candiemarsh's review against another edition
3.0
This book included short stories from his previous publications. Although enjoyable, I was slightly disappointed as I expected new stories. Still a good read; I recommend this if you have never read his other books.
crackedspines's review
2.0
Full review can be found here: https://awondrousescape.wordpress.com/2019/09/28/book-review-scream-to-the-shadows-tunku-halim/ where I delve deeper into my gripe with the author & talk about misleading quotes, recycled materials and undeserved acclaim.
Tunku Halim’s graphic writing is meant to induce unease and discomfort among readers, and he has definitely succeeded in that aspect. I’ll give credit where credit is due. In other aspects, not so much.
For a horror compilation, there seems to be a substantial lack of suspense, thrill, fear, and mystery – elements that make a good horror story. Tunku Halim’s overly-descriptive writing tends to take away from the suspense building in a scene. I’d end up focusing on painting and re-painting the picture in my head to fit his description that by the end of it all, I’ve lost track of the character’s impending doom and the situation they’re in.
Some stories seem to develop without a clear direction or purpose, not dissimilar to the game where you try to form a story by having everyone in line make up a sentence to continue the story. I often found myself questioning the point of a story when I reached the end.
All in all, I cannot say that ‘Scream to the Shadows’ is a good horror short story collection. Yes, it’s unpleasant, but that’s about it. It is especially disappointing when I was promised stories “that will keep you turning pages, until you scream to the shadows!”, as quoted from the blurb. All it did was make me scream into my pillow.
One thing readers should take note of is that 19 out of the 20 stories in this book have previously been published in other collections. 11 out of the 19 were included in ‘Horror Stories’ and ‘Horror Stories 2’, 2 of his more famous collections, so do keep that in mind. If you’re new to Tunku Halim, though, it wouldn’t affect you, so go ahead and pick it up.
Special thanks to Times Reads for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review! (My rating is based solely on this collection of short stories.)
Tunku Halim’s graphic writing is meant to induce unease and discomfort among readers, and he has definitely succeeded in that aspect. I’ll give credit where credit is due. In other aspects, not so much.
For a horror compilation, there seems to be a substantial lack of suspense, thrill, fear, and mystery – elements that make a good horror story. Tunku Halim’s overly-descriptive writing tends to take away from the suspense building in a scene. I’d end up focusing on painting and re-painting the picture in my head to fit his description that by the end of it all, I’ve lost track of the character’s impending doom and the situation they’re in.
Some stories seem to develop without a clear direction or purpose, not dissimilar to the game where you try to form a story by having everyone in line make up a sentence to continue the story. I often found myself questioning the point of a story when I reached the end.
All in all, I cannot say that ‘Scream to the Shadows’ is a good horror short story collection. Yes, it’s unpleasant, but that’s about it. It is especially disappointing when I was promised stories “that will keep you turning pages, until you scream to the shadows!”, as quoted from the blurb. All it did was make me scream into my pillow.
One thing readers should take note of is that 19 out of the 20 stories in this book have previously been published in other collections. 11 out of the 19 were included in ‘Horror Stories’ and ‘Horror Stories 2’, 2 of his more famous collections, so do keep that in mind. If you’re new to Tunku Halim, though, it wouldn’t affect you, so go ahead and pick it up.
Special thanks to Times Reads for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review! (My rating is based solely on this collection of short stories.)
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