likeable_luddite's review against another edition
3.0
The one chapter where he spent more time describing how fat a kid was than the aliens was fucking funny. Like how do you achive that level of hater
truebookaddict's review against another edition
5.0
I have to admit that I'm not a big reader of short stories. I prefer stories that require more of a time investment. In other words, novels. However, the exception to that are horror short stories. I love them. I read my first scary short stories as a child. Remember those anthologies of ghost stories you could order from the Scholastic book flyer? I later graduated to Stephen King's short stories and many of his are among my favorites. I think horror works for me in short story format (unlike other genres) because horror can be such a fast paced medium. For instance, horror films are usually no more than 2 hours long, but they still pack a punch. Did I mention that horror films are my favorite? But I digress. What I'm getting at here is that I love horror short stories, especially those that are as good as the stories in A Mixed Bag of Blood.
I love horror that pulls no punches and this author knows his stuff when it comes to that. Some of the stories are a play on our fears of foreign invasion, whether it be in our world, or our bodies. Others bring forth the monsters we're terrified of...zombies, vampires, Bigfoot (we lived in a house surrounded by woods when I was growing up, and yes, I was terrified of Bigfoot. Don't laugh). Some are very gross, yet funny in their message while still being horrific. I'm not going to go into detail because short stories are very easy to spoil for others. Suffice it to say that each story has something to offer.
This slim volume of 125 pages contains 10 stories. I enjoyed every one of them. This "Mixed Bag of Blood" is a must read for any horror fan. I mean it.
(I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)
I love horror that pulls no punches and this author knows his stuff when it comes to that. Some of the stories are a play on our fears of foreign invasion, whether it be in our world, or our bodies. Others bring forth the monsters we're terrified of...zombies, vampires, Bigfoot (we lived in a house surrounded by woods when I was growing up, and yes, I was terrified of Bigfoot. Don't laugh). Some are very gross, yet funny in their message while still being horrific. I'm not going to go into detail because short stories are very easy to spoil for others. Suffice it to say that each story has something to offer.
This slim volume of 125 pages contains 10 stories. I enjoyed every one of them. This "Mixed Bag of Blood" is a must read for any horror fan. I mean it.
(I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)
charshorrorcorner's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars!
David Bernstein has written a surprising number of stories for such a young man. (At least, he looks young.) I have enjoyed all that I've read so far, and this book is no exception.
This is a short collection, so it didn't take me long to make my way through. I liked the fact that the tales all varied wildly from one to the next; I never knew in what direction a story would take me.
My favorites have to be:
The Booglin: That's no ordinary booger stuck up there.
Invasion: And that's no ordinary cockroach that kid just picked up.
Bad Cutlery: It would be so nice to blame my failed meals on bad cutlery. Unfortunately, this knife does much worse than destroy meals.
STD: A lot of the stories in Mixed Bag of Blood had a serious EWWW factor, but I believe this one was the EWWWIEST. Of course, I was laughing my butt off while reading it.
Overall, this collection was above average. I read, and have read, a LOT of story collections over the years, and as such, it takes a LOT to impress me in the short fiction department. The tales I mentioned above were excellent, but not quite enough to bring this up to a 4 or 5 star rating for me. However, if what I've written above sounds interesting to you, then I recommend giving this collection a shot, because your mileage may vary.
Recommended to those with strong stomachs who are also fans of short horror stories!
*Thanks to Sinister Grin for providing me with a free e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This is it!*
David Bernstein has written a surprising number of stories for such a young man. (At least, he looks young.) I have enjoyed all that I've read so far, and this book is no exception.
This is a short collection, so it didn't take me long to make my way through. I liked the fact that the tales all varied wildly from one to the next; I never knew in what direction a story would take me.
My favorites have to be:
The Booglin: That's no ordinary booger stuck up there.
Invasion: And that's no ordinary cockroach that kid just picked up.
Bad Cutlery: It would be so nice to blame my failed meals on bad cutlery. Unfortunately, this knife does much worse than destroy meals.
STD: A lot of the stories in Mixed Bag of Blood had a serious EWWW factor, but I believe this one was the EWWWIEST. Of course, I was laughing my butt off while reading it.
Overall, this collection was above average. I read, and have read, a LOT of story collections over the years, and as such, it takes a LOT to impress me in the short fiction department. The tales I mentioned above were excellent, but not quite enough to bring this up to a 4 or 5 star rating for me. However, if what I've written above sounds interesting to you, then I recommend giving this collection a shot, because your mileage may vary.
Recommended to those with strong stomachs who are also fans of short horror stories!
*Thanks to Sinister Grin for providing me with a free e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This is it!*
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