BookWyrm

Absurd Sage started reading Halo: The Fall of Reach by Eric S. Nylund (Halo: The Original Series, #1)

Played through all the games, now to reread the books, let's gooooooo

Absurd Sage finished reading The White People by Arthur Machen

Arthur Machen: The White People (2018, Read Books)

No rating

I read shit like this and I'm like "why dont I just write things as though I'm a rambling 16 year old girl", easy path to being a writer I think. never read the word "and" so much in my life. read more like an overexcited toddler.

had some cool stuff in it though

Absurd Sage rated The Twisted Ones: 5 stars

T. Kingfisher: The Twisted Ones (Hardcover, 2019, Saga Press)

The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher

When a young woman clears out her deceased grandmother’s home in rural North Carolina, she finds long-hidden secrets about a …

Absurd Sage finished reading The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher

When a young woman clears out her deceased grandmother’s home in rural North Carolina, she …

Thoroughly enjoyable, as much as The Hollow Places, if not more so.

Now I'm going to read the short story I didn't even know it was based on.

Absurd Sage started reading The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher

When a young woman clears out her deceased grandmother’s home in rural North Carolina, she …

Let's goooooo

Absurd Sage reviewed William by Mason Coile

Mason Coile: William (2024, Penguin Publishing Group)

Delightful

4 stars

I was skeptical as to the premise but it soon won me over. It had plenty of set up and pay off that good horror needs. A nagging part of me thought that it was going to be too formulaic–sure it's got the A.I. but beyond that is it a generic haunting story? The answer is very much no. At least for me. I thought I knew what was going to happen next but the book still had tricks to pull on me.

I don't know if it will be as enthralling the second time through were I to do a reread, but the first time through was delightful enough.

Absurd Sage finished reading William by Mason Coile

OH SHIT

Absurd Sage commented on William by Mason Coile

I was very skeptical at first but this is delightful!

Absurd Sage started reading William by Mason Coile

I GUESS

Absurd Sage started reading Consciousness explained by Daniel C. Dennett

Daniel C. Dennett: Consciousness explained (1991, Little, Brown)

Alright Danny boy let's see what you got. Going in with high expectations.

Absurd Sage replied to Absurd Sage's status

Content warning Here I explain the objectively stupid bit

In the second story, a kid crucifies himself. Really crucifies, nails through the hands and all. Apparently the author didn't stop and realize that its logistically impossible to use the hand you've just nailed to a board to nail your other hand to said board.

I thought, maybe there's some mention, some hint of somebody else. The kid's friend, or a serial killer, who drove in the last nail, but no, the parents and police just accept it as a suicide. No questions asked.

Objectively stupid.

Absurd Sage reviewed Things Have Gotten Worse since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes by Eric LaRocca

Eric LaRocca: Things Have Gotten Worse since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes (Hardcover, 2022, Titan Books Limited)

Three dark and disturbing horror stories from an astonishing new voice, including the viral-sensation tale …

Boring. Uninspired. In some places objectively stupid.

1 star

Not horror, just icky. Not dark, just with mental illness.

First story is about two people with obvious mental illness performing some form of BDSM relationship, but its just icky tasks. Completely unbelievable in the way the characters wrote and they both sounded the same; so much flourish in what is supposed to be casual personal emails, it almost feels like both of the characters are authors. Or just one self indulgent author. Second one is about yet another person with mental illness only this time there's religion involved. It had such an obvious plot hole that I was literally shocked into silence; I went back and read it several times to make sure I wasn't missing something and nope. Final story is about someone who you could have a reasonable argument of having mental illness because no one would do that. That's not how people are like. Ridiculous. With …

Not horror, just icky. Not dark, just with mental illness.

First story is about two people with obvious mental illness performing some form of BDSM relationship, but its just icky tasks. Completely unbelievable in the way the characters wrote and they both sounded the same; so much flourish in what is supposed to be casual personal emails, it almost feels like both of the characters are authors. Or just one self indulgent author. Second one is about yet another person with mental illness only this time there's religion involved. It had such an obvious plot hole that I was literally shocked into silence; I went back and read it several times to make sure I wasn't missing something and nope. Final story is about someone who you could have a reasonable argument of having mental illness because no one would do that. That's not how people are like. Ridiculous. With a ridiculous message trying to sound profound.

Each story succeeded only in pissing me off by their respective end and finishing only out of spite. Its hard to pick a worst. I honestly reset my brain at the start of each one, went in wanting to like it. I kept thinking, hoping that the author would give something more. Something more that what was obviously going to happen in each story. Something horror more than just the occasional "ew".