mandi_lea's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Body horror, Death, Gore, Torture, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Misogyny, Blood, Violence, Child abuse, Death of parent, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Rape, Physical abuse, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
apostrophen's review
5.0
Edit: Price-drop, until end of day November 1st, 2018, for Hallowe'en, on the Bold Strokes Books web-store, in all e-formats, 25% off.
Full disclosure: I have a story in this collection, "Filth," which was my one (and thus far only) foray in to writing horror. That said, once I got the collection, I was stunned at how awesome the other stories were (you have to make sure to find somewhere dark and quiet to read the novella length "Everyday Mayhem" at the end of this collection, but don't do it before you need to sleep), and super proud to have made the cut.
Jeffrey Ricker's take on a ghost story was chilling, too, as was J.M. Redmann's super-disturbing tale of dark nunnery. (Did I really just say "dark nunnery?" I guess I did.)
Full disclosure: I have a story in this collection, "Filth," which was my one (and thus far only) foray in to writing horror. That said, once I got the collection, I was stunned at how awesome the other stories were (you have to make sure to find somewhere dark and quiet to read the novella length "Everyday Mayhem" at the end of this collection, but don't do it before you need to sleep), and super proud to have made the cut.
Jeffrey Ricker's take on a ghost story was chilling, too, as was J.M. Redmann's super-disturbing tale of dark nunnery. (Did I really just say "dark nunnery?" I guess I did.)
youfelinedevil's review
4.0
This was a really enjoyable and eclectic selection of stories, but none of them prepared me for the pure nightmare fuel of the last story. (Disclaimer: it's by no means perfect, there's a part in which our heroine has a disturbing adventure in Chinatown that feels a little too Lovecraftian in its racism and xenophobia.) I started reading it thinking, OK, this is good, this is really creepy, and found myself gradually asking why wasn't I warned, how much worse it was going to get, whether I should stop reading. I read the last like 50+ pages all in one go, travelling across the living room in an attempt to find something approaching comfort. At one point I wanted to beg it to stop, and then I just wanted to scream at it. It is brutal, but it contains a core of truth from which I couldn't turn away. A truth about horror, human nature, voyeurism, and reality. And throughout this, throughout everything, it doesn't feel gloating in the manner of so much horror. It doesn't feel like it's laughing at the reader. It seems almost sympathetic in the way it shows us our worst fears. It helps that the main character is very likable, very earnest in her desire to expose the unthinkable, to point the finger at the very worst humanity has to offer. I didn't mean to write an entire review about one story, but, Jesus.
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