Reviews

Song for the Unraveling of the World by Brian Evenson

ericburns's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

ktitus25's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

dakwall's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

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

1.75

There were a few highlights here, but the rest of this was full of massive duds. Stories were rarely interesting beyond the initial premise, and the writing style fell profoundly flat with shocking frequency 

schuman3d's review against another edition

5.0

How did I wait so long to read Evenson?!? Can't wait to get my hands on more.

eren666's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

I wasn’t 100% on board with every story in this collection, but I found myself thinking about them long after reading them. Definitely some very cool, strong stuff here. I found myself leaving some of the stories a bit unsatisfied due to Evenson’s sparse writing style and the very short length of the stories in this collection. I think this showed me that I prefer his work at novella length at least. 


All this being said- I actually did really love the book overall and would recommend it to a friend. Ex-Mormon literary horror!!!!

thelonia's review against another edition

3.0

Started losing interest halfway through; despite some of the stories being very strong, they were overall too short & similar, with several repeated images or themes, all of which just made it feel like I was reading the same stories over and over again. Could have used some editing and moving around

pocketequality's review against another edition

I can’t imagine loving any of these so I really can’t find the motivation to finish

sevaspeto's review against another edition

4.0

I have to admit, the first two or three stories didn't really grab me -- they felt too obtuse and unclear and not fully formed; I actually backburnered this book a month or so before picking it back up again. BUT, after giving it a second go, I absolutely developed a stronger appreciation for Evenson's style and voice. Maybe the first couple stories genuinely weren't as strong as the balance, or maybe I just wasn't initially in the right headspace, but there's a pervasive tone and atmosphere of palpable dread to each short in the collection, and once I tapped into that, it really made each story kind of come alive. I'd be *highly* interested to see what a full novel would look like in his voice =0)

her_twistedmind's review against another edition

2.0

I was expecting more from this book and that expectation is left unfulfilled. Majority of the short stories here are bad (for me) and the remaining few are only more or less decent at best. I am all for bizarreness in a story and this can be seen with most of the works in this book, but the strange premises have become too nonsensical that it has made the reading experience a waste of time. Most short stories here do not even attempt to explain the strange phenomena, and there is nothing wrong with it, but they could have at least provided a "clue" that will at least help discover a piece of the enigma. Only "Room Tone" and "Kindred Spirit" managed to relay a satisfying bizarre horror story. Below are my individual rating for each story found in this book.

1. No Matter Which Way We Turned - 2/5
2. Born Stillborn - 2/5
3. Leaking Out - 3/5
4. Song For The Unraveling Of The World - 3/5
5. The Second Door - 3/5
6. Sisters - 3/5
7. Room Tone - 4/5
8. Shirts And Skins - 3.5/5
9. The Tower - 3.8/5
10. The Hole -3.5/5
11. A Disappearance - 3/5
12. The Cardiacs -2/5
13. Smear - 2/5
14. The Glistening World - 3.5/5
15. Wanderlust - 2
16. Lord Of The Vats - 2.5/5
17. Glasses - 2/5
18. Menno - 2/5
19. Line Of Sight - 2/5
20. Trigger Warnings - 2/5
21. Kindred Spirit - 4/5
22. Lather Of Flies - 3.8/5

pangnaolin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I really enjoyed this collection! I found every story fun, and a solid few had really unique writing and ideas (though some of those ideas then got a bit repeated and predictable in following stories). I definitely loved Evenson's style and felt like every story was just very easy to read, a bit creepy, and fun. 

I wouldn't say it's especially profound or striking as a collection, though-- it sort of felt like reading a book of really good r/nosleep stories-- so if you're looking for something intense, I'd direct you more toward authors like Carmen Maria Machado. If you're a sci-fi or horror fan and just want some interesting, fun, captivating stories, then I'd say this is definitely for you. Awesome read!