Author: Chandrima Das
Publisher: HarperCollins India
Do you have a horror story related to your
college?
From strange sightings to urban legends, from
haunted buildings to not-so-friendly ghosts, colleges in India have their fair
share of spine-tingling tales, be it Kasturba Medical College in Manipal, St.
Bede's College in Shimla or Delhi University. Young Blood by Chandrima Das
is a collection of ten tales that reimagine college urban legends and true
first-person accounts, that promises to terrify even die-hard fans of horror.
From institutions like IIT Kharagpur, to KMC Manipal, there isn’t a location
that the author has skipped!
Young Blood is a unique collection of stories
that sits in the genre of horror, but isn’t limited to sound effects and other
typical signatures of a horror story. Each of the story subtly builds up to the
crescendo that is the climax and the spine-chilling part of the story. The USP
of each of the story is how each of them is drawn from the local legends and
the myths propagated through the years. The stories are relatable because either
we have been a part of some of the institutions or have visited a place to hear
haunted stories about nearby places. While the book focuses on 10 stories and
locations, the focus on details is critical and Chandrima nails the devil of
the details perfectly. Another interesting aspect of the collection is that
they are spread across geographically, thus increasing the relatability. The
author has used simple language and focused on the plot. Not just building up a
feeling of terror, the stories also carry social messages and I admire the way
she has mixed them up.
The characters have been well sketched and
are an integral part of the plot of the story. Using a diverse set of
characters, the descriptions are vivid and despite being short stories, the
limited length does not become a hindrance in helping the reader connecting
with the characters. While each of the 10 stories was wonderful, my picks out
of the lot would be Challenge Accepted, The Benefits of Doubt & Ghost
of a Chance.
I would recommend the book to lovers of
horror and to anyone who loves to read well-written short stories. The book
scores a 4.94/5 for me.
Get a copy of the book on Amazon India here.
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