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Eughhhh. Great Expectations and A Christmas Carol were pretty wordy, but this is the first time I've really understood why Dickens has a reputation for being overwritten. I know this is an old book with language I'm not used to, but also I'm reading Jane Eyre right now, which is from around the same era, and it's nowhere near this difficult to get through.

Huh. I wasn't expecting that. This book does have a very nice story, although I still think it would've worked better if it had ended around the 75% mark.

Have I mentioned how much I love this series? I think it's probably come up at some point.

You Hear What Buddy and Ray Did by John Shirley: 2/5 I liked the voice of the narrator, but the story just wasn't very interesting - cheap, confusing, and not as inventive as it thinks it is.

Playing Dolls by Melissa Mia Hall and Douglas E. Winter: 1/5 This was confusing, badly-written, and overall baffling.

Brainchild by Rex Miller: 2/5 Definitely disturbing in a way that nothing else here is, but it's not very self-aware, and the lack of character development makes it difficult to connect to.

Furies in Black Leather by Nancy A. Collins: 3/5 Part of me wants to write this off as a cheap revenge fantasy, but it is pretty well-written and unpredictable. It just happens to lack any depth whatsoever.

The Energy Pals by Howard Kaylan: 1/5 The premise is stupid, it's badly-written, and it really doesn't fit in this anthology.

The Agony Man by Don Webb: 3/5 This wasn't bad, it just doesn't stand out very much in this anthology - there are at least two or three other stories that are very similar. The main character was alright I guess.

High Heels from Hell by Mike Lee: 2/5 I'm really barely even sure what this story was supposed to be about. It seems like the only point was cheap shock value, and it wasn't even that shocking compared to some of the other stories here. It's not even very well-written. The only saving grace was that the protagonist was kind of a compelling character, but he wasn't put to good use.

Coming of Age by Douglas Clegg: 4/5 Another one that was difficult to read. The story's potential was somewhat overshadowed by its shock value, but it at least says something, unlike most stories here.

Choke Hold by Lucy Taylor: 4/5 Very difficult to read, but well-written. Would've gotten a 5, if not for the predictable ending.

Blackpool Rock by Philip Nutman: 2/5 (DNF) Hard to follow, premise not great.

Forgotten Promises by Edward E. Kramer: 2/5 This had a shit-ton of potential, but Kramer's approach to this story is transphobic, and focuses too much on shock value instead of character development.

I do definitely see why this novel is known for being so feminist. I'm not exactly an expert on the topic, but I imagine this was pretty radical for the time.

The Real World by Brooks Caruthers: 3/5 I liked the premise, and even the protagonist. But the story lacked focus, and the themes started feeling a bit pretentious and didactic after a while. I dunno, I feel like Caruthers expected these to be new ideas to me, and they really weren't. But it was still one of the better stories so far.

I guess this was before the era where climaxes were supposed to come at the very end of a book, and it was acceptable for them to happen more like 50% of the way through. Although then again, Great Expectations had its climax towards the end, and it was written around the same time. I don't really know.

Okay, there's finally a reason for the ending, which really just feels like an extended epilogue, to go on this long. But this just isn't compelling. This overly-long ending is by far the weakest part of this book. I was thinking the rating would be four stars before, but this ending is enough to bump it down a half-star, maybe more.

Light of Thy Countenance by Alan Moore: 2/5 Good premise, overwritten as fuck.

The Contract by Brain Herbert and Marie Landis: 1/5 Contrived, boring, transphobic.

Blood Knot by Steve Rasnic Tem: 3/5 Very intense, plot twist too unexplained.

Interrogator Frames by Rob Hardin: 2/5 The premise has potential, but the writing isn't very good, and it's just hard to follow.

I'm working on Light of Thy Countenance by Alan Moore, and... holy shit is this ever overwritten. It doesn't match at all with the tone of the story, and it makes it really hard to follow. Which is a shame, because there is potential here - it's a great premise for a horror story. But as it stands, it reads like Moore is trying to tell a story in the form of a college thesis.

Midnight Mass by F. Paul Wilson: 4/5 Very well-executed, with an effective climax.

Blood Gothic by Nancy Holder: 2/5 Buildup cliched, payoff confusing.

Yellow Fog by Les Daniels: 2/5 (DNF) Very atmospheric writing, but the story had too many subplots, not enough main plot. There was nothing to latch onto, and no interesting characters.

Vintage Domestic by Steve Rasnic Tem: 3/5 Good idea, lazy execution.

Laird of Dunain by Graham Masterton: 4/5 This is the only genuinely scary story here so far. It does seem a little like it's only done for the shock value, but it is genuinely unpredictable and atmospheric.

Der Untergang Des Abendlandesmenschen by Howard Waldrop: 3/5 I liked the idea of mixing western and gothic elements, but Waldrop doesn't really take it anywhere, and it's just forgettable.

The Room in the Tower by E.F. Benson: 2/5 This story had a premise that's pretty cliche by today's standards, and it's not atmospheric enough to pull it off.

An Episode of Cathedral History by M.R. James: 2/5 Incredibly boring, and not particularly well-written.

Chastel by Manly Wade Wellman: 3/5 This was alright, I guess - the prose wasn't bad - but it just doesn't stand out much in my mind.

No, seriously, did Bronte have a required word count? The plot is over, just end already.

Dracula's Chair by Peter Tremayne: 3/5 Definitely scary, but the story doesn't make much sense to me.

The Better Half by Melanie Tem: 4/5 Despite the overuse of narrative summary, I do really love this story - it's probably the best so far. It's genuinely scary, almost sickening to read, and so well-written.

I'm a little confused as to why this book is still going on. The natural ending feels like it's already passed, and what we're getting here just feels redundant.

Doctor Porthos by Basil Copper: 2/5 I think this story had some good ideas in it, but I mostly found it confusing.

Dracula's Guest by Bram Stoker: 2/5 Maybe it's just Sienfeld is Unfunny Syndrome, but I found this predictable and uninteresting.

It Only Comes Out at Night by Dennis Etchison: 3/5 Atmospheric writing, but the ending is predictable.

A list of things GoodReads should've fixed before changing the navigation bar:
- The green 'want to read' signs that can't be read by people with certain reading disorders.
- The fact that when comparing books with someone who you share many books in common with, you can't see every book you share.
- The unbelievable slowness of changing the order of ordered shelves.
-Probably lots of others stuff I'm forgetting.

That was not at all what I expected Jane to do, especially given the time when this was written. Very nice.

The Labrynth by R. Chetwynd-Hayes: 4/5 Very original ideas, good prose, and suspenseful plot. My only complaint is that Rosemary is such a Sexy Lamp.

Beyond Any Measure by Karl Edward Wagner: 3/5 This story is disgustingly lesbaphobic, but otherwise not bad. The twist at the end was certainly good, and the prose is decent.

Strangella by Hugh B. Cave: 3/5 There's some nice ideas here, but the plot and characters are forgettable.

A Week in the Unlife by David J. Schow: 4/5 I wish this was longer, but I liked the main character and the prose.

The House at Evening by Frances Garfield: 2/5 The excellent prose doesn't make up for the boring story and characters.

Lockhart's foreshadowing methods are a little annoying - ironic, since she later wrote We Were Liars. But I do still really like this, even if it doesn't reflect my experiences now as much as the beginning did.

If I had one problem with this book, it would be that Ruby reads a little young for fifteen - thirteen would probably be more accurate. But other than that, I'm still loving this. Ruby is a wonderful character to read about, and this is one of the most realistic books about love among teenagers I've read.

This is what teen movies would be like if they were good. This is a little less edgy than most teen movies, but it's got tons of other characteristics - the protagonist has a lot of boy trouble, she's supposed to be the standard/default teenage girl, and she makes a bunch of rules about how boys act. But, despite the overwhelming odds, this is actually hilarious and so much fun and very realistic.