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Professor Aldous Crane, knowledgeable about the occult, but a skeptic, is called to retrieve some rare bottles from a fanatic wine collector's cellar. With an exceptionally well-done ambience and a strong narrative voice, the book manages to be entertaining, funny, and chilling at times.

The plot itself is relatively simple and linear, with flashbacks of Aldous' life intertwined into the main narrative. Still, the descriptions are nicely done in a way that creates tension, anticipation, and suspense. The flashbacks are quite entertaining and serve as a way to back up Aldous characterization.

The Professor is the main character and the most well-developed one. The dialogues do a great job of characterizing him, and he was quite funny at times. Boudin, the wine collector, is the only other character we get to know, and his past is mysterious, weird enough to give him a dangerous and enigmatic aura, without going too overboard to risk disbelief. Other characters serve as a great way to enhance both Boudin and Aldous' characters and history but are not really developed further than that.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who would like a read with a great and chilling ambience. It is a bit short but feels like the right length for the story that is being told. The narrative has some humour intertwined that works really well to give some laughs between the tension — all in all, an entertaining read.

No sound should be there when you're alone."

Emily has a stalker, Noah, that is convinced that she loves him back. All she wants is to be left alone to live her life. Noah's obsession and the insights we get into his twisted mind are entertaining, but the book felt longer than it needed to be.

The plot starts really interesting. The narrative has a strong voice and makes Noah peculiar enough in how he goes about his obsession that it feels like the book is different from others of similar plotlines. However, after a while, things seem to drag — the same cycle of feeling in danger, reacting, thinking she's now safe until something else happens, repeats itself again and again, without managing to up the stakes. The ending sequence, the part that should be the most frightening and exciting, falls into a cliche storyline, and there's no more anticipation nor sense of danger because it's pretty obvious what will happen.

The characters are unique, and you can understand the main characters well. Emily starts with a well-defined and individual personality, making her an interesting protagonist. Still, as things progress, less attention is given to her personality than the events around her. She is pushed into the role of always only reacting or is suddenly unaware of the possible consequences of what's happening. When the time comes for her to act, her actions feel forced.

Side characters are not nearly as well-developed as the three main ones, and some of their motivations and actions lack a bit of flavour and explanation. They're mostly there to move the plot along, with little characterization.

For fans of the genre, the book may be an interesting read. Emily is likeable enough, and Noah has his time on the pages. Mostly, it feels like every other stalker story, and the characters take actions that fit more the plot than their personalities. Maybe if the work was shorter, more succinct, it would have worked better.

This short story takes the form of a religious report that describes how and why the seven deadly sins are absent from different alien species. It's a reflection on what causes us to sin and how taking away the choice of those actions prevents the transgression.

The alien species described are diverse and unique in their physiology. There's a heavily European-human-centric vision permeating the book, but, in a way, I believe that was the intention - to describe these species in comparison with us humans and not as complete and separate entities. There can be a discussion on whether or not said species are, in fact, sentient or possible at all, but since the idea is to create this discussion, the book succeeds in doing so.

There isn't much of a plot, and the story does read like a report. However, it's entertaining and can spark some interesting thinking about the cardinal sins and what sparks them, definitely worth the read for those interested in similar discussions.

This is a short story about a group that tricks pedophiles into going to a house, only to trap and punish them. It starts interesting enough, with good horror elements and enjoyable narration, but then it derails into something close to absurd that seems to make light of the situation.

There's little development of actual personalities, and the characters didn't seem much different from each other. However, this doesn't weigh too heavily against the narrative due to the nature of the story.

The plot reads almost as if the ones luring the criminals in are recording a TV show, which starts off as an interesting idea, much like exploitation horror, which could lead to a compelling discussion. Instead, it leads to an absurd turn in the narrative with how things begin to describe afterward. It seems to make light of the situation and takes a sudden turn from the mood beforehand. Given the subject of the story, this doesn't seem like the smartest decision.

The afterword eases a bit of that uneasiness because the author explains his goal with the story and saves a bit of the second half's awkwardness. Still, the narrative should speak for itself, and, for me, that ended up being somewhat lacking.

BEAST has two short stories: one about two friends that go explore an abandoned hotel, and another about an ex-convict that finds himself doing an odd job for a mysterious - and probably dangerous - guy. Both stories are entertaining but a bit predictable for those already familiar with the horror genre.

Last Call, the story about the two friends, is the most predictable of the two. Still, you can feel the friendship between the characters, and it's easy to sympathize with them and hope they can get themselves out of danger's way. The Widow, the second story, is more interesting, with a few unique elements. While the main character's actions sometimes feel forced, as if just to move the story along, the author does a great job of weaving his thoughts and past into the story, and you feel like he's a real, someone that has made mistakes but is, deep down, a nice person.

Most horror books, even those I really enjoy, don't succeed in actually scaring me, and this was no exception. Still, descriptions are well done, detailed, definitely eery, and will be scary to some.

Both stories are interesting, although The Widow is definitely the best of the two. They may not feel unique to those used to horror stories, but they may still enjoy the book. And those two short stories are definitely an excellent introduction to someone new to the genre.

“Don't worry. [...] You won't have to hurt a soul.”