A review by maja_lk
A Deep Horror That Was Very Nearly Awe by J.R. Hamantaschen
4.0
This really is an incredibly odd book, but I mean that in the best way possible!
‘A Deep Horror That Was Very Nearly Awe’ contains 11 different short stories all oozing with the feeling of unease and fascination all throughout my read. It was not very often the case that I could predict what was to come or how the stories would end, and the endings could definitely leave me with a feeling of bleakness and puzzlement, which I personally love in the sense that it challenges the reader the more and forces you to conjure up its continuation if you wish a la the series Black Mirror.
The novel also starts out strongly with its haunting first story, “Rococo Veins and Lurid Stains”. Like most of the stories, it is very unique and riveting, and it delves down into surreal territory really quickly.
Since it is a short story collection, it would be the wisest not to write anything about the different plots, but come to think about it, most of the stories are actually kind of difficult to explain anyway, and really, only telling people about the plot wouldn’t make the book justice. They really are stories that you just have to experience by yourself for the first time since the biggest selling point really is the writing.
Hamantaschen is very good at making the most surreal and strange events in the stories even stranger when writing said events almost casually some times. I think that’s partially the reason why I also found this book to be almost charming if you can even say that.
The only con in this book I felt was the way a handful of the stories at times would drag and maybe overstayed their welcome in terms of length instead of being short and sweet. After a long build up, I also found some of the pay offs to be very sudden and/or lackluster.
That is a relatively minor downside, and again, it is definitely not the case in each of the 11 great stories. ‘A Deep Horror That Was Very Nearly Awe’ is still a highly recommended short story novel which is sure to give you a healthy dose of surreal horror (which is more important than you’d think!)
In my case, this felt like a very refreshing step back from your conventional stories, and I’m very intrigued to explore more of this author’s work!
‘A Deep Horror That Was Very Nearly Awe’ contains 11 different short stories all oozing with the feeling of unease and fascination all throughout my read. It was not very often the case that I could predict what was to come or how the stories would end, and the endings could definitely leave me with a feeling of bleakness and puzzlement, which I personally love in the sense that it challenges the reader the more and forces you to conjure up its continuation if you wish a la the series Black Mirror.
The novel also starts out strongly with its haunting first story, “Rococo Veins and Lurid Stains”. Like most of the stories, it is very unique and riveting, and it delves down into surreal territory really quickly.
Since it is a short story collection, it would be the wisest not to write anything about the different plots, but come to think about it, most of the stories are actually kind of difficult to explain anyway, and really, only telling people about the plot wouldn’t make the book justice. They really are stories that you just have to experience by yourself for the first time since the biggest selling point really is the writing.
Hamantaschen is very good at making the most surreal and strange events in the stories even stranger when writing said events almost casually some times. I think that’s partially the reason why I also found this book to be almost charming if you can even say that.
The only con in this book I felt was the way a handful of the stories at times would drag and maybe overstayed their welcome in terms of length instead of being short and sweet. After a long build up, I also found some of the pay offs to be very sudden and/or lackluster.
That is a relatively minor downside, and again, it is definitely not the case in each of the 11 great stories. ‘A Deep Horror That Was Very Nearly Awe’ is still a highly recommended short story novel which is sure to give you a healthy dose of surreal horror (which is more important than you’d think!)
In my case, this felt like a very refreshing step back from your conventional stories, and I’m very intrigued to explore more of this author’s work!