I've never read or listened to anything by Hill before. Like his dad, he created a very imaginative world. The characters were pretty good & had quiteI've never read or listened to anything by Hill before. Like his dad, he created a very imaginative world. The characters were pretty good & had quite a twisty situation to deal with. The acting for the audio production, voices, sound effects, & sound levels were all great. IOW, it had a lot going for it.
Unfortunately, it went on too long. I was really hoping for the end by the beginning of part 5. There wasn't a lot of obvious padding, but most situations could & should have been resolved a lot more efficiently. I just got tired of the roller coaster.
Merged review:
I've never read or listened to anything by Hill before. Like his dad, he created a very imaginative world. The characters were pretty good & had quite a twisty situation to deal with. The acting for the audio production, voices, sound effects, & sound levels were all great. IOW, it had a lot going for it.
Unfortunately, it went on too long. I was really hoping for the end by the beginning of part 5. There wasn't a lot of obvious padding, but most situations could & should have been resolved a lot more efficiently. I just got tired of the roller coaster....more
I didn't like the way it was told, kind of like a "Choose Your Own Adventure" without any choice. "You did" this & that. It just put me off since I woI didn't like the way it was told, kind of like a "Choose Your Own Adventure" without any choice. "You did" this & that. It just put me off since I wouldn't....more
Fun stories geared toward young teens or so to get them reading, so they were short, occasionally gross, & some were actually fairly scary. Very well Fun stories geared toward young teens or so to get them reading, so they were short, occasionally gross, & some were actually fairly scary. Very well narrated. I've read others in the "Guys Read" series & they never fail to disappoint. The only surprise here was how much I enjoyed them since I don't read much horror. ...more
I wasn't sure what this was besides horror. Turns out it's kind of a vampire/zombie book with way too much description for me. While some atmosphere iI wasn't sure what this was besides horror. Turns out it's kind of a vampire/zombie book with way too much description for me. While some atmosphere is good, it went over the top such as when a description included a smell while the characters were in sealed suits with air tanks. I didn't care much for the characters, either. Nothing was popping for me, so I took a break & tried to go back to it after reading another. No joy. Probably not a bad book, just not my cup of tea.
Ron Perlman did an excellent job of the narration. Great voice....more
Very well narrated & the stories were good short stories with excellent twists at the end for the most part. I appreciate brevity & a good twist in a Very well narrated & the stories were good short stories with excellent twists at the end for the most part. I appreciate brevity & a good twist in a short story. That's the way they should be written, but too many today think they need to write novellas. None of these were. Still, they varied in quality & averaged out to 3 stars.
Table of Contents: “The Departed” by Clive Barker: was short & very effective. It all depends on your point of view. Very well made point. 4 stars.
“The New War” by Lisa Morton: was longer, but well done. The POV is great & so is the point. 4 stars.
“Sammy Comes Home” by Ray Garton: was kind of weird & I really disliked the main character. What a wimp. Pretty creepy, but it never seemed very believable. 2 stars.
“The Brasher Girl” by Ed Gorman: didn't really capture me, but the ending was good. 3 stars.
“Creature Feature” by Heather Graham: had too many elements & tried too hard. 2 stars....more
A mixed bag both in content & narration. A couple made it all worthwhile.
Table of Contents "The Collected Short Stories of Freddie Prothero IntroductionA mixed bag both in content & narration. A couple made it all worthwhile.
Table of Contents "The Collected Short Stories of Freddie Prothero Introduction by Torless Magnussen, Ph.D." by Peter Straub: This might be better as text. In audio, it sucked. It's about short stories written by an 8 year old & they're read, so the narrator pronounced misspellings & used a child's voice. It was tough to make a lot of it out & I really didn't care. The idea of an 8 year old author who awes critics is tough to swallow. Finally, it lost me & I skipped the rest. Maybe some day I'll like something Straub writes, but I haven't yet.
"Group of Thirty" by Jack Ketchum: A fairly successful author dealing with fans, old age, & a loss of desire to write. Really excellent!
"Nancy" by Darynda Jones: was a pretty good ghost story.
"I Love You, Charlie Pearson" by Jacquelyn Frank: It's nasty being in the head of a stalker, but a there's a twist. Not particularly believable, but satisfying - sort of.
"The Lone One and Level Sands Stretch Far Away" by Brian Hodge: didn't go where I expected. Not bad, but not great, either....more
Not really SF, it's pretty much the state of social media today & it can be horrible, especially with hot topic issues. This covers both the victims' Not really SF, it's pretty much the state of social media today & it can be horrible, especially with hot topic issues. This covers both the victims' & the troll's thinking well. Good pacing. Just be aware that this is true horror.
Well narrated, but none of the stories did much for me, a real come down after the first collection. I'm giving it 2 stars because it wasn't terrible,Well narrated, but none of the stories did much for me, a real come down after the first collection. I'm giving it 2 stars because it wasn't terrible, but I certainly could have been reading something better.
Table of Contents "The Deep End" by Robert R. McCammon was a lot of buildup, but pretty obvious. Not creepy. 2 stars
"Interval" by Norman Prentiss was kind of creepy, but didn't grab me. I'm not sure why. 2 stars
"If These Walls Could Talk" by Shawntelle Madison was totally pedestrian. Yawn. Saw most of it coming. 2 stars
"The Night Hider" by Graham Masterton about the same as the above, except I was so bored I took a break from the book. It actually ended pretty well & featured the wardrobe of Lewis' that inspired Narnia. 3 stars
"Whatever" by Richard Christian Matheson was a l-o-n-g, boring account of a Rolling Stone reporter's notes about a band. I'm not much for following band members. Except for the occasional anecdote, I only care about their music, preferably the studio version. What they do outside the studio is their business, so this started at a disadvantage. Coupled with the lack of anything remotely interesting, horrific or otherwise, happening during the hour or so I did listen meant I couldn't finish it. 1 star...more
A nice collection of short stories that were very well narrated.
Table of Contents "Weeds" by Stephen King Amazingly short for something written by KinA nice collection of short stories that were very well narrated.
Table of Contents "Weeds" by Stephen King Amazingly short for something written by King. It was a fairly pedestrian SF-horror story featuring an alien invasion. The main character was overdone, but it was fun. 3 stars
"The Price You Pay" by Kelley Armstrong Dark & twisty with a satisfying, if creepy ending. Very well done! 4 stars
"Magic Eyes" by Bill Pronzini I think I've read this before. I think of Pronzini as a mystery author. I like his "Nameless Detective" books. This is the horrific look from the eyes of an insane man. Ends really well. 4 stars
"Murder in Chains" by Simon Clark Well written, but I just couldn't swallow the basic idea of the story. It made no sense to me. 2 stars.
"The Watched" by Ramsey Campbell was too removed from the action to impress me. 2 stars...more
t was OK. He certainly packed a lot of ideas together that I don't normally associate with the Cthulhu mythos such as Pluto (discovered in 1930 while t was OK. He certainly packed a lot of ideas together that I don't normally associate with the Cthulhu mythos such as Pluto (discovered in 1930 while this was published in 1932), minds in cans & connected to the world via peripheral devices, along with all the horror. His descriptions of the Vermont countryside put my in mind of both Washington Irving & Stephen King although they described different places in New England.
I didn't care for the loss of evidence. It made little sense to me that notes wouldn't have been made or a copy of the record. Even inferior copies would seem to have been prudent & obvious from a scientist. When I'm studying something (I'm not a scientist.) I often take notes to put observations in order to make sense of them & store the originals out of harm's way.
There wasn't enough action in the story for me. What was there was removed from immediacy by descriptions set in letters with a lot of caveats such as 'too horrible to describe', 'defying description', & such which just seemed like a cop out.
The Black Stone didn't get enough play, either. It's interesting to compare this to REH's "The Black Stone" (1930) which is also considered part of the Cthulhu mythos. There isn't any SF aspect to it, just horror & adventure. It's a short story that you can read here for free: http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0601...
All in all, not bad & it has quite a few of the names so often used in this mythos including the "Book of the Dead". Here's a clip: Great Cthulhu, of Tsathoggua, and of Him Who is not to be Named. Ever Their praises, and abundance to the Black Goat of the Woods. Ia! Shub-Niggurath! The Goat with a Thousand Young! (A Buzzing Imitation of Human Speech) Ia! Shub-Niggurath! The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young! Eerie stuff typical of HPL & this genre.
I originally started with a Librivox recording of this I got through Archive.org, but it turned out to be just the first 2 chapters. The narrator wasn't very good & her 'R' sounded like 'W' too often, so I listened to most of it by Horrorbabble.com. Their rendering of the story was great & they have many others. I highly recommend them....more
This is a classic tale, so spoilers abound in this review.
I last listened to the BBC OTR version, but didn't care for it too much. We're reading it iThis is a classic tale, so spoilers abound in this review.
I last listened to the BBC OTR version, but didn't care for it too much. We're reading it in the Evolution of SF group, so I thought I'd try this version #5 from Librivox narrated by Phil Chenevert, a solid narrator. You can find it here: https://librivox.org/the-strange-case...
It's only 3 hours long, but that's about twice as long as it needs to be due to the wordy, stilted Victorian writing. Still, it's worth getting through because overall, it's a great story & it's told in such a neat format. It is told from the POV of Utterson, Jekyll's friend & attorney. Nine, the final chapter lays out everything from Jekyll's POV. By that time, we pretty much know or can guess the story, so there aren't any surprises, but it's a heart-rending account.
Hyde is a smaller, younger, & perverted version of Jekyll. (Smaller, not larger as he usually is in the movies.) He is the evil side that Jekyll has starved for so many years. No one can accurately describe what makes Hyde so hideous, but everyone finds him abhorrent. Once he figures out the chemical formula that releases him though, Hyde becomes stronger. Jekyll tries to quit, but things have gone too far. I was really impressed by his description. I wonder how much Bill Wilson swiped for his descriptions of alcoholism & relapse in the A.A. Big Book. The words probably weren't identical, but they elicited the same cycle of despair. Better living through chemistry is an illusion that will bite you in the behind.
Obviously this is a story about the duality of man's nature, perfect in its setting. The upstanding gentry liked to slum. They were often conflicted by their desires & society's expectations. It's similar to the theme of The Picture of Dorian Gray which was published a few years later.
Highly recommended for its historical importance, but don't expect a great book unless you like the style. I don't....more
This started with an interesting foreword by the author, read by him, I think. He mentions his love of SF, horror, & hating to put them into genre boxThis started with an interesting foreword by the author, read by him, I think. He mentions his love of SF, horror, & hating to put them into genre boxes. This is definitely a blend of the two. That's often great, but it really hurt the story toward the end.
The actions of the inimical force made no sense. (view spoiler)[Making a corpse suddenly able to move in 2G by walking on broken legs sucked. Pushing the landing craft out of the way was worse. It would have had a lot more options with far less expenditure of energy & it was confined to barely being able to move a knife in 1G. (hide spoiler)] Still, if you roll with it, there was a high creep factor. Good characters & an interesting story otherwise. I really liked the alien(s). (view spoiler)[To go through all that trouble only to find out it's basically a cosmic cow grazing mindlessly along. Wow. (hide spoiler)]
I'm not sure this is the correct edition. I listened to an audiobook that contained only this story & was published by Random House. I looked it up & it is an Audible edition. I don't recommend it since the narrator Adenrele Ojo wasn't that great. A little too much emphasis & emotion, but I could take that. The really awful part was she made one of the characters, Alice, almost incomprehensible; reminded me of Mushmouth on the old Bill Cosby cartoon.
So this is a 4 star story, but I'm taking one star away for the narrator. I'll recommend it, especially if you get it with other stories. My original copy of it is one of the doubles Martin mentions in the foreword. I forget who had the other novella. It wasn't one of the old Ace doubles, but an attempt to revive the format. I really liked them & miss them....more
This is a pretty good sampling of REH's stories, although there are several Soloman Kanes & a couple of Kulls, there is a sprinkling of other characteThis is a pretty good sampling of REH's stories, although there are several Soloman Kanes & a couple of Kulls, there is a sprinkling of other characters. All very good & well narrated. Some were almost productions, but I don't think that helped them any. REH has a cadence to his work that makes any additional acting extraneous. The words speak very well by themselves & the stories are often hindered by the narrator attempting to put more into them.
In the REH group, I mentioned how OSC said that he read his stories aloud & how well his words flowed. All agreed that REH's flowed as well & several remarked that he was well known for shouting as he typed. It upset the neighbors. I suppose there is a lesson there for all writers - if your writing rolls off the tongue, it will read well, too....more
Nope. It's a short book & full of repetition just in the first few chapters. Repeating a description does not make for atmosphere, just frustration. RNope. It's a short book & full of repetition just in the first few chapters. Repeating a description does not make for atmosphere, just frustration. Repeating facts from the previous page is even worse. The narrator didn't do it any favors, either. So I abandoned it....more
Sigh. Once again I seem to be out of step with the rest of the world. This novel has been on my radar for years. One of those, everyone likes it so muSigh. Once again I seem to be out of step with the rest of the world. This novel has been on my radar for years. One of those, everyone likes it so much, I have to read it. I've avoided spoilers, so went into this pretty much blind save for knowing it was creepy. It certainly was that, but in a really sad way.
It's told by Merrykat, an 18 year old who is obviously an unreliable narrator with a sharp eye for detail. She frames things in a most fantastic way & it's obvious from the start that she's been damaged. Early on, it's clear why, but the reasons keep piling up. The ending wasn't quite what I expected. (view spoiler)[I expected them to die & haunt the place, but they didn't do the first, although they certainly do the last. (hide spoiler)]
There are some great visuals throughout & a particularly gruesome scene toward the end. No gore, just incredibly bad people that reminded me of the Twilight Zone episodes, "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" & "The Shelter".
Although the book was short, it dragged quite a bit for me even with really good narration & nothing better to do as I was mowing. I'm glad I read it simply to get it over with. Definitely not a favorite....more
I'm reading this with the Weird Fiction group. I'm not really sure what that is, but I like it occasionally & I liked this book far more than most.
I hI'm reading this with the Weird Fiction group. I'm not really sure what that is, but I like it occasionally & I liked this book far more than most.
I had to keep adding genres to this book. In the afterword, Crouch says it is his attempt to capture something of the feel of Twin Peaks. I never watched the show, but I might have to. This was good! For the first half of the book, I wasn't sure what was going on. I had my suspicions, but they kept getting changed as new data came to light.
About halfway through, I thought I'd finally figured out what was going on, but I'd only guessed part of the answer & the story just kept getting better all the time until a really satisfying ending. Yes, there are more books. No, I don't plan on reading them. Unless someone several people convince me otherwise, I consider this a standalone like Dune. Yes, there are more books, but they didn't do anything for the story that was so well told in the first book. I'm sure this can go on into exciting territory, but I think this one comes to a very good end....more
A full cast short story narrated by Malcolm MacDowell. There are few voices more suited to horror than his. It's basically Frankenstein set in ProhibiA full cast short story narrated by Malcolm MacDowell. There are few voices more suited to horror than his. It's basically Frankenstein set in Prohibition times. Very chilling....more
Not bad, but this bills itself as a new translation & was more Christian than what I recall. It's been a long time, though. It does go through all 3 sNot bad, but this bills itself as a new translation & was more Christian than what I recall. It's been a long time, though. It does go through all 3 stories which is nice. Well narrated....more
Incorrect edition. Mine is "The Horseman in the Sky & Other Stories" read by Alex Wilson. There were just 3 of them. They all follow the same vein; thIncorrect edition. Mine is "The Horseman in the Sky & Other Stories" read by Alex Wilson. There were just 3 of them. They all follow the same vein; there is a setup & the very last bit puts the screws in.
The title story is pretty long, but it's almost poetic in the way it lulled me into false conclusions about the young soldier. Then the end. Wow!!!
An Arrest was very short & seemed to make sense until the end. Again, wow. If I hadn't been prepared by the last story, I never would have suspected it.
Present at a Hanging wasn't as good as the preceding stories, but was still pretty good. It suffered just by its place in this collection. Otherwise, it was a very worthy ghost story.
Well narrated & less than a half hour for the 3 of them. Time well spent!...more
This is the October 2018 group read for the Evolution of Science Fiction group. We're reading a pre-1920s book which are mostly proto-SF to see how thThis is the October 2018 group read for the Evolution of Science Fiction group. We're reading a pre-1920s book which are mostly proto-SF to see how the genre emerged. This book seems to be far more influential on the horror & fantasy genres, though. Lovecraft credited this work as a huge influence & that's obvious. I can see where Moorcock got many of his universe ideas for his Forever Hero from here. I recognized Thoth from Creatures of Light and Darkness & other bits of Roger Zelazny's work as originating here. Robert E. Howard, Lin Carter, Gardner Fox, & many other Sword & Sorcery writers obviously owe a big debt to Hodgson, too. Very influential, so good to read from that perspective.
I didn't care for it much. I've never liked the device of someone finding a manuscript to reveal the story. Even when told in the first person, that always make the action less immediate & here it's twice removed - distant - so very easy to just put down as the ravings of a madman. I really don't care what a madman thinks & this one wasn't even likeable. I had far more empathy for his dog (A really good dog!) & his barely mentioned sister.
The first half of the book was intriguing, but it got really boring when he flew off into the cosmos. I'm not much on out of body experiences & the attempts to connect it to reality were jarring. The last bit was pretty haunting, but I could easily have done without a lot of the second half of the book. A lot of imagery, but it didn't make any sense nor add to the underlying story. It was only good as source material for later authors who chose the best bits & put them into better stories.
It's a 2 star book, but I'm bumping it up 1 star simply because of its influence. That makes it worth reading. I got through this as an audio book from Librivox.org. Alan Winterrowd did a great job narrating it. You can find it for free here: https://librivox.org/the-house-on-the......more
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