Synopsis:
A woman went missing a week before her wedding. A man recalling his nightmarish encounter with the devil. Letters sent from beyond the grave. A call from loved ones who since have passed. Limbs that have a mind of their own.
These ghostly tales of revenge, greed, and desperation writhe and squirm in the dark corners of modern day Indonesia. Rich in cultural undertones that are uniquely Asian, these stories are in equal part grotesque and poetic, irreverent and spiritual, unusual and universal.
Drawing on local folk tales of vengeful banshees, dusk-dwelling monsters, and other forms of the undead, this collection of five short stories will transport readers to the deep, dark abyss where demon forever resides: the human mind.
Edition:
E-book
My Thoughts:
I read this as part of Horror Bound‘s #HBReadathon.
Overall, most of the stories seemed to be sum-uppable as: men are arrogant and/or foolish, and women are vengeful and to be feared. As I grow older, I find that I have less and less patience for this type of narrative. It just doesn’t ring true for me. But, I’m all about the opportunity to read stories that scare people whose cultures are dramatically different than my own, so maybe this is simply a cultural disconnect.
However, Rio clearly has a skill for writing, which kept me reading. I just wish that the characters were a little more dimensional – especially the women.
The Stories:
Who’s There
Who’s There was probably my least favorite in this collection. I hated Adam from the get, and I figured out what was going on pretty early on. He was a dick, plain and simple. He didn’t want to get married, but was too vain to risk ‘losing face’ by backing out. This one really made me wonder if my issue might be cultural disconnect. Saving face doesn’t seem all that important to me, but I don’t know how different that might be in Indonesian culture (I know it is an important aspect of many Asian cultures, so I want to say it probably is here as well, but I just don’t know). Someone help me out.
All I know is that from my perspective, this guy sucked a lot, and I hated the way this story played out until the very last act, which kept it from being a total pan for me.
At Dusk
At Dusk was short and sweet, and dealt with a forest spirit who kidnaps children and drinks their blood.
The Wandering
The Wandering left me feeling kind of confused. It seemed like it was going to be about mischievous ghosts, but ended up being about a man who was tricked by someone (or maybe something – I’m honestly not clear on that) into forgetting about his former life and thereby leading his fiancee to end her own life because of it. And now she wants revenge against him for something that I don’t think was his doing at all? Or maybe it was?
The Voice Canal
The Voice Canal was less scary than it was sad. It definitely dealt with grief in a way that, again, just didn’t quite connect for me. But connecting or not, I will say that I did think it was a pretty good story.
The Forest Protector
The Forest Protector was the lone story in this collection that allowed a female character any real agency, and I was here for it. Unfortunately that woman finds said agency at the end of having to defend herself against a habitually abusive husband, but…at least she found it. This story was told via dual narratives of a mother and her son on the run. This was definitely my favorite entry.
Rating:
The average rating for Who’s There came to just about 3 stars for me. Getting some little bit of insight into Indonesian folk tales, and the things that they as a culture find spooky was fascinating.
About the Author:
Dimas Rio was born in Jakarta, Indonesia on December 28, 1985. He wrote his first novel in his birth home entitled “Dinner with Saucer” (Katakita, 2006) which was shortlisted in the “Talented Young Writer” category of 2007 Khatulistiwa Literary Award in Indonesia. He went to write a series of short stories for a local teen magazine entitled “Huru-Hara Rako” (Rako’s Chaotic Life) from 2006 to 2008.
Recently he published his second book entitled “Siapa di Situ? (Sebuah Kumpulan Cerita”) which was translated into English under the title of “Who’s There? (A Collection of Stories)” which he self-published and sold on Amazon.
When not writing, he has a hobby of being lost. He spends his weekdays being lost in the sea of office paperworks, and spends his weekends being lost in procrastination. But his favorite state is being lost in a good book, an engaging conversation and cultural places that broaden the mind. And also B grade horror movies.
If you want to purchase Who’s There, you can do so using my Bookshop affiliate link (basically I get a small percentage of the purchase price in store credit, eventually allowing me to support my book reading/reviewing habit).
Who's There By Dimas Rio Self Published ASIN: B082T3MW2W Published: December 15, 2019 Paperback, E-book 190 Pages
Sounds like a mixed bag but I have to admit my eye kept going back to the Hellraiser sticker. Where did you get it?
Yeah, the stories themselves didn’t really work for me, but it was definitely well written.
I got that sticker at a horror garage sale here in Portland a few years ago. I don’t remember who made it, but I’ll try to look around and find out.