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A review by caidyn
Tales of Jack the Ripper by Ross E. Lockhart
3.0
This was an impulse buy for me. Saw it on Amazon. Realized that I hadn't read anything like this for Jack the Ripper, and decided I was going to get it for my Kindle to give it a shot.
I'm not sure how much I really enjoyed it.
Poems at the beginning and end were both good, perfect to set up the story and provide a close to it. The stories on the other hand...
In any anthology, there are hits and misses. To me, this one had more misses than hits. And I call them misses when they don't provide what I wanted them to be. As you'll see below if you decide to read more that my biggest complaint was that I wanted more from them. More details, more of a real ending, more explanation.
Overall, this book earned 3.4.
Possible spoilers could be below.
A Host of Shadows - 4/5: A good case of son being like the father.
Jack's Little Friend - 2/5: Not a huge fan of second person, and it wasn't done in an interesting way for this short story. It was just an okay tale.
Abandon All Flesh - 2.5/5: It was an odd story, I have to say. Very odd. It held promise if it actually had a touch more detail to it, more insight. I did like the mix of it with ancient rituals and I wish there had been more elaboration to it.
God of the Razor - 3/5: Another interesting story that mixed the legend of Jack the Ripper with something supernatural. This time, I felt it was better done since it had more meat to the writing.
The Butcher, The Baker, The Candlestick-Maker - 5/5: It reminded me almost of the show Whitechapel. A modern person killing as Jack the Ripper, except, unlike the show, it was in the point of view of the killer. Excellent writing.
Ripping - 4.5/5: For once I enjoyed the lack of details besides the dialogue. It was all the story needed, really. It was an interesting twist at that to the common assumption of Jack the Ripper. I did enjoy it.
Something About Dr. Tumblety - 4/5: Still a very interesting story, and it included a bit of history about a suspect that I personally didn't know about.
The Truffle Pig - 3/5: Loved the ending allusion to H.H. Holmes.
Ripperology - 3/5: Good writing, but I couldn't personally see the point of this short story. It felt lacking and it was just really a musing rather than a real story that I was looking forward to.
Hell Broke Loose - 4.5/5: I love psychology and this story was chock full of it. A good short story that involved two real murders that took place in the 1880's, and put them together in a way that really was good.
Where Have you Been All My Life? - 3/5: Lacked something. whole story felt like the opening to the real one. It was interesting, and I do wish that there was more.
Juliette's New Toy - 4/5: I loved the broken prose of it, yet this one lacked in something as well. Another opening that I felt could have been expanded.
Villian's, by Necessity - 2/5: I didn't really see the point of this one.
When the Means Just Defy the End - 4/5: I loved the back story for this one. Long, but not tedious, and interesting. Enjoyed the profile of Jack that a lot of people take credence to.
A Pretty for Polly - 3.5/5: The descent into madness was written brilliantly and I really enjoyed the twist to it.
Termination Dust - 2.5/5: I thought this one would never end. The whole time I read, I was waiting for it to become apparent to why this was included in the anthology. Only real reason I can come up with that is the theory the author blatantly used ofJack being within every single killer out there .
Once November - 3/5: Yet another one that I wish had more because I loved where it was going to find that it just cut off.
I'm not sure how much I really enjoyed it.
Poems at the beginning and end were both good, perfect to set up the story and provide a close to it. The stories on the other hand...
In any anthology, there are hits and misses. To me, this one had more misses than hits. And I call them misses when they don't provide what I wanted them to be. As you'll see below if you decide to read more that my biggest complaint was that I wanted more from them. More details, more of a real ending, more explanation.
Overall, this book earned 3.4.
Possible spoilers could be below.
A Host of Shadows - 4/5: A good case of son being like the father.
Jack's Little Friend - 2/5: Not a huge fan of second person, and it wasn't done in an interesting way for this short story. It was just an okay tale.
Abandon All Flesh - 2.5/5: It was an odd story, I have to say. Very odd. It held promise if it actually had a touch more detail to it, more insight. I did like the mix of it with ancient rituals and I wish there had been more elaboration to it.
God of the Razor - 3/5: Another interesting story that mixed the legend of Jack the Ripper with something supernatural. This time, I felt it was better done since it had more meat to the writing.
The Butcher, The Baker, The Candlestick-Maker - 5/5: It reminded me almost of the show Whitechapel. A modern person killing as Jack the Ripper, except, unlike the show, it was in the point of view of the killer. Excellent writing.
Ripping - 4.5/5: For once I enjoyed the lack of details besides the dialogue. It was all the story needed, really. It was an interesting twist at that to the common assumption of Jack the Ripper. I did enjoy it.
Something About Dr. Tumblety - 4/5: Still a very interesting story, and it included a bit of history about a suspect that I personally didn't know about.
The Truffle Pig - 3/5: Loved the ending allusion to H.H. Holmes.
Ripperology - 3/5: Good writing, but I couldn't personally see the point of this short story. It felt lacking and it was just really a musing rather than a real story that I was looking forward to.
Hell Broke Loose - 4.5/5: I love psychology and this story was chock full of it. A good short story that involved two real murders that took place in the 1880's, and put them together in a way that really was good.
Where Have you Been All My Life? - 3/5: Lacked something. whole story felt like the opening to the real one. It was interesting, and I do wish that there was more.
Juliette's New Toy - 4/5: I loved the broken prose of it, yet this one lacked in something as well. Another opening that I felt could have been expanded.
Villian's, by Necessity - 2/5: I didn't really see the point of this one.
When the Means Just Defy the End - 4/5: I loved the back story for this one. Long, but not tedious, and interesting. Enjoyed the profile of Jack that a lot of people take credence to.
A Pretty for Polly - 3.5/5: The descent into madness was written brilliantly and I really enjoyed the twist to it.
Termination Dust - 2.5/5: I thought this one would never end. The whole time I read, I was waiting for it to become apparent to why this was included in the anthology. Only real reason I can come up with that is the theory the author blatantly used of
Once November - 3/5: Yet another one that I wish had more because I loved where it was going to find that it just cut off.