hayleysf's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
katyp_91's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
asylumteaparty's review
5.0
Quite possibly the best collection of creepy short stories I've ever read!
monroev1225's review
4.0
I picked this up on audible and it was awesome! A perfect collection of short stories that leave your mouth hanging open and goose bumps down your arm. I loved every horrifying second and would suggest anyone who enjoys the tingle of fear to pick it uo
rayleemcv's review
5.0
Loved this book! I have heard some of M.J. Pack's work on the No Sleep Podcast and was happy to find that the rest of her stories are as equally creepy and unsettling as the ones on the show. Highly recommend for a dark, stormy night!
Bring your own night light.
Bring your own night light.
caitastrophe's review
2.0
2.5 stars.
I'm familiar with some of M.J. Pack's writing on Creepy Catalog, which I really think is her best platform. "Message board horror" is a bit of a craft, and Pack is great at it. Her work really reads like something you could have stumbled across in an Internet rabbit hole, or heard over a campfire with friends.
In a short story setting, though, a lot of her smaller weaknesses become exacerbated. Certain turns of phrases and literary techniques are over-used, the male machismo in some of the stories feels pretty forced, and the similarity between stories becomes obvious when you're binge-reading them.
I think Pack maybe also relies too much on her favorite horror movies, books, true crime stories, etc. to form the basis for a lot of her work. She does best when she's exploring her own ideas (as in "Everything Has a Season") rather than re-telling sequences from Trick 'r Treat or reimagining the story of the Silent Twins.
I should probably also add that part of the reason for the lower score was the choice of subject matter. I guess I should have known what I was getting with a title like "Certain Dark Things," but the use of subjects like rape, spree shootings and domestic violence really turned me off. This isn't to say the stories dealing with these subjects aren't effective - they are (particularly "The Axe"), I just wonder whether including them as light entertainment is very tasteful.
I'm familiar with some of M.J. Pack's writing on Creepy Catalog, which I really think is her best platform. "Message board horror" is a bit of a craft, and Pack is great at it. Her work really reads like something you could have stumbled across in an Internet rabbit hole, or heard over a campfire with friends.
In a short story setting, though, a lot of her smaller weaknesses become exacerbated. Certain turns of phrases and literary techniques are over-used, the male machismo in some of the stories feels pretty forced, and the similarity between stories becomes obvious when you're binge-reading them.
I think Pack maybe also relies too much on her favorite horror movies, books, true crime stories, etc. to form the basis for a lot of her work. She does best when she's exploring her own ideas (as in "Everything Has a Season") rather than re-telling sequences from Trick 'r Treat or reimagining the story of the Silent Twins.
I should probably also add that part of the reason for the lower score was the choice of subject matter. I guess I should have known what I was getting with a title like "Certain Dark Things," but the use of subjects like rape, spree shootings and domestic violence really turned me off. This isn't to say the stories dealing with these subjects aren't effective - they are (particularly "The Axe"), I just wonder whether including them as light entertainment is very tasteful.
scpmrt's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
minbyrnes's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, and Suicide
findingmontauk1's review
3.0
Certain Dark Things by M.J. Pack is my first completed short story collection for 2018. While I wanted to love this and all the dark, twisted stories in it, I came up at the end giving it 3.5 stars out of 5. There were a couple stories that I absolutely loved and thought were incredible, but most of them were just okay and a couple relied too heavily on that last sentence or paragraph “twist.” I listened to this on Audible because it was free a year or two ago. I think I may have given it closer to a 4 out of 5 had I read it because the narrator was a little monotonous for me and there were a lot of female leads in the stories and he did not really change his voice at all, causing a little confusion at times. Some of her tropes, mannerisms, and sayings are a little repetitive as the you progress through the stories, too. BUT, this IS the debut short story collection from M.J. Pack, and I can really see her growing as she refines her craft and gets deeper into that spot between the shadow and the soul. She knows how to choose topics that can get under your skin and make you cringe: rape, incest, spree shootings, etc.
My FAVORITE story was one about telepathic twins. Twins fascinate me; I am not sure why I am so obsessed. Perhaps because my twin niece and nephew just turned three on January 4th, the same day that my best friends welcomed IDENTICAL twin boys into the world, too (is this not the craziest small world?! And do I need to mention that the mother was our officiant and said twins were in her belly at the time, too??!) But the way twins can supposedly communicate with each other differently, have been reported to feel things/emotions of the other twin at times, etc is something that is on another level for me. And in Pack’s short story, there is a dominant twin and a submissive twin. The story is told from the POV of the submissive twin and, without giving too much away, the child is ready to stop playing second fiddle.
"You’re supposed to love your sister. Aren’t you? When I search my heart for that feeling I always come up empty, and yet there’s still that phantom cord running between the two of us, a kind of passageway from my mind to hers like the tunnels that ran under ancient asylums."
Do I recommend this? Yes. Do I recommend it with the fire of a thousand suns and all the approval ratings (like I would Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King)? Nope. M.J. Pack is an author that I will continue to read!
My FAVORITE story was one about telepathic twins. Twins fascinate me; I am not sure why I am so obsessed. Perhaps because my twin niece and nephew just turned three on January 4th, the same day that my best friends welcomed IDENTICAL twin boys into the world, too (is this not the craziest small world?! And do I need to mention that the mother was our officiant and said twins were in her belly at the time, too??!) But the way twins can supposedly communicate with each other differently, have been reported to feel things/emotions of the other twin at times, etc is something that is on another level for me. And in Pack’s short story, there is a dominant twin and a submissive twin. The story is told from the POV of the submissive twin and, without giving too much away, the child is ready to stop playing second fiddle.
"You’re supposed to love your sister. Aren’t you? When I search my heart for that feeling I always come up empty, and yet there’s still that phantom cord running between the two of us, a kind of passageway from my mind to hers like the tunnels that ran under ancient asylums."
Do I recommend this? Yes. Do I recommend it with the fire of a thousand suns and all the approval ratings (like I would Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King)? Nope. M.J. Pack is an author that I will continue to read!
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