I finished 6 books in January.
1. Patreon Stories by Philip Fracassi. A collection of 15 stories published for members of Fracassi’s patreon group. As with any Fracassi collection, I found most (if not all) of the stories to be entertaining. Favorites were ‘I Think My Treehouse Is Haunted’, ‘The Taker’, and ‘The Visitor’. 3.7 / 5
2. To Be Devoured by Sara Tantlinger. This short novel (novella?) deals with a young woman’s descent into madness as she develops a fascination with birds that eat carrion. This one got very dark and had an ending I didn’t see coming. I will definitely keep my eyes open in the future for more by Tantlinger. 4 / 5
3. The House by Bentley Little was a reread for me from 20 years ago, so I really didn’t remember very much. It played off as kind of an ode to The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson. There is a lot of horrific imagery, especially in the first half, but a very convoluted plot line in the second half dragged the story down for me. Not bad, but I’ve read better from Little. 3 / 5
4. Mystery Walk by Robert McCammon. Set in a small town in Alabama, a young boy of American Indian descent discovers he can communicate with the dead. In another story line, the son of an extravagant, power driven preacher discovers he has the power to bring the dead back to life. These two storylines converge as the young men mature and learn about their powers. This was typical McCammon, well developed characters with an interesting and well paced storyline.
My one complaint with the story was I wished that the supernatural elements had had a little more explanation to them. Not my favorite by McCammon, but still a damn good story, and one I’m surprised that he hasn’t revisited. 4.5 / 5
5. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut was another 60’s - 70’s era sci-fi classic that I didn’t connect with. I thought the WWII storyline was effective, but just didn’t think it meshed well with the alien abduction / time travel storyline. This was a little too far out there for my tastes. 2 / 5
6. Lost Man’s Lane by Scott Carson was the third novel I’ve read by Carson and easily the best. Part coming of age story, part ghost story, and part noir mystery story, and it works well on all those fronts. Quite simply one of the best novels I’ve read in a while.
5 / 5
B
1. Patreon Stories by Philip Fracassi. A collection of 15 stories published for members of Fracassi’s patreon group. As with any Fracassi collection, I found most (if not all) of the stories to be entertaining. Favorites were ‘I Think My Treehouse Is Haunted’, ‘The Taker’, and ‘The Visitor’. 3.7 / 5
2. To Be Devoured by Sara Tantlinger. This short novel (novella?) deals with a young woman’s descent into madness as she develops a fascination with birds that eat carrion. This one got very dark and had an ending I didn’t see coming. I will definitely keep my eyes open in the future for more by Tantlinger. 4 / 5
3. The House by Bentley Little was a reread for me from 20 years ago, so I really didn’t remember very much. It played off as kind of an ode to The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson. There is a lot of horrific imagery, especially in the first half, but a very convoluted plot line in the second half dragged the story down for me. Not bad, but I’ve read better from Little. 3 / 5
4. Mystery Walk by Robert McCammon. Set in a small town in Alabama, a young boy of American Indian descent discovers he can communicate with the dead. In another story line, the son of an extravagant, power driven preacher discovers he has the power to bring the dead back to life. These two storylines converge as the young men mature and learn about their powers. This was typical McCammon, well developed characters with an interesting and well paced storyline.
My one complaint with the story was I wished that the supernatural elements had had a little more explanation to them. Not my favorite by McCammon, but still a damn good story, and one I’m surprised that he hasn’t revisited. 4.5 / 5
5. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut was another 60’s - 70’s era sci-fi classic that I didn’t connect with. I thought the WWII storyline was effective, but just didn’t think it meshed well with the alien abduction / time travel storyline. This was a little too far out there for my tastes. 2 / 5
6. Lost Man’s Lane by Scott Carson was the third novel I’ve read by Carson and easily the best. Part coming of age story, part ghost story, and part noir mystery story, and it works well on all those fronts. Quite simply one of the best novels I’ve read in a while.
5 / 5
B