judassilver's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Racism, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Death, and Animal death
Minor: Body horror
ilseoo's review against another edition
4.0
The ghost stories of M.R. James are chilling even though the horror is understated and sometimes only hinted at. The antiquarian setting, where old church engravings and library manuscripts contain demons from the past, create an element of terror where history comes back to haunt us. I enjoyed all these stories individually and would recommend this collection to lovers of (classic) ghost or horror stories. I do think that, when read together, you start to notice some returning narrative elements and settings and quite an unvarying template which is used as the basis of almost every story. Although the template is very effective, recognizing it can take away some of the tension or the impression of originality. Therefore, I would recommemd reading his stories on at a time, rather than back to back.
vsnotresponding's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
the mezzotint was my favourite one
lenci's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
livingdeadenby's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
wandererzarina's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
hail_freyr's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
pamwinkler's review against another edition
4.0
Listened to a lot of these before.
The Judge's House by Bram Stoker was good.
To Be Taken With a Grain of Salt by Charles Dickens was good, and new to me.
The Upper Berth by F. Marion Crawford is still good.
I didn't like Narrative of the Ghost of a Hand much.
The Furnished Room by O. Henry is good.
The Open Window by Saki is good.
Called by P.C. Wren was very good, and new to me.
Overall, a good collection.
The Judge's House by Bram Stoker was good.
To Be Taken With a Grain of Salt by Charles Dickens was good, and new to me.
The Upper Berth by F. Marion Crawford is still good.
I didn't like Narrative of the Ghost of a Hand much.
The Furnished Room by O. Henry is good.
The Open Window by Saki is good.
Called by P.C. Wren was very good, and new to me.
Overall, a good collection.
smjackson29's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5