porge_grewe's reviews
164 reviews

Brilliant set of fairytales, well worth reading in a physical edition - The illustrations really add to the atmosphere of each story.

Utterly brilliant - One of the best books I have read which I can recommend to the fewest people. A clear deep love for, and understanding of, slasher films pairs with an extremely likeable protagonist to make for an earnest, blood-soaked delight - Like all the best slashers.

Buy it for the horror fan in your life, and if you are that horror fan, then read it - Even if slasher is not your subgenre, this book, and its lead character, will make a very compelling case for why it should be. It's Scream for people who grew up with Scream.

Excellent! An extremely varied set of sci fi short stories, encompassing settings and world views rarely used in sci fi or modern fiction in general, which are each clearly well-researched and treated with creativity and care.

Funny, surprisingly touching, masterfully handled - Pratchett's writing manages to be kind while staying as sharp as ever, and the cast of characters make this book an absolute delight.

Absolutely wonderful - charming, funny stories which come together in fun and surprising ways. Not the best book I have read this year, but it will be the book I recommend to the most people.

Stephen King's latest short story collection is... Stephen King! I wouldn't recommend it as someone's first King, but, if, you're already a fan of his style, then this will give you more of what you like. It doesn't rise to the heights of some of his classics, even as the concepts for some of these short stories (and one novella) really feel like they could have. The Life of Chuck, in particular features two separate high concepts, each of which could make for a brilliant horror short story, but they are both given up on after the first (of three) sequences. The Rat and Mr Harrigan's Phone both provide the classic Stephen King spooky elements of troubled writers and boys coming of age while horrible things happen to them, and the eponymous novella, a standalone sequel to The Outsider, unsurprisingly given its higher page count, provides the most fleshed-out plot, characterisation, and horror of the lot.

It's Stephen King! If you like Stephen King, here is some Stephen King. Enjoy!

A strong 3.5 - Though with heavy content warnings for

Spoiler

sexual abuse/rape, sexual abuse/rape of a minor, racial abuse, gendered violence, some self harm - generally depicted compassionately, but brutally.

Leigh Bardugo has made the trip across the divide between YA and whatever the other term is (I choose to call it Old Adult), and arrived on the OA side still distinctly writing in her style (there are some excellent twists throughout this story, as is Bardugo's way), but with more than a little Stephen King about it. This book revels in the weird and the sinister, bringing in strong dark acadaemia stylings even as it looks past this to focus on the mundane cruelty of much of its cast.

Some pacing issues, especially early in the book, an over-abundance of swearing which, while not necessarily unrealistic, can end up feeling a bit silly, and some scenes which feel unnecessary in multiple ways keep the book from top marks, but I do recommend it for fans of magic, seedy universities (and all that comes with them - I refer back to the content warnings), and Stephen King.

An excellent, unsettling horror story. The book benefits from an eery and unpleasant (in a good way!) atmosphere in its supernatural scenes which contrasts wonderfully with the tone of much of the rest of the book, which is thoughtful, often verging into genuinely funny. The central mystery of the book is solid if at times hard to follow and with a somewhat unsatisfying ending, and a core cast propel the story along, falling at various points on the spectrum from caring and likeable to abrasive and horrible, hitting the right mixture for me, though some of the more difficult character moments could put readers off the character and book (content warning for

Spoiler

spousal abuse

). Similarly, I found that the blunt narrative voice worked for me as a device for presenting some of the characters' particular flaws, but I can also see how this might not work for everyone.

Not being very knowledgeable about the traditions the author was drawing on, I found that the book explained references and concepts well and I never felt lost. Additionally, and coming as a pleasant surprise from a horror story, the sensitive, knowledgeable depiction of mental healthcare was encouraging to see.