Scan barcode
A review by surlyseahag
Blood Lite: An Anthology of Humorous Horror Stories Presented by the Horror Writers Association by Sherrilyn Kenyon, Charlaine Harris
2.0
According to the title of the book and the plot description on the back, Blood Lite is supposed to be a "humorous" book, the stories are supposed to be funny and scary at once... but well, they aren't.
I was very disappointed by the number of awful stories in this collection. Many of them fell flat, it was clear that the authors were trying be silly and amusing, but instead they came off as desperate and bleh. In the beginning I forced myself through these stories, but after a while I just straight up stopped reading and skipped to the next tale.
There were also stories so bad I seriously wonder if someone forgot to tell the authors that this is supposed to be a “dark and humorous” anthology, not an awkward and depressing anthology. The only reason I read this book was because I was in the mood for something funny with a twist, but instead I got stories that bummed me out. Major fail.
Of course it wasn’t all bad, that’s the nice thing about anthologies, you’re bound to get at least one story you like. I enjoyed Charlaine Harris’ "An Evening with Al Gore," which told the story of some hardcore environmentalists. It was a pretty decent read with a wonderfully bloody twist. However, while a good tale, it wasn’t funny, which was supposedly the point of this book. I also liked Sherrilyn Kenyon’s story, it actually was humorous, but it felt more like a prologue to a book and not a short story. As much as I love Kenyon, I was a bit sad that the story ended before it was told. I also found Jeff Strand’s “The Bell… FROM HELL!!!” amusing, it wasn’t the most creative of stories, but it did get a wicked smile out of me. Out of all the stories in the book Jim Butcher’s “Day Off” was most definitely the best. I haven’t read the Dresden Files, but after this story I want to. It was hilarious, entertaining and very well-written. Butcher’s story pretty much saved this book.
Overall, Blood Lite was a huge let down, thank goodness I bought it for cheap otherwise I’d be feeling cheated right now. There were a few amazing stories in there that are worth a read, so I can’t tell you to stay away from the book, but I can tell you to be wary and don’t expect many laughs.
I was very disappointed by the number of awful stories in this collection. Many of them fell flat, it was clear that the authors were trying be silly and amusing, but instead they came off as desperate and bleh. In the beginning I forced myself through these stories, but after a while I just straight up stopped reading and skipped to the next tale.
There were also stories so bad I seriously wonder if someone forgot to tell the authors that this is supposed to be a “dark and humorous” anthology, not an awkward and depressing anthology. The only reason I read this book was because I was in the mood for something funny with a twist, but instead I got stories that bummed me out. Major fail.
Of course it wasn’t all bad, that’s the nice thing about anthologies, you’re bound to get at least one story you like. I enjoyed Charlaine Harris’ "An Evening with Al Gore," which told the story of some hardcore environmentalists. It was a pretty decent read with a wonderfully bloody twist. However, while a good tale, it wasn’t funny, which was supposedly the point of this book. I also liked Sherrilyn Kenyon’s story, it actually was humorous, but it felt more like a prologue to a book and not a short story. As much as I love Kenyon, I was a bit sad that the story ended before it was told. I also found Jeff Strand’s “The Bell… FROM HELL!!!” amusing, it wasn’t the most creative of stories, but it did get a wicked smile out of me. Out of all the stories in the book Jim Butcher’s “Day Off” was most definitely the best. I haven’t read the Dresden Files, but after this story I want to. It was hilarious, entertaining and very well-written. Butcher’s story pretty much saved this book.
Overall, Blood Lite was a huge let down, thank goodness I bought it for cheap otherwise I’d be feeling cheated right now. There were a few amazing stories in there that are worth a read, so I can’t tell you to stay away from the book, but I can tell you to be wary and don’t expect many laughs.