A Christmas Eve and unlucky holidays, so it can’t be worse, right?
Spooky Holidays is a collection of short stories by various authors. As was to be expected, some performed better and others worse. Let’s start with the biggest tragedy, i.e. the Adam Przechrzty Contract . First of all, this is the only story that is not related to Christmas, not only that – there is even no snow there, because the action takes place in the summer. A pagan ritual, some strange ideas and we have a tragic history. A Christmas Eve story or an Unlucky Christmas is a bit better, but it also disappointed me. They were not scary and a bit boring stories, stories that are soon forgotten. Of course, it could be worse, because they are on a level higher than the ContractAdam Przechrzty. After reading the first three songs, I was very disappointed and regretted that I decided to review this item.
The star from the reserve is distributing rods at the house at the end of the street …
Fortunately, it was better afterwards, but also without much enthusiasm. In fact, only one story stands out above the others in my opinion, only this one really got me hooked and wanted to know its ending. First, however, a few words about average kids. The Red Butcher from Wrocław is a short work by Graham Masterton. The action takes place in Wrocław. One of the heroes tells the legend of the Red Butcher to his colleagues. And it turns out that there is a grain of truth in this myth. The next track is the Reserve . I must admit that the author surprised me with his ingenuity. It is indeed a story about Christmas Eve, but at the same time quite an interesting dystopian picture of the future. You’re not sad anymoreJakub Ćwiek is a moving story because it was told from the perspective of the homeless. The gift from Gwiazdor is even intriguing: the man is driving along the road and at the side of the road he notices a figure dressed in a red outfit, in addition, the stranger looks rather drunk than Santa. However, amazingly, it seems that he knows everything about the main character. The house at the end of the street is about fury and wild madness. I especially liked the moments from the wild beast’s perspective. A short farewell story is my favorite climate, the post-apocalypse. I saw potential in it, but not much else.
87 centimeters, which is a longing for white down
Dla mnie absolutną perełką w tym zbiorze jest 87 centymetrów Artura Urbanowicza. Miałem co do niej wielkie oczekiwania, dlatego że recenzowałem genialny Paradoks. O czym jest ta opowieść? Ano o młodzieży, która postanowiła zrobić klasową wigilię na odludziu. Co jednak istotne w okolicy grasuje seryjny morderca. Na dodatek 24 grudnia zaczął sypać śnieg. Brzmi klasycznie? Być może, wydaje się, że mamy do czynienia z historią sztampową, a jednak wciąga ona jak żadna inna. Autor umiejętnie poprowadził historię i do tego stworzył postacie, które mają swoje problemy i odmienne charaktery (na przykład jeden z bohaterów chce zaimponować innym, pozując na rapera). Zakończenie również wypada satysfakcjonująco, choćby ze względu na fabularne niedomówienia.
Czy święta zaiste mogą być upiorne?
Unfortunately, none of these stories made me feel like celebrating, although such a warning can be found on the cover. It is an unequal set, which is difficult to judge with numbers, because some of the stories deserve five or six at most, and there are also some that deserve at least one more point. The brightest point for me is 87 centimeters , if only because there is a lot of snow there, which has not been much in Poland recently. Nevertheless, I think that out of six average people, three or maybe even four stories may turn out to be quite good for many. Is it worth getting interested in Spooky Holidays ? I have a dilemma, because on the one hand I am closer to saying no, but still 87 centimetersI liked it very much and I had a great time, for example with the Reserve or a story by Jakub Ćwiek. These are definitely not the best horror movies, but if someone wants to taste the Christmas horror and although on paper he would like to feel the chill of snow, he can take a chance. I am sure that in these ten stories everyone will find something for themselves.
Finally, I would like to approve the publication, specifically the invoice of the book. This is the only volume I have that I like to stroke. I am glad that thanks to the Akurat publishing house, the materiality of the book fascinated me even more.
