Pluck Out The Heart- Review of a Scare-chest!

Finished reading the last remaining story of the book- ‘Pluck out the heart’ a while ago. It is an anthology of horror stories featuring five different authors, edited by Shail Raghuvanshi and published by Airavat Publishing House.

A successful horror story is something that is able to give goosebumps and ripples even to the ones who do not believe in any paranormal activity. Going by the theme of the book, the title seems thrilling as well as attractive, where ‘Pluck out the heart’ seems to symbolize that once you read the stories, you will feel as if your heart has been plucked out of your body.

Similarly, the cover page also, I feel, goes with the theme. While the front cover shows dark buildings, silhouettes of trees and a dead man in a full-moon night- the time when the supernatural energies are said to be in its extreme, the back cover shows an open door with huge stains of blood and some human-like face bearing red eyes with a face as if it is going to attack someone. The colour combination and the effects are awesome!

Now let me come to the main part. Since the stories are contributed by five different authors, each story, I found, had a taste that differed from those by a different author. Let us see.

1.       Sagher Manchanda:

He has contributed the first five stories of the stories of the book. Once I read the first story, I was, as if, driven to his other stories. But on his noble request to read the other (senior) authors first, I had to postpone them.

His stories- including the plot, the occurrences as well as the presentation are sure to keep you engrossed in them till you have finished reading the last word. They are often unpredictable in the beginning and the twists at the end will indeed keep you spellbound! Let me give a brief introduction to the pieces.

Story 1: The story takes place in France in the beginning of the 20^th century. But as we move on, we are taken to a more ancient era when the first seeds of the entire paranormal activity were planted, with King Louis XVI being assassinated along with his wife. What remains in store at the end is sure to keep your jaws open.

Story 2: The stupid experiment by a tourist awakens a revenge-seeking ghoul, bringing doom to the otherwise beautiful and scenic tourist spot Ronda. Since then, as people arrive there at different points of time, it is shown how strange things occur and how a transformation dramatically comes in them.

Story 3: Lisa Fisk feels all the happiness is for her when Ronald marries her and brings her to his new house at Waterbury. At that time, she is totally ignorant of what fate has kept for her. As you read on, I would say you just… expect the unexpected!! Oops! I’m copying lines from a movie trailer. Well, I’m too speechless to find any other word!

Story 4: The entire story is explained with small events occurring in different time periods. It centers round an ancient bridge and an unfulfilled promise.

Story 5: The magic, as shown by conjurers, is nothing but a trick. But a wrong trick often turns things unfavourable. Go on with this story and you will discover magic. Err… By magic I do not mean mere tricks.

The language is simple but for some two or three words. But they are used in the right places and even if you do not know their meanings, you would understand most of them as you read on. The only negative point is the presence of minor grammatical errors and slight printing errors. But they mostly are ignorable. I would overall rate him 4.2 on 5.

2.       Nalini Srivastava

She has contributed the next four stories. Her stories, which mostly have female protagonists, show various circumstances that can lead to scary situations.

Story 6: The story begins with the introduction of a gypsy-natured girl who is a big fan of a once-upon-a-time super-famous actress. One day, she gets a chance to interview the actress. Since then, things begin taking unexpected turns. The cause behind everything is revealed at the end of the story- bringing lots of surprises!

Story 7: Story of a girl who had been a child-abuse victim and has also faced betrayals by somebody whom she loved dearly. Today, she is a changed girl who is set to avenge all that she has faced. The ‘scary’ thing in the tale is not some ghost, but the inner self of the girl who motivates her in her mission every time.

Story 8: Story of a girl who gets mentally sick when she is unable to give birth to a girl- and starts doing strange things. She is unable to accept her child because he is a boy. When the love finally develops for her son, it already is too late.

Story 9: Story of how a great friend helps a helpless soul meet her goals. A nice read.

The language, overall, is simple. But at places, the details, I felt, are more than required- making the read boring. Except the first one, all stories were predictable. Otherwise, everything is okay. My genuine rating for the stories is 3.5 on 5.

3.     Nikhil Katkar

The next two stories of the book are contributed by this author. His stories too are worth a read.

Story 10: Tale of the things experienced by a girl who lives with her parents and granny. Owing to some secrets, things turn against favour. Towards the end, things are brought back to normal. I just loved the character of the old lady who ultimately had to give up her life.

Story 11: The story looked more like an adventure. A group of four friends accidentally slip into a ghost-hotel and get trapped. A noble act by one of the friends ultimately brings peace to the spirits and they ultimately are released.

The stories are good and worth a read. The language also is lucid. I would rate his works 3.5 on 5.

4.    Shail Raghuvanshi

She has contributed the next three stories in the book. All the three stories are of three different types.

Story 12: With this story, for the first time we come across spirits who are not scary, rather friendly. The story focuses in a hospital where various things take place. In the middle of the story, certain conversations between the people engaged there left me thinking. But things were clear at the end when I came across a surprise.

Story 13: This is another of those stories that are really thrilling ones. A girl gets a mirror as birthday gift from her beloved. She is happy. She doesn’t know this mirror is not just a gift, but a window to scary surprises!

Story 14: Every scary story need not have ghosts. This is one of them. Though this does not have spirits, the thrill is no less. This story also comes with a surprise at the end.

The stories are nice and worth a read. The language also is simple. So, 3.5 on 5 for these pieces as well!

5.      Neelam Saxena Chandra

Before I begin, I must say that I had been waiting for a chance to read Neelam ma’m. Today, when I finally got the chance, it indeed has given me great pleasure to read her works!

She has contributed the final four poems of the book. Her stories mostly are about the evils that take place around us these days such as acid attacks and molestations, with the spirits seeking revenge for the same. The last story, however, is a bit different.

Story 15: Tale of the soul of a girl seeking vengeance of the boys who had thrown acid on her face. Though I kinda myself felt ripples reading the tale, deep inside I wished such incident happen in real from the side of a dead acid-attack victim.

Story 16: This is another thrilling story with unexpected twist towards the end. It shows how the soul of a girl seeks vengeance of a man who had raped her after making her unconscious- which later had led her towards suicide.

Story 17: This is another beautiful story. Though I didn’t find it that scary, yet I liked it very much. This story focuses on true love and how it stays with the soul, in this life or afterlife.

Story 18: This is one more story where we come across a friendly ghost who actually plays the role of an angel and visits an entirely messed up family as guest, only to make everything alright before he departs.

The stories are an awesome collection. The flow is smooth and the language used is very simple. I’d rate her works 3.8 on 5.

Overall, I enjoyed the book a lot! There is, however, presence of minor editing mistakes everywhere. They may be rectified during reprints. Otherwise, it really is worth-reading.

At the end of the day, I’d like to congratulate all the five contributing authors. You people have done a great job! And I also give my bestest wishes to you all for the future!  I hope your next books will bring more and more surprises.