recurring theme the tenderloin's veterans of war. Vietnam, Desert Storm and Afghanistan. The Bram Stoker award nominated story balance is the strongest of the Vet stories and is an important piece of socio-political horror.
caitlinxmartin's review
2.0
I got this because it won a Bram Stoker Award for Superior Collection. I wanted to read some decent horror and this is set in the Tenderloin which contains some of my favorite areas in San Francisco. In particular I love the theatre district where many theatres rub up against dive bars and strip clubs in an uneasy alliance. There are some cool buildings here and Dashiell Hammett wrote The Maltese Falcon. The Tenderloin is its place, not cleaned up and prettified for the tourists and the yuppies - San Francisco needs more of that, frankly, otherwise it just feels like a big clean amusement park.
The stories in this were just okay for me. There were too many stories that were more or less the same story and I found that irritating. I actually preferred the brief mention of various recurring Tenderloin characters to the actual stories. It was all too predictable for me. Also bothersome were some repeated inaccuracies, mainly that Wild Irish Rose is whiskey. It's not whiskey - it's heavily fortified wine. I know this because it was liquor of choice for many of the hardcore alcoholics that frequented the Walgreen's in the Student Ghetto in Albuquerque. They drank it every day of the week except for Sundays when alcohol wasn't sold and they bought and drank Listerine.
This wasn't terrible, it was just too repetitious for me to really enjoy it, but it has its moments. Not terrible, not great - just okay.
The stories in this were just okay for me. There were too many stories that were more or less the same story and I found that irritating. I actually preferred the brief mention of various recurring Tenderloin characters to the actual stories. It was all too predictable for me. Also bothersome were some repeated inaccuracies, mainly that Wild Irish Rose is whiskey. It's not whiskey - it's heavily fortified wine. I know this because it was liquor of choice for many of the hardcore alcoholics that frequented the Walgreen's in the Student Ghetto in Albuquerque. They drank it every day of the week except for Sundays when alcohol wasn't sold and they bought and drank Listerine.
This wasn't terrible, it was just too repetitious for me to really enjoy it, but it has its moments. Not terrible, not great - just okay.
More...