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Mark

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The Black Phone

by Joe Hill (Goodreads Author)

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Mark said: " This one is all over the place. Some stories seem to go nowhere and fall flat. Some go almost somewhere and then stop just when it's about to get interesting. Some have a lingering after-effect. Some were charming and quaint. But none of them really This one is all over the place. Some stories seem to go nowhere and fall flat. Some go almost somewhere and then stop just when it's about to get interesting. Some have a lingering after-effect. Some were charming and quaint. But none of them really wowed me.

Best New Horror A editor of horror stories gets more than he bargained for meeting a writer living in an eerie place with eerie relatives. Yeah, didn't see that coming. 2/5.
20th Century GhostA quaint story about a ghost in a theater. Interesting but doesn't really go anywhere. 2.5/5.
Pop Art I liked this one, flaws and all. Told from the POV of 12 year old unnamed narrator, who I'll call "John" for no reason in particular. John befriends a boy names Art, who is something like a bubble-boy. Art is bullied by the other school kids and John is a bit of a loner, and the develop a close friendship. Two things stuck with me. Art, couldn't speak and had to write his responses on paper with crayon. John kept all the responses, as if he knew Art wouldn't be around for long. And while John would insult Art, he would never insult Art's deformity. Because "you must never, under any circumstances, leave wounds that result in permanent scars." From the title, you can expect this to not end happily. This one was special for me and my favorite story in the book. Flawed but touching and memorable 4/5.
The Black Phoneboy gets kidnapped, then helped "from they beyond" through a black phone. It's meh. 2.5/5.
In the rundownguy witnesses and accident, but it's not what it seems. Goes nowhere and stops when about to get interesting. Maybe I missed something? 1/5.
Last Breathstrange museum that collects dying breaths of people. Some twist in the end, but goes nowhere. 2/5.
The Widow's breakfasta hobo gets fed and dressed. Ending has a nice "twist" but there's not much to it and the payoff isn't worth the time. 2/5
My Father's MaskDreamy and eerie, what starts off as a game ends up being much more. This one is weird and a fun ride, but I'm not sure if there's more to it than that and I don't believe there is. It's great if you're the type of person to try to fill in the blanks or just enjoy the weird tidbits, but if you're expecting a night tight ending where it all makes sense, this will disappoint. 3.5/5
Bobby Conroy Comes Back from the DeadA quaint story of two extras in a movie set who were almost lovers in the past. They've since led separate lives, but being back together again makes them both think "what if". I enjoyed it, but it's nothing special. 2.5/5

There were a few other stories, but after a while, it felt like a chore to finish this book, so I didn't. Perhaps I missed something great, though I doubt it. All in all, meh. ...more "

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— Oct 29, 2023 08:08PM

Oct 29, 2023 08:32PM · see review