Review of Symposium of the Reaper
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Ophiohonren Hiram
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Review of Symposium of the Reaper
[Following is a volunteer review of "Symposium of the Reaper" by Andrew Adams.]
Symposium of the Reaper by Andrew Adams is a collection of twelve short horror stories. These stories are very diverse and have many variations of the main theme. The first story is titled 'Pavor Nocturnus' and is about a man who had an appointment with the grim reaper at the same time each night. At the set time, strange things would occur all around him and subject him to intense torture, but they never actually took his life. The occurrences are described poetically and intricately, expressing mainly what the character feels and thinks about his situation. Some other stories were more lighthearted and delayed the tragedy and horror of the story, like 'Dance Macabre', 'Coulrophobia', and 'Gallows Humor'. Some left me a bit perplexed and looking for a sense of reason, like 'Holy Matrimony', which was about a couple who desired to murder each other in their marriage. 'Necrotic Frolic' and 'Cryptic Iniquity' also had the same effect on me, but it wasn't to my distaste. My favorite story was 'The Door, which was about a certain room in Julianne's house that opened to another realm of supernatural terrors. Finally, there were stories like 'The Boy Who Feared Everything', 'Closed Doors Open Windows', and 'Enthrallment Syndrome' that made me ponder some important emotions and their importance to humanity.
In the above paragraph, I mentioned that some of the stories made me ponder some important emotions, and I'd like to discuss this as my first positive feature in this novel. 'Close Doors, Open Windows' is a story that portrays the horror of loneliness and isolation. It explains, in metaphors, the process of undertaking a journey with a community. There are those who prioritize speed and rush ahead, only to be knocked down by challenges. There are also those who struggle to tide the waves together, but then circumstances can cause separation and loneliness to creep in, and even though the journey may be completed, there is an accompanying feeling of emptiness that is almost indescribable. Many people go through this in life, and I think it truly is a horror to experience. The other two stories, 'The Boy Who Feared Everything' and 'Enthrallment Syndrome', portrayed a very clear image of how fear affects humans and how it drives us and affects many of our actions.
The only thing I didn't like about this novel was the fact that I couldn't wrap my head around some of the stories. This was mostly in the 'Holy Matrimony' story about the couple determined to murder each other. At the end of the book, I sensed that some of the ambiguity was actually due to the author's intentions. After realizing this, I came to appreciate the stories altogether.
For the aforementioned reasons, I believe this novel is worth 5 out of 5 stars. I liked the diversity of these stories and the variety of emotions they exposed me to. It was also exceptionally well edited and was a nice reading experience overall; hence, I do not have any reason to rate it any less.
This is a great read for lovers of horror with a little bit of poetry. It contains some violent descriptions, which may be inappropriate for young readers and may even upset some of the older ones, and anyone selecting this book to read should be aware of this. I loved how some of the short stories had a poetic sense to them; this factor can and most likely will make this novel enjoyed by an even wider variety of people.
******
Symposium of the Reaper
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Symposium of the Reaper by Andrew Adams is a collection of twelve short horror stories. These stories are very diverse and have many variations of the main theme. The first story is titled 'Pavor Nocturnus' and is about a man who had an appointment with the grim reaper at the same time each night. At the set time, strange things would occur all around him and subject him to intense torture, but they never actually took his life. The occurrences are described poetically and intricately, expressing mainly what the character feels and thinks about his situation. Some other stories were more lighthearted and delayed the tragedy and horror of the story, like 'Dance Macabre', 'Coulrophobia', and 'Gallows Humor'. Some left me a bit perplexed and looking for a sense of reason, like 'Holy Matrimony', which was about a couple who desired to murder each other in their marriage. 'Necrotic Frolic' and 'Cryptic Iniquity' also had the same effect on me, but it wasn't to my distaste. My favorite story was 'The Door, which was about a certain room in Julianne's house that opened to another realm of supernatural terrors. Finally, there were stories like 'The Boy Who Feared Everything', 'Closed Doors Open Windows', and 'Enthrallment Syndrome' that made me ponder some important emotions and their importance to humanity.
In the above paragraph, I mentioned that some of the stories made me ponder some important emotions, and I'd like to discuss this as my first positive feature in this novel. 'Close Doors, Open Windows' is a story that portrays the horror of loneliness and isolation. It explains, in metaphors, the process of undertaking a journey with a community. There are those who prioritize speed and rush ahead, only to be knocked down by challenges. There are also those who struggle to tide the waves together, but then circumstances can cause separation and loneliness to creep in, and even though the journey may be completed, there is an accompanying feeling of emptiness that is almost indescribable. Many people go through this in life, and I think it truly is a horror to experience. The other two stories, 'The Boy Who Feared Everything' and 'Enthrallment Syndrome', portrayed a very clear image of how fear affects humans and how it drives us and affects many of our actions.
The only thing I didn't like about this novel was the fact that I couldn't wrap my head around some of the stories. This was mostly in the 'Holy Matrimony' story about the couple determined to murder each other. At the end of the book, I sensed that some of the ambiguity was actually due to the author's intentions. After realizing this, I came to appreciate the stories altogether.
For the aforementioned reasons, I believe this novel is worth 5 out of 5 stars. I liked the diversity of these stories and the variety of emotions they exposed me to. It was also exceptionally well edited and was a nice reading experience overall; hence, I do not have any reason to rate it any less.
This is a great read for lovers of horror with a little bit of poetry. It contains some violent descriptions, which may be inappropriate for young readers and may even upset some of the older ones, and anyone selecting this book to read should be aware of this. I loved how some of the short stories had a poetic sense to them; this factor can and most likely will make this novel enjoyed by an even wider variety of people.
******
Symposium of the Reaper
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
