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A review by 0hfortheloveofbooks
Garden of Eldritch Delights by Lucy A. Snyder
3.0
The Garden of Eldritch Delights - the name conjures up images of grotesque Alice in Wonderland flowers; a weird yet oddly beautiful selection of stories. This collection of 12 short stories were definitely weird. These imaginative tales ran the gamut from a tongue in cheek love story with a macabre twist, to Lovecraftian horror, science fiction, to dark fantasy. That being said, it felt as if the author tried to cram too much into each petite story. If the stories had been 500+ pages, perhaps the swirling array of ideas would have had sufficient time to be fleshed out. As they stood at 13 pages (give or take) there was just not enough time to fully develop each of the crazy twists some of these stories took. Due to the fact that novel length ideas were being packed into short stories, there was too much telling and not enough showing as there just wasn't time for the descriptive, eldritch, language I craved.
Admittedly, I do not read fantasy, it is just not a genre that speaks to me, so I had a hard time with a few of the stories. The last two in the collection were straight fantasy so ending with two stories that didn't capture me felt lackluster. Obviously if fantasy is your jam, that fact won't bother you! My favorite story was Blossoms Blackened like Dead Stars. It was a surprise to find this gem in the middle of the book. I felt there was some very powerful imagery and was the closest to living up to the collection's title.
I do find Snyder's ability to write across so many genres admirable and I will be checking out her other works in the future. Maybe I'll start to enjoy fantasy more, who knows?!
Admittedly, I do not read fantasy, it is just not a genre that speaks to me, so I had a hard time with a few of the stories. The last two in the collection were straight fantasy so ending with two stories that didn't capture me felt lackluster. Obviously if fantasy is your jam, that fact won't bother you! My favorite story was Blossoms Blackened like Dead Stars. It was a surprise to find this gem in the middle of the book. I felt there was some very powerful imagery and was the closest to living up to the collection's title.
I do find Snyder's ability to write across so many genres admirable and I will be checking out her other works in the future. Maybe I'll start to enjoy fantasy more, who knows?!