Tag: Short Stories Reviews

“Herbert West—Reanimator” By H.P. Lovecraft Review

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It was written between October 1921 and June 1922. It was first serialized in February through July 1922 in the amateur publication Home Brew. The story is the first to mention Lovecraft’s fictional Miskatonic University.

So this little short story if you will call it that has in it 6 different short stories which really makes this little short story as a whole unique. 

However the stories which this short story as a whole involves are boring, and I had super hard time trying to connect with them. And as you might know, if I can’t connect with a story then the rating will be low. 

This short story was first mentioned at Lovecraft’s fictional Miskatonic University. And when we are the topic of this i gotta also mention that this one is very notable as one of the first depictions of zombies. Zombies as we know them somehow today which can be described as corpses arising, of course through scientific means. And as animalistic, and uncontrollably violent creatures.

The beginning of this short story was pretty decent but as you were living the beginning behind and reading more of this short story then the whole short story started to run down the hill.

The plot itself in this one is kind of hard to review because this one as I’ve said before involves 6 different short stories. But overall all these 6 different short stories was pretty boring and not really interesting. 

The writing style here in this one probably was the best part about this whole collection of 6 different short stories. I felt like H.P Lovecraft and it had the Lovecraftian vibe to it.

I give this short story 1 / 5

“The Unnamable” By H.P. Lovecraft Review

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Carter, a weird fiction writer, who is likely Randolph Carter who features in some of Lovecraft’s other tales such as “The Statement of Randolph Carter”, meets with his close friend, Joel Manton, in a cemetery near an old, dilapidated house on Meadow Hill in the town of Arkham, Massachusetts. As the two sit upon a weathered tomb, Carter tells Manton the tale of an indescribable entity that allegedly haunts the house and surrounding area.

And here again we are talking about another disappointing short story by H.P Lovecraft. 

You gotta know that I’m huge fan of H.P Lovecraft but this one didn’t go well with me. This one was really silly, stupid and it felt like it was written by a junior high student not by the goat himself aka H.P Lovecraft.

The writing style here wasn’t great either so don’t expect much from this short story. Because it isn’t good. 

The entire short story begins with 2 characters in a deep conversation about how something could be unnamable. Which wasn’t so good at least not for me. But here again we are coming back to me being harsh on things I read now on days. 

The whole plot of this short story wasn’t something unique or even good enough to talk about it a lot. 

This short story is the second appearance of Randolph Carter which means that it is a follow-up to the amazing and great “Statement of Randolph Carter”. But this short story is bad, like really bad. It is completely horrible.

I give this short story 1 / 5

“The Dunwich Horror” By H.P. Lovecraft Review

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The story of Wilbur Whateley, son of a deformed albino mother and an unknown father, and the strange events surrounding his birth and precocious development. Wilbur matures at an abnormal rate, reaching manhood within a decade–all the while indoctrinated him into dark rituals and witchcraft by his grandfather. 

So another disappointing short story from H.P Lovecraft. I wasn’t expecting a 5 star short story from this one but I’ve expected a 3 star short story. Ive heard a lot of mixed opinions about this short story but from what I’ve heard it sounded like a short story which I would enjoy. 

The writing style here was pretty decent but I was expecting much more from it because H.P Lovecraft have written it. The writing style had the H.P Lovecraft vibe to it however it felt more like a H.P Lovecraft at the beginning of this career rather than the H.P Lovecraft we all know now. 

The plot itself in this short story was the overall common plot in the H.P Lovecraft short stories world. The unknown and the strange events and what else do there is to say when it comes to H.P Lovecraft. However the plot itself was super boring because hit was presented to us in a very boring way. And I’ve ended up DNF-ing it at the end because I couldn’t stand it. 

When it comes to the horror part of this short story then its important to mention that it wasn’t scary at all. It was more like a fiction story and nothing more than that,

I give this short story 1 / 5

“The Street” By H.P. Lovecraft Review

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The story traces the history of the eponymous street in a New England city, presumably Boston, from its first beginnings as a path in colonial times to a quasi-supernatural occurrence in the years immediately following World War I.

This one was disappointing because there are a lot of people on the interment who are saying that this short story is amazing but it isn’t. This short story is on the opposite of amazing. 

The writing style here is very boring, it truly doesn’t feel like something written by H.P Lovecraft. Which is sad because if a short story is written by H.P Lovecraft but it doesn’t feel like H.P Lovecraft then it takes the wind out of it.

The plot in this one is about a street in somewhere in New Hampshire, Massachusetts,  Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont or Maine which of course is the New England area. And if you know me then you know that I’m a huge fan of New England Patriots so when I’ve learned that this short story takes place in New England then the expectations for it went through the roof for me but it didn’t live up to these expectations. 

This short story didn’t live up to expectations just as New England Patriots this season (2021-22) which I personally hate to see. 

The way which this short story was told through was embarrassing and mixed with ridiculous.

This short story isn’t really horror story, it is actually far from it. This short story felt kind of random to me and I had a really hard time connecting with this story which again results in low rating. 

I give this short story 1 / 5

“The Black Phone” by Joe Hill Review

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John Finney is locked in a basement that’s stained with the blood of half a dozen other murdered children. In the cellar with him is an antique telephone, long since disconnected, but which rings at night with calls from the dead.

The whole plot of this story was pretty unique, interesting and cool idea. So we will give this book points for that. 

This story really surprised me because it begins as a regular kidnapping story but it turns into more as it goes forward. And as this story moves forward it turns more creepier and more interesting.

If you are not familiar with Joe Hill’s work and you want to start the journey with his work i would say that this story is a good place to start that journey.  Because this story really shows how good author he really is as well as showing us that his writing style and ideas are somehow similar to Stephen King’s work which we all know Stephen King is Joe Hill’s father. 

Its important to briefly mention that this book has a big potential which wasn’t used at some points in this book. This book could have been much better if it was longer and if it gave us a backstory of what was happening before the kidnapping. But the book would also be better if we were given more descriptions and details. 

Descriptions and details in this book was good, but sometimes good descriptions and details aren’t enough sometimes we need a lots of descriptions and details. 

This book needs to get points for the moody and scary at times story about a kidnapping with the fact that this story also involves clown and missing children which are somehow similar to “It” by Stephen King. 

The ending itself was unexpected. But it makes sense and for the most part leaves readers thinking about the tale after you had put it down.

I give this story 2 / 5

“Hallucination” by Isaac Asimov Review

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Hallucination takes place at a time in the future although the exact date or era is not specific. The action takes place on Energy Planet, a rocky earth-like planet orbiting a neutron star in the Milky Way.

It important to say that this story is a classic written by Isaac Asimov. And if you are thinking about starting your journey with Isaac Asimov this story is the place to do so. 

This story was written back in 1985, but it carries the ideas related to the present which a lots of work of Isaac Asimov does.

This story is of course about space travel and it involves all the parts which a science fiction movie / book have now on days. So be warned about that. However it doesn’t fail to ask us the big questions about space travel and being a multi planetary species which we will be one day in the future. 

This story have the perception of reality which it needs to get points for. Because a lots of science fiction books and movies now are far from having this.  And most people like to have stuff explained not just give us the “thats just how it is, accept it”.

This story is in the end a quick and enjoyable read, which most science fiction fans will enjoy. There are some parts in this story which seems a little bit forced but it doesn’t take away the fun from this story.

It’s important to say that this story will not fail with making you think about what might happen when humans will become one day a multi planetary species. 

The ending have a twist to it as we all can expect from a science fiction book. 

I give this story 4 / 5

“Mesmeric Revelation” by Edgar Allan Poe Review

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The nineteenth century witnessed an explosion of imagination. After centuries dominated by church religion and the eighteenth century’s age of reason, men and women began exploring new ways of looking at and experiencing the world, including the world of the unseen.

This story is for the most part a story about a dude who is close to death, and he is put in a state of sleep-waking ish. Which isn’t so unique idea for a story.

The narrator in this book isn’t the main character, the main character is the man who is close to death. The narrator and the man in this story are talking about universe, God and other “mysteries” we don’t use a lot of out time on now on days. 

The ending is not what every Edgar Allan Poe fan would expect. Because the ending leaves us more or less with the conclusion that the man is asleep or just talking beyond the grave. Which is very poor work made by Edgar Allan Poe.

The writing style in this story is very on point with Edgar Allan Poe. It’s good, it drags you into the story and makes you imagine what you are reading which not a lots of authors have the ability to do.

It’s important to mention that this story may seem like an earlier version of M. Valdemar to some people. It did at least for me when I read it the first time years ago in junior high.

The whole story takes us into a journey which is involving the fad of the time of writing. However it’s important to mention that this tale starts with making you curious about what will be the next thing which will be said. But after a while it turns into a philosophical discussion story which again not a lot of people likes.

The whole plot about a sick & dying man who is hypnotized in a state that is halfway between life and death. will make some people love it, but when we look at the aspect that there are a lots of stories which involves these elements now on days does take the hype away. 

I give this story 4 / 5

“The Last Question” by Isaac Asimov Review

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The last question was asked for the first time, half in jest, on May 21, 2061, at a time when humanity first stepped into the light. The question came about as a result of a five dollar bet over highballs, and it happened this way 

Another amazing Science Fiction book which really will make you think about the future and what path we as humans are on.

For the most part this story talks about the big enigma about human beings and about the technology which is getting better and better everyday.  However it also touches on the accept of us humans being creator and the creation at the same time.

The whole story deals with the development of a computer system called Multivac and its relationship with humanity through the courses of seven historic settings, beginning in 2061. Which sounds really weird if you haven’t read the book or you just are getting into reading it.

In this book we have 6 different scenes. And in each of these 6 scenes we are following different characters who deals with eh same computer system which of course is Multivac. All of these 6 scenes deals with the idea of AI vs humans. 

To be 100 % clear here, this book is a classic science fiction book, which every science fiction fan should read at some point in time. 

The question which is asked in this book is sort of a cosmic question that might not be ever solved which makes this book even more interesting and fun to read. 

However that main question in this book also creates other questions as the story goes on. One of the question which are created from the main question is what will happen when the sun gets burned out? What I’m trying to say is that this book not only asks you the question of AI vs humans but it also asks you a whole bunch of questions which we don’t use so much time on. 

Its important to say that this book is a quick read, and it good when you just want to sit down with cup of tea and a book in the evening and just wonder off into a story which is pretty good.

I give this story 4 / 5

“A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury Review

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A hunter named Eckels pays $10,000 to join a hunting party that will travel back 66 million years to the Late Cretaceous period, on a guided safari to kill a Tyrannosaurus rex.

This story is one of the well known classics about why you shouldn’t play around with time travel and all that. It’s one of the best time travel stories out there. 

This story is very well written, the writing style makes you almost feel like you are a part of the story which is in the end the highest level of brilliant writing style in books.

The whole plot of this story is brilliant. The idea of using a time machine to hunt dinosaurs which will die very soon to avoid changes in time is very brilliant. But of course there are some things which goes down hill on one of the “adventures” and it really shows how actually easy it is to change the future.

This book was written back in 1952, so it means that there are some parts which you may find cringe or cliché. But everything is cringe or cliché. after 80 ish years isn’t it?

This book is one of the best Science Fiction stories out there because it involves all the best parts which a Science Fiction story should have. And these parts are Time travel, Dinosaurs and Democracy / Dictatorship.

This story involves Butterfly Effect, Chaos Theory, time paradoxes or whatever you want to call it. I think that every science person will appreciate it because it really makes you think about time travel and how small pieces which gets changed can effect the bigger picture we have today. 

However the ending could have been better than it was. More descriptions would have helped the ending but of course we didn’t have that much descriptions as we should have.

This book needs to get points for being short and a quick read. Which we all love to read every once in a while. 

Possibly the most anthologise science fiction story of all time, but this is up for the debate.  its interest lies in its early exposure of the public of time travel paradox and the butterfly effect which makes this story even more interesting. 

I give this story 4 / 5

“Eureka: A Prose Poem” By Edgar Allan Poe Review

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Adapted from a lecture he had presented, Eureka describes Edgar Allan Poe’s intuitive conception of the nature of the universe with no antecedent scientific work done to reach his conclusions. He also discusses man’s relationship with God, whom he compares to an author.

This one was probably one of Edgar Allan Poe’s longest work. Because this one has over 90 pages but it all depends on what copy you read. 

This book will make you feel like you are attending a physics lecture in 19th century.

The theme of this book is amazing because it explores scientific speculation on human life which people like me appreciate especially when it was written over 100 years ago when the knowledge and tools was a lots of different than we have today. 

However i need to mention that this story have had a lots of parts which didn’t go well with me. 

But there is a chance that this story / book was a romantic attempt to follow intuition into explaining life and universe and everything. But this story also sort of chose to ignore inconvenient scientific discoveries.

However this story gives us some fun and wild suggestions at a Big Bang and other things which made the world to the place we knew back then.

This story have a nice vibe gothic, science curiosity vibe to it, which I personally liked.

I give this story 3 / 5