This novella ROCKED!
I've always had a slight fear of dolls, puppets and the always scary ventriloquist dummies. Ever since I saw the movie Magic as a child these dummies creep me out. This novella featured the creepiest dummy EVER!
The story starts with a young woman named Kitty who is thinking about her sister who disappeared shortly after joining on with a ventriloquism act. Kitty wants to find out what happened because her sister would never just take off like that without at least a phone call. She tracks down the ventriloquist and gets a job where he works so she can be close and keep an eye on them. She begins to notice that the dummy (Piggy)seems almost to have a life of its own. From there on, reality goes off its rails.
I really enjoyed how this author worked in the stories of several different people to give a full view of Piggy's activities over the years. The way it was done was awesome and it helped to build the tension as more and more was discovered about Piggy and his handler's(Ronny)history. I also enjoyed the pacing of the story-I HAD to find out what happened. There are some very graphic, messed up scenes, so this one is not for the faint of heart.
One last word of warning-don't expect to sleep soundly after you're done.
|I am wavering between 4 and 5 stars with this one. Tim Curran is fast becoming one of my all time favorite authors. The dude can flat out write with some of the best descriptive prose in the business.
Ventriloquist dummies are freaky to begin with and Tim bumps up the creepy factor with Puppet Graveyard. A young women goes missing and her sister desperately tries to find out what has happened. As she searches for answers she uncovers some dark secrets that that will test her beliefs and her sanity. Dummies and Kittys and
Piggys, Oh My!
|Another disapppointing effort from Curran, who has very good concepts but just can't seem to execute them successfully. This story of a disturbed ventriloquist and his possessed dummy Piggy sort of plods along for a while, creating just enough interest to want you to reach the conclusion, which is rather muddled, illogical and anticlimactic, considering the set-up Curran creates for just how powerful and evil Piggy is supposed to be. Curran again overdoes his descriptions of imagery as he did in Dead Sea and just doesn't seem to have the skills to pull off a truly horrific scene with any consistency. I didn't hate the story but it left me feeling unfulfilled, like a golden opportunity had been missed here.
This e-book also contained one of the most glaring editorial errors I have ever seen. The female protaganist, Kitty, is speaking to an investigator in his office and Curran refers to her as "Lisa" on three separate occasions during this scene. I was so confused I went back to the beginning of the chapter to see if I missed another character in the room but, alas, I did not. How does an author make this mistake, and how does an editor not catch it?|I read this one because it was included in the novella collection with The Underdwelling.
It was okay, but didn't really do a whole lot for me. But a good slant on the ventriloquist-dummy-taking-over thing.|A solid 4 star read that I really enjoyed. Tim has a real gift with words- metaphors in particular. This read flowed so well, it was over before I knew it. Kitty, the main character, who wants to find out what happened to her sister who disappeared while working with Ronny and his dummy Piggy was what knocked this read down for me.
The author constantly told me, the reader, why Kitty was doing this and why she was doing that, taking away the suspense, or the surprise me factor. Still...A recommended read.

|Another disapppointing effort from Curran, who has very good concepts but just can't seem to execute them successfully. This story of a disturbed ventriloquist and his possessed dummy Piggy sort of plods along for a while, creating just enough interest to want you to reach the conclusion, which is rather muddled, illogical and anticlimactic, considering the set-up Curran creates for just how powerful and evil Piggy is supposed to be. Curran again overdoes his descriptions of imagery as he did in Dead Sea and just doesn't seem to have the skills to pull off a truly horrific scene with any consistency. I didn't hate the story but it left me feeling unfulfilled, like a golden opportunity had been missed here.
This e-book also contained one of the most glaring editorial errors I have ever seen. The female protaganist, Kitty, is speaking to an investigator in his office and Curran refers to her as "Lisa" on three separate occasions during this scene. I was so confused I went back to the beginning of the chapter to see if I missed another character in the room but, alas, I did not. How does an author make this mistake, and how does an editor not catch it?|I read this one because it was included in the novella collection with The Underdwelling.
It was okay, but didn't really do a whole lot for me. But a good slant on the ventriloquist-dummy-taking-over thing.|A solid 4 star read that I really enjoyed. Tim has a real gift with words- metaphors in particular. This read flowed so well, it was over before I knew it. Kitty, the main character, who wants to find out what happened to her sister who disappeared while working with Ronny and his dummy Piggy was what knocked this read down for me.
The author constantly told me, the reader, why Kitty was doing this and why she was doing that, taking away the suspense, or the surprise me factor. Still...A recommended read.