Who’s There?: A Collection of Stories May Be Outside Your Wheelhouse But Is Worth The Read
A horrific murder haunts the perpetrator. A tale from lore that is terrifyingly real. Spirits that exact revenge from an unrequited love. Calls from a loved one. The things a mother will do to protect her child. Who’s There?: A Collection of Short Stories dives headfirst into these subjects, often with surprising twists. Author Dimas Rio collects their short stories into this one terrifying volume. Taking from Indonesian culture and lore, Who’s There? puts a new spin on some timeless classics sure to keep you up at night.
Who’s There? is a short anthology from Indonesian author Dimas Rio. While it may only contain five stories, the message in them packs a punch. I enjoyed how Dimas pulled from Indonesian culture and lore to add an element of horror with which I was not familiar while holding some popular elements at the same time. The titular story Who’s There? gives off serious Tell-Tale Heart vibes and The Voice Canal will hit home for anyone that has lost someone they love. Settings of each story were well developed providing a lot of detail and readers have characters they can love, hate, and empathize with throughout the anthology.
A note: this book was translated, and personally, I believe the translator did a great job. Often, I find translations hard to read or feel that the true meaning and feeling is lost in the translation. Not so with Who’s There?. Another thing I appreciated, and I don’t see too much in fiction, was the footnotes Rio provided for cultural differences that his readers might experience. I sometimes find myself having to research what certain terms or references mean which takes me from the story. Rio’s short notes allows readers to take a quick glance at the bottom of the page and jump right back into the story. That I greatly appreciated.
So, if you are looking for a quick read that may be outside of your wheelhouse when it comes to anthologies, check out Who’s There?: A Collection of Stories. You may just learn something too.
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