Lena’s Comments (group member since Nov 17, 2014)

Lena’s comments from the Spells, Space & Screams: Collections & Anthologies in Fantasy, Science Fiction, & Horror group.

The Attentionist by Caroline Kepnes ★½☆☆☆
I can’t believe I stuck it out. I was hoping for a payoff that did not come. This wasn’t horror, it was chick lit, though being tricked into reading it was horrible.

Terrible first story, but hopefully the worst of the bunch.

I bought a physical copy of the mammoth vampire book we read and kept it afterwards. There’s something nice about a tome, you feel
accomplished when you finish. As far as the group reading another, it’s easy to get it on a poll. If you participate in a book of the month reading discussion you are asked to volunteer a suggestion for the poll.

You can find some gems in those mammoth books.

Canavan and Fiona - what would you like to read around Christmas?

Qui Vagi Bé by S. Qiouyi Lu ★★★½☆
The ghost of an activist helps a Chinese-American restaurateur save his business.

In Our Season by Tamara Jerée ★★½☆☆
A trip down depression lane. To be fair, I only skimmed this in favor of my wellbeing.

Still Hungry by Ramsey Campbell ★★½☆☆
Whatever the author meant to invoke I just saw thieving and looting in San Francisco, horrible managers, and failing businesses. All of which are horrors, just not enjoyable ones to read.

Wow. Conan’s really done it all!

lol, it makes me like Conan more to know he’s a natural with a gun. In another apocalyptic timeline Conan O’Brian is the John Connor we needed.

Yes, holy hell I need to keep on because I love his writing.

It could be a new Christmas go-to besides Die Hard. I did try It’s A Wonderful Life once. I got halfway through and declared it the most depressing movie ever, I asked if there would be a turn-around soon. My torturer said, no, things were going to get worse. I quit it.

It’s Sunday and I started (never said which Sunday, lol). I’m not rating the tiny tales, just enjoying them.

Oh Man’s Land by Natalia Theodoridou ★★★☆☆
Costas and Selim had killed each other. “Oh, man,” everyone who knew them had said. “Oh, man.”

Well, that was a sad tale of war.

Fish Tale by Eugenia Triantafyllou ★★★½☆
“She was not alone. Another fish that she recognized as her mate was waiting for her to find him at last. Their bodies brushed against each other. She had been found.”

That could have ended badly, I was expecting the eldest son to do something awful. This was nearly romantic if it wasn’t cursed and sad.

Maw Maw Yaga and the Hunter by Alexandrea Weis ★★★★☆
“Retribution’s a painful process. But necessary.”

This Baba is a forest protector and she does not take kindly to hunters poaching on her lands.

Shadow and Branch, Ghost Fruit Among the Lullabies by Saba Syed Razvi ★★★☆☆
A short treatise on Baba Yaga.

Baba Yaga in Repose by Heather Miller ★★½☆☆
The Baba fades as the world stops believing in her.

It deserves the love.

Where the Horizon Meets the Sky by by R. J. Joseph ★★★☆☆
“I don’t know what I want. I wanted my husband. I thought I needed him.”

It’s dangerous to ask for wishes from Baba Yaga when you don’t even know what you really want.

Fiona, have you tried any of the Critical Role One-Shots? Of the ones I have tried the stand outs are:
The Night Before Critmas: https://youtube.com/watch?v=8zxeGydXY...
Thursday By Night: https://youtube.com/watch?v=DTOGH6M6I...
I’m was on episode 78 and got pissed off about some dishonorable actions, so I need to one-shot until I cool down and remember it’s a game. It’s just a game.

Alice’s Rebellion by John Langan DNF
A messy amalgam of Alice in Wonderland and Brexit.

The Mirror House by Jonathan Robbins Leon ★★★☆☆
A mystery of mirror lives in secret closets and an unhappy marriage.

The Naughty Step by Stephen Volk ★★★½☆
Ick. A pedo comes back from the dead for his victim, his son. A determined social worker does her best to save him. She should have tempered that with love for her cat.

A Hotel in Germany by Catriona Ward DNF
I have no idea what’s going on or why.

Branch Line by Paul Finch ★★★★½
“Only a true millennial idiot would think I was trying to sell you that.”

Ooooh that was scary. It was that one-two King punch where the domestic tension/violence suddenly explodes with supernatural malevolence!

Cindy gets her revenge - even if she's not quite sure for what

Yes, revenge on random people would have been ridiculous but you felt she had a good cause and vindicator vibe going.

The only time I enjoy dislikable characters is when Carla Gugino lines them up to die spectacularly.

Just bought my copy! I will start reading on Sunday.

Between April and August 2021 eighteen horror writers disappeared. Gathered together for the first time, these are the stories they were writing at the time of their disappearances.

Reader caution is advised. Advance readers of this anthology have reported nausea, feelings of anxiety, paranoia and hallucinations after reading the texts included.