Sean > Recent Status Updates

'Killing and Dying'. Way to weave a story. The mother's story was so important but it happened in the background without any direct dialogue (reread some parts and they allude to it). Amazing example of the power of graphic novels - one part pretty much only told in the illustrations. The characters in this whole book have all felt real, but they were particularly so in this short.

'Translated, front the Japanese,' Not sure I even get this one. The 'not sure how long' bit at the end is confusing. Also just realised that none of the characters are in it, I think. It's just passersby, locations and inanimate objects.

'Go Owls'. That was a punch and a half. I also kept imagining the guy as Greg Universe, which was uncomfortable.

Good story, THAT'S how you leave something open ended.

'Amber Sweet'. Don't have much to say about these. They're just good and simple.

Didn't expect these to be shorts. I liked 'Hortisculpture'. I think there's something about the graphic novel medium that allows stories to be more slice-of-life (essentially, 'boring') than in prose. Or maybe this is just a well crafted example.

Such a good story, but I found the art style distracting- looks a bit too much like Tintin. That's not a bad thing for the mystery aspect, but I felt like the faces in particular didn't suit the tone.

This sort of mystery and mountains etc is something that capture me even when reading fantasy as a kid. I should read more H.P. Lovecraft. Can't believe I didn't notice it was an adaptation until I started reading.

Enjoyed this- love the art. Felt a bit lost with some of the history ones (there was a lot of references to areas I've not studied, particularly Canadian and North American history).

That 'Yellow Wallpaper One'. And the Batman ones.

I think I might have to start actually reading this webcomic. I keep feeling the urge to favourite or save them.

Particularly liking the 'guess the story based on the cover' ones.

'A Life In Fictions'. Alright. Not particularly interesting or amazing. Hard to know if that reaction's just because I'm distracted by fixing my computer, though.

'Unwell'. Fine. "Arthur could become the kind of husband I deserve"- true. Getting sick of short stories. I always feel the need to pause in between.

'Leif in the Wind'. Delightfully creepy sci-fi. Not sure it had the effect it was going for: potential hallucination/claustrophobia etc but I still found the birds creepy. I imagined something similar to the white things in 'John Dies at the End'. Come to think of it the main reason this worked was because I was imagining burrowing needles... I should be giving my own wayward imagination a positive review instead.

'Land of the Lost'. Decent. I don't think I like stories that are this unresolved. Leaving the reader with a mystery is fine, but this is a bit too open ended.

'Samantha's Diary'. That was a bit of silly fun. Predictable, because of the twelve days of Christmas thing, but I liked it anyway.

'Loser'. Is this the first thing by Chuck Pckaklkkcinuk, sorry, Palahniuk I've read? Can't think of another one off the top of my head. I reread most of it because it's written confusingly (intentionally, I think) and my head was shaking around on a bus. I enjoyed it. It was short but it felt right at the length it was. Not unfinished, or lacking. A good, well-rounded little story.

I liked that. A bit of a combination of the Black Mirror episode 'San Junipero' and David Wong's 'Violence and suits etc I can't remember the full title'. Probably because I've consumed both of those recently. I could've done with it being a little less vague, but I liked the writing and the themes enough to make up for it. 8.2428/10

'Polka Dots and Moonbeams'.
I'm liking the writing in this. It's whimsical and very abstractly visual.

'...like a ball of wax unwinding, looped once around their necks and then blew away in the rushing wind.'

'...the moon rose slow as a bubble in honey above the distant silhouette of hills; a cosmic cream pie of a face, eyeing Adeline's décolletage.'

'Catch and Release'. I knew the story would be about a serial killer as soon as I read the first paragraph about fishing. The twist was welcome, though. Well written, solid story arc. Not really my sort of thing, but good.

Forgot to update page number last time.

'Mallon the Guru'. Some of these very short stories seem like writing exercises more than full stories. I guess they have arcs and some are well written, but they really aren't long enough for my liking. Liked the start this got off to, main character seemed like a bit of a tit, then not much happened and it ended.

'Goblin Lake'. Good idea and I smiled a bit when I realised what was happening. Like an adult fairy tale, along with the somewhat stuffy language of many of the old versions of fairy tales. Ultimately I liked it.

'Weights and Measures'. This one was good. I'm not sure how much Jodi Picoult I've read before, if any. This simultaneously makes me want to read more and not read more. It was well written and well paced but was a little more depressing than I'm partial to. 8/10 maybe?

'The Knife'. I don't mind very short stories, but this was too short, I think. Started well but climaxed too fast.

'Juvenal Nyx'. Didn't like the name itself much, did like the story. I've got a bit tired of the whole 'modern interpretation of paranormal creature' thing. This was pretty good though and I'd read a sequel, if only because of the unresolved points. I will say, though it was interesting, I didn't feel that invested in any of the characters. So: engrossing but flawed.

I'd thought it felt familiar after the first page. Skipped this story because I've read it in Joe R. Lansdale's own 'Bleeding Shadows'. Can't remember too much what I thought of it- maybe I wrote a 'review' at the time, maybe not. Don't think it was my favourite of the collection though.

'The Stars Are Falling'. Off to a great start with 'His surroundings were familiar, but at the same time different'.

Skipped Gaiman's because I've read it a few times before. 'Unbelief' was... fine. Too short though. Too short to even form much valid criticism apart from that. A little too vague, too much implied backstory without much... frontstory.