Review of Symposium of the Reaper
Posted: 22 Dec 2022, 20:09
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Symposium of the Reaper" by Andrew Adams.]
Dean Koontz is quoted as saying, “Sometimes there is no darker place than our thoughts, the moonless midnight of the mind,” and I can't help but wonder if author Andrew Adams heard or read the quote and took it to heart, as Symposium of the Reaper is full of tales illustrating such.
Starting with "Pavor Nocturnus" and ending with "The Boy Who Feared Everything," this thirteen-story compilation is one journey through a dark mind, and since I'm an avowed night owl, I was more than happy with my stroll through Adams' moonless midnight. The thirteen stories therein are not related, but they do all have a grim current running through them, thereby tying them together theme-wise. While I never found myself truly terrified, I did have many moments on the edge of my seat, half holding my breath. My favorite of the tales is the second story, "Dance Macabre," which finds the narrator hosting a late-night drinking party for some friends but with a morbid slant to it. I have to admit that I finished the story with a few questions, but that just gave me the opportunity to mentally write my own answers. "Holy Matrimony" is another fun tale that put me in the mind of the movies Mr. & Mrs. Smith and The War of the Roses since the featured couple is less than happily married, to say the least. "Cryptic Iniquity," another favorite, follows its protagonist through a creepy and puzzling walk through a parking deck that made me resolve to avoid such structures on pain of death, as it were. On the other hand, I was less than impressed with "Necrotic Frolic," a story starring two embalmers having too much fun with their work.
Even though Symposium of the Reaper's stories vary, their protagonists all have somewhat subversive experiences in common, and I loved the differing ways in which they dealt with them. For instance, the main characters of "Pavor Nocturnus" and "Cryptic Iniquity" were very unhappy with their circumstances and sought to improve their situations, whereas the stars from "Dance Macabre" and "Machiavellian" seemed more pleased with their lots in life. This collection was truly a study of the difference between "glass half empty" and "glass half full"-type people in the midst of adversity.
I'm also pleased to note that this collection seemed to be professionally edited, as I didn't notice any objective grammatical errors. With that being said, I will acknowledge that the author did tend to use commas where I may use semicolons, but it could be a regional thing, so I'm not faulting them for it. To that end, I'm rating this anthology 5 out of 5 stars.
I happily recommend Symposium of the Reaper to readers who enjoy sinister tales and fans of story collections. While there were no sexual situations or extreme graphic violence, there was quite a bit of profanity sprinkled throughout the tales, so bibliophiles concerned with harsh language should take note.
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Symposium of the Reaper
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Dean Koontz is quoted as saying, “Sometimes there is no darker place than our thoughts, the moonless midnight of the mind,” and I can't help but wonder if author Andrew Adams heard or read the quote and took it to heart, as Symposium of the Reaper is full of tales illustrating such.
Starting with "Pavor Nocturnus" and ending with "The Boy Who Feared Everything," this thirteen-story compilation is one journey through a dark mind, and since I'm an avowed night owl, I was more than happy with my stroll through Adams' moonless midnight. The thirteen stories therein are not related, but they do all have a grim current running through them, thereby tying them together theme-wise. While I never found myself truly terrified, I did have many moments on the edge of my seat, half holding my breath. My favorite of the tales is the second story, "Dance Macabre," which finds the narrator hosting a late-night drinking party for some friends but with a morbid slant to it. I have to admit that I finished the story with a few questions, but that just gave me the opportunity to mentally write my own answers. "Holy Matrimony" is another fun tale that put me in the mind of the movies Mr. & Mrs. Smith and The War of the Roses since the featured couple is less than happily married, to say the least. "Cryptic Iniquity," another favorite, follows its protagonist through a creepy and puzzling walk through a parking deck that made me resolve to avoid such structures on pain of death, as it were. On the other hand, I was less than impressed with "Necrotic Frolic," a story starring two embalmers having too much fun with their work.
Even though Symposium of the Reaper's stories vary, their protagonists all have somewhat subversive experiences in common, and I loved the differing ways in which they dealt with them. For instance, the main characters of "Pavor Nocturnus" and "Cryptic Iniquity" were very unhappy with their circumstances and sought to improve their situations, whereas the stars from "Dance Macabre" and "Machiavellian" seemed more pleased with their lots in life. This collection was truly a study of the difference between "glass half empty" and "glass half full"-type people in the midst of adversity.
I'm also pleased to note that this collection seemed to be professionally edited, as I didn't notice any objective grammatical errors. With that being said, I will acknowledge that the author did tend to use commas where I may use semicolons, but it could be a regional thing, so I'm not faulting them for it. To that end, I'm rating this anthology 5 out of 5 stars.
I happily recommend Symposium of the Reaper to readers who enjoy sinister tales and fans of story collections. While there were no sexual situations or extreme graphic violence, there was quite a bit of profanity sprinkled throughout the tales, so bibliophiles concerned with harsh language should take note.
- George CarlinWeather forecast for tonight: dark.
******
Symposium of the Reaper
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon