Can Such Things Be? [24 stories] vs The Dark Descent: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Mountain Lions, Inquests, Coroners, Short Stories, Horror
The Dark Descent
More
pt. 1. The color of evil. The reach / Stephen King -- Evening primrose / John Collier -- The ash-tree / M.R. James -- The new mother / Lucy Clifford -- There's a long, long trail a-winding / Russell Kirk -- The call of…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Can Such Things Be? [24 stories] is the quickest read — about 3 hours vs 18 for The Dark Descent.
- Can Such Things Be? [24 stories] has the widest readership — 7 ratings behind its score.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| Can Such Things Be? [24 stories] | The Dark Descent | |
|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | 3.8 (7) | 4.2 (4) |
| Google Books | — | 5.0 (1) |
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Reception
| Can Such Things Be? [24 stories] | The Dark Descent | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 7 | 4 |
| Editions | 51 | 12 |
| Film adaptations | — | 1 |
| Wikipedia attention | — | 12597 |
| Pages | 205 | 1011 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Can Such Things Be? [24 stories] or The Dark Descent?
The Dark Descent has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Dark Descent 3.9/5, Can Such Things Be? [24 stories] 3.8/5).
Which is shorter to read: Can Such Things Be? [24 stories] or The Dark Descent?
Can Such Things Be? [24 stories] is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Can Such Things Be? [24 stories] (205 pages, ≈ 3 h 48 m); The Dark Descent (1011 pages, ≈ 18 h 43 m).
Which is harder to read: Can Such Things Be? [24 stories] or The Dark Descent?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Can Such Things Be? [24 stories]: Demanding; The Dark Descent: Challenging.