amy_da1sy's review
4.0
This collection of horror stories are really good and diverse. I really enjoyed these.
reads_vicariously's review
4.0
This anthology is great because not only did it introduce me to a bunch of new authors, but it introduced me to the HOWL Society (the "Horror-Obsessed Writing and Literature" society) which I'm very excited to learn more about - and maybe join one day??
Man, what a fun collection of stories! There is so much variety presented here (body horror, sci-fi horror, folklore, occult/cults, cosmic horror, hilarious horror, demons, monsters, evil twins, etc). Seriously, there's definitely something for everyone here - and luckily for me almost all of it worked! It just seemed like everyone involved had a great time writing these twisted tales, and their enthusiasm and creativity spills from the pages.
And speaking of the writers, it was awesome getting to meet a huge cast of new (to me) authors! Lots of talent here for sure. Oh, and several of the authors also provide illustrations for the stories which were so cool! Like I said, lots of talent.
I really did enjoy most of these stories, but some stand out ones for me were:
"Manufactured Gods" by P.L. McMillan - an epic blend of sci-fi horror, tech horror, and Egyptian mythology where a group of scientists go to explore the ruins of Earth and find a truly unsettling monster deep below ground.
"Red Punch Buggy" by B.O.B. Jenkin - at first read I found it to be a funny and disturbing little tale, but it has since burrowed into my brain and I can't stop thinking about it. Much like Scott Cole's Crazytimes, it uses humor mixed with shocking violence to wonderful effect.
"A Fistful of Murder" by Lindsey Ragsdale - a story about a man who finds a dollar bill with the word KILL written on it, and every time he looks at it he is forced to do just that. It's a simple idea but structured and played out beautifully.
"Suspended in Light" by Alex Wolfgang - another one that got under my skin and I can't stop thinking about. Creepy story of a women reviewing old film reels and unleashing a haunting force. I didn't fully understand the ending, but I enjoyed the ride.
Man, what a fun collection of stories! There is so much variety presented here (body horror, sci-fi horror, folklore, occult/cults, cosmic horror, hilarious horror, demons, monsters, evil twins, etc). Seriously, there's definitely something for everyone here - and luckily for me almost all of it worked! It just seemed like everyone involved had a great time writing these twisted tales, and their enthusiasm and creativity spills from the pages.
And speaking of the writers, it was awesome getting to meet a huge cast of new (to me) authors! Lots of talent here for sure. Oh, and several of the authors also provide illustrations for the stories which were so cool! Like I said, lots of talent.
I really did enjoy most of these stories, but some stand out ones for me were:
"Manufactured Gods" by P.L. McMillan - an epic blend of sci-fi horror, tech horror, and Egyptian mythology where a group of scientists go to explore the ruins of Earth and find a truly unsettling monster deep below ground.
"Red Punch Buggy" by B.O.B. Jenkin - at first read I found it to be a funny and disturbing little tale, but it has since burrowed into my brain and I can't stop thinking about it. Much like Scott Cole's Crazytimes, it uses humor mixed with shocking violence to wonderful effect.
"A Fistful of Murder" by Lindsey Ragsdale - a story about a man who finds a dollar bill with the word KILL written on it, and every time he looks at it he is forced to do just that. It's a simple idea but structured and played out beautifully.
"Suspended in Light" by Alex Wolfgang - another one that got under my skin and I can't stop thinking about. Creepy story of a women reviewing old film reels and unleashing a haunting force. I didn't fully understand the ending, but I enjoyed the ride.
elicevw's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
calebstephensauthor's review
5.0
It's quite simply a top-notch horror anthology, of which there are too few. Pick it up. You won't be disappointed.
mx_manda's review
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
A solid collection of diverse horror stories. Some much better written and executed than others.
The ones I enjoyed the most were It gets In Your Eyes, A Casual Encounter, and She’s Taken Away. I also really enjoyed Red and the Beast, but I’m not sure I agree that it’s a horror story and belonged in this collection. A dark, queer fairytale, for sure, and it would be a lovely expanded story as a novella.
Thought this volume could benefit from content warnings for each story in the back of the book, for those who may need them. I know I would have appreciated a heads up on a couple that were more heinously fatphobic than I expect when reading any kind of literature.
The ones I enjoyed the most were It gets In Your Eyes, A Casual Encounter, and She’s Taken Away. I also really enjoyed Red and the Beast, but I’m not sure I agree that it’s a horror story and belonged in this collection. A dark, queer fairytale, for sure, and it would be a lovely expanded story as a novella.
Thought this volume could benefit from content warnings for each story in the back of the book, for those who may need them. I know I would have appreciated a heads up on a couple that were more heinously fatphobic than I expect when reading any kind of literature.
paperwitches's review
4.0
This book is full of great stories by very talented authors, it’s Lovecraftian influences were very satisfying to a huge nerd like me - and I especially was a fan of Gooseberry Bramble and Suspended in Light - both of which gave me a very rare scare.
Based on the author this book is a mix of serious and lighthearted, some stories are very detailed and long - others are only a couple pages hence the first story, which was one of my favorites as well. I was interested in most of these plots, but not all are pulled off. I believe this book is mostly fun and entertaining, but it can be hit or miss. It has moments of true spookiness though, which is extremely rare! I felt honestly bothered by the idea of a child being trapped in a Berry, and popped between someone’s teeth.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me review this arc, I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Based on the author this book is a mix of serious and lighthearted, some stories are very detailed and long - others are only a couple pages hence the first story, which was one of my favorites as well. I was interested in most of these plots, but not all are pulled off. I believe this book is mostly fun and entertaining, but it can be hit or miss. It has moments of true spookiness though, which is extremely rare! I felt honestly bothered by the idea of a child being trapped in a Berry, and popped between someone’s teeth.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me review this arc, I thoroughly enjoyed it!
jdkauthor's review
5.0
Originally posted over at my personal blog site, Night Terror Novels
“The loop of punishing time spinning eternally, degrading what remained of her until there was nothing left. The weight of infinity pressed down on her – the past, present, and future pulling in all directions at once. In an entropic universe, there is no restoration without destruction, no give without take.”
– Alex Wolfgang, Suspended in Light
“The loop of punishing time spinning eternally, degrading what remained of her until there was nothing left. The weight of infinity pressed down on her – the past, present, and future pulling in all directions at once. In an entropic universe, there is no restoration without destruction, no give without take.”
– Alex Wolfgang, Suspended in Light
virago's review against another edition
3.0
And interesting collection of stories, but nothing that jumped out at me.
bmacenlightened's review
4.0
A pretty great collection of stories from authors specifically chosen because they're new to the scene. It struck me how well the stories were written as there were opportunities for corners to be cut and in each case they weren't. Oftentimes the ends were nowhere near what I thought they would be, which is a great thing when it comes to short stories to keep my interest.
I don't have a favorite or really a least favorite because they also were pretty uniformly good, without any let downs in the bunch from a writing perspective. The thing keeping it from a 5 star review is that while things were well written a few of them didn't hit me as well as the rest. So while I can see the value of them it wasn't perfect.
However, what was probably most beneficial about reading this is that it reignited that interest in reading stories written by newer and lesser known authors because clearly while they don't have the library to fall back on, they can have stories that pack a helluva punch.
I don't have a favorite or really a least favorite because they also were pretty uniformly good, without any let downs in the bunch from a writing perspective. The thing keeping it from a 5 star review is that while things were well written a few of them didn't hit me as well as the rest. So while I can see the value of them it wasn't perfect.
However, what was probably most beneficial about reading this is that it reignited that interest in reading stories written by newer and lesser known authors because clearly while they don't have the library to fall back on, they can have stories that pack a helluva punch.