A review by maggie_the_reader
The Restless Dead: Ten Original Stories of the Supernatural by Herbie Brennan, Annette Curtis Klause, Holly Black, M.T. Anderson, Chris Wooding, Marcus Sedgwick, Libba Bray, Kelly Link, Nancy Etchemendy, Deborah Noyes
4.0
The Restless Dead is a solid collection of horror themed stories.
It begins with The Wrong Grave - a clever little story with no real point.
The real horror starts with the second story, The House and the Locket - a gothic style tale with elements that every fan of the classics will recognize but much more chilling than we might expect.
This is followed by some truly enjoyable reads:
Kissing Dead Boys - a satisfying story of the supernatural,
The Heart of Another - a well told tale inspired by Poe.
The Necromancers - a fun romp with the dead told in a convincing voice.
No Visible Power - a common ghost story that manages to be surprising in the best way.
Things go downhill a little with Bad Things - a story told in a good voice but without much to say other than ‘ooohh demon’.
The Gray Boy’s Work - a drawn out fable that is utterly predictable and not as important as it thinks it is.
The collection picks up a little with The Poison Eaters - a wonderfully creative fairytale with an ending that isn’t satisfying but seems like the only possible end.
The whole thing ends on a strong note with Honey in the Wound - a little creepy, a little gory, and more than a little sad, but a well told finale.
It begins with The Wrong Grave - a clever little story with no real point.
The real horror starts with the second story, The House and the Locket - a gothic style tale with elements that every fan of the classics will recognize but much more chilling than we might expect.
This is followed by some truly enjoyable reads:
Kissing Dead Boys - a satisfying story of the supernatural,
The Heart of Another - a well told tale inspired by Poe.
The Necromancers - a fun romp with the dead told in a convincing voice.
No Visible Power - a common ghost story that manages to be surprising in the best way.
Things go downhill a little with Bad Things - a story told in a good voice but without much to say other than ‘ooohh demon’.
The Gray Boy’s Work - a drawn out fable that is utterly predictable and not as important as it thinks it is.
The collection picks up a little with The Poison Eaters - a wonderfully creative fairytale with an ending that isn’t satisfying but seems like the only possible end.
The whole thing ends on a strong note with Honey in the Wound - a little creepy, a little gory, and more than a little sad, but a well told finale.