Status Updates From Let the Old Dreams Die: Sto...

The Final Processing, a solid 4 stars. Quite the original zombie story, including a very interesting, terrifying adversary and ofcourse a strong relationship. In the afterword, Lindqvist describes that he wrote this story out from an idea that he had about the grand set-piece finale. I think this shows because the finale feels a bit out of line with the rest of the story, which I greatly enjoyed.

Paper walls, three stars. Again, it was well written and suspenseful as well as a little sweet. But it kinda left me wondering what the point is that this story is trying to make. Was there really a monster, a wild animal, or was it his father checking in and caressing the box that the young protagonist is sleeping in, in the woods? Maybe there's some symbolism that's going over my head?

Majken, Three Stars. I was into this story when the main character met the titular Majken while calling a supermarket service number to complain about the packaging of their turnips. I was waiting for the turn to the supernatural, which didn't come. Otherwise, fantastically written and original. Old people, anti-consumerism, and the struggles of informal caregivers. Good stuff, just not the horror I was hoping for.

To hold you while the music plays. Two stars. Well written, interesting form of an old priest in a one sided dialogue apparently involved in something bad... But a little too ambiguous for me... Why can't he get the door? Who is at the door? Why shouldn't they get to know each other? What's he doing? Why are other people coming? Who is he doing something to or with?!?!? What the hell is going on?

Eternal /Love: Five stars! Loved this. The characters in this story, Anna and Joseph, and their intense romantic relationship are described incredibly well. Their story and their love begin like a fairy tale and end up as a horror story, with high stakes because their relationship is described so well. At some point, we get the impression Joseph has gone mad. This, again, is described very convincingly.

Substitute. A solid four stars! An original and very well-executed take on Lovecraft's old trope of the narrator being infected by someone else's madness. Also, it feels like a true, original, and sincere depiction of mental illness that the narrator's old friend is suffering from. Having worked for over 10 years at the Salvation Army, I can see someone from the street telling me about people with holes in them.

Can't see it! It doesn't exist! Three stars. As expected, very well written and I really wanted to know what was happening with Frank, the desperate paparazzi photographer. I guess he just lost his mind... This one left be a little dumbfounded. I guess I'll search for some discussion on this story for a little more context.

Finished Equinox. Three Stars. Very well written. Lindqvist is a master of turning the everyday ordinary into something horrific, which happens in this one, and the story has a nice kind of symmetry to the structure. However, this is one of those short stories that, once it concludes, leaves you wondering what the point was. But otherwise it's a good, short and egaging read.