Forrest’s Reviews > Strange Epiphanies > Status Update
Forrest
is on page 160 of 192
While reading "A Midsummer Ramble in the Carpathians" I was mostly listening to the black metal band Reverorum ib Malacht. There could not be a more appropriate soundtrack to this gothic novella redolent with illness, dreadful forebodings, and sweeping vistas of dark beauty. I hate mentioning the "V" word, but Transylvania + illness + wolves + Vlad = . . . well, you do the math. This was an amazingly realized story.
— Dec 19, 2021 11:51AM
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Forrest’s Previous Updates
Forrest
is on page 182 of 192
From the title to the last paragraph, Nostalgia, Death, and Melancholy weave a cohesive triptych of . . . well, just what the title says. This is the kind of tale that seems to meander until you find you're on a one-way path and there's no other way, yet the plot didn't feel forced in the least bit. There's an emotional depth here (nihilistic, to be sure) that one doesn't often find in horror shorts. Five *
— Dec 23, 2021 08:08AM
Forrest
is on page 124 of 192
I've read a lot of creepy doll stories in my day, but "Inheritance" has to be among the best. The creepiness is beyond bounds, but what makes the story marvelous is it's strangely redemptive ending, an unexpected conclusion that, through its banality, pushes the story into the transcendent. You may have read a creepy doll story like this, but the resolution is nothing like anything you've read. Five *.
— Dec 15, 2021 08:01PM
Forrest
is on page 106 of 192
"An American Writer's Cottage" was just plain scary. I've put the book down, but every flash or shadow has me spooked. I'm hoping to never discover any heretofore-unseen attic doors in this house. I can't even think about that right now. Time for me to go hide under the covers until I can sleep.
— Dec 14, 2021 07:39PM
Forrest
is on page 76 of 192
"The Light of the World" has a sense of completeness that is hard to describe. It is wrapped up very neatly, perhaps just a touch too neatly, but only enough to strain credulity a bit, definitely not enough to ruin the tale. A satisfying read about destiny and connections across time and space. Having lived in both the UK and Italy, I greatly appreciated the settings, which Bell illustrates perfectly.
— Dec 11, 2021 05:32PM
Forrest
is on page 55 of 192
"M.E.F." is pretty much perfect from beginning to end. I tend to like creepy stories that hint and infer, rather than openly shock. There's a certain warmth to the narrator not only accepting fate, but gently, smoothly easing into it. A kind of radiance of oncoming ineffable transformation suffuses the story. It glows with grayness. Five stars for this wonderfully gloomy, yet comforting story.
— Dec 11, 2021 09:53AM
Forrest
is on page 32 of 192
"Resurrection" ticks off all the checks on the folk-horror list. Quite predictable, but still well-written. The emotional state of the protagonist at the end is an interesting twist. Four stars burning in effigy for this little tale.
— Dec 08, 2021 10:37AM
