sisteray's review against another edition
5.0
Wow!
So I don’t want to spoil anything, but presenting this as a short story collection feels either like it wants to surprise you, or is just burying the lede. These stories are like animation cells that get layered on top of each other to create the dimension of space where the story lives. It’s a cohesive whole, where each cell is intriguing but leaves you wanting the holes filled in, and the next story paints a new layer.
It is abstract, beautiful, dreamlike, revolting, and compelling. I am glad that I have the time to read the while thing quickly, and all the recurring imagery benefits from living in my head.
The back of the book says it’s somewhere between Bruno Schulz and Thomas Ligotti and that really is pretty spot on.
So I don’t want to spoil anything, but presenting this as a short story collection feels either like it wants to surprise you, or is just burying the lede. These stories are like animation cells that get layered on top of each other to create the dimension of space where the story lives. It’s a cohesive whole, where each cell is intriguing but leaves you wanting the holes filled in, and the next story paints a new layer.
It is abstract, beautiful, dreamlike, revolting, and compelling. I am glad that I have the time to read the while thing quickly, and all the recurring imagery benefits from living in my head.
The back of the book says it’s somewhere between Bruno Schulz and Thomas Ligotti and that really is pretty spot on.
twerkingtobeethoven's review against another edition
4.0
Not bad, not bad at all. The content is as creepy as the cover. This collection reminds me of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories, especially "Murmurs of a Voice Foreknown", "The Indoor Swamp" & "Origami Dreams". "20 Simple Steps to Ventriloquism" features a slow but truly effective build-up. "The Secret of Ventriloquism" is a script and one of the best stories of the lot, "Escape to Thin Mountain" is 24 carat Lovecraft.
I would recommend this anthology to every arachnid lover out there. *winks*
I would recommend this anthology to every arachnid lover out there. *winks*
pacardullo's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent weird fiction story collection. There are threads and connections throughout that give it a feeling of a comprehensive whole and not just a simple collection of unrelated stories. It is creepy, creative, and a pleasure to read. I look forward to reading more of Jon Padgett's work. It is another great title from Dunhams Manor Press.
skamlig's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
cmcrockford's review against another edition
4.0
Really eerie horror here in the vein of Ligotti and Aickman, particularly "Origami Dreams" and "Escape To Thin Mountain".
bookwisp86's review against another edition
3.0
It's decent. So many people in the horror field talked this book up so I got excited for it. Maybe that was my downfall. The ideas are there, but the execution of those ideas don't really hit for me. Still not a bad read.
secre's review against another edition
Disjointed and distinctly odd. Struggles to actually keep and hold a narrative line through the short stories and plays etc.