Official Review: Bizarre: 14 Horror Stories

[Paige Alvarado]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Bizarre: 14 Horror Stories" by J.F. Gonzalez.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Werewolves, murder, acid baths, and literal birdmen are only a few of the terrifying things to be read about in Bizarre: 14 Horror Stories. As implicated by the title, the book is made up of 14 short stories written by various authors. The tales range from weird and mildly creepy to downright bone-chilling.

In Let the Body Parts Fill the Air by Mike Duke, read about a vampire hunter who undergoes a grotesque battle with the undead. Discover a troubled convict who attempts to escape confinement by channeling his inner crow in Gord Rollo's On Fine Feathered Wings. Find out what happens when a photographer shoots downtown Seattle at three in the morning in That Which Should Not Be by Nicholas Catron. All fourteen twisted tales will leave you gripping your blanket and dreading nightfall.

My favorite part of Bizarre: 14 Horror Stories was the sixth short story, Only You by Rick Wood. It was written from the first-person perspective of a stalker who is obsessed with a barmaid. The tone of the story was incredibly intense, and I felt like I could hear him speaking to me. The narrator explicitly states that the woman he is infatuated with does not know him, but they were in love and she would soon realize that. The story becomes even darker as the plot thickens. I was completely riveted the entire time.

The one thing I did not like about the book was that it was comprised of stories by different authors. Each author had s unique writing style which I had to adjust to each time I began a new tale. While some authors created flawless stories with clear plots and well-developed characters, some stories seemed to fall short. I feel that I would have enjoyed a series of short stories by a single author more than this collaborative piece.

As stated by the title, Bizarre: 14 Horror Stories is made up of horror stories. Some are rather dark and would be best suited for mature readers. While eroticism was kept to a minimum and was only mentioned briefly in non-graphic terms, the entire book was peppered with profanity. The concept of God is brought up in one story about a corrupted Reverend, but even that story is suitable for all religious affiliations, in my opinion. I would recommend this book to any mature reader interested in a concise and eerie book.

In terms of quality, Bizarre: 14 Horror Stories was pretty well done. I encountered less than five grammatical and typographical errors in total, leading me to believe that it was almost certainly proofread very well, and probably even professionally edited. Overall, I enjoyed the book. I believe that it has earned an enthusiastic 3 out of 4 stars . The absence of the fourth star is based solely on the fact that I didn't love all of the stories in the book.

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Bizarre: 14 Horror Stories
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[Mrunalpatki]

Wow, I always loved short stories O 'Henry's are my favorites. But I agree with you when you say they should be by the same author to keep the book cohesive and an easy read for the audience. Great review, I think I am ready for some bone chilling.

[Kachi_Ejiogu+_]

Aww. It would have been such a masterpiece if not for the drawbacks in the writing style. However, I loved that the tone of the story was incredibly intense, and you felt like you could hear the writer speaking to you.

[Vish_borse]

Quite interesting.. I loved the way of story was intense and amazing.. I would love to read more like this..

[JKO]

I like horror stories. I look forward to reading all 14 tales. I hope I enjoy them as much as you did. Thanks for this excellent review.

[Nzube Chizoba Okeke]

Horror intrigues me. The craziest of them all is the story of the stalker. I think I'd enjoy this book. Thanks for a job well done. This insightful review makes me want to add this book to my shelf right away.

[Splendour0606]

Wonderful review.I love horror genre,I am sure I will enjoys all 14 stories, especially "let the body parts fill the air". Looking forward to reading it.

[NetMassimo]

Anthologies can have ups and downs in different tales, even more if they were written by different authors. Still, it seems an interesting book for horror fans. Thank you for your great review!

[Tonika632]

I like short stories even if they are horror stories. It gives you that bone chill! It is okay if you don't like all of 14 of them, I can expect for myself that I am going to love some of them, some of them not. I can get over scary stuff and I am going to read this someday, definitely going to give it a try!

[Adanna Inya]

I don't like horror stories, so I'll pass on this. But I like that the stories are short. This will give me a break without the feel of missing anything, should I decide to read. Thanks for a beautiful review.

[Ediomis_Enwongo01]

A good review indeed. The sight of the horror ladened scenes in the short stories is enough to scare me off.

[avenetz4820]

The 14 horror stories presented are exceptional and exhilarating stories that leave the reader on their toes. Although, some are unrealistic they seem realistic because it's topics humans tend to think about or see in fictional television shows.

[Koltrast]

It's incredibly frustrating when a collection from different authors have very different qualities! I need to stay away from horror myself, however intriguing a good, creepy story can be, so I doubt I'll read this book.

[Lamarrhia Howard]

This is so amazing and fun I woud read this everyday because I love horror and I love to read like this made me want to keep reading this all day and before I go to sleep I'm gone make sure I read this again and I'll even write this down because I write a lot and I also love to write.