James Chambers (2)

Mount Misery is a cohesive, compelling story that weaves together a number of well-known paranormal and mythological elements around the foundation concept and history of the Mothman legend. The linear storyline is augmented by a series of first-hand accounts from characters interviewed by the couple who are at the center if the story. As they slowly make sense of the experiences of themselves and others, the author infuses the narrative with creepy images and eerily disturbing depictions. show more In the end, while the primary questions are answered, Chambers leaves us to speculate on the trailing threads and wider implications. It is a masterful work of storytelling that condenses a novel’s worth of atmosphere, impact, and ideas into a novella-sized work of art. show less

I've returned to this series a few times as the idea of giving different authors stories of cryptids and writing whole stories in whatever fashion they want is a really good idea with a lot of avenues for creative storytelling. I think what Chambers did here is provide an interesting story with his own take on the mythology and developed a wonderful novella that doesn't give you everything you want from a full novel, but there are so many creative choices that build up his story from the show more original story that I found myself enjoying it a lot.

Chambers uses the mysterious area of Mount Misery and combines it with elements of the legendary cryptid king himself - Mothman! He also uses elements of the Mothman story such as men in black sightings, Ingrid Cole, John Keel's research, theories of Mothman, and adds a few other paranormal elements to convey his story of a research couple who is trying to find out the real story in their spare time and provides the reader with elements of those research in the form of audio transcripts and write ups from the main character and his wife.

The narrative interviews characters, along with the investigator's stories, from past events and adds to the main storyline. There are some amazingly creepy images in the storytelling especially visits from men in black and some odd legged spiders. Fans of the Mothman story will find the ending compelling and that Chambers picks a lane of explanation to fulfill his story while not explaining every odd piece of the puzzle shows the restraint he has as an author to let the reader wonder what the explaniation is of other elements.

I had a lot of fun with this story and Chambers provides creepy prose elements that builds the atmosphere that transports the reader to Mount Misery and maybe beyond. Final Grade - A show less

As a horror lover from New York, I don't know why it took me so long to read this anthology. This is a great collection of dark stories that draws inspiration from the history, folklore, and cultural diversity of NY state. A lot of these stories weave horrific, fantastic elements into everyday modern life with entertaining and often thought-provoking results. I was already familiar with a handful of the authors, many were new to me, and all delivered. Though there were only two or three show more stand-out stories to me, they were all well-written, and each had a unique take on some kind of trope or legend that held my interest throughout. My only complaint is that more of NY state wasn't featured. Almost every story takes place in one of the five boroughs of NY city. That minor gripe aside, this is a solid anthology sure to please horror readers, especially if you are familiar with NY and its haunted history. show less

Foreword: this is the second volume of a tetralogy of which I have not read the first volume. This makes me lack some basis for understanding whether the plot really stands up; nevertheless, I enjoyed the reading. Chambers is very good at character description and his walking dead are quite original, with those eyes popping out all over their bodies. The concept behind this volume, then, is really peculiar. If the dead, all the dead, past and present, must awaken for a mysterious reason show more (which is perhaps explained in the first volume), in their various degrees of decomposition, what will happen to the incorrupt body of a canonised saint? Which side will he be on, with the living or the dead? It is up to Vale, the undisputed protagonist of this strange novel, the one who was dead in life (too obedient to the desires and canons of others) and who now that the dead rule feels alive at last, to discover the truth. Unfortunately, it is possible that the outcome of this story will be contained in later volumes, which leaves the reader somewhat in suspense with respect to the story of Vale and Saint Blanco. show less