Sleepless Nights

DNF @ 2%

I started reading this anthology in August 2021 and only finished two of the short stories before setting it aside.

The first story is a slightly interesting science fiction story with a mediocre ending - nothing even slightly worthy of being called a thriller, horror, suspense, or mystery story. The second story is a bit too try-hard and seems like a weird mix of Wednesday Addams, Cinderella, and emo-goth kids from the early to mid 2000s. I'll give the story credit for trying to be inclusive by having a character with Asperger's in it, but the handling and the story itself just didn't impress me. My teenage self would've eaten it up happily, though, so there's that.

Now that I've returned to this book, I've made it only a few page turns on the Kindle app and already decided I just don't care. The third story is yet another that tries way too hard to be profound and spooky, and I'm just not interested enough to give it - or the other stories - a chance. Here's an excerpt to illustrate what I mean:

I will not waste effort describing the Devil. The impoverished words at my disposal have only been designed for this material world. Even as he stood before me, he was more removed from my understanding than the glorious Sun was to a blind worm. It is suffice to say that he could not be perceived with any one sense, but the pressure of his presence so commanded my consciousness that I was aware of nothing else.