Scan barcode
A review by bergamotandbooks
The Passengers You Cannot See by The Behrg
3.0
3.5 STARS
Every story has its beginning and end. But some stories won’t let go. Some stories dig their claws into you. They infect your dreams. They carve out a residence in your mind. They become passengers . . .Ones that never leave.
Light and darkness. Hope and despair. Depravities and humanity. These passengers and more await. And they’ve been sharpening their claws to greet you.
.
.
.
First off I want to point out that by no means am I typically a fan of short story anthologies. (I think I still have flashbacks to high school English and being forced to read them!) However, the synopsis of THE PASSENGERS YOU CANNOT SEE drew me in and made me take the short story plunge.
This anthology gave me massive "Black Mirror" vibes - so many of the stories went in completely unexpected directions and I actually went back and re-read a few of them to really savour and enjoy the dark, twisted nature of Behrg's writing. THE PASSENGERS YOU CANNOT SEE does not rely on gore or jump scares to capture your attention. Instead, the stories creep under your skin and cause the hair on the back of your neck to rise. They are a look into the dark psyche of human nature and underneath all the poetry and prose an exploration of what it means to struggle with mental health and addiction.
The reason this anthology didn't gain a higher rating from me was less about my aversion to short stories and novellas and more the fact that some of Behrg's stories were well written and interesting,...and some were not. If you choose to pick this one up I highly recommend "Driven", "One Star", "Kill Your Darlings" and the longer novella "Happiness is a Commodity" as I felt these were the most thought provoking of the anthology.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for my ARC copy. THE PASSENGERS YOU CANNOT SEE is out now!
Every story has its beginning and end. But some stories won’t let go. Some stories dig their claws into you. They infect your dreams. They carve out a residence in your mind. They become passengers . . .Ones that never leave.
Light and darkness. Hope and despair. Depravities and humanity. These passengers and more await. And they’ve been sharpening their claws to greet you.
.
.
.
First off I want to point out that by no means am I typically a fan of short story anthologies. (I think I still have flashbacks to high school English and being forced to read them!) However, the synopsis of THE PASSENGERS YOU CANNOT SEE drew me in and made me take the short story plunge.
This anthology gave me massive "Black Mirror" vibes - so many of the stories went in completely unexpected directions and I actually went back and re-read a few of them to really savour and enjoy the dark, twisted nature of Behrg's writing. THE PASSENGERS YOU CANNOT SEE does not rely on gore or jump scares to capture your attention. Instead, the stories creep under your skin and cause the hair on the back of your neck to rise. They are a look into the dark psyche of human nature and underneath all the poetry and prose an exploration of what it means to struggle with mental health and addiction.
The reason this anthology didn't gain a higher rating from me was less about my aversion to short stories and novellas and more the fact that some of Behrg's stories were well written and interesting,...and some were not. If you choose to pick this one up I highly recommend "Driven", "One Star", "Kill Your Darlings" and the longer novella "Happiness is a Commodity" as I felt these were the most thought provoking of the anthology.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for my ARC copy. THE PASSENGERS YOU CANNOT SEE is out now!