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dllman05's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
smalefowles's review against another edition
4.0
I don't think I've ever read such a tremendously British book as this, but its moodiness is really quite effective. It was never quite scary, and sometimes it's frustrating, but there were moments of real unworldliness. Stories that raised a nagging question inside.
That's really something.
A recurring theme involves people leaving the city for some sort of countryside, and finding some alternate truth. The first and last stories made it seem a male experience, but a couple of stories between were more universal.
I feel unsatisfied by almost all of the stories, but it's still a four-star book because it had a real impact, and made me ask myself real questions.
That's really something.
A recurring theme involves people leaving the city for some sort of countryside, and finding some alternate truth. The first and last stories made it seem a male experience, but a couple of stories between were more universal.
I feel unsatisfied by almost all of the stories, but it's still a four-star book because it had a real impact, and made me ask myself real questions.
torchlab's review against another edition
4.0
These stories are creepy in a very slow-build, dawning-horror type of way. The language often feels like extremely well-done closeup magic: it’s so elegant and dazzling that you barely notice what it hides. My favorites in here were the title story, “Growing Boys,” “The Inner Room,” and “Never Visit Venice.”
bunnieslikediamonds's review against another edition
5.0
Another wonderful collection of Aickman's inimitable, surreal tales. It really doesn't get any better than this. The title story is fairly straight-forward but oddly enchanting with its mythical creatures. The Trains, with all its possible interpretations, may be the best ghost story I've ever read. While Your Tiny Hand Is Frozen is an eerie and pessimistic examination of isolation, Into The Wood contains some measure of hope and release from the constraints of the modern society. I've loved each and every story I've ever read by him, and am amazed at the variety and originality of his work. I keep waiting for the Aickman revival that is long overdue. Now that I've read Faber Finds' three Aickman collections, I find it difficult to get hold of his other stories. To think there are gems out there I haven't yet read!
mrgalahad's review against another edition
5.0
Robert Aickman is a way too an underrated classic horror writer, or how he would call it an author of "Strange Stories". He was a conservationist and his writings used many themes of classic modernist writers like Pound or Hemingway. I was astonished that there wasn't much information about him or discussion about his short stories in general, as they are high brow horror literature, something which isn't often combined.
The Wine-Dark Sea is my favorite collection of his works so far. It entails eight short stories, all having deeper narratives between the lines. "Your tiny hand is frozen" is an outcry against modernity, which also could be used today, when talking about addiction to the internet or the idea of needing to be available all the time, but it also fits into older settings. Many of his stories have a classic modernist feeling, being told from the point of view, of people feeling like they don't fit into the current social structure. "The place of war is now taken into society by motoring (427 Aickman)", in almost all of his stories you could feel his disaffection of the industrialization of the world. I felt like some ideas went over my head, as I didn't get what the titular story "The Wine-Dark Sea" represented, or I am pretty sure that I came to a different conclusion than intended by Aickman, for example in "The Inner Room", which was magnificent. It also should be added that his prose, is one of the best I have read, bringing settings from abandoned Gothic mansions to Venice alive in brimming colors.
Aickman was one of the best in the Horror genre, and it's sad that his work isn't even well known by many Horror fans.
The Wine-Dark Sea is my favorite collection of his works so far. It entails eight short stories, all having deeper narratives between the lines. "Your tiny hand is frozen" is an outcry against modernity, which also could be used today, when talking about addiction to the internet or the idea of needing to be available all the time, but it also fits into older settings. Many of his stories have a classic modernist feeling, being told from the point of view, of people feeling like they don't fit into the current social structure. "The place of war is now taken into society by motoring (427 Aickman)", in almost all of his stories you could feel his disaffection of the industrialization of the world. I felt like some ideas went over my head, as I didn't get what the titular story "The Wine-Dark Sea" represented, or I am pretty sure that I came to a different conclusion than intended by Aickman, for example in "The Inner Room", which was magnificent. It also should be added that his prose, is one of the best I have read, bringing settings from abandoned Gothic mansions to Venice alive in brimming colors.
Aickman was one of the best in the Horror genre, and it's sad that his work isn't even well known by many Horror fans.
halibut's review against another edition
4.0
Fewer stories fit cleanly into the horror or ghost story mold than those in the other Aickman collection I read, Cold Hand in Mine. There's a vague theme here of women at some threshold which they don't or cannot cross, as well as submerged romantic relationships between women.
echotechne's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
paulataua's review against another edition
5.0
I came across this selection of Robert Aickman’s short stories and it really knocked me out. The stories are strange, atmospheric, and thought-provoking. My favorites were ‘ Into the Wood’, ‘Never Visit Venice’, and ‘The Inner Room’, but I pretty much enjoyed all of them. The stories in ‘The Wine-Dark Sea' are difficult to categorize. They are certainly not horror, nor are they weird fiction. It’s probably best to say that they are just strange stories that satisfy.
caitsidhe's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25