snappydog's review
5.0
I've loved seeing each person's take on things, especially learning about myths I didn't even know before, in this creature-combining anthology extraordinaire.
'Loomis Creek' is a really authentic-feeling campfire scary story, y'know? Not just because that's the framing device, but in the way it's told; there's a slight endearing campness to it all that I just find really fun.
'Color Unknown' is stunning, heartbreaking, everything I never knew I wanted to read and everything my poor soul can't take the prospect of ever going through again. Just gorgeous.
'The Waterwisps' is a peculiar blend of beauty and a sort of natural, amoral callousness. It's both personal and alien, universal in its emotions but unfamiliar in its bizarreness. The world can be both wonderful and terrifying, and this captures that wonderfully.
'The Real Treasure' is by some person called Chris and I guess it's kinda funny. Author seems like they must be a right weird one.
'My Mother's Daughter' is another great example of an individual, personal arc wrapped up in a much larger narrative. Both come across really strongly, with the emotional payoff feeling both inevitable and satisfyingly earned.
'The Nights I Die' is a really great twist on classic horror tropes. This feels like the archetype of Chimera's mission statement: take familiar monsters and make them feel fresh and new and interesting.
'Banshee Song' is another heartbreaking one. It's beautiful, intimate, and also a really nice level of, like, small-scale (but no less great) rich worldbuilding in only a small number of words.
I had to reread 'Swamplights' at least twice before I worked out what had happened, and I'm still not sure I'm totally clear, but that's not a criticism: it feels like getting lost in a very relevant and effective way.
'When the Basilisk Wakes' spends its entire length building emotion towards a payoff that I thought was fairly inevitable, but that made it even more effective for me. I knew it couldn't end well, so the bonding between man and animal was gorgeously soul-shredding.
And finally, 'Children of Blood' is another superbly kitschy B-movie-ish throwback, gory and over the top and icky and fun.
Each story is great on its own, but it's fun reading them together in the knowledge of the anthology's premise. It might have been even more fun if the contents hadn't revealed what the creatures were, so that the reader could try to work it out for themselves ('I know there are going to be at least two creatures in here - I'll hunt for clues as to what they are!'), but I didn't think it took away from the ride too much.
It's a frequently dark, often emotive, and just generally really enjoyable book.
'Loomis Creek' is a really authentic-feeling campfire scary story, y'know? Not just because that's the framing device, but in the way it's told; there's a slight endearing campness to it all that I just find really fun.
'Color Unknown' is stunning, heartbreaking, everything I never knew I wanted to read and everything my poor soul can't take the prospect of ever going through again. Just gorgeous.
'The Waterwisps' is a peculiar blend of beauty and a sort of natural, amoral callousness. It's both personal and alien, universal in its emotions but unfamiliar in its bizarreness. The world can be both wonderful and terrifying, and this captures that wonderfully.
'The Real Treasure' is by some person called Chris and I guess it's kinda funny. Author seems like they must be a right weird one.
'My Mother's Daughter' is another great example of an individual, personal arc wrapped up in a much larger narrative. Both come across really strongly, with the emotional payoff feeling both inevitable and satisfyingly earned.
'The Nights I Die' is a really great twist on classic horror tropes. This feels like the archetype of Chimera's mission statement: take familiar monsters and make them feel fresh and new and interesting.
'Banshee Song' is another heartbreaking one. It's beautiful, intimate, and also a really nice level of, like, small-scale (but no less great) rich worldbuilding in only a small number of words.
I had to reread 'Swamplights' at least twice before I worked out what had happened, and I'm still not sure I'm totally clear, but that's not a criticism: it feels like getting lost in a very relevant and effective way.
'When the Basilisk Wakes' spends its entire length building emotion towards a payoff that I thought was fairly inevitable, but that made it even more effective for me. I knew it couldn't end well, so the bonding between man and animal was gorgeously soul-shredding.
And finally, 'Children of Blood' is another superbly kitschy B-movie-ish throwback, gory and over the top and icky and fun.
Each story is great on its own, but it's fun reading them together in the knowledge of the anthology's premise. It might have been even more fun if the contents hadn't revealed what the creatures were, so that the reader could try to work it out for themselves ('I know there are going to be at least two creatures in here - I'll hunt for clues as to what they are!'), but I didn't think it took away from the ride too much.
It's a frequently dark, often emotive, and just generally really enjoyable book.
dharmlost's review
5.0
I absolutely loved every single story in this book and have found a new batch of writers whose style and skill I just adore. My only regret in buying this book is that I did not get the physical copy, but even so I may have to remedy that!
I would highly recommend this anthology!
I would highly recommend this anthology!
rachel_menard's review
5.0
I usually end up giving short story collections 3 stars because there will be stories in it that I love, and stories in it that I really don't like. This is honestly the first collection I've read where I enjoyed EVERY SINGLE STORY.
Chimera is a curated collection of tales about monsters, and no two were alike.
"Maybe it made sense that the monsters weren't out there. They'd always been among them." - Stephen Howard
Some stories had a twist. Some were scary. Some were silly...this was really a representative collection. My favorites were, in no particular order...
Jaecyn Boné for her story, Color Unknown, an enby water nymph romance. She created a painful and beautiful love story in only a few pages.
Banshee Song by Michelle Tang. This was a short but incredibly poetic story about a sapphic banshee romance that left me with many feels.
And...When the Basilisk Wakes by Alexis L. Carroll. I am still thinking about this story and the surprise at the end.
This is a great book to leave on the coffee table and pick up to read one story at a time. You won't be disappointed.
Chimera is a curated collection of tales about monsters, and no two were alike.
"Maybe it made sense that the monsters weren't out there. They'd always been among them." - Stephen Howard
Some stories had a twist. Some were scary. Some were silly...this was really a representative collection. My favorites were, in no particular order...
Jaecyn Boné for her story, Color Unknown, an enby water nymph romance. She created a painful and beautiful love story in only a few pages.
Banshee Song by Michelle Tang. This was a short but incredibly poetic story about a sapphic banshee romance that left me with many feels.
And...When the Basilisk Wakes by Alexis L. Carroll. I am still thinking about this story and the surprise at the end.
This is a great book to leave on the coffee table and pick up to read one story at a time. You won't be disappointed.
whistberry's review
5.0
Chimera. The word suggests mythical creatures and monster mash-ups and that is exactly what you get in this intriguing collection of short stories from Lost Boys Press edited by Ashley Hutchison. Ten diverse tales explore both well-known and lesser-known folkloric cryptids from a variety of angles, horror to humor. As with any anthology, different stories will appeal to different readers, but here is a taste:
The Waterwisps by Samuel Logan is in some ways a typical “lost in a sinister forest” tale but between a flock of birds that behave in quite unexpected ways and the image of glowing carnivorous jellyfish bubbles of doom floating among the trees, this turned out to be both a suspenseful and evocative experience. The author takes their time building up the mystery and tension which only adds to the terror and excitement of the inevitable confrontation.
The Nights I Die by Matt Bliss is an imaginative mix of werewolf and zombie lore as our narrator undergoes a horrific and most unwelcome transformation each full moon. Rather than a straight horror tale, this one was more contemplative, a thought experiment in what it would mean in practical and emotional terms to live under such a curse. Throw in a fraught romance and unexpectedly poetic ending and you have this affecting twist on some beloved tropes.
Banshee Song by Michelle Tang is a lovely meditation on love and loss. What would you give up for your true love? What becomes of you when you are abandoned, an outcast among suspicious and fearful neighbors? Loved the beautifully melancholy mood of this one.
The Real Treasure by Chris Durston has a much lighter tone as a pair of friends in debt to a dangerous criminal follow a rainbow to its very unexpected end. Hard to say too much about this one without spoiling the central surprise, but the snarky dialogue and delightful twists make it a standout. Without elaborating, I will just say I would read an entire novel about the character Marcus with the very greatest pleasure.
The last story I’ll highlight is one that is haunting me. Color Unknown by Jaecyn Boné is a heartbreaking and complicated tale of loneliness, cruelty, devotion, and sacrifice. When one look into your eyes can turn others to stone, how do you survive the resulting isolation? When trust is betrayed, is all hope lost? My soul ached reading this one. A viscerally deep thrumming hurt that thrilled down my sternum as I read the words. How can you not love a story that evokes that kind of physical response?
As you might guess from the pieces I chose to feature, I tend to be drawn to the more psychological and emotional side of horror but there are plenty of tales here for fans of guts and gore and good old creature feature fests, too. I think all good anthologies should have this mix of mood and genre. That’s what makes collections fun, never knowing quite what you’re getting into as you start each tale. If you’re looking for original takes on creatures both familiar and unfamiliar, a diverse roster of accomplished storytellers, and want to find out what the heck a catilisk is (shudder), I think you will enjoy Chimera. (Review note: I was provided with an advanced reading copy by the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.)
The Waterwisps by Samuel Logan is in some ways a typical “lost in a sinister forest” tale but between a flock of birds that behave in quite unexpected ways and the image of glowing carnivorous jellyfish bubbles of doom floating among the trees, this turned out to be both a suspenseful and evocative experience. The author takes their time building up the mystery and tension which only adds to the terror and excitement of the inevitable confrontation.
The Nights I Die by Matt Bliss is an imaginative mix of werewolf and zombie lore as our narrator undergoes a horrific and most unwelcome transformation each full moon. Rather than a straight horror tale, this one was more contemplative, a thought experiment in what it would mean in practical and emotional terms to live under such a curse. Throw in a fraught romance and unexpectedly poetic ending and you have this affecting twist on some beloved tropes.
Banshee Song by Michelle Tang is a lovely meditation on love and loss. What would you give up for your true love? What becomes of you when you are abandoned, an outcast among suspicious and fearful neighbors? Loved the beautifully melancholy mood of this one.
The Real Treasure by Chris Durston has a much lighter tone as a pair of friends in debt to a dangerous criminal follow a rainbow to its very unexpected end. Hard to say too much about this one without spoiling the central surprise, but the snarky dialogue and delightful twists make it a standout. Without elaborating, I will just say I would read an entire novel about the character Marcus with the very greatest pleasure.
The last story I’ll highlight is one that is haunting me. Color Unknown by Jaecyn Boné is a heartbreaking and complicated tale of loneliness, cruelty, devotion, and sacrifice. When one look into your eyes can turn others to stone, how do you survive the resulting isolation? When trust is betrayed, is all hope lost? My soul ached reading this one. A viscerally deep thrumming hurt that thrilled down my sternum as I read the words. How can you not love a story that evokes that kind of physical response?
As you might guess from the pieces I chose to feature, I tend to be drawn to the more psychological and emotional side of horror but there are plenty of tales here for fans of guts and gore and good old creature feature fests, too. I think all good anthologies should have this mix of mood and genre. That’s what makes collections fun, never knowing quite what you’re getting into as you start each tale. If you’re looking for original takes on creatures both familiar and unfamiliar, a diverse roster of accomplished storytellers, and want to find out what the heck a catilisk is (shudder), I think you will enjoy Chimera. (Review note: I was provided with an advanced reading copy by the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.)
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