storyonlystory's review
4.0
I'm a great lover of short stories in speculative fiction, my first love in scifi having been Ray Bradbury which happens to be the author Ray Cluley waxes nostalgic about most in the first story of this collection. I wanted a review copy of this book based solely on the title and cover art. The cover shows tentacles making their way out of a dresser drawer, making me think of Lovecraft (another author Cluley was inspired by). And when it comes to monsters, I've a had a thing for weird creatures since my teens.
Probably Monsters doesn't disappoint after evoking the memory of these great writers. His style varies from tame to hardcore to fun. I was continually impressed by his imagination and story building. The characters and complex and unpredictable, the stories have satisfying twists twists. I think he shines brightest with the stories in which he mashes together the horrors encountered in reality and the supernatural horrors of more typical horror tales.
A piece of writing from the story "At Night, When the Demons Come" that really hit me as beautifully haunting:
A little note I want to add - this book is gender and LGBT friendly. I love finding books that have characters that aren't necessarily (although one story in particular is and it's a great one) about being gay but simply a story that happens to have a LGBT protagonist or character in it. The more I see this I feel there have been big steps forward in society regarding LGBT issues. It's very different from my youth which I think of as the days of Ellen Degeneres making headlines and having her show canceled.
Probably Monsters doesn't disappoint after evoking the memory of these great writers. His style varies from tame to hardcore to fun. I was continually impressed by his imagination and story building. The characters and complex and unpredictable, the stories have satisfying twists twists. I think he shines brightest with the stories in which he mashes together the horrors encountered in reality and the supernatural horrors of more typical horror tales.
A piece of writing from the story "At Night, When the Demons Come" that really hit me as beautifully haunting:
"There came next a wailing shriek I never in whatever life I've got left ever want to hear again. If that rooftop scream was a woman birthing death, this one sounded like the demon clawed her own abortion. The shards of it went through you like jagged porcelain and as it trailed off it thinned to a fiery hot needle in your ears. The way the wind shipped it into a ricochet pulled it through you like infected thread, yanking the line tight till you clutched your head against the pain. When the other one joined in I wished for death just so the chorus would end.
"It stopped eventually though the reverberations of those screams will be with me forever as a tortured background noise as permanent as thought. I can still hear it now when I close my eyes, finding myself in the same darkness."
A little note I want to add - this book is gender and LGBT friendly. I love finding books that have characters that aren't necessarily (although one story in particular is and it's a great one) about being gay but simply a story that happens to have a LGBT protagonist or character in it. The more I see this I feel there have been big steps forward in society regarding LGBT issues. It's very different from my youth which I think of as the days of Ellen Degeneres making headlines and having her show canceled.
2shainz's review against another edition
4.0
Shaina's rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ½
Original review here: http://shainareads.blogspot.com/2015/03/spoooooky-sunday-probably-monsters-by.html
Disclaimer goes here: I received an advance review copy of Probably Monsters from NetGalley for my honest review. Thanks to Chizine Publications for the chance to read it!
The last time I reviewed a horror collection, I mentioned that I hadn't found that horror book, the one that would scare me as much as some of my favorite/oh-lord-why-did-I-do-this-to-myself horror films. Well, I found it, and... oh lord, why did I do this to myself?
I first got this book in the middle of February, and it took me just about two weeks to get through it. It isn't very long—my e-ARC came to 327 pages for twenty short stories—but I kept having to put it down because it was making me so, so uncomfortable.
The most unnerving parts of these stories weren't the supernatural elements (though those were plentiful and awesome); I was much more disturbed by the things that could happen in everyday life. Cluley addresses this in his foreword to the collection:
For instance, the most horrifying story in the collection for me was "The Death Drive of Rita, nee Carina." I don't want to spoil too much, but I'm just going to tell you that there are lots of car accidents in it and, as you might guess, not all of them are really accidents. A bit over-the-top, for sure, but as an already uneasy driver, I couldn't help but think of this story the next time I got behind the wheel. In summary, ugggggggh.
A few other scary standouts: "A Mother's Blood" (gah motherhood), "Pins and Needles" (mostly because I hate hate hate shots/getting blood drawn), "Knock-Knock" (domestic violence) and "The Festering" (child abuse/neglect with some graphic sex stuff thrown in).
Then there were the few that scared me less than they made me smile, laugh or cry. "Shark! Shark!" is as ridiculous and funny as the title, and the final story, "Beachcombing," was a surprisingly tender piece about how a child might perceive suicide.
All in all, this collection is fantastically written and will appeal both to those looking for the visceral and the psychological. All I can say is that I'm really glad I'm done reading it and am going to take a long break from horror. Ray Cluley, you scary.
Original review here: http://shainareads.blogspot.com/2015/03/spoooooky-sunday-probably-monsters-by.html
Disclaimer goes here: I received an advance review copy of Probably Monsters from NetGalley for my honest review. Thanks to Chizine Publications for the chance to read it!
The last time I reviewed a horror collection, I mentioned that I hadn't found that horror book, the one that would scare me as much as some of my favorite/oh-lord-why-did-I-do-this-to-myself horror films. Well, I found it, and... oh lord, why did I do this to myself?
I first got this book in the middle of February, and it took me just about two weeks to get through it. It isn't very long—my e-ARC came to 327 pages for twenty short stories—but I kept having to put it down because it was making me so, so uncomfortable.
The most unnerving parts of these stories weren't the supernatural elements (though those were plentiful and awesome); I was much more disturbed by the things that could happen in everyday life. Cluley addresses this in his foreword to the collection:
"Nowadays, when people ask me what I'm writing about, I tend to say 'probably monsters.' Sometimes the monsters are blood-sucking fiends with fleshy wings, and sometimes they're shambling dead things that won't rest. Sometimes. Sometimes they're people, people like you and me (well, maybe you, certainly not me) and these ones are everywhere. But sometimes they're worse than any of these. They're the things that make us howl in the darkness, hoping no one hears—monsters we've perhaps made ourselves and struggle to overcome. Despite what our parents may have told us, there are such things as monsters. Lots of them." (pg. 7)
For instance, the most horrifying story in the collection for me was "The Death Drive of Rita, nee Carina." I don't want to spoil too much, but I'm just going to tell you that there are lots of car accidents in it and, as you might guess, not all of them are really accidents. A bit over-the-top, for sure, but as an already uneasy driver, I couldn't help but think of this story the next time I got behind the wheel. In summary, ugggggggh.
A few other scary standouts: "A Mother's Blood" (gah motherhood), "Pins and Needles" (mostly because I hate hate hate shots/getting blood drawn), "Knock-Knock" (domestic violence) and "The Festering" (child abuse/neglect with some graphic sex stuff thrown in).
Then there were the few that scared me less than they made me smile, laugh or cry. "Shark! Shark!" is as ridiculous and funny as the title, and the final story, "Beachcombing," was a surprisingly tender piece about how a child might perceive suicide.
All in all, this collection is fantastically written and will appeal both to those looking for the visceral and the psychological. All I can say is that I'm really glad I'm done reading it and am going to take a long break from horror. Ray Cluley, you scary.
michelleheegaard's review against another edition
3.0
I received this as an E-arc from Netgalley
I found this little colecting of short stories about all different kind of monsters were interesting. Normally I am not in for the whole 'short story'-thing. It just isn't a favourite of mine. But I actually wuite enjoyed these short stories. They were amazingly written. And I loved the little graphics details on the pages. Amazing
I found this little colecting of short stories about all different kind of monsters were interesting. Normally I am not in for the whole 'short story'-thing. It just isn't a favourite of mine. But I actually wuite enjoyed these short stories. They were amazingly written. And I loved the little graphics details on the pages. Amazing
penguininabluebox's review against another edition
4.0
I received a free copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Probably Monsters is a collection of horror short stories. Every story follows a completely different set of characters, each story is set in a completely different environment, so they are not connected to each other.
I really enjoyed each of the stories, though of course there were some I liked more than others. Overall I can say that all the stories were very, very creepy and Cluley managed to build suspense in each of them. They were also super bizarre and weird, definitely out of the ordinary, I would say.
There is some sexually explicit content, so if that puts you off you should stay away from this book.
I would recommend this book to people who enjoy short stories, who like a good, creepy horror story and who are looking for a really strange and weird read.
Probably Monsters is a collection of horror short stories. Every story follows a completely different set of characters, each story is set in a completely different environment, so they are not connected to each other.
I really enjoyed each of the stories, though of course there were some I liked more than others. Overall I can say that all the stories were very, very creepy and Cluley managed to build suspense in each of them. They were also super bizarre and weird, definitely out of the ordinary, I would say.
There is some sexually explicit content, so if that puts you off you should stay away from this book.
I would recommend this book to people who enjoy short stories, who like a good, creepy horror story and who are looking for a really strange and weird read.
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