This book...

[the_jackass]

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/221709

Short (free) book, you should read it when you have time. Best read alone in the night.

It's really deep stuff. Normally I crap on experimental fiction, but this one just leaves me speechless. The themes of all the stories are basically surreal, poetic, epic vistas of sadness and horror that span aeons.

If I had to recommend any specific stories from the anthology I'd mention Station 14 and Amber Prison.

What do you people think about the book?

[phantomotap]

O_o

I think you shouldn't hand out copies of a book without permission.

[Edit]
Which is to say, you should link to the entry not the download.
[/Edit]

Soma

[whiteflags]

It's also available as a dead tree or for $1 on the kindle here: http://amzn.com/1461087201

Just providing the option - there are of course, free books.

[Mario F.]

Amateurish writing, to say the least.

I raised my right arm and closed my fingers into a fist, drawing back my wrist to knock

This one made me stop on my tracks, suspension of disbelief completely ruined. And I was only on the 6th page.

The doctors reports in the previous pages looked like they were written by someone pretending to be a psychotherapist (e.g. the book author). They lacked any professional lingo as would be expected of the doctor, were completely immature and talked about their patient in a vague manner. One of the most funny ones was the doctor that offered to draw his own blood to write down on the floor, but then asks to be reassigned when the patient attacks him. I laughed.

I couldn't stomach much more of this. So... nah. From a cursory look at the stories, he does seem to have the imagination. Which is what is lacking in most horror writers these days, including the usual suspects like Stephen King. Unfortunately he can't write if that meant saving his life. He should hire someone to write for him though.

[Elysia]

I gave up when I had to create an account to download a free book.

[setleaf]

I downloaded the .pdf file and read a few of the short stories, but horror fiction isn't really my genre of choice. I prefer to get my horror fix on film.

[Mario F.]

I gave up when I had to create an account to download a free book.

You don't. You missed the small download section in the middle of the screen above the author biography and after the book description.

[Elysia]

Oh, now I see. I was too focused on the "price: free" and below that, add to library button that's overly large the download buttons are in the middle of the page and small.

[the_jackass]

Amateurish writing, to say the least.

This one made me stop on my tracks, suspension of disbelief completely ruined. And I was only on the 6th page.

The doctors reports in the previous pages looked like they were written by someone pretending to be a psychotherapist (e.g. the book author). They lacked any professional lingo as would be expected of the doctor, were completely immature and talked about their patient in a vague manner. One of the most funny ones was the doctor that offered to draw his own blood to write down on the floor, but then asks to be reassigned when the patient attacks him. I laughed.

I couldn't stomach much more of this. So... nah. From a cursory look at the stories, he does seem to have the imagination. Which is what is lacking in most horror writers these days, including the usual suspects like Stephen King. Unfortunately he can't write if that meant saving his life. He should hire someone to write for him though.

Hmmm I dont see what's wrong with the line you quoted. Maybe your standards are way too high. As for the doctor reports, well he himself said some stories of this book were inspired by Lovecraft...example, Lovecraft didnt use doctor lingo in "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" did he? If you're still in a mood to digest the book though, I'd suggest reading the two stories I've mentioned instead of linearly going through each story.

I downloaded the .pdf file and read a few of the short stories, but horror fiction isn't really my genre of choice. I prefer to get my horror fix on film.

The stories in this book (with two exceptions) arent classifiable into any genres AFAIK, least of all the poetic, surreal stories. What I know within my limited knowledge of the proper horror genre is that it mostly consists of gothic/ghost/vampire stories. None of the stories I mentioned come into that category. Anyhow hope you'll like Station 14.

[Mario F.]

Hmmm I dont see what's wrong with the line you quoted. Maybe your standards are way too high.

Or maybe not. But if you don't see a problem with that, you don't see a problem with that. I won't be the one telling you how you should enjoy your books. That would be stupid. I'm telling you that sort of writing kills it for me. That's all.

As for the doctor reports, well he himself said some stories of this book were inspired by Lovecraft...example, Lovecraft didnt use doctor lingo in "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" did he?

Are you being serious? Are you really trying to compare The Case of Charles Dexter Ward to this well intentioned, but unfortunate, attempt at writing?

Answering your question more directly, in no moment in The Case of Charles Dexter Ward do we have a first-person account of the story, including direct access to the actual writings of Dr. Willett. All we hear from Dr. Willett is the narrator's interpretation of the reports. When Willet finally gains a voice is towards the very end of the book, in a letter he writes to Ward's father. At that point Willett had already experienced the horrors and that letter was not of a doctor, but of a friend informing a father of his son's fate.

And in the few cases where a clinical appreciation of Ward's mental state is made through the narrator voice, lovecraft does it masterfully and with a language that beautifully respect both the novel writing style as well as the knowledge at the time.

[MutantJohn]

I kind of agree with Mario.

I raised my right arm and closed my fingers into a fist, drawing back my wrist to knock

I haven't actually read the passage so this is entirely out of context but I think it would've been a lot easier to just say, "I knocked on the door."

That's the wrong place to put detail. The reader doesn't need a play-by-play to understand what someone knocking on a door looks like.

[Alpo]

I raised my right arm and closed my fingers into a fist, drawing back my wrist to knock

That's the wrong place to put detail. The reader doesn't need a play-by-play to understand what someone knocking on a door looks like.

It's the wrong detail anyway (to be picky). Given how wrists work, the part that would oscillate should be your fist. I could have been doing it wrong all these years though *starts banging on things with the soft part of his wrist*.