Tag Archives: John R. Little

The First Lunar Halloween by John R. Little

Book Review, , ,
Overview
Image result for book cover haunted nights ellen datlow

Title: The First Lunar Halloween
Author: John R. Little
In: Haunted Nights (Lisa Morton & Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Horror, Science fiction
Dates read: 30th December 2019
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Blumhouse
Year: 2017
5th sentence, 74th page: “It wasn’t real?”

Synopsis

It’s their first Halloween on the surface of the moon. They’re trying to reconstruct some of the practices of long-dead Earth. But at what cost?

Thoughts

I’ve decided I need more stories based on the moon. I’ve decided that now, after reading this short story. Because it is about Halloween set on the moon. And there is always something fun about grabbing an everyday event and pulling it onto a whole other planet. Literally.

This was also a very tragic way to end the Haunted Nights collection. After all, this story doesn’t have a happy ending. Even if it has a fun, easy story at the beginning. The ending. Not so good. The ways in which Halloween can be construed by outsiders… also not so good. I was actually quite sad when this story ended because it took an event that is normally really fun for children and destroyed parts of it.

There seems to be a fairly recurring theme in what I read about Armageddon. Which makes sense because I have an entire shelf of dystopian novels just waiting to be read. And since at the point of my writing this, there are a ridiculous number of fires burning all across my country… I feel like it’s not as far fetched as I used to believe. Which is terrifying in a whole other way.

 <- Lost in the DarkHauntings ->

Image source: Amazon

Haunted Nights edited by Ellen Datlow & Lisa Morton

Book Review, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Overview
Image result for book cover haunted nights ellen datlow

Title: Haunted Nights
Author: Ellen Datlow, Lisa Morton, Seanan McGuire, Stephen Graham Jones, Jonathan Maberry, Joanna Parypinski, Garth Nix, Kate Jonez, Jeffrey Ford, Kelley Armstrong, S. P. Miskowski, Brian Evenson, Elise Forier Edie, Eric J. Guignard, Paul Kane, Pat Cadigan, John Langan & John R. Little
In: Haunted Nights (Lisa Morton & Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Horror, Paranormal fantasy, Short story collections
Dates read: 2nd November – 30th December 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Anthology
Publisher: Blumhouse
Year: 2017
5th sentence, 74th page: “Very good,” said I.

Synopsis

Halloween is the night the monsters come out to play. Long before its traditions became defined by mass-produced masks, blood-soaked horror films, and carved pumpkins, the murky origins of All Hallows’ Eve lay rooted in dark festivals and black magick, in old fables of diabolical tricksters and murderous pranks, and in tales of cursed souls lost in purgatory, of vengeance and changelings.

From sly modern narratives to haunting traditional stories, from the brutal to the experimental, these sixteen stories brilliantly and terrifyingly explore the many facets, cultures, and traditions of our most provocative holiday.

Thoughts

This selection is super creepy, intense and wonderful. I absolutely adored it. Even if I spent a lot of the time reading it with my feet curled under me feeling incredibly overwhelmed and somewhat horrified. A whole new world was introduced as I read through this. This might be why I’m starting to get into the horror genre though…

A few of the stories in this did make me laugh. But, mostly they were haunting. Not outright scary like a Stephen King novel, but this lingering feeling of overwhelming discomfort due to something in these stories. I can’t even put my finger on the cause of my discomfort… but after reading one of these short stories I was almost always left feeling like I was just slightly haunted… which was interesting.

Although this collection did make me understand America’s obsession with Halloween a little more. I still don’t like the holiday. There is just something about it that doesn’t sit well with me. So whilst this bought a great new light to a holiday I know basically nothing about… I’m still not convinced that it’s one that I want anything to do with.

<- The Folding ManWith Graveyard Weeds and Wolfsbane Seeds ->

Image source: Amazon