mad_about_books's review
5.0
It is really hard to review short stories, or even novellas, since even reference to the point of the tale can be a huge spoiler. I hate spoilers and pretty much refuse to put them into my reviews. I try to convey something of why I did, or did not like a particular story, with at least a clever one line tease.
I am always ready and willing to review anthologies edited by Brian James Freeman because his choices always hit the right nerve for anyone who reads genre (make that horror) fiction.
You may, or may not recognize the names of all the authors contained herein, but, once you read them in the short form, you will want to seek out more of their works both long and short.
THE WAY LOST by Kelley Armstrong
You've heard that perception is everything? Here is a tale of losing one's way in more ways than one. (5-stars)
LA CALAVERA by Kate Maruyama
More than friendship drives this tale. Subtle changes in language, like verb tense and personal pronouns, lead you to the inevitable conclusion. Nothing like a good cemetery crawl on Los Dias de Los Muertos. (5-stars)
THE DEVIL’S DUE by Michael McBride
How far would you go to give the Devil his due? The story had a vague familiarity as I started to read it; however, that did not diminish the horror that played out on Devil's Night. (5-stars)
A THOUSAND ROOMS OF DARKNESS by Taylor Grant
Living with phobias is like always waiting for the other shoe to drop. In the end, light is just the other side of darkness, and when that shoe drops, it's with a huge thud. (5 stars)
THE LAST NIGHT OF OCTOBER by Greg Chapman
I read this both expecting and dreading the outcome. How many ways are there to terrify a reader? How many ways can tropes be employed? After finishing, my answer to both questions is an infinite number. Greg Chapman has definitely put a new spin on some old concepts here. (5 stars)
Hands down, HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL Volume 3 is a 5-star read!
I am always ready and willing to review anthologies edited by Brian James Freeman because his choices always hit the right nerve for anyone who reads genre (make that horror) fiction.
You may, or may not recognize the names of all the authors contained herein, but, once you read them in the short form, you will want to seek out more of their works both long and short.
THE WAY LOST by Kelley Armstrong
You've heard that perception is everything? Here is a tale of losing one's way in more ways than one. (5-stars)
LA CALAVERA by Kate Maruyama
More than friendship drives this tale. Subtle changes in language, like verb tense and personal pronouns, lead you to the inevitable conclusion. Nothing like a good cemetery crawl on Los Dias de Los Muertos. (5-stars)
THE DEVIL’S DUE by Michael McBride
How far would you go to give the Devil his due? The story had a vague familiarity as I started to read it; however, that did not diminish the horror that played out on Devil's Night. (5-stars)
A THOUSAND ROOMS OF DARKNESS by Taylor Grant
Living with phobias is like always waiting for the other shoe to drop. In the end, light is just the other side of darkness, and when that shoe drops, it's with a huge thud. (5 stars)
THE LAST NIGHT OF OCTOBER by Greg Chapman
I read this both expecting and dreading the outcome. How many ways are there to terrify a reader? How many ways can tropes be employed? After finishing, my answer to both questions is an infinite number. Greg Chapman has definitely put a new spin on some old concepts here. (5 stars)
Hands down, HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL Volume 3 is a 5-star read!
charlisbookbox's review
4.0
Ok, so this one was better than Volume 2, but not quite as good as Volume 1. But I will say, Halloween Carnival Volume 3 is a solid offering for horror fans and for those who prefer more tame Halloween stories.
The Way Lost was one of my favorites out of Volume 3. I found it to have a plot twist, more than one actually, that really threw me for a loop. While this one wasn’t scary – I’d call it more of a mystery than horror – it was a damn good story and one I read over and over.
La Calavera was all right, but it a bit too predictable in my opinion. I had the ending pretty much pegged less than halfway through the story. Maybe I’ve just read too many stories that work like that, but I wasn’t surprised nor did I think it was particularly creepy. The only reason I can think of for it being included was the Halloween theme.
The Devil’s Due was a damn good story. I just wish the ending would have been better. I don’t know, it just seemed to me that the story could have had a much more exciting ending than it did. I felt that the ending was disappointing after the action that happened before it. Maybe it was just me. I’d love to see the story edited and a better ending added.
A Thousand Rooms of Darkness was an awesome story. The idea of someone being terrified of both ghosts and Halloween is just unreal to me, but when you add in the plot twists toward the end it all makes sense. And those plot twists are to die for. Trust me on this one. You’ll love them… because you definitely won’t expect these!
The Last Night of October was the longest story as I recall and honestly, it wasn’t that scary to me. Some of the things in it didn’t make a lot of sense, at least not to me. And let me say – in my humble opinion, the “it is my fault _____ is dead and now they’re back to haunt/take me” trope is just over done. I would rather have seen it be something else like “it is my fault _____ is dead and now they’re back, but if I apologize or tell the story of what happened they’ll go away and leave me alone.” I mean, really, I would, because that never happens.
This one got 4 stars because The Way Lost, The Devil’s Due, and A Thousand Rooms of Darkness were great stories.
***I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are 100% my own.***
The Way Lost was one of my favorites out of Volume 3. I found it to have a plot twist, more than one actually, that really threw me for a loop. While this one wasn’t scary – I’d call it more of a mystery than horror – it was a damn good story and one I read over and over.
La Calavera was all right, but it a bit too predictable in my opinion. I had the ending pretty much pegged less than halfway through the story. Maybe I’ve just read too many stories that work like that, but I wasn’t surprised nor did I think it was particularly creepy. The only reason I can think of for it being included was the Halloween theme.
The Devil’s Due was a damn good story. I just wish the ending would have been better. I don’t know, it just seemed to me that the story could have had a much more exciting ending than it did. I felt that the ending was disappointing after the action that happened before it. Maybe it was just me. I’d love to see the story edited and a better ending added.
A Thousand Rooms of Darkness was an awesome story. The idea of someone being terrified of both ghosts and Halloween is just unreal to me, but when you add in the plot twists toward the end it all makes sense. And those plot twists are to die for. Trust me on this one. You’ll love them… because you definitely won’t expect these!
The Last Night of October was the longest story as I recall and honestly, it wasn’t that scary to me. Some of the things in it didn’t make a lot of sense, at least not to me. And let me say – in my humble opinion, the “it is my fault _____ is dead and now they’re back to haunt/take me” trope is just over done. I would rather have seen it be something else like “it is my fault _____ is dead and now they’re back, but if I apologize or tell the story of what happened they’ll go away and leave me alone.” I mean, really, I would, because that never happens.
This one got 4 stars because The Way Lost, The Devil’s Due, and A Thousand Rooms of Darkness were great stories.
***I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are 100% my own.***
indiepauli47's review
4.0
4.5 stars.
Out of the three volumes I've read so far (only 2 left ! I'm very sad about that), this one is my favourite !
I enjoyed every story, they were all creepy in their own way, and I loved that.
My least favourite would be "The Devil's due" but it was still pretty good.
And personnal favourite, "A thousand rooms of Darkness". This one hit the mark with me, I read it alone at night, and had to stop in the middle, and went cuddling my cats.
But like I said, all of them were great and this is a solid creepy collection ! Can't wait to read the other 2 volumes.
Out of the three volumes I've read so far (only 2 left ! I'm very sad about that), this one is my favourite !
I enjoyed every story, they were all creepy in their own way, and I loved that.
My least favourite would be "The Devil's due" but it was still pretty good.
And personnal favourite, "A thousand rooms of Darkness". This one hit the mark with me, I read it alone at night, and had to stop in the middle, and went cuddling my cats.
But like I said, all of them were great and this is a solid creepy collection ! Can't wait to read the other 2 volumes.
kkehoe's review
5.0
A truly great anthology of Halloween-based stories. Not a bad one in the bunch, and several that have lead me to new authors.
wellwortharead's review
5.0
"Every Halloween, one child in Franklin lost his way and never came home."
These words began my dark and delightful foray into Halloween Carnival 3. I was looking for scares and I certainly got them. Volume 1 and 2 were good but this is the best so far of this 5 part anthology series that will be released in time for Halloween.
Oh my gruesome goodness! Every one of these tales was amazing. I would not even be able to choose a favorite as I normally do with short stories because every single one gave me chills. From ghosts to demons to twisted psychological terror this anthology is a horror lover's dream.
5 out of 5 fright filled stars from me.
I received an advance copy for review.
These words began my dark and delightful foray into Halloween Carnival 3. I was looking for scares and I certainly got them. Volume 1 and 2 were good but this is the best so far of this 5 part anthology series that will be released in time for Halloween.
Oh my gruesome goodness! Every one of these tales was amazing. I would not even be able to choose a favorite as I normally do with short stories because every single one gave me chills. From ghosts to demons to twisted psychological terror this anthology is a horror lover's dream.
5 out of 5 fright filled stars from me.
I received an advance copy for review.
dasrach's review
4.0
The last two were weak, but the first three were well worth the price of admission.
daniellesteenrod's review
4.0
Halloween Carnival is a horror anthology. There are 5 volumes of this series being published throughout the month of October. This is the third installment. There are a total of 5 stories in this anthology; all of which center around Halloween. Some are sad, some are nail-biters, and some are just plain horror. This series isn’t all out gore, so if that is what you are looking for, you won’t find any of that here. I really enjoyed all 5 of these stories for different reasons. I am going to give a brief review of each story contained in this anthology and my star rating.
THE WAY LOST by Kelley Armstrong
Don’t go into the forest on Halloween night. You’ll never know who will come up missing. This was my favorite story of this collection. It was suspenseful and mysterious. I rated this story 5 out of 5 stars.
LA CALAVERA by Kate Maruyama
This is a story of a true psychopath with some serious jealousy issues. It was quite predictable, but still enjoyable. I rated this one 3 out of 5 stars.
THE DEVIL’S DUE by Michael McBride
This is your typical “town sells their souls to the devil in return for fortune and prosperity.” This one was scary at times, but once again, another predictable story. Still, it was fun and scary entertainment for a Halloween read. I rated this story 4 out of 5 stars.
A THOUSAND ROOMS OF DARKNESS by Taylor Grant
This story started out strong with a ghost sighting and a character with extreme anxiety. I was really enjoying the story and then all of a sudden it completely changed direction from what I was expecting. I rated this one 3 out of 5 stars.
THE LAST NIGHT OF OCTOBER by Greg Chapman
This story I rather enjoyed. It was the longest of the bunch and it did drag a bit in the middle, but overall it was a great story! This is the type of story I expect in a Halloween anthology. It was your true ghost story. Definitely my second favorite of all. I rated this story 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Overall, I recommend this entire series for all who love short stories that are spooky. They are fun reads even if they aren’t all completely original ideas.
My combined total rating came out to be 3.9 stars, so all together, I rated this entire anthology 4 out of 5 stars!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced copy in return for an honest review.
THE WAY LOST by Kelley Armstrong
Don’t go into the forest on Halloween night. You’ll never know who will come up missing. This was my favorite story of this collection. It was suspenseful and mysterious. I rated this story 5 out of 5 stars.
LA CALAVERA by Kate Maruyama
This is a story of a true psychopath with some serious jealousy issues. It was quite predictable, but still enjoyable. I rated this one 3 out of 5 stars.
THE DEVIL’S DUE by Michael McBride
This is your typical “town sells their souls to the devil in return for fortune and prosperity.” This one was scary at times, but once again, another predictable story. Still, it was fun and scary entertainment for a Halloween read. I rated this story 4 out of 5 stars.
A THOUSAND ROOMS OF DARKNESS by Taylor Grant
This story started out strong with a ghost sighting and a character with extreme anxiety. I was really enjoying the story and then all of a sudden it completely changed direction from what I was expecting. I rated this one 3 out of 5 stars.
THE LAST NIGHT OF OCTOBER by Greg Chapman
This story I rather enjoyed. It was the longest of the bunch and it did drag a bit in the middle, but overall it was a great story! This is the type of story I expect in a Halloween anthology. It was your true ghost story. Definitely my second favorite of all. I rated this story 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Overall, I recommend this entire series for all who love short stories that are spooky. They are fun reads even if they aren’t all completely original ideas.
My combined total rating came out to be 3.9 stars, so all together, I rated this entire anthology 4 out of 5 stars!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced copy in return for an honest review.
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