Jonathan Maberry

Actual Rating: 3.75

As an overall work, I found "Scary Out There" to be not quite a run-of-the-mill horror collection, but a pretty interesting look at fictional depictions of what these 21 authors thought to be real fear, and although I think there were unimpressive bits, this collection of stories is a good read for any teen horror lover.
Some of the stories were really well done, like Josh Mallerman's "Danny", and Tim Waggoner's "The Whisper-Whisper Men"- those two were probably my favorite. Additionally, the larger concepts and worlds of "The Doomsday Glass" by Brenna Yovanoff and "What Happens When the Heart Just Stops" by Christopher Golden were REALLY interesting- I'd've loved a longer work of both of those!

Many of the other ones were unsettling, both because of the subject matter ("What Happens to Girls Who Disappear") but there were a couple I thought to be a bit lame ("Non-player Character"). I think a couple stories just needed more thought, better writing, and movement. There is a LOT of wasted time in some of these tales.

It's a kooky collection of stories. Good for a atmospheric, Halloween-ish read.… (meer)

I really, REALLY want to have liked this more! As a huge X-Files fan, I've been looking forwards to read the two "Origins" novel as soon as I heard about them.
But this just felt a little uninspired and had too many "look, we're referencing the SHOW and future MULDER" moments. The plot was very basic to me. And I saw the "twist" from a mile away- I mean, it was practically spelled out to the reader, and I felt like I was watching a vaguely cheesy horror flick unfold.
(Also, that Epilogue Part 3? I was WAITING for that person at the end to show up!! I KNEW SAID PERSON WOULD BE THERE!!)

I DID enjoy Mayberry's writing style here, and thought he did a good job of creating a vivid atmosphere. Just because of his style, I'd be willing to read more by him.
I don't know if the authors of these "Origins" stories were prompted by the shows creators in any way to follow a certain narrative, but something is telling me there were guidelines to this book. It was as if Mayberry was given a plot and told to flesh it out how he saw fit.

It was a good read. Nothing spectacular, and not quite what I'd hoped it would be. I'll be reading Kami Garcia's Fox Mulder story next, and I'm hoping for a little more OOMPH with that one.… (meer)