casparquarius's Reviews (91)

The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson

The Lottery and Other Stories

Shirley Jackson

4.5
challenging dark emotional tense
Shirley Jackson was one of the best to ever write creepy stories and I'm not convinced there will ever be another like her
The Fisherman by John Langan

The Fisherman

John Langan

4.5
dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
I liked this slow burn of a fishing horror quite a lot, and not just because I think fishing is a tragically underutilized horror context. the narrative was well-crafted and compelling, though I did find myself wanting a little more outside of Howard's story
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Ascension by Nicholas Binge

Ascension

Nicholas Binge

3.5
adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
a quick fun read. I enjoyed the sense of confusion and urgency, and loved the format of the narrative. it wasn't particularly scary or as tense as I was hoping, but still definitely enjoyable 
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ANTIFA SPLATTERPUNK by M. Lopes da Silva, Caias Ward, Eric Raglin, Cynthia Gomez, Gordon B. White, Kathe Koja, J.V. Gachs, Joe Koch, John Baltisberger, Patrick Barb, Max D. Stanton, Donyae Coles, Keith Rosson, Sam Richard, Jonathan Louis Duckworth, Sarah Peploe, Ana E. Robic

ANTIFA SPLATTERPUNK

M. Lopes da Silva, Caias Ward, Eric Raglin, Cynthia Gomez, Gordon B. White, Kathe Koja, J.V. Gachs, Joe Koch, John Baltisberger, Patrick Barb, Max D. Stanton, Donyae Coles, Keith Rosson, Sam Richard, Jonathan Louis Duckworth, Sarah Peploe, Ana E. Robic

4.0
challenging dark
anthologies, and short stories in general, are often hit or miss for me but this one was good fun throughout and I found some new-to-me authors to read more of
House of Rot by Danger Slater

House of Rot

Danger Slater

3.5
dark mysterious fast-paced
Strong character development: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
I did like this but I wanted to like it so much more. this is exactly
my kind of thing, but I wound up wishing it had a little more to it? the characters' emotions and motivations felt too distant, the dialogue stilted, everything just slightly too ungrounded in anything to feel like it mattered
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Posthaste Manor by Jolie Toomajan, Carson Winter

Posthaste Manor

Jolie Toomajan, Carson Winter

5.0
challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
wow what a book to start off 2025. I love a haunted house and I especially love a weird book, and this delivered on both counts
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The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Washington Irving

4.0
mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
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The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir

The Night Guest

Hildur Knútsdóttir

4.25
dark tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
a quick and fun read! deeply compelling, and as a chronically ill disabled person I found the descriptions of fatigue and the endless frustrating doctor appointments horrifyingly relatable. if you need explanations in your horror this is likely not for you, but I quite liked the way it leaves so much to the imagination. 
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Ratman's Notebooks by Stephen Gilbert

Ratman's Notebooks

Stephen Gilbert

3.75
dark fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
I have no real idea what I thought of this? it was interesting, and I liked the narrative voice. it felt a little sluggish in parts, and maybe a tad emotionally distant? which could just be a downside of the format, but I am a sucker for found media with all its drawbacks
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The Deep by Nick Cutter

The Deep

Nick Cutter

2.0
dark sad tense medium-paced
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
man this just. wasn't good. for the first half or so it just felt mediocre - his writing wasn't for me, and I felt only neutral about the protagonist, but I love deep sea horror so I pushed through. by the time I got to the extended death scene of the [redacted] I was so over it I couldn't wait to be finished. Luke was barely a character at all, the writing felt stilted, there were some compelling and interesting visuals but a lot of them seemed to only serve as shock value? and gross gore descriptions just can't stand alone as compelling horror to me. really disappointed in this one and wish it were better, since all I want is horror about the Mariana Trench 
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