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ctgt's review against another edition
4.0
Granpa says Uncanny Valley is a thin place
This is a bit of an odd duck. Can't really call it a short story collection although that is what it may appear on the surface. It's a collection of letters from the residents of Uncanny Valley in response to a contest to explain what makes your hometown special. While is doesn't really have an narrative thread running through the stories it does paint a vivid portrait of the town and it's inhabitants. The ending was quite intriguing and fell right in line with the tradition of weird fiction.
The letter writers range in age and their stories vary in length and complexity. In truth, the first quarter of the book wasn't ringing my bell but then I hit the story Richard Shute Goes Home for Dinner and from that point on most of the stories spoke to me with Best Kept Secret, Lillian Sweeney's Music and The Sounding of the Sea resonating strongly.
A very interesting way to format the storytelling and while it started slowly the overall impression was positive. Recommended for those who enjoy weird fiction.
That was all it took; we had witnessed the final straw alighting on the camel's back, and the camel's back had broken. Something, after half a century, had finally snapped in Bob. The dark animal had woken up.
This is a bit of an odd duck. Can't really call it a short story collection although that is what it may appear on the surface. It's a collection of letters from the residents of Uncanny Valley in response to a contest to explain what makes your hometown special. While is doesn't really have an narrative thread running through the stories it does paint a vivid portrait of the town and it's inhabitants. The ending was quite intriguing and fell right in line with the tradition of weird fiction.
The letter writers range in age and their stories vary in length and complexity. In truth, the first quarter of the book wasn't ringing my bell but then I hit the story Richard Shute Goes Home for Dinner and from that point on most of the stories spoke to me with Best Kept Secret, Lillian Sweeney's Music and The Sounding of the Sea resonating strongly.
A very interesting way to format the storytelling and while it started slowly the overall impression was positive. Recommended for those who enjoy weird fiction.
That was all it took; we had witnessed the final straw alighting on the camel's back, and the camel's back had broken. Something, after half a century, had finally snapped in Bob. The dark animal had woken up.
butyougotmysoul's review
3.0
I generally like these kinds of books, but the ending was too quick and the rest of it just didn't go together well. There are too many different kinds of supernatural, and too much lackadaisical editing.
booknerd44's review
4.0
Really fun and disturbing (great combo, I know) short stories! I will be reading more of his work very soon, and so should you :)
amia's review
5.0
I LOVE this book! The Uncanny Valley: Tales from a Lost Town (The Uncanny Chronicles Book 1) is superb. I've already purchased Darkness in the Valley: An Uncanny Dossier (The Uncanny Chronicles Book 2) and intend to start reading it this afternoon. My to-be-read stack just got reorganized and that almost never happens.
This appears to be a collection of 33 short stories written by 33 residents of Uncanny Valley. Appearances can be deceiving.
Awesome and amazing. I would never have been able to follow this maze, which is cleverly hiding the path, to its totally surprising conclusion without the marvelous talent and imagination of Gregory Miller, author. Kudos to John York, the illustrator.
I did notice that on Amazon there are 325 reviews which average to 4.5 stars!!!! Pretty incredible, right. The odd thing is that there are five reviews that rate this little gem at 1 star. The only reason I am pointing ☝️ this out is because I think I know why and want, very much, to explain my hypothesis. If I am correct and you take this one tiny step of prevention, you will not be tempted to rate this fine collection with anything other than 4 or 5 stars.
And that tiny step is so simple. Just read the, very short, Prologue completely, with your full attention directed on it's message. There are some extremely important tidbits contained therein. And without that information I would probably not have finished reading the book. And that would have been a terrible thing because I would have missed out on one of the most creative books I have ever read.
So, if you are still here, reading my review, stop wasting your time and go get this book. I sincerely hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.
This appears to be a collection of 33 short stories written by 33 residents of Uncanny Valley. Appearances can be deceiving.
Awesome and amazing. I would never have been able to follow this maze, which is cleverly hiding the path, to its totally surprising conclusion without the marvelous talent and imagination of Gregory Miller, author. Kudos to John York, the illustrator.
I did notice that on Amazon there are 325 reviews which average to 4.5 stars!!!! Pretty incredible, right. The odd thing is that there are five reviews that rate this little gem at 1 star. The only reason I am pointing ☝️ this out is because I think I know why and want, very much, to explain my hypothesis. If I am correct and you take this one tiny step of prevention, you will not be tempted to rate this fine collection with anything other than 4 or 5 stars.
And that tiny step is so simple. Just read the, very short, Prologue completely, with your full attention directed on it's message. There are some extremely important tidbits contained therein. And without that information I would probably not have finished reading the book. And that would have been a terrible thing because I would have missed out on one of the most creative books I have ever read.
So, if you are still here, reading my review, stop wasting your time and go get this book. I sincerely hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.
deearr's review
Gregory Miller has developed a different concept and applied it to "The Uncanny Valley." The Prologue opens the book with a television station in Pennsylvania asking viewers to submit, in 2000 words or less, a description of a specific event that describes the culture in your home town. The 33 submissions from Uncanny Valley comprise the body of the book.
These stories detail enough of the facts and then allow the reader to fill in the rest, basically giving each of us the opportunity to apply our own brush strokes of horror. Some of the stories intertwine, mentioning characters who also have submissions, and each are from the viewpoint of the individual writer (who range from young children to folks at the end of their days). These stories are tame enough for your children to read, although there are a few vulgarities here and there (the number of which can be counted on one hand). The author weaves the 33 stories together into one gigantic tale of the town, creating a fitting climax for the book.
I considered giving the book three to three-and-a-half stars, as (inevitably in a collection this large) some of the stories had the same feel to them and I could guess where they were going. However, the stories are told with individual charm (right down to the "on purpose" misspellings by the kids) and the entire book is a clever concept. This is an easy read which I finished over my morning coffees. Four stars.
These stories detail enough of the facts and then allow the reader to fill in the rest, basically giving each of us the opportunity to apply our own brush strokes of horror. Some of the stories intertwine, mentioning characters who also have submissions, and each are from the viewpoint of the individual writer (who range from young children to folks at the end of their days). These stories are tame enough for your children to read, although there are a few vulgarities here and there (the number of which can be counted on one hand). The author weaves the 33 stories together into one gigantic tale of the town, creating a fitting climax for the book.
I considered giving the book three to three-and-a-half stars, as (inevitably in a collection this large) some of the stories had the same feel to them and I could guess where they were going. However, the stories are told with individual charm (right down to the "on purpose" misspellings by the kids) and the entire book is a clever concept. This is an easy read which I finished over my morning coffees. Four stars.