What is this? A Kurt Vonnegut tale with a happy ending? I'm not sure how I feel about that. Being serious, this is very different from his later worksWhat is this? A Kurt Vonnegut tale with a happy ending? I'm not sure how I feel about that. Being serious, this is very different from his later works. I could feel him searching for his authorial voice. Nothing special on its own but it has good character development. It is interesting in the context of his overall body of work....more
I'm not going to lie. I nearly quit this book. I was asking myself why was there buzz around this story? It seemed like it was just a bunch of elites I'm not going to lie. I nearly quit this book. I was asking myself why was there buzz around this story? It seemed like it was just a bunch of elites drinking tea on a stormy night at the titular Spindle Manor way house.
Then the also titular murder happens, the momentum kicked in, and I was holding on for dear life. Secrets, paranormal activities, more tea, eldric powers, and that is just the short list. I totally enjoyed it!
Although this is part of a series, this story stands on its own. I plan to continue to the following books as long as Morgan Stang continues to write them.
This is a gothic tale and the usual trigger warnings for gothic horror should be expected....more
Ray Bradbury loved the idea of Venus being a rainy jungle world. This short story explores what it would be like to live on a world where the rain stoRay Bradbury loved the idea of Venus being a rainy jungle world. This short story explores what it would be like to live on a world where the rain stopped only once every 7 years...and our protagonists are only 9 years old. Bradbury has a beautiful, lyrical writing style that works so well here....more
It is interesting to read the stories written before we knew what planets like Venus and Mars were truly like.
Ray Bradbury imagined Venus as a jungleIt is interesting to read the stories written before we knew what planets like Venus and Mars were truly like.
Ray Bradbury imagined Venus as a jungle planet with oceans, endless rain, and violent electrical storms. A hellscape but one relatively benign to the one Venus actually is. The root of the story is however more in line with a tale of explores that are isolated like Shackleton or the Arctic explorers or the early Europeans in the jungles of South America or Africa.