Title: The Blogchatter Book of Thrillers
Author: Blogchatter
Publisher: Readomania
Price: Rs 250 /-
No of Pages: 111
Link to Purchase: https://amzn.eu/d/2kzGADc
My Take:
The Blogchatter book of thrillers contains 15 spine chilling short stories. Some of them chill your spine more than others but one and all are scary. I tried an experiment while reading this book in order to find out which ones among the stories frightened me the most. At the moment I am staying in a guest house at my parent’s place in Chennai which is an assisted living facility. This meant that I would be sleeping entirely alone in a 1 BHK flat. So I decided to read the book in darkness.
You might be wondering how a person can read a paperback in complete darkness. The answer is I used a book lamp. I have always found that a book lamp has a particularly frightening effect while reading a book belonging to the horror genre. As I mentioned earlier all the stories were well written, but I am going to describe my impression of 7 of them which them which really took my breath away that night. So here goes…
Against My Windowpane by Rehana Sultana
This story is narrated with frightening effect. The story is connected together by subtle threads to create terror. A pregnant woman and the aftermath of giving birth leads to a fearsome, awe inspiring and terrifying end.
The Secrets of Nandini Rutuja by Roma Gupta Sinha:
Boy! This one was simply terrifying! The author builds up the fear right from the start and creates an eerie atmosphere from the word go. A young girl who isolates herself! A nurse who tries to connect to her innermost self! The ending explodes all over the reader. The story had me frightened, all right!
What Tomorrow Holds By Deepti Menon:
This story piqued my sensitivity a lot. It is a poignant tale spiced with a liberal dose of terror towards the end. A young girl is is ill treated badly when she goes to live with her relatives. What happens next? Well it is too scary! The element of terror runs palpably throughout the story.
One Night by Tarang Sinha:
In addition to being scary this story also mixes terror with an element of poignancy which I loved. The fear is built earlier on and towards the end we are left feeling slightly teary eyed. I liked the plot of this story a lot. A good tale indeed!
The Dactyist by Anushree Saha:
First of all, I did not know the meaning of the word Dactyist. And when I found out what it meant I involuntarily looked at my hands! That is the kind of effect this story had on me. It reveals the cold blooded psyche of an obsessive mind. The plot is totally unique unlike any story I have ever read. Easily one of the best stories!
Black by Dr Alpna Das Sharma:
This is another frightening tale. A young girl’s eagerness to learn pitches her headlong into trouble. Slowly the author builds terror which is mingled with pity. Another reason I liked this story so much is that it touched upon a topic very close to my heart which is education for all.
A Husband’s Guide To Set A Wife Right by Rahul Vishnoi:
I liked this tale so much because it has a subtle connection to something I hold dear to my heart: women’s liberation. I believe sincerely that men and women are equal in all respects. I loved the ending a lot.
The selected list of stories above in no way detracts from the other tales. One and all were good and hold the reader’s attention. The element of terror is present in all of them. In some cases the ending is a bit predictable but perhaps that is unavoidable to drive the point of the story home. One thing I would like to mention is regarding the length of the stories. The same stories with the same plots if retold with a slightly greater word length would have created a much more terrifying effect. It takes a certain space to create the necessary atmosphere of fear, especially in short stories in the horror genre.
Conclusion:
Not withstanding the few cons I have pointed out, the Blogchatter book of thrillers is an excellent book packed with outstanding stories in the horror genre. Do pick it up!
Rating:
I am going with a 4.5/5 for this book. It is a really scary book that does the Blogchatter community proud.
Rating Scale:
1 Poor
2 Fair
3 Good
4 Excellent
5 Outstanding
This review is powered by the Blogchatter Book Review Program
I liked your experiment. Also your review, of course. Scaring Indians won’t be easy, I think. We have seen do many devils in real life!
Yes Tom, it took some nerve. I normally don’t try such experiments. Yes, you are spot on about meeting devils in real life. 😅
Some very interesting perspectives in this review. Thank you Jai for your insights and review 😊
Thank you Suchita. I liked the book a lot. A few things could have been improved but all in all it is an excellent anthology in the horror genre.
Thank you for your lovely review. So glad you enjoyed reading the book. And thank you so much for the mention! 🙂
Yes, I liked the book a lot and yours was one of the stories that stood out. 👏👍