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skirk's review
5.0
The first thing I did after finishing Bones was order Remains, Andrew Cull's debut novel. Bones is one of those rare commodities - a collection of stories with no weak link. These stories will stay with me until until I'm brave enough to take them out of the locked cabinet where they'll live for a while. A truly terrifying book.
tarah_'s review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
roadvirus27's review
5.0
Thank you to [a:Andrew Cull|14844751|Andrew Cull|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1562756547p2/14844751.jpg] for providing me a signed copy of [b:Bones|40497019|Bones|Andrew Cull|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1528509277l/40497019._SX50_.jpg|62815030]. This is an incredible collection of short stories I’m glad I didn’t miss. Andrew Cull has a knack for grabbing you by the throat with his opening line, keeping you on the edge of your seat throughout, and leaving you breathless and wanting more by the end. The highest praise I can give is that I didn’t want any of the stories to end. I wasn’t ready to leave the characters and the worlds that Andrew Cull built for them. I can’t recommend this collection highly enough. I will not miss any of Andrew Cull's work in the future, I only hope that he finds time to revisit these worlds.
Spoiler
I want to know what happens in the future to Em, the girl that draws the dead and on occasion speaks to them. In another story, I want to explore if what is outside is worse than what is inside.dannireadsallthetime's review
4.0
Well this short book was a pleasant surprise. I normally avoid books containing story stories but this was recommended by a few people and I thought I would give it a go.
Really pleased I read this. Four short stories, and all of them were great. They were all creepy and after I finished reading each one, I felt uncomfortable and didn't want to be in a room by myself. Cull's writing is so good, I have never read short stories and liked all of them. Each story had something different to bring and I whizzed through this. Loved this and will definitely read more by this author.
Really pleased I read this. Four short stories, and all of them were great. They were all creepy and after I finished reading each one, I felt uncomfortable and didn't want to be in a room by myself. Cull's writing is so good, I have never read short stories and liked all of them. Each story had something different to bring and I whizzed through this. Loved this and will definitely read more by this author.
the_bookubus's review
3.0
3.5 stars
A collection of supernatural stories dealing with themes including childhood, family and death.
I preferred the last two stories to the first two but I thought they were all good. There is also an extra very short story at the end which ended up being one of my favourites. Overall I found the writing style easy to get into and the stories were definitely page-turners. There are certain ideas that crop up in more than one of the stories which unfortunately made things feel a little repetitive at times. Otherwise, these stories were engaging and creepy and I would definitely read more of the author's work.
A collection of supernatural stories dealing with themes including childhood, family and death.
I preferred the last two stories to the first two but I thought they were all good. There is also an extra very short story at the end which ended up being one of my favourites. Overall I found the writing style easy to get into and the stories were definitely page-turners. There are certain ideas that crop up in more than one of the stories which unfortunately made things feel a little repetitive at times. Otherwise, these stories were engaging and creepy and I would definitely read more of the author's work.
bukushelves's review
4.0
A collection of four short stories with a bonus 4-page story at the end.
Did you forget about me - 4 stars
Hope and Walker - 3.5 stars
The Trade - 4 stars
Knock and You Will See Me - 4 stars
The Rambling Man - 5 stars
Overall a 4 star read.
Did you forget about me - 4 stars
Hope and Walker - 3.5 stars
The Trade - 4 stars
Knock and You Will See Me - 4 stars
The Rambling Man - 5 stars
Overall a 4 star read.
ginabaneena's review
3.0
Bones consists of 4 mini stories (& a bonus little bitty one)
by Andrew Cull
Each story highlights every child’s fear. 4 monsters.
I could relate to each one..
DID YOU FORGET ABOUT ME?
Haunted by childhood trauma. To go forward you have to uncover the past. Go back. What’s haunting you? You have to face it. If you don’t, it just might consume you.
HOPE AND WALKER
I loved the opening line:
“We were both 10. But he was dead. And I sat drawing him.”
Haunted by death. I’ve always been fascinated with funeral arrangements and undertakers. This story set around a young girl and growing up around her dads funeral parlor— it might be my fave. Andrew did a great job of capturing the innocence and also the spook of being next to a dead body. That talks back.
THE TRADE
“Their fighting became more frequent, until the only thing holding them together was me.”
Parents fighting.
Scared of the unknown, whether it be where you’ll live or what’s haunting you outside.
KNOCK AND YOU WILL SEE ME
“I asked him once if I was a mistake.
“A mistakes something you regret. So, no, you definitely weren’t a mistake. You weren’t planned. But that’s different altogether.”
Not able to let go.
“Death is silence. It’s not the crying and the grieving. It’s not the condolences or the pastors patronizing words. It’s not the pain, like a heart attack, that seizes you in the dark when you close your eyes. No, it’s the never ending, fucking silence of it. It’s never hearing their voice again. Not a word.
Not a sound.
Not ever again.”
This story sucker punched me. I could relate to Em so well, not wanting to let go of her dad. The reality of the silence.
.
.
Things I noted:
20k = 12 miles.
Dogs are killed.
Why. Must. Dogs. Die. In. Horror.
by Andrew Cull
Each story highlights every child’s fear. 4 monsters.
I could relate to each one..
DID YOU FORGET ABOUT ME?
Haunted by childhood trauma. To go forward you have to uncover the past. Go back. What’s haunting you? You have to face it. If you don’t, it just might consume you.
HOPE AND WALKER
I loved the opening line:
“We were both 10. But he was dead. And I sat drawing him.”
Haunted by death. I’ve always been fascinated with funeral arrangements and undertakers. This story set around a young girl and growing up around her dads funeral parlor— it might be my fave. Andrew did a great job of capturing the innocence and also the spook of being next to a dead body. That talks back.
THE TRADE
“Their fighting became more frequent, until the only thing holding them together was me.”
Parents fighting.
Scared of the unknown, whether it be where you’ll live or what’s haunting you outside.
KNOCK AND YOU WILL SEE ME
“I asked him once if I was a mistake.
“A mistakes something you regret. So, no, you definitely weren’t a mistake. You weren’t planned. But that’s different altogether.”
Not able to let go.
“Death is silence. It’s not the crying and the grieving. It’s not the condolences or the pastors patronizing words. It’s not the pain, like a heart attack, that seizes you in the dark when you close your eyes. No, it’s the never ending, fucking silence of it. It’s never hearing their voice again. Not a word.
Not a sound.
Not ever again.”
This story sucker punched me. I could relate to Em so well, not wanting to let go of her dad. The reality of the silence.
.
.
Things I noted:
20k = 12 miles.
Dogs are killed.
Why. Must. Dogs. Die. In. Horror.
plywes's review
4.0
I love horror short stories and Bones has some very good ones. I thought I knew where "Did you forget about me" was going, but the ended did surprise me. The ending of "The Trade" stayed with me and kept me up at night. "Knock and you will see me" was my favorite of the collection. I especially enjoyed the monstrous surprise.
peer105's review
5.0
When you make a short story collection, especially when it's a debut, the stories better hit hard. The less stories included, the harder they should hit.
Bones is a collection of 3 short stories, a novella, and a flash fiction short story as a bonus. And they hit oh so hard.
Now it's hard for me to properly review the writing. Look at it this way, Andrew Cull writes very cinematically. You can clearly see each scene in your head. The setting, the characters, the horror, they all come alive. And story-wise I'd say that it's like those very good indie-horror movies that a lot of people haven't watched. It feels that way too, through the atmosphere and characterwork it contains.
And that's what Cull pulled off here. The stories start off slow (though each one has a first line that just make it so that you cannot wait for the good stuff!), builds on character, adds dread, and is incredibly atmospheric. Cull has beautiful prose on top of that as well, which makes reading it such a joy.
Stories included:
Did You Forget About Me 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Hope And Walker 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Trade 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Knock And You Will See Me 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Rambling man 🌟🌟🌟
The best story here, in my opinion, is the novella Knock And You Will See Me. But it was not my favorite. That one would be The Trade. I loved the characters and family dynamic in that one and it is was immensely claustrophobic.
But, you know, it's hard to pick favorites when there are four 5 star reads present.🤷🏼♂️
The only story I couldn't rate as high was the little three-page bonus story, The Rambling Man. I think, had it been longer, it could have easily been my favorite out of all the stories. Alas, I found it to be too short to work on my emotions.
I could nitpick two or three things I liked less, but in the end those were small and had no effect on my rating. If you're a fan of horror, I invite you to check this collection out!
I can't wait to read Andrew Cull's recently released novel Remains!🙌🏻
Bones is a collection of 3 short stories, a novella, and a flash fiction short story as a bonus. And they hit oh so hard.
Now it's hard for me to properly review the writing. Look at it this way, Andrew Cull writes very cinematically. You can clearly see each scene in your head. The setting, the characters, the horror, they all come alive. And story-wise I'd say that it's like those very good indie-horror movies that a lot of people haven't watched. It feels that way too, through the atmosphere and characterwork it contains.
And that's what Cull pulled off here. The stories start off slow (though each one has a first line that just make it so that you cannot wait for the good stuff!), builds on character, adds dread, and is incredibly atmospheric. Cull has beautiful prose on top of that as well, which makes reading it such a joy.
Stories included:
Did You Forget About Me 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Hope And Walker 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Trade 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Knock And You Will See Me 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Rambling man 🌟🌟🌟
The best story here, in my opinion, is the novella Knock And You Will See Me. But it was not my favorite. That one would be The Trade. I loved the characters and family dynamic in that one and it is was immensely claustrophobic.
But, you know, it's hard to pick favorites when there are four 5 star reads present.🤷🏼♂️
The only story I couldn't rate as high was the little three-page bonus story, The Rambling Man. I think, had it been longer, it could have easily been my favorite out of all the stories. Alas, I found it to be too short to work on my emotions.
I could nitpick two or three things I liked less, but in the end those were small and had no effect on my rating. If you're a fan of horror, I invite you to check this collection out!
I can't wait to read Andrew Cull's recently released novel Remains!🙌🏻
hiba59's review
5.0
Death is so commonly used as the main topic for horror stories, but I've never seen it employed the way Andrew Cull did.
A collection of four stories that are able to make you doubt your surroundings at night and look behind at every step.
Definitely one of my favorite works in horror and I'd love to read more by the author. It seems such a waste of talent to have this only published work.
A collection of four stories that are able to make you doubt your surroundings at night and look behind at every step.
Definitely one of my favorite works in horror and I'd love to read more by the author. It seems such a waste of talent to have this only published work.