Finished 4 in May, with my first DNF of the year.
1. The Worm and His Kings by Hailey Piper was the second thing I’d picked up by Piper, after not getting very far into a short story collection of hers a few years back. I liked TWAHK a little better, and I do tend to gravitate towards cosmic horror, but suffice it to say that Piper is not an author I will likely be returning to in the future. 2 / 5
2. This World Belongs to Us was a hit-or-miss anthology of horror stories concerning insects and other bugs edited by Michael Phillips. Favorite stories were ‘Blue-eyed Pearls’ by Gwen Katz (were a fossil jewelry scheme has disastrous results) and ‘Swarm’ by Rowan Hill (a couple of country girls lure men back to their trailer for an unexpected evening meal). 3.4 / 5
3. Clickers Never Die by Stephen Kozeniewski & Wile E. Young. While I liked the historical backdrop for most of the story (clickers at Guadal Canal in WW II), the story was way too long to be as preposterous as it was. DNF
4. Polyphemus by Michael Shea. A reprinting of Shea’s first short story collection from Arkham House. Includes one of my all time favorite stories ‘The Autopsy’. Other favorites were ‘The Angel of Death’, ‘The Horror on the #33’, and ‘The Extra’. 4 / 5
5. Sacrifice Island by Kristin Dearborn was about two paranormal investigators that go to the Philippines to investigate a supposed haunted island. Once on the island, they find there’s more to the legend than just ghostly hauntings. This was the second thing I’ve read by Dearborn, and while I liked the story well enough, there was a plot line with one of the lead characters that was fleshed out in the final third that just didn’t make any sense and to my mind was completely unnecessary to the story. That said, Sacrifice Island was still an entertaining read. 3.5 / 5
B
1. The Worm and His Kings by Hailey Piper was the second thing I’d picked up by Piper, after not getting very far into a short story collection of hers a few years back. I liked TWAHK a little better, and I do tend to gravitate towards cosmic horror, but suffice it to say that Piper is not an author I will likely be returning to in the future. 2 / 5
2. This World Belongs to Us was a hit-or-miss anthology of horror stories concerning insects and other bugs edited by Michael Phillips. Favorite stories were ‘Blue-eyed Pearls’ by Gwen Katz (were a fossil jewelry scheme has disastrous results) and ‘Swarm’ by Rowan Hill (a couple of country girls lure men back to their trailer for an unexpected evening meal). 3.4 / 5
3. Clickers Never Die by Stephen Kozeniewski & Wile E. Young. While I liked the historical backdrop for most of the story (clickers at Guadal Canal in WW II), the story was way too long to be as preposterous as it was. DNF
4. Polyphemus by Michael Shea. A reprinting of Shea’s first short story collection from Arkham House. Includes one of my all time favorite stories ‘The Autopsy’. Other favorites were ‘The Angel of Death’, ‘The Horror on the #33’, and ‘The Extra’. 4 / 5
5. Sacrifice Island by Kristin Dearborn was about two paranormal investigators that go to the Philippines to investigate a supposed haunted island. Once on the island, they find there’s more to the legend than just ghostly hauntings. This was the second thing I’ve read by Dearborn, and while I liked the story well enough, there was a plot line with one of the lead characters that was fleshed out in the final third that just didn’t make any sense and to my mind was completely unnecessary to the story. That said, Sacrifice Island was still an entertaining read. 3.5 / 5
B