Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.
Did Not Finish-27 percent.
I feel really bad. I thought this would be up my alley. Getting to read 29 stories about monsters and monstrous things during one of the rainiest weeks ever should have been a good deal. Instead I found myself losing interest the longer I read. The first short story I read was great, the next confusing, and then it went downhill from there. After I got to Joyce Carol Oates offering, I just gave up. Here are the reviews I have for the stories I read.
“You Have What I Need” by Ian Rogers (4.5 stars)-I loved this tale of a different world in which vampires and other supernatural beings wonder this Earth. A doctor named Tasmin who works at the ER is going through the motions until a woman named Rosalie comes in and says she’s been bitten. What follows is the protocol that the hospitals must do when someone is bitten. Things turn for the worst though and Tasmin finds herself growing closer to Rosalie. The main reason why I couldn’t give this 5 full stars is that there is a whole subplot (what are the vampires up to) that was left unexplored. This is a short story. Having things left hanging doesn’t work.
“The Midway” by Fran Wilde. (2 stars)-I was so confused reading this. Some octopus/Cthulhu monster that lives beneath ‘Staley’s Sea Amusement Arcade’ is not the only sinister monster at play. I think I just gave up trying to understand what was happening and then the ending occurred and I just assumed the character, Skyla, may be dead? Or something? I don’t know.
“Wet Red Grin” by Gemma Files (2.5 stars)-It was so freaking repetitive. You want to read about old ladies, old as dirt, with yellow teeth and a wet, red grin? The character of Lainey was not one I was rooting for and I was left unsatisfied by the ending. The story just dragged too which didn’t help matters.
“The Virgin Jimmy Peck” by Daryl Gregory (2 stars)-I don’t know. I just skimmed this again this morning to refresh my memory and I give up.
“The Ghost of a Flea” by Priya Sharma (2 stars)-Nope.
“The Atrocity Exhibitionists” by Brian Hodge (1 star)-It was at this point I started to skim.
And then was where I left this collection.
