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cyris_reads's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
timgrubbs's review
3.0
There are worse things than being alone…even out in the middle of nowhere…
Isolation: The Horror Anthology is a misleading title and premise.
Yes, most of the short stories have some kind of supernatural or horror element…but I feel the title would have been more accurate if it had been called “Alond: The Horror Anthology”.
Some of these stories are as much about emotional isolation as much as physically being apart from others. It’s the discomfort of feeling alone when surrounded by people…being in a relationship with someone who feels like a stranger…not being sure how to make friends when a werewolf and zombie apocalypse is going on outside and hurting property values…
But to be serious…the isolation expressed in these stories is just as much psychological as it is geographic (though the cool opening story is set in the arctic).
Sometimes we just want to feel connected with those around us…or ANYONE really. No one truly wants to be alone…and some can’t handle it to the point that…well…I’ll let some of these stories finish that thought for you…
Isolation: The Horror Anthology is a misleading title and premise.
Yes, most of the short stories have some kind of supernatural or horror element…but I feel the title would have been more accurate if it had been called “Alond: The Horror Anthology”.
Some of these stories are as much about emotional isolation as much as physically being apart from others. It’s the discomfort of feeling alone when surrounded by people…being in a relationship with someone who feels like a stranger…not being sure how to make friends when a werewolf and zombie apocalypse is going on outside and hurting property values…
But to be serious…the isolation expressed in these stories is just as much psychological as it is geographic (though the cool opening story is set in the arctic).
Sometimes we just want to feel connected with those around us…or ANYONE really. No one truly wants to be alone…and some can’t handle it to the point that…well…I’ll let some of these stories finish that thought for you…
unexplainabl's review
dark
slow-paced
3.25
Average Rating - 3.175 / 5 = 3/5
Favourites: 'Lone Gunman', 'How We Are', 'Fire Above, Fire Below'.
Least Favourites: ' Chalk. Sea. Sand. Sky. Stone.', 'Ready or Not', 'So Easy to Kill'.
Story-by-Story:
1 | The Snow Child - Alison Littlewood | 3 - Pretty good start to the collection. [1-30-23]
2 | Friends for Life - Mark Morris | 3.5 - I really liked this one, was a bit sad though honestly. [1-31-23]
3 | Solivagant - A.G. Slatter | 3 - I'm not usually a fan ofvampire stories, but this one was better than I'd expected it to be. [1-31-23]
4 | Lone Gunman - Jonathan Maberry | 4.5 - Definitely my favourite so far, I need to check out more Jonathan Maberry. I'm surprised I've never read any of his other works because Zombies are definitely one of my favourites to read/watch movies about. In fact, my main writing project is a zombie story. [2-10-23]
5 | Second Wind - M.R. Carey | 4 - I enjoyed this one quite a bit. I'd love to read a full length novel set in this world, with more of Nick and Janine as well as others who are 'dead but not dead dead'. [2-10-23]
6 | Under Care - Brian Evenson | 3 - This was okay. I think they were aliens, or something. But I'm not positive. I'd like to read more about what happens after this ends and what happens to the MC. [2-11-23]
7 | How We Are - Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ | 4.5 - Wasn't enjoying this at first but glad I stuck with it. It's in my top favourites of the collection. [2-11-23]
8 | The Long Dead Day - Joe R. Lansdale | 3.5 - Not mad that there was another zombie story in here. [2-11-23]
9 | Alone is a Long Time - Michael Marshall Smith | 3 - Not bad, not great. [2-11-23]
10 | Chalk. Sea. Sand. Sky. Stone. - Lynda E. Rucker | 2 - I really wasn't a fan of this one. [2-13-23]
11 | Ready or Not - Marian Womack | 1.5 - So far my least favourite out of the collection. [2-13-23]
12 | Letters to a Young Psychopath - Nina Allan | 3.5 [3-3-23]
13 | Jaunt - Ken Liu | 3 - The concept of this one was kind of cool but it was really just a bit boring. [3-6-23]
14 | Full Blood - Owl Goingback | 4 - This one was rather short but I still enjoyed the story. [3-21-23]
15 | The Blind House - Ramsey Campbell | 2 - I won't Lie, I'm a bit confused on what was going on in this one. [3-21-23]
16 | There's No Light Between Floors - Paul Tremblay | 3.5 - This was another good one, I think I'll need to look up more books by Paul because I recently read "The Cabin at the End of the World" and enjoyed that as well. [3-22-23]
17 | So Easy to Kill - Laird Barron | 1 - Definitely my least favourite in the collection. I didn't know what was going on for the majority of the story and it was so boring to me. It felt like I was thrown into the middle of a hard sci-fi series with no context, and honestly if it wasn't in a collection I wouldn't have read the entirety of it. [3-25-23]
18 | The Peculiar Seclusion of Molly McMarshall - Gwendolyn Kiste | 3 - This one was a short, quick read. I think it'd do pretty well as a short film. [3-28-23]
19 | Across the Bridge - Tim Lebbon | 3.5 - This one in ways reminded me of ‘28’ weeks later. [3-28-23]
20 | Fire Above, Fire Below - Lisa Tuttle | 4.5 - I really enjoyed this one, I’d love to read more in this world, both following the ending and also an outside perspective of what’s going on in the world while the MC is in the bunker. [3-29-23]
Favourites: 'Lone Gunman', 'How We Are', 'Fire Above, Fire Below'.
Least Favourites: ' Chalk. Sea. Sand. Sky. Stone.', 'Ready or Not', 'So Easy to Kill'.
Story-by-Story:
1 | The Snow Child - Alison Littlewood | 3 - Pretty good start to the collection. [1-30-23]
2 | Friends for Life - Mark Morris | 3.5 - I really liked this one, was a bit sad though honestly. [1-31-23]
3 | Solivagant - A.G. Slatter | 3 - I'm not usually a fan of
4 | Lone Gunman - Jonathan Maberry | 4.5 - Definitely my favourite so far, I need to check out more Jonathan Maberry. I'm surprised I've never read any of his other works because Zombies are definitely one of my favourites to read/watch movies about. In fact, my main writing project is a zombie story. [2-10-23]
5 | Second Wind - M.R. Carey | 4 - I enjoyed this one quite a bit. I'd love to read a full length novel set in this world, with more of Nick and Janine as well as others who are 'dead but not dead dead'. [2-10-23]
6 | Under Care - Brian Evenson | 3 - This was okay. I think they were aliens, or something. But I'm not positive. I'd like to read more about what happens after this ends and what happens to the MC. [2-11-23]
7 | How We Are - Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ | 4.5 - Wasn't enjoying this at first but glad I stuck with it. It's in my top favourites of the collection. [2-11-23]
8 | The Long Dead Day - Joe R. Lansdale | 3.5 - Not mad that there was another zombie story in here. [2-11-23]
9 | Alone is a Long Time - Michael Marshall Smith | 3 - Not bad, not great. [2-11-23]
10 | Chalk. Sea. Sand. Sky. Stone. - Lynda E. Rucker | 2 - I really wasn't a fan of this one. [2-13-23]
11 | Ready or Not - Marian Womack | 1.5 - So far my least favourite out of the collection. [2-13-23]
12 | Letters to a Young Psychopath - Nina Allan | 3.5 [3-3-23]
13 | Jaunt - Ken Liu | 3 - The concept of this one was kind of cool but it was really just a bit boring. [3-6-23]
14 | Full Blood - Owl Goingback | 4 - This one was rather short but I still enjoyed the story. [3-21-23]
15 | The Blind House - Ramsey Campbell | 2 - I won't Lie, I'm a bit confused on what was going on in this one. [3-21-23]
16 | There's No Light Between Floors - Paul Tremblay | 3.5 - This was another good one, I think I'll need to look up more books by Paul because I recently read "The Cabin at the End of the World" and enjoyed that as well. [3-22-23]
17 | So Easy to Kill - Laird Barron | 1 - Definitely my least favourite in the collection. I didn't know what was going on for the majority of the story and it was so boring to me. It felt like I was thrown into the middle of a hard sci-fi series with no context, and honestly if it wasn't in a collection I wouldn't have read the entirety of it. [3-25-23]
18 | The Peculiar Seclusion of Molly McMarshall - Gwendolyn Kiste | 3 - This one was a short, quick read. I think it'd do pretty well as a short film. [3-28-23]
19 | Across the Bridge - Tim Lebbon | 3.5 - This one in ways reminded me of ‘28’ weeks later. [3-28-23]
20 | Fire Above, Fire Below - Lisa Tuttle | 4.5 - I really enjoyed this one, I’d love to read more in this world, both following the ending and also an outside perspective of what’s going on in the world while the MC is in the bunker. [3-29-23]
babyfacedoldsoul's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
sdeeim's review against another edition
Reading other stuff want to read other thing. Not a priority but may check out again
bat_books's review
3.0
A lot of stories in this were huge misses for me, but I'm glad I stuck it through because I ended up finding some fantastic 4 star and 5 star reads in this mix. I feel I can only give this 3 stars because my ratings for each of the stories varied greatly, but I still highly recommend reading this anthology. This is a great read for someone who is exploring their preferences with horror.
My personal favourites were: Full Blood by Owl Goingback, How We Are by Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ, Solivagant by A.G. Slatter, The Peculiar Seclusion of Molly McMarshall by Gwendolyn Kiste, Fire Above Fire Below by Lisa Tuttle, and Second Wind by M.R. Carey
This was my first horror anthology, as someone who always believed they were not a fan of short stories, and it has definitely inspired me to check out more in the future!
My personal favourites were: Full Blood by Owl Goingback, How We Are by Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ, Solivagant by A.G. Slatter, The Peculiar Seclusion of Molly McMarshall by Gwendolyn Kiste, Fire Above Fire Below by Lisa Tuttle, and Second Wind by M.R. Carey
This was my first horror anthology, as someone who always believed they were not a fan of short stories, and it has definitely inspired me to check out more in the future!
shrewdbard's review
I recommend this collection if:
- you like horror tropes, but scare easily, and want to avoid anything too severe
- you are looking for thoughtful meditations on isolation
- you want to read a literary, slow-paced collection of reflective short stories
If you're looking for page-turning horror, don't bother. It's a shame because this collection fundamentally has better writing than the last horror anthology I read, but it's also much less interesting, hence the DNF. Many stories ended the moment anything interesting started to happen; just a sudden, mildly-shocking paragraph, no elaboration, then end of story. Still, the stories I did like stood out enough that I saved some of these writers' other works to my To Read list. Too lazy to check which I saved and list them here haha
jhallford's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5