Goodreads Summary:
"A slow rasping sound made me turn. I jumped back, the cell phone leaving my hands and smashing against the concrete floor. Someone was seated on the chair, rocking back and forth. Through the fallen light, I could see those hands placed on the arms of the chair, two gruesome wrinkled limbs with ugly boils plastered over the black skin. The red bangles on its wrists shone in my eyes, momentarily blinding me. That thing and I call it a thing because I could sense it wasn't human as no human could have such a hideous form, as vile an existence as the one seated opposite to my horrified self."
From a honeymoon in the hill that goes horribly wrong to an obsessed lover who wants his first love in life and in death; From a mentally deranged man who collects body parts of various women to stitch together his dream girl to a skeptic who enters a mansion of horrors to win a bet and much more, this book is filled with scenarios that are guaranteed to give you goosebumps and sleepless nights.
'The Other Side' is a collection of thirteen tales of the paranormal; a world that our eyes refuse to see, our ears deny hearing and our senses ignore the feel of. This is a book for someone who is brave enough to take up this invitation to journey through uncharted waters along with the authors, who were inspired by some bizarre experiences to pen down this work where the lines of reality have been blurred by the footsteps of imagination.
Each story takes you on a tour de force of unadulterated horror and draws upon the deepest fear in the human mind- the fear of the UNKNOWN!
From a honeymoon in the hill that goes horribly wrong to an obsessed lover who wants his first love in life and in death; From a mentally deranged man who collects body parts of various women to stitch together his dream girl to a skeptic who enters a mansion of horrors to win a bet and much more, this book is filled with scenarios that are guaranteed to give you goosebumps and sleepless nights.
'The Other Side' is a collection of thirteen tales of the paranormal; a world that our eyes refuse to see, our ears deny hearing and our senses ignore the feel of. This is a book for someone who is brave enough to take up this invitation to journey through uncharted waters along with the authors, who were inspired by some bizarre experiences to pen down this work where the lines of reality have been blurred by the footsteps of imagination.
Each story takes you on a tour de force of unadulterated horror and draws upon the deepest fear in the human mind- the fear of the UNKNOWN!
REVIEW:
*NOTE: We (The Readdicts) received a copy of The Other Side from author Faraaz Kazi in exchange for an honest review. We thank Faraaz for the book!
Except for one single ghost story series and a few short stories here and there, I hadn't ever read any horror stories and I was never quite inclined on trying out the genre either. But then I had the awesome opportunity to host a blog tour for Faraaz Kazi and Vivek Banerjee's horror stories collection, The Other Side.
I do like to believe that where is there is normal, there is paranormal and where there is natural, there exists the supernatural. In spite of my initial apprehensions about feeling scared (which I hate to admit) and not being able to devour the book as much as a horror fan probably would, I am proud to say that I thoroughly enjoyed The Other Side.
Before I begin writing about the stories in general, I have to say that The Other Side has the most bone chilling and frightening foreword I've ever read. It actually made me look here and there to make sure no unusual activity was going on around me. From then on, I knew it would be best to read the book in broad daylight and that's what I did.
The stories weren't exactly scary or frightening but they were pretty creepy and they gave me goosebumps. They all had more of a redemptional and karmic than a nightmarish aspect to them. Just when it seemed like the usual haunted house, a woman in white and people of science or non-believers theme started recurring, something different would be thrown in the next story. Some stories were disgusting, some horrifying while some others were just quite normal in the sense that they didn't scare me at all. What I liked most was how spirits were shown as both good and bad and the whole what goes around comes around dictum was subtly portrayed through that.
Before I begin writing about the stories in general, I have to say that The Other Side has the most bone chilling and frightening foreword I've ever read. It actually made me look here and there to make sure no unusual activity was going on around me. From then on, I knew it would be best to read the book in broad daylight and that's what I did.
The stories weren't exactly scary or frightening but they were pretty creepy and they gave me goosebumps. They all had more of a redemptional and karmic than a nightmarish aspect to them. Just when it seemed like the usual haunted house, a woman in white and people of science or non-believers theme started recurring, something different would be thrown in the next story. Some stories were disgusting, some horrifying while some others were just quite normal in the sense that they didn't scare me at all. What I liked most was how spirits were shown as both good and bad and the whole what goes around comes around dictum was subtly portrayed through that.
Most of the times, I felt like the stories were actually very similar to supernatural incidents I've previously heard from my elders and various members of the family. In the Indian context, these are stories we've all grown up on and The Other Side made me look beyond and dig a bit more in the unknown. When it comes to short story collections, there's no such thing as the best or the worst story, but my most favourite ones were The Lady In The Pub and A Mother's Love.
Being short stories, the book is very easy to read and the writing is quite undemanding and user friendly which makes it an easy read. The Other Side promised to be a one of it's kind read on the Indian commercial horror scene and because I have nothing to compare it to, for me, the book delivered the promise it made, which is always a good thing. If I were to describe it in one word, it was creeptastic.
Being short stories, the book is very easy to read and the writing is quite undemanding and user friendly which makes it an easy read. The Other Side promised to be a one of it's kind read on the Indian commercial horror scene and because I have nothing to compare it to, for me, the book delivered the promise it made, which is always a good thing. If I were to describe it in one word, it was creeptastic.
RATING:
Thanks for reading and liking the book. We are grateful.
ReplyDeleteVivek Banerjee
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment, Sir. Means a lot!
DeleteI loved the book.Each and every story never failed to thrill me,every time I read the book.The book contains a very sophisticated kind of horror stories which gives a goosebumps even if I am reading the story for a second time.I am already waiting for a sequel of this book.
ReplyDeleteDitto! I got goosebumps like crazy. I didn't know there's going to be a sequel but it should be interesting. Thanks for stopping by, Sonali.
DeleteErr... the first word is supposed to be except, not expect.
ReplyDeleteUh, oh. Thanks for letting me know, whoever you are. Corrected!
DeleteI wish, This book brings a Revolution among the peoples one who're gonna read of any Paranormal Activities.because you guys have really done a such a good work and even you've been researched about the story that you've penned down!
ReplyDelete