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North American Lake Monsters: Stories (2013)

by Nathan Ballingrud(Favorite Author)
4.27 of 5 Votes: 5
ISBN
1618730592 (ISBN13: 9781618730596)
languge
English
genre
publisher
Small Beer Press
review 1: One of the strongest short story collections I have read in some time. I wrote in this book a lot as I went along. (GASP!) Relax. In pencil. (GASP!) Oh, get over it. I underlined beautiful, startling sentences or phrases; bracketed passages; noted motifs and POV shifts. Because the art of the writing itself is marvelous and I was admiring the craft. The tales themselves are dark, unsettling journeys. We know the people in these stories. They are damaged and brave, driven and cowardly. Human beings, every one of them haunted by choices and memories. There are monsters of various kinds, but never the familiar ones used in familiar ways. I had only read one of these stories before, "The Monsters of Heaven", in Ellen Datlow's anthology, INFERNO. It wasn't one of my favorites i... moren that book and it isn't here. But I had seen this collection recommended again and again by people whose opinions I trust and I'm glad I listened and bought a copy. I loved almost every story and there's much to admire in every one. Consider me a fan and I'm looking forward to reading more of his work.
review 2: A powerful exploration of human interaction with monstrosity, and how encounters with creatures totally outside the realm of human experience can affect everyday life. There is the odd weak link in its 9 short stories, but the majority carry a great deal of power, and dread, and strange. There is rarely any real resolution, but that only serves to increase the unnerving effect of each tale. Sometimes mundane, sometimes Lovecraftian, this is exemplary horror. Highly recommended. less
Reviews (see all)
dessyq22
Can't remember the last time I read a collection this great. Every story was my favorite story.
liv
Best short story collection I've read in years. The Way Station tore me up.
Boz
Well, that was a hell of a thing.
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