THE LOST VALLEY / PLOT: Twin brothers Stephen and Mark have spent their 30+ years together, eschewing relationships that would keep them apart. On a holiday in the Alps, they meet a woman who threatens their relationship.
REVIEW: Holy Verbosity! Readers in 1914 may have relished the tedious verbiage, but I found it tiresome. Only about 50 pages long, it felt much longer, and it was about 75% into the tale before the author gets to the point. The point is an interesting one, but the actions of the brothers are pretty unbelievable (and I couldn't help see the word incest floating around inside my brain as I read.) **
THE WENDIGO / PLOT: In the far Canadian north two moose hunters break off from their group and head out to find their game. One of them is a French Canadian acting as guide who begins to feel there is something in the woods that might be hunting them â is it the legendary Wendigo, a native mythical creature of immense strength that has cannabalistic traits?
REVIEW: A well-written tale that evokes the desolation and vastness of the North Woods. Told mainly from the viewpoint of the Scottish hunter, it depicts how helpless the hunters are in the face of nature. My one gripe was being asked to believe these two would canoe and walk 20 miles away from their companions to hunt, and how they thought they would carry a moose carcass back with them if they were successful. ****
OLD CLOTHES / PLOT: A widow with a pre-teen daughter calls on her cousin when her child takes her imaginary playmates far too seriously.
REVIEW: A spooky tale in which you and the cousin begin to see what's going on at the same time. ****
PERSPECTIVE / PLOT: While hiking in the Swiss Alps a man has a strange experience that later results in him being able to affect two strangers' destinies.
REVIEW: Not really a tale of strangeness, but sort of interesting. ***
THE TERROR OF THE TWINS / PLOT: Expecting a son as an heir, a man is sorry to have fathered twin sons, and vows to fix the problem when the boys come of age.
REVIEW: A quick read with a sort of surprise at the end. ***
THE MAN FROM THE GODS / PLOT: a composer finding it difficult to create his masterpiece has a strange dream that fulfills his aim.
REVIEW: I usually find stories centered on a dream tiresome. This was no exception. *
THE MAN WHO PLAYED UPON THE LEAF / PLOT: While staying in an Alpine village, a man encounters an outcast and his mongrel. The outcast makes beautiful sounds on a leaf and enchants the visitor.
REVIEW: Not much going on, and a very sad ending. **
THE PRICE OF WIGGINS'S ORGY / PLOT: A man who just came into a small legacy celebrates at a fancy restaurant with wine he'd unused to, and comes to realize his fellow patrons have sinister plans for him.
REVIEW: A not-too-great tale that borders on the I had a dream trope. **
CARLTON'S DRIVE / PLOT: A man taking a hansom cab ride home begins to see people he knows, but they act in a sinister manner.
REVIEW: Another variation of the dream that bored me. *
THE ECCENTRICITY OF SIMON PARNACUTE / PLOT: A retired professor well set in his way performs an out-of-character act that astonishes him and has repercussions later on when he falls ill.
REVIEW: Despite a few passages that could have been trimmed, the collection concludes on a high note, with an uplifting end to this story. ****
REVIEW: Holy Verbosity! Readers in 1914 may have relished the tedious verbiage, but I found it tiresome. Only about 50 pages long, it felt much longer, and it was about 75% into the tale before the author gets to the point. The point is an interesting one, but the actions of the brothers are pretty unbelievable (and I couldn't help see the word incest floating around inside my brain as I read.) **
THE WENDIGO / PLOT: In the far Canadian north two moose hunters break off from their group and head out to find their game. One of them is a French Canadian acting as guide who begins to feel there is something in the woods that might be hunting them â is it the legendary Wendigo, a native mythical creature of immense strength that has cannabalistic traits?
REVIEW: A well-written tale that evokes the desolation and vastness of the North Woods. Told mainly from the viewpoint of the Scottish hunter, it depicts how helpless the hunters are in the face of nature. My one gripe was being asked to believe these two would canoe and walk 20 miles away from their companions to hunt, and how they thought they would carry a moose carcass back with them if they were successful. ****
OLD CLOTHES / PLOT: A widow with a pre-teen daughter calls on her cousin when her child takes her imaginary playmates far too seriously.
REVIEW: A spooky tale in which you and the cousin begin to see what's going on at the same time. ****
PERSPECTIVE / PLOT: While hiking in the Swiss Alps a man has a strange experience that later results in him being able to affect two strangers' destinies.
REVIEW: Not really a tale of strangeness, but sort of interesting. ***
THE TERROR OF THE TWINS / PLOT: Expecting a son as an heir, a man is sorry to have fathered twin sons, and vows to fix the problem when the boys come of age.
REVIEW: A quick read with a sort of surprise at the end. ***
THE MAN FROM THE GODS / PLOT: a composer finding it difficult to create his masterpiece has a strange dream that fulfills his aim.
REVIEW: I usually find stories centered on a dream tiresome. This was no exception. *
THE MAN WHO PLAYED UPON THE LEAF / PLOT: While staying in an Alpine village, a man encounters an outcast and his mongrel. The outcast makes beautiful sounds on a leaf and enchants the visitor.
REVIEW: Not much going on, and a very sad ending. **
THE PRICE OF WIGGINS'S ORGY / PLOT: A man who just came into a small legacy celebrates at a fancy restaurant with wine he'd unused to, and comes to realize his fellow patrons have sinister plans for him.
REVIEW: A not-too-great tale that borders on the I had a dream trope. **
CARLTON'S DRIVE / PLOT: A man taking a hansom cab ride home begins to see people he knows, but they act in a sinister manner.
REVIEW: Another variation of the dream that bored me. *
THE ECCENTRICITY OF SIMON PARNACUTE / PLOT: A retired professor well set in his way performs an out-of-character act that astonishes him and has repercussions later on when he falls ill.
REVIEW: Despite a few passages that could have been trimmed, the collection concludes on a high note, with an uplifting end to this story. ****
