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Jeff
Jeff is on page 239 of 336 of All Hallows' Eve
"The Thinning of the Veil" by Jeffrey Ford: 3/5 - clearly a rushed effort from the master himself, this story of a group of friends trading stories on Halloween that ends in a mafia hit has Ford's signature style, but none of his humor or conceptual development.
15 hours, 35 min ago Add a comment
All Hallows' Eve

Jeff
Jeff is on page 225 of 336 of All Hallows' Eve
"Her Mother's Business" by Garth Nix: 2/5 - not sure what that business is, exactly, but it's somethin' dark. And boring.
16 hours, 12 min ago Add a comment
All Hallows' Eve

Jeff
Jeff is on page 210 of 336 of All Hallows' Eve
"Give Me Something Good to Eat" by Theresa DeLucci: 5/5 - the star of the show with the best title, best concept, more halloweeny and scariest story of all. Splatterpunk and body horror fans should be thoroughly satisfied with what would have been a hideous, primitive concept in the hands of a less elegant author. This story is of a Hartford tradition surrounding a particular witch on Halloween night.
18 hours, 46 min ago Add a comment
All Hallows' Eve

Jeff
Jeff is on page 187 of 336 of All Hallows' Eve
Quite a display of mediocrity from this crew so far, with just six stories to go, but three of these authors are bona fide superstars. Hopefully, they'll bring the average for the class up a few notches. Datlow and her decree against traditional monsters has not done this anthology any favors.
Jun 07, 2026 02:31PM Add a comment
All Hallows' Eve

Jeff
Jeff is on page 187 of 336 of All Hallows' Eve
"Saturday" by Chikodili Emelumadu: 2/5 - a very interesting, colorful and disturbing story, but it doesn't make a lot of sense. I'm sure it has its basis in a tradition that would provide meaning and context, but a bad kid is taken to a sort of purgatory Saturday school and is forced to dance with (not in) "a masquerade," which has no legs and whips kids' skin off. Okay, sure. Nothing about Halloween, though.
Jun 07, 2026 02:26PM Add a comment
All Hallows' Eve

Jeff
Jeff is on page 173 of 336 of All Hallows' Eve
"The Hungry Grass" by Siobhan Carroll: 3/5 - certainly a complex and faithful adaptation of Dracula. The backdrop of the Irish Famine is well used, but not very original or compelling. A little on the nose, too. Gee, she sure has sharp teeth. He's on a hallucinatory carriage ride through the mountains. She has plans to meet his daughter in England. Get it?? And yet the drained bodies still come out of nowhere.
Jun 07, 2026 12:53PM Add a comment
All Hallows' Eve

Jeff
Jeff is on page 153 of 336 of All Hallows' Eve
Lucy and Mina, Millara and Lizzie, sharp teeth, stoker--we get it. Lot of buildup here.
Jun 07, 2026 09:43AM Add a comment
All Hallows' Eve

Jeff
Jeff is on page 153 of 336 of All Hallows' Eve
I've read Siobhan Carroll before but this story is levels above the ones preceding it.
Jun 07, 2026 09:17AM Add a comment
All Hallows' Eve

Jeff
Jeff is on page 153 of 336 of All Hallows' Eve
"Ankou's Night" by Brian Evenson: 3/5 - a finely crafted, undeniably convincing story delivered in few pages, but the ending is a narrative dead-end, like the author had an idea of what would happen, but no idea what it should mean or how it should affect the characters. A little boy is abused by his grandfather who is dying, then waits up the night before halloween to see him return from the grave. Forgettable.
Jun 07, 2026 08:59AM Add a comment
All Hallows' Eve

Jeff
Jeff is on page 142 of 336 of All Hallows' Eve
"The Kuker" by Alma Katsu: 4/5 - proving that a twist ending doesn't have to involve something self-destructive, this story takes the reader down a familiar road (especially in this book) of mourning a dead family member on halloween, right before handing out candy. The protagonist's memory revolves around a Bulgarian ritual with a curious costume, which was especially meaningful to the departed. A pleasant surprise
Jun 06, 2026 01:21PM Add a comment
All Hallows' Eve

Jeff
Jeff is on page 127 of 336 of All Hallows' Eve
Some disappointing showings from veterans, in this first half, it can't be denied. But some dreamweavers who never disappoint are still on the way--I'm looking at you, Katsu--including the inimitable Jeffrey Ford, the notorious Nathan Ballingrud and, closing the show as usual, Mr. Langan, who, no doubt, has some metafictional halloween-themed tentacles in store for us.
Jun 06, 2026 12:12PM Add a comment
All Hallows' Eve

Jeff
Jeff is on page 127 of 336 of All Hallows' Eve
"So the Story Goes" by Christopher Golden: 3/5 - great title, great concept (as with so many CG stories) immediately convincing plot, but the thematic resolution is very superficial. Romanian traditions on halloween, sort of fairy tale wolf man setup with a twist ending to break from the pattern. Like a disappointing version of Moreno-Garcia's "Lover."
Jun 06, 2026 11:54AM Add a comment
All Hallows' Eve

Jeff
Jeff is on page 115 of 336 of All Hallows' Eve
"Merciless Feast": by Linda Addison: 3/5 - this story written in verse depicts a tribal ritual in which an elder begins what they think will be a sacred rite, but turns out to be their own sacrifice. As with most poetic entries, I feel like I missed some important stuff here, so, benefit of the doubt--fairly vivid and interesting enough.
Jun 06, 2026 09:39AM Add a comment
All Hallows' Eve

Jeff
Jeff is on page 113 of 336 of All Hallows' Eve
"The Devil's New Year": 1/5 - Jones' name for a halloween tradition in which a person drowns themselves in the gleam of the moon over the surface of a lake. One adherent believes her nihilistic, malignant existence can be redeemed through this act and finds just what you'd expect. Similar to Night of the Mannequins, just a lot of sadism and sociopathy, this time with a little animal cruelty thrown in. No fun.
Jun 06, 2026 09:30AM Add a comment
All Hallows' Eve

Jeff
Jeff is on page 95 of 336 of All Hallows' Eve
"Forever Again" by Michael Marshall Smith: 5/5 - a new take on the old adage Hell is Repetition, this story follows a damned soul who might have been mistakenly condemned. He is told that there is a chance on Halloween to return to life, and this is his chance. Reminiscent of the brilliant books The Way Up is Death and A Short Stay in Hell.
Jun 06, 2026 08:24AM Add a comment
All Hallows' Eve

Jeff
Jeff is on page 83 of 336 of All Hallows' Eve
"The Levels" by Livia Llewellyn: 3/5 - a dash of Shirley Jackson turns this hallucinatory night at an exclusive college campus party into a chilling fever dream. There seems to be some focus on regret and "FOMO" as the kids call it, but those threads didn't get tied up. Still, captivating and convincing.
Jun 06, 2026 08:19AM Add a comment
All Hallows' Eve

Jeff
Jeff is on page 67 of 336 of All Hallows' Eve
"Treats" by Clay McLeod Chapman: 3/5 - a huge improvement over the first entries, this one incorporates the theme in a story of parental guilt surrounding a child's suicide on halloween. Not scary, but captivating, thougthful. Could have hit harder given more room to build.
Jun 04, 2026 10:22AM Add a comment
All Hallows' Eve

Jeff
Jeff is on page 45 of 336 of All Hallows' Eve
"Good Kids" by Rich Larson: 2/5 - this tale of two trick-or-treaters sharing a Halloween with stories reflecting their religious backgrounds is certainly relevant to the theme, but it's not very entertaining and the punch line--the kids are randomly sadists!--is a seriously weak, overdone premise. Even the title seems like a smug, sarcastic throwaway name. This collection is off to a bad start, but Chapman is next.
Jun 04, 2026 09:31AM Add a comment
All Hallows' Eve

Jeff
Jeff is on page 35 of 336 of All Hallows' Eve
"On the Path, Bleeding" by Lee Murray: 2/5 - set in New Zealand, this story of gang initiation certainly is "different," but has nothing to do with halloween and isn't entertaining or scary. The ending is more like "yeah, you know what's coming" than a conclusion.
Jun 03, 2026 10:15AM Add a comment
All Hallows' Eve

Jeff
Jeff is on page 17 of 336 of All Hallows' Eve
"That Hannie Agnes" by Josh Malerman: devoted fan of Malerman but this story does not work: from the uncontroversial stance on the holiday to the unremarkable family interaction, this very pedestrian protagonist sees something that constitutes a ghostly encounter only in a Goosebumps book--and I think Stine might have done it better. Trick-or-treating does not a Halloween story make.
Jun 01, 2026 07:48AM Add a comment
All Hallows' Eve

Jeff
Jeff added a status update
I don't know how to start a new book after finishing something that good.
May 27, 2026 04:36PM Add a comment

Jeff
Jeff is on page 177 of 224 of Driven
I hope this doesn't give anything away, but fans of Recursion need to read this book.
May 27, 2026 03:41PM Add a comment
Driven

Jeff
Jeff is on page 172 of 224 of Driven
Rules of Murder, such a compelling concept.
May 27, 2026 03:18PM Add a comment
Driven

Jeff
Jeff is on page 172 of 224 of Driven
Maybe the best (generic) description of a monster I've ever read. So hard not to quote.
May 27, 2026 03:16PM Add a comment
Driven

Jeff
Jeff is on page 111 of 224 of Driven
Raising the stakes is a prerequisite for a thriller plot, but the best stories are the ones that balance the rising tension with accessible, compelling motivation--usually something more creative than "someone is trying to kill me" (but not always). In this case, Coile has hit on three different sources that could all support their own plot, but they work even better in tandem. Brilliant, ambitious stuff.
May 27, 2026 03:04PM Add a comment
Driven

Jeff
Jeff is on page 26 of 224 of Driven
This mythology wouldn't hold up if the character's grief wasn't so tangible and genuine. As it is, though, this is probably the most convincing backstory for a person acquiring 2nd sight that I've ever read. I'm just now entering the phase I thought the book would begin with, which might have been good on its own, but with that buildup, the premise hits so much harder. And he accomplished it all in 25 pages.
May 23, 2026 02:09PM Add a comment
Driven

Jeff
Jeff is on page 22 of 224 of Driven
Out of respect, I will resist, but it is so difficult not to quote from this ARC. Coile is a master of taking big concepts and compressing them into consumable, informal language. So much emotion and character development in a few pages; every single word landing like a gymnast sticking the dismount.
May 23, 2026 11:55AM Add a comment
Driven

Jeff
Jeff is on page 20 of 224 of Driven
Instantly accessible, yet surprising. like having a conversation with an old friend you've never met before, this intro was far from what I expected, but still everything I wanted.
May 23, 2026 11:32AM Add a comment
Driven

Jeff
Jeff is on page 77 of 128 of Night of the Mannequins
Having read King's Danse Macabre immediately before this and having that mini-primer for an homage to Frankenstein, the vision behind this story is apparent to me and I'm impressed with it; still not enjoying it.
May 21, 2026 11:44AM Add a comment
Night of the Mannequins

Jeff
Jeff is on page 77 of 128 of Night of the Mannequins
Still room to wrap up with style, but the transformative scene at the halfway mark is pretty disappointing.
May 21, 2026 11:27AM Add a comment
Night of the Mannequins

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