Horror
Stoker and mummies ought to be enough on paper. That’s half the problem with old horror, really. The premise does a lot of the heavy lifting before you’ve even opened the book.
Still, I keep leaving The Jewel of Seven Stars on my Want to Read shelf because I’m curious whether it’s all atmosphere and unease, or whether it starts leaning on the gimmick. Sometimes that’s the difference between something eerie and something merely decorative.
Still, I keep leaving The Jewel of Seven Stars on my Want to Read shelf because I’m curious whether it’s all atmosphere and unease, or whether it starts leaning on the gimmick. Sometimes that’s the difference between something eerie and something merely decorative.
Old horror often survives on atmosphere because the machinery is so familiar. That can be a strength, if the mood is doing real work and not just standing there in a cape.
This one stays on my Want to Read shelf for the same reason as a lot of Stoker. I’m less interested in whether the premise is clever than whether it gets properly uncanny before it starts feeling like a museum label.
This one stays on my Want to Read shelf for the same reason as a lot of Stoker. I’m less interested in whether the premise is clever than whether it gets properly uncanny before it starts feeling like a museum label.