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martyreater's review
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Let them slumber sweetly, says the hill, all my creatures.
I thought this would lean more horror and less YA pap... the standout for me was m. t. anderson's incredible "quick hill," the rest were a mixed bag in terms of quality and mostly forgettable.
u_s_flopera's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
pragreads's review against another edition
5.0
(read & rated luke's pov of part of in other lands SIDENOTE IT WAS WILD)
I'M HAVING TROUBLE BREATHING??????????????? LUKE KGHJSKHZSGDFAJFKGFAHSFDG
I NEED TIME TO PROCESS THIS
AND READ IT AGAIN
ALONG WITH IOL
AAAAAAAAAAAAAA
I'M HAVING TROUBLE BREATHING??????????????? LUKE KGHJSKHZSGDFAJFKGFAHSFDG
I NEED TIME TO PROCESS THIS
AND READ IT AGAIN
ALONG WITH IOL
AAAAAAAAAAAAAA
mlliu's review against another edition
4.0
I don't read many anthologies, but I decided to check this out after a friend recommended Alice Sola Kim's story, "Mothers, Lock Up Your Daughters Because They Are Terrifying." I ended up enjoying pretty much all the stories in this book. I'm amused by the fact that so many people apparently picked up the book because of Sarah Rees Brennan's "Wings in the Morning": it was a fun story but reminded me of so much of the YA fantasy I read years ago before getting burnt out on the genre.
I preferred the stories that were more speculative. My favorite was "Son of Abyss," by Nik Houser. I was fascinated by his take on the mythology of heaven and hell. His story also has this element of fantastic horror (reminiscent of Daryl Gregory's works). According to Houser's bio, he's working on expanding his story into a novel, which I'd gladly read.
I preferred the stories that were more speculative. My favorite was "Son of Abyss," by Nik Houser. I was fascinated by his take on the mythology of heaven and hell. His story also has this element of fantastic horror (reminiscent of Daryl Gregory's works). According to Houser's bio, he's working on expanding his story into a novel, which I'd gladly read.
elisask's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
A few really good short stories and then there's the rest...
ray99's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
grace_rangel's review against another edition
3.0
I was planning on writing a review for this and got halfway through, but school and life put writing this on hold. Unfortunately, I can’t remember enough to have a mini review for every story in this book, but I suppose half of a review is better than none. Sorry guys!
Let me address my first disappointment: I was hoping for more scares, more creepy and confusing atmospheres in the stories.
Since this is an anthology, I will be doing mini-reviews on my thoughts and the content of the stories:
-Moriabe's Children by Paolo Bacigalupi
Five stars!! This was chilling and I adored every sentence of it.
Content warning: There's brief mentions of the main character being sexually abused. These are brief, non-detailed, told in past tense, and often just alluded to.
-Old Souls by Cassandra Clare
Three stars. Maybe vampire stories just aren't for me but this just was kind of bland in my opinion. The ending was sweet though, I did like the character arc.
Content warning: Throughout the story it is alluding to something that happened and it turns out that something is
-Ten Rules for Being an Intergalactic Smuggler (the Successful Kind) by Holly Black
Three stars. This story was a lot of fun, I honestly have nothing wrong with it other than I got slightly bored halfway through, it probably was just an "it's me, not you" kind of thing though.
Content warning: I honestly can't remember if there was anything, so I think that's a good thing? But I often skim over things I consider bad automatically, so if there's something, let me know.
-Quick Hill by M.T. Anderson
Two stars. This was just really weird, and not in a good way.
Content warning: A lot of swearing and inappropriate jokes
Other stories I remember enjoying in this but can't recall enough to give a review on:
-Son of the Abyss
-The Woods Hide in Plain Sight
-Mothers, Lock Up Your Daughters Because They are Terrifying
BIG content warning for Wings in the Morning I stopped reading because the first page was so terrible content-wise and I skimmed the rest and whew it's horrible.
So is this book worth the read? I'd say the only story that I found really worth spending time reading was Moriabe's Children, so make of that what you will.
Let me address my first disappointment: I was hoping for more scares, more creepy and confusing atmospheres in the stories.
Since this is an anthology, I will be doing mini-reviews on my thoughts and the content of the stories:
-Moriabe's Children by Paolo Bacigalupi
Five stars!! This was chilling and I adored every sentence of it.
Content warning: There's brief mentions of the main character being sexually abused. These are brief, non-detailed, told in past tense, and often just alluded to.
-Old Souls by Cassandra Clare
Three stars. Maybe vampire stories just aren't for me but this just was kind of bland in my opinion. The ending was sweet though, I did like the character arc.
Content warning: Throughout the story it is alluding to something that happened and it turns out that something is
Spoiler
the main character was pregnant and got an abortion-Ten Rules for Being an Intergalactic Smuggler (the Successful Kind) by Holly Black
Three stars. This story was a lot of fun, I honestly have nothing wrong with it other than I got slightly bored halfway through, it probably was just an "it's me, not you" kind of thing though.
Content warning: I honestly can't remember if there was anything, so I think that's a good thing? But I often skim over things I consider bad automatically, so if there's something, let me know.
-Quick Hill by M.T. Anderson
Two stars. This was just really weird, and not in a good way.
Content warning: A lot of swearing and inappropriate jokes
Other stories I remember enjoying in this but can't recall enough to give a review on:
-Son of the Abyss
-The Woods Hide in Plain Sight
-Mothers, Lock Up Your Daughters Because They are Terrifying
BIG content warning for Wings in the Morning I stopped reading because the first page was so terrible content-wise and I skimmed the rest and whew it's horrible.
So is this book worth the read? I'd say the only story that I found really worth spending time reading was Moriabe's Children, so make of that what you will.
estanceveyrac's review against another edition
4.0
I was surprised by the lack of queerness in the anthology, but then I checked & it did come out in 2014 (it shows. How strange the passing of time is).
Still, many nice stories!
Of particular note:
Sarah Rees Brennan—Wings in the Morning: there is a full fledge novel that I now want to read, I especially liked the fact that it was not set in the human world & the human characters were removed from it, it was interesting.
Nik Houser—Son of Abyss: so very good, leaving me with so much questions, I want to check out the rest of this author's work.
Still, many nice stories!
Of particular note:
Sarah Rees Brennan—Wings in the Morning: there is a full fledge novel that I now want to read, I especially liked the fact that it was not set in the human world & the human characters were removed from it, it was interesting.
Nik Houser—Son of Abyss: so very good, leaving me with so much questions, I want to check out the rest of this author's work.
pathogenesis's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.0