jamesvw's review
3.0
I almost stopped after the first novella, which I found to be complete dreck (as my grandfather would say). Mean-spirited, contrived and poorly conceived, I had to force myself into the second book. That one, titled 99, was much better - not fantastic, but intriguing in its critique of anthropology and is reminiscent of The Lottery and Borges' The Gospel According to Mark. The third book, Casting the Runes, is actually quite good, a pastiche as Hynes puts it of a story from M.R. James. It uses the all too common problem of advisers terrorizing their grad students - having their academic lives in their hands - and spins out a horror story from there. Clever. So if I have to recommend, I'd say check this book out of the library and stick to the third book, read the second one if you have a spare hour or two.
citruslounge's review
4.0
THE FIRST STORY WITH THE CAT IS SO TERRIFYING. I liked how they all wove together.
bev_reads_mysteries's review
2.0
I take great exception to the blurb saying that these stories have the wit of David Lodge. Lodge is WAY better than this.
eberico's review
3.0
Embarrassing story: sometime after reading this book of academia-related short stories, I was at an English department picnic with my then-boyfriend, and became convinced that a bearded picnic attendee was the author of this book. Needless to say, he was not, but that didn't stop me from asking, and being mortified after.
coralrose's review
4.0
I went home last night, swung by the library and picked up my holds, among which was this hilarious gem. It was a mixture of horror and academic satire, and I read it all in one gulp, finishing well before bed. Each story's academics are obsessed with their academic lives, unaware of the supernatural that moves just out of their sight.
becquebooks's review
4.0
I really liked these stories, the second two more than the first one. It's much in the same vein as "The Lecturer's Tale" in fact one of the characters from that story makes a brief unrelated appearance. Same kind of crazy, gothic academic craziness.
sdiaz's review against another edition
2.0
Clearly the author has a bone to pick with academics as he has made all of them pretty unlikable, of course that would be fine if that somehow added a layer to the stories but to be honest it rarely did. The only exception and the story which I liked the most was the case of the third story where at least the setting of academic conferences made the whole thing slightly distinct. The fact that the third story also had a couple of call backs to the first stories helped flesh out the world. Unfortunately the first two stories were uninspired, and as mentioned all the characters were so unlikable that having to spend time with them was kind of bothersome.
spygrl1's review against another edition
4.0
After being so disappointed by Kings of Infinite Space, I hesitated to read this one. I think it was the cat that provided the extra push. This is much more my cup of tea than Kings -- the supernatural/horrific elements aren't overexplained and therefore don't invite excess scrutiny. I think for anyone who works in academia the blend of Lovecraftian horror and the horrors of colleagues, administrators, students, and the battle for tenure will seem natural.
And in the end, the cat wins!
And in the end, the cat wins!
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