A review by monakabbani
Her Infernal Name & Other Nightmares by Robert P. Ottone
3.0
“Herskovitz never thought of anyone in the group therapy sessions as ‘evil,’ just that they needed to be heard, regardless of whatever they were up to.”
Her Infernal Name and Other Nightmares is a collection of 18 varied stories from gore to grief. If you’re a starter in the horror realm, this would be a great book to read through to see what genre of horror intrigues you the most. It has a little bit of everything and the writing style carries you along quite well. I’m honestly impressed at the range of ideas and as always, I LOVE when anthologies link together either with a common place or common entity. I feel it makes the book a universe rather than a grouping of disjointed tales. The common entity in this book leaves much to be wondered and I wish it were expanded upon a bit more just to see what really goes on in this twisted corporation that affects the lives of a few of our characters.
That being said, my one personal negative is a few of these stories were incomplete. And I say this is a personal negative because this is a style some writers use and I recognize it as effective for most. These stories are like fever dreams... or fever nightmares, I should say. There’s a scene or emotion the author wants to put in question in your mind but then doesn’t supply you with an answer - the story simply ends. And that can be conclusive in the sense of wonderment! It’s a matter of what you’re looking for in your readings.
My top three:
Support (This is such a brilliant idea. The thought of modern monsters needing a support group makes so much sense.)
Playing God (Tech horror gives me the best chills. This was probably my favorite story in the collection. The imagery still haunts me.)
The Final Goodbye (An endearing, quick tale of grief horror I found both sweet and haunting.)
Her Infernal Name and Other Nightmares is a collection of 18 varied stories from gore to grief. If you’re a starter in the horror realm, this would be a great book to read through to see what genre of horror intrigues you the most. It has a little bit of everything and the writing style carries you along quite well. I’m honestly impressed at the range of ideas and as always, I LOVE when anthologies link together either with a common place or common entity. I feel it makes the book a universe rather than a grouping of disjointed tales. The common entity in this book leaves much to be wondered and I wish it were expanded upon a bit more just to see what really goes on in this twisted corporation that affects the lives of a few of our characters.
That being said, my one personal negative is a few of these stories were incomplete. And I say this is a personal negative because this is a style some writers use and I recognize it as effective for most. These stories are like fever dreams... or fever nightmares, I should say. There’s a scene or emotion the author wants to put in question in your mind but then doesn’t supply you with an answer - the story simply ends. And that can be conclusive in the sense of wonderment! It’s a matter of what you’re looking for in your readings.
My top three:
Support (This is such a brilliant idea. The thought of modern monsters needing a support group makes so much sense.)
Playing God (Tech horror gives me the best chills. This was probably my favorite story in the collection. The imagery still haunts me.)
The Final Goodbye (An endearing, quick tale of grief horror I found both sweet and haunting.)