terrik_409's review against another edition
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.
misterkyle1901's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
scottishben's review against another edition
4.0
I was keen to pick up this book in part because I like the taste of Ellen Datlow as an editor and in part because the range of writers in the collection appealed to me. Caitlin Kiernan and Jeffrey Ford are two of my favorite writers and I basically seek out everything that they publish. Nathan Ballingrud left a real impression on me with the few of his stories I have read as had the stories I had read by several of the other writers in the volume such as Brian Evenson. On top of that many of the other writers were writers who I had heard great things about and was eager to check out.
The first story I read was the Caitlin Kiernan. Often when I read stories due to my fatigue I do not follow them 100% and I do find with Kiernan many of her stories benefit from a second reading. At the same time they have an almost Lynchian element to them in which they are more about how things feel than actually making any sort of literal sense anyway. This story was beautifully written and whilst it feels very familiar territory for Kiernan with its struggling writer protagonist it was very effective, engaging and memorable. I enjoyed the New Orleans atmosphere of the piece.
The Gemma Files is the first time I have read her and I found the story to be well written, exciting and creepy all at the same time. Although I didnt fall in love with the story it was a very effective tale of the creepy/sinister archaeological discovery type. Didnt feel to be making any new ground but I always have time for a well and interestingly told tale.
The Nathan Ballingrud was superbly entertaining. I got a feeling of an entire dark fantastic world with hell creatures and hellish influences as well as the seedy underbelly of society interested in them. Hugely enjoyable and whilst the story felt complete in itself I could happily devour a whole novel in this type of world/setting.
The Bruce McAllister was quite short and the Gary Mcmahon was very short, both were by writers new to me and whilst they were quite well written they were not to my taste particularly in style or content. Still they were enjoyable enough and made a refreshing change from the two before in content and theme.
The Pat Cadigan was was set in a American high school and involved a prom. This is a setting that in my 30s I am increasingly uninterested in and a bit tired of. Still Cadigan came up with a fresh and interesting tale using this setting and I thought it was a memorable tale that I liked if not loved. I do feel with short fiction that anything that leaves an impression on you, unless its disappointment in the author has succeeded.
Thats where I am up to thus far.
The first story I read was the Caitlin Kiernan. Often when I read stories due to my fatigue I do not follow them 100% and I do find with Kiernan many of her stories benefit from a second reading. At the same time they have an almost Lynchian element to them in which they are more about how things feel than actually making any sort of literal sense anyway. This story was beautifully written and whilst it feels very familiar territory for Kiernan with its struggling writer protagonist it was very effective, engaging and memorable. I enjoyed the New Orleans atmosphere of the piece.
The Gemma Files is the first time I have read her and I found the story to be well written, exciting and creepy all at the same time. Although I didnt fall in love with the story it was a very effective tale of the creepy/sinister archaeological discovery type. Didnt feel to be making any new ground but I always have time for a well and interestingly told tale.
The Nathan Ballingrud was superbly entertaining. I got a feeling of an entire dark fantastic world with hell creatures and hellish influences as well as the seedy underbelly of society interested in them. Hugely enjoyable and whilst the story felt complete in itself I could happily devour a whole novel in this type of world/setting.
The Bruce McAllister was quite short and the Gary Mcmahon was very short, both were by writers new to me and whilst they were quite well written they were not to my taste particularly in style or content. Still they were enjoyable enough and made a refreshing change from the two before in content and theme.
The Pat Cadigan was was set in a American high school and involved a prom. This is a setting that in my 30s I am increasingly uninterested in and a bit tired of. Still Cadigan came up with a fresh and interesting tale using this setting and I thought it was a memorable tale that I liked if not loved. I do feel with short fiction that anything that leaves an impression on you, unless its disappointment in the author has succeeded.
Thats where I am up to thus far.
matosapa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
scorcheded's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
cwcook's review against another edition
Only wanted to read Jeffrey Ford. Also read Evenson and part of Langan but they didn’t hold my interest.
roenfoe's review against another edition
For a horror/speculative fiction anthology, this wasn't scary, upsetting, unsettling, or exciting. Just boring:( very sad to call it quits but life's too short to read boring books!
bickleyhouse's review against another edition
4.0
Fearful Symmetries is a horror anthology of twenty short stories. It's a mixed bag for me, with some stories being gripping and entertaining, and some that leave me with uncertainty as to what just happened.
All of them, though, definitely fit the bill of the weird and wonderful, some quite horrific. According to the summary, Ellen Datlow's compilation won the 2014 Shirley Jackson Award for Best Edited Anthology, and it's easy to see why.
My favorite stories in this anthology were "The Atlas of Hell," by Nathan Ballingrud, "Kaiju," by Gary McMahon (this one wins the plot twist award, in my opinion), "Will the Real Psycho in this Story Please Stand Up?" by Pat Cardigan, "The Window," by Brian Evenson (in which horrors from another dimension somehow slip over into ours), "Mount Chary Galore," by Jeffrey Ford, "Power," by Michael Marshall Smith (perhaps my favorite of all of them), "Bridge of Sighs," by Kaaron Warren, "The Attic," by Catherine MacLeod, and "Episode Three: On the Great Plains, in the Snow," by John Langan.
Some of the others were good to a point, but I must confess, I didn't quite get the ending. So, as a whole, I really liked it, but didn't quite feel that it was amazing.
I would recommend it, however, to lovers of horror anthologies.
All of them, though, definitely fit the bill of the weird and wonderful, some quite horrific. According to the summary, Ellen Datlow's compilation won the 2014 Shirley Jackson Award for Best Edited Anthology, and it's easy to see why.
My favorite stories in this anthology were "The Atlas of Hell," by Nathan Ballingrud, "Kaiju," by Gary McMahon (this one wins the plot twist award, in my opinion), "Will the Real Psycho in this Story Please Stand Up?" by Pat Cardigan, "The Window," by Brian Evenson (in which horrors from another dimension somehow slip over into ours), "Mount Chary Galore," by Jeffrey Ford, "Power," by Michael Marshall Smith (perhaps my favorite of all of them), "Bridge of Sighs," by Kaaron Warren, "The Attic," by Catherine MacLeod, and "Episode Three: On the Great Plains, in the Snow," by John Langan.
Some of the others were good to a point, but I must confess, I didn't quite get the ending. So, as a whole, I really liked it, but didn't quite feel that it was amazing.
I would recommend it, however, to lovers of horror anthologies.