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Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Saki, "Sredni Vashtar," 1910

Hector Hugh Munro, aka Saki

"Do one thing for me, Sredni Vashtar."
                                        --  Saki, "Sredni Vashtar,"

Story number four in The Weird is a short one, but this by no means counteracts its effectiveness. It's also a shining example of why I generally like children in books better than real-life ones. When writers write children, they tend to treat them as people; when you're around real children, adults tend to treat them as kids.

Weird factor at 3/5 because the story ends very satisfyingly rather than having creeped me out. If you have children, you might find it more disturbing.

Lesson learned? Don't be mean to kids and leave alone what belongs to them. They will make shit happen to you that you'll never see coming.

Reviewed from The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories, Eds. Anne and Jeff Vandermeer

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