Reviews

Fearful Symmetries: An Anthology of Horror by

kerrycat's review

5.0

I snagged this just to read the Kiernan and Nix - and how disturbingly worth it they both are.

jen52's review against another edition

4.0

Turns out I was done with it. I wonder for how long... Anyway, it was a quite disturbing book filled with all sorts of things that made my skin crawl and my face produce many grimaces. Good stuff!

anredman's review

2.0

Greatly enjoyed the stories The Spindly Man, Suffer Little Children and Shay Corsham Worsted.
Runners-up are Mount Chary Galore, Ballad of an Echo Whisperer and The Attic.

What I disliked about this collection was the vibe of 'new weird' instead of horror. Being billed as a horror anthology I was in the wrong mindset to tackle the contents.

tregina's review against another edition

4.0

Nearly every story in this anthology leaves me feeling haunted, which is my favourite sort of horror, and overall the writing itself, stylistically, is exceptional. The stories show you what's happening and leave you with the implicit or explicit perception that the worst is yet to come. Maybe to you.

kuranes's review against another edition

3.0

A very solid collection!

sandygx260's review

4.0

It took me a while to plow through this collection because a few of the stories were so dull, I started reading something else. But overall the quality of the stories is worth the read.

stlorca's review

4.0

Fearful Symmetries is a horror anthology edited by editrix deluxe Ellen Datlow. The former editor-in-chief of the late, lamented OMNI, Datlow has a well-earned reputation as a tastemaker in science fiction, fantasy, and horror anthologies.

Fearful Symmetries doesn't disappoint--I hugely enjoyed it, with only a couple of clunkers (and nothing I actively hated). Outstanding stories include "Will The Real Psycho In This Story Please Stand Up?" by Pat Cadigan, "Bridge of Sighs" by Kaaron Warren, and my personal favorite of this collection, "Ballad of An Echo Whisperer" by Caitlín R. Kiernan. Well worth your while.

Also? Funded with Kickstarter, so she could champion authors whose work she liked.

smalefowles's review

4.0

This collection contained quite a range of types of horror, and I encountered many new authors. My goal in reading it was to find new authors. Although, I'm not sure how useful that was. For example, I wasn't too impressed by the Gemma Files story, but then ended up liking Experimental Film. On the other hand, I enjoyed the Brian Evenson story but wasn't too impressed by his collection I've read in the past.

It's funny--I started the anthology craving more atmospheric ambiguity, and finished it wanting less ambiguity and more plot. Overall, though, an enjoyable collection.

bernt's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The strength of this collection lies in it's variety. You go from greasy southern backwaters to arctic expeditions. Great horror collection if you want to be kept guessing. 

terrik_409's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

I only enjoyed two stories out this selection. None were the overly scary to me.