abomine's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I watched a lot of Twilight Zone (and a little bit of The Hitchcock Hour) in my teen years, so quite a few of the "twists" in these stories didn't quite have the shock factor for me, simply because I had already seen those same twists before, but done better.
However, there were some genuinely creepy stories in this book, which I recommend checking out either in this collection or elsewhere:
--Fishhead by Irwin S. Cobb: Unnerving, but not for the reasons the author intended. Watch out for horrendous racism.
--A Death in the Family by Miriam Allen deFord: Morbid and chilling without being overly gruesome or disgusting.
--X Marks the Pedwalk by Fritz Lieber: A darkly comic and satiric story about an alternate history of big city traffic.
--The Cage by Ray Russel: This story brought back the same feelings I had when reading Edgar Allan Poe for the first time, which is very high praise.
--It by Theodore Sturgeon: Sturgeon really gets into the head space of an inhuman creature, which is impressive to read. This should go without saying, but no relation to Pennywise.
--Guide to Doom by Ellis Peters: A bit predictable, but it's still an old-fashioned spooky read. Bonus points for having an experimental writing style; only the narrator speaks and there's no dialogue.
--The Troll by T.H. White: A bit like Coraline in that it taps into deep, primeval, childhood fears, but with an adult male protagonist. Watch out for horrendous racism.
--Evening at the Black House by Robert Somerlott: Not necessarily scary, but thrilling and satisfying.
--One of the Dead by William Wood: Easily my favorite out of all these stories, beginning with a palpable sense of unease that slowly builds to bonafide horror.
--Master of the Hounds by Algis Budrys: I love dogs. They're sweet, they're loving, and they fill our lives with childlike joy. It takes a damn good horror writer to make dogs scary for me, and Algis Budrys is that kind of writer.
However, there were some genuinely creepy stories in this book, which I recommend checking out either in this collection or elsewhere:
--Fishhead by Irwin S. Cobb: Unnerving, but not for the reasons the author intended. Watch out for horrendous racism.
--A Death in the Family by Miriam Allen deFord: Morbid and chilling without being overly gruesome or disgusting.
--X Marks the Pedwalk by Fritz Lieber: A darkly comic and satiric story about an alternate history of big city traffic.
--The Cage by Ray Russel: This story brought back the same feelings I had when reading Edgar Allan Poe for the first time, which is very high praise.
--It by Theodore Sturgeon: Sturgeon really gets into the head space of an inhuman creature, which is impressive to read. This should go without saying, but no relation to Pennywise.
--Guide to Doom by Ellis Peters: A bit predictable, but it's still an old-fashioned spooky read. Bonus points for having an experimental writing style; only the narrator speaks and there's no dialogue.
--The Troll by T.H. White: A bit like Coraline in that it taps into deep, primeval, childhood fears, but with an adult male protagonist. Watch out for horrendous racism.
--Evening at the Black House by Robert Somerlott: Not necessarily scary, but thrilling and satisfying.
--One of the Dead by William Wood: Easily my favorite out of all these stories, beginning with a palpable sense of unease that slowly builds to bonafide horror.
--Master of the Hounds by Algis Budrys: I love dogs. They're sweet, they're loving, and they fill our lives with childlike joy. It takes a damn good horror writer to make dogs scary for me, and Algis Budrys is that kind of writer.
More...