littleowllost's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
jlaney's review
2.0
I normally love these books but I just couldn't get into this one as much. I did really enjoy The Moraine (Simon Bestwick), Roots And All (Brian Hodge), and Black Feathers (Alison Littlewood). There were a couple more that weren't too bad but there were a lot of them that immediately fell flat and just weren't incredibly interesting to me.
caitlinxmartin's review
4.0
Ellen Datlow has edited lots of wonderful anthologies over the year. Her influence in the areas of fantasy and horror know no bounds. She's smart, a good reader, and she chooses well - all great qualities in an editor.
I'm sort of back and forth with horror. I love it in so many ways, yet it's so difficult to find horror that's worth reading (or horror movies worth seeing, frankly). Everything's gotten so obvious and much has descended to the level of torture porn and that just doesn't draw me in. I want something more, something different, something surprising, stuff that skitters in the night, Elder Gods, dumb decisions, and creepiness. I've most recently found more of that in horror comics than in straight horror, but when I saw this Datlow anthology, I thought it would be a good place to find some scary stories. And I was right.
Just about all the stories in this anthology are worth reading. As with all collections some stories stand out more to some readers than other stories, but these are all of high quality and introduced me to a new writer whose novel I just read and reviewed, David Nickle.
Let's talk about the short stories that really stood out for me. First there is Stephen King who has some kind of deranged genius in his head who knows how to tell a story and how to scare the crap out of you without being predictable or cliched. He's also a good writer, particularly as a writer about childhood. I love that. His story in this collection is "The Little Green God of Agony" and it is all about what you're willing to do for money, what money can and cannot buy you, and just how much you may have to sacrifice to relieve pain (real or imagined).
I also enjoyed "Stay" by Leah Bobet, an intelligent modern exploration of the Wendigo mythos. Wendigos appear in the mythology of many different Native American tribes, particularly those who speak Algonquin. Wendigos are evil cannibalistic spirits who can possess human beings turning them into evil cannibalistic people. Anyone with any knowledge of them knows that they are terrifying. "Stay" deftly leverages this mythology within a modern day town of Dene. It's fascinating, reads very real, and also scared the crap out of me.
I'd never read Laird Barron before, but now I'll be looking for him. Let me say that I am not a huge Lovecraft fan, although I do like the Lovecraft mythos. I just can't read the man himself - his writing makes me cringe. Laird Barron's story, "Blackwood's Baby" is set within a Lovecraftian mythos, but also hearkens back to old stories about rich gentlemen and their safaris - playing at hunting for trophies - and their guides. This was a wonderful, engrossing story that rang lots of literary referential bells for me and definitely made me want more of Mr. Barron's words.
Lastly, there is "Looker" by David Nickle. This is a story about a man who meets a woman who is covered in eyes - yes, literal working eyes. Romance and bad things ensue. This was a very difficult story for me to read because it was just so damned creepy and this creepy ickyness juxtaposed with its gorgeous writing made want to sleep with lights on. I was very fortunate after reading this to get an opportunity to read and review Mr. Nickles' new novel, Rasputin's Bastards, and do an author Q and A with him and I am now a big fan.
My one criticism of this book is that the first 10 percent of it is devoted to an entirely too detailed and long-winded rundown of other horror that's worth reading that didn't make the anthology or sources for horror or just lists and lists and lists. A few pages of this would have been a nice addition, but it takes up so much room at the beginning of the book that I honestly almost didn't read any of these stories and that would have been a pity.
Overall, great horror stories. I'm happy to have read them - they restore my faith in the genre.
I'm sort of back and forth with horror. I love it in so many ways, yet it's so difficult to find horror that's worth reading (or horror movies worth seeing, frankly). Everything's gotten so obvious and much has descended to the level of torture porn and that just doesn't draw me in. I want something more, something different, something surprising, stuff that skitters in the night, Elder Gods, dumb decisions, and creepiness. I've most recently found more of that in horror comics than in straight horror, but when I saw this Datlow anthology, I thought it would be a good place to find some scary stories. And I was right.
Just about all the stories in this anthology are worth reading. As with all collections some stories stand out more to some readers than other stories, but these are all of high quality and introduced me to a new writer whose novel I just read and reviewed, David Nickle.
Let's talk about the short stories that really stood out for me. First there is Stephen King who has some kind of deranged genius in his head who knows how to tell a story and how to scare the crap out of you without being predictable or cliched. He's also a good writer, particularly as a writer about childhood. I love that. His story in this collection is "The Little Green God of Agony" and it is all about what you're willing to do for money, what money can and cannot buy you, and just how much you may have to sacrifice to relieve pain (real or imagined).
I also enjoyed "Stay" by Leah Bobet, an intelligent modern exploration of the Wendigo mythos. Wendigos appear in the mythology of many different Native American tribes, particularly those who speak Algonquin. Wendigos are evil cannibalistic spirits who can possess human beings turning them into evil cannibalistic people. Anyone with any knowledge of them knows that they are terrifying. "Stay" deftly leverages this mythology within a modern day town of Dene. It's fascinating, reads very real, and also scared the crap out of me.
I'd never read Laird Barron before, but now I'll be looking for him. Let me say that I am not a huge Lovecraft fan, although I do like the Lovecraft mythos. I just can't read the man himself - his writing makes me cringe. Laird Barron's story, "Blackwood's Baby" is set within a Lovecraftian mythos, but also hearkens back to old stories about rich gentlemen and their safaris - playing at hunting for trophies - and their guides. This was a wonderful, engrossing story that rang lots of literary referential bells for me and definitely made me want more of Mr. Barron's words.
Lastly, there is "Looker" by David Nickle. This is a story about a man who meets a woman who is covered in eyes - yes, literal working eyes. Romance and bad things ensue. This was a very difficult story for me to read because it was just so damned creepy and this creepy ickyness juxtaposed with its gorgeous writing made want to sleep with lights on. I was very fortunate after reading this to get an opportunity to read and review Mr. Nickles' new novel, Rasputin's Bastards, and do an author Q and A with him and I am now a big fan.
My one criticism of this book is that the first 10 percent of it is devoted to an entirely too detailed and long-winded rundown of other horror that's worth reading that didn't make the anthology or sources for horror or just lists and lists and lists. A few pages of this would have been a nice addition, but it takes up so much room at the beginning of the book that I honestly almost didn't read any of these stories and that would have been a pity.
Overall, great horror stories. I'm happy to have read them - they restore my faith in the genre.
dangerousnerd's review
3.0
Absolutely could not get into the second story (Stay), but after forcing my way through it I found a quality truly scary collection of modern horror. Definitely recommend.
marionhlne's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
kitten_nuisance's review against another edition
3.0
This book has taken me a long time to “finish” because I refused to accept that I didn’t want to read the last story, no matter how many times I started it. I am finally coming to terms with that.
There are some really haunting, standout stories here, but of course, also some that are less so. Let’s see what I think. . .
Amazing, loved:
Stay by Leah Bobet
Mulberry Boys by Margo Lanagan (what a concept; very uncomfortable!!)
Roots and All by Brian Hodge
Final Girl Theory by A. C. Wise (What I wish Night Film was! . . .)
Omphalos by Livia Llewellyn
Final Verse by Chet Williamson
Meh:
The Little Green God of Agony by Stephen King
The Moraine by Simon Bestwick
Looker by David Nickle
Dermot by Simon Bestwick
Black Feathers by Alison J. Littlewood
Didn’t like or couldn’t bring myself to read:
Blackwood's Baby by Laird Barron (this is the only one I skipped, other than the last one)
The Show by Priya Sharma
In the Absence of Murdock by Terry Lamsley
You Become the Neighborhood by Glen Hirshberg
In Paris, In the Mouth of Kronos by John Langan
Little Pig by Anna Taborska
The Ballad of Ballard and Sandrine by Peter Straub
I didn’t remember disliking so many of these! The ones I did like definitely stuck with me more. However, at this point, I think I can only give three stars overall.
There are some really haunting, standout stories here, but of course, also some that are less so. Let’s see what I think. . .
Amazing, loved:
Stay by Leah Bobet
Mulberry Boys by Margo Lanagan (what a concept; very uncomfortable!!)
Roots and All by Brian Hodge
Final Girl Theory by A. C. Wise (What I wish Night Film was! . . .)
Omphalos by Livia Llewellyn
Final Verse by Chet Williamson
Meh:
The Little Green God of Agony by Stephen King
The Moraine by Simon Bestwick
Looker by David Nickle
Dermot by Simon Bestwick
Black Feathers by Alison J. Littlewood
Didn’t like or couldn’t bring myself to read:
Blackwood's Baby by Laird Barron (this is the only one I skipped, other than the last one)
The Show by Priya Sharma
In the Absence of Murdock by Terry Lamsley
You Become the Neighborhood by Glen Hirshberg
In Paris, In the Mouth of Kronos by John Langan
Little Pig by Anna Taborska
The Ballad of Ballard and Sandrine by Peter Straub
I didn’t remember disliking so many of these! The ones I did like definitely stuck with me more. However, at this point, I think I can only give three stars overall.
ravenbait's review against another edition
3.0
Datlow is something of a doyenne when it comes to horror anthologies, and I felt this would be just the pick-me-up I needed to counter-act an affliction of genre apathy. It certainly did the trick, but more as a result of a couple of real stand-out stories than an overall trend of excellence.
The anthology opens with a Stephen King story about a man possessed by a pain demon, and the sceptical nurse who doesn't believe such things exist. It's tempting to ascribe this story to King's own experiences, and therefore might be interesting from an auto-biographical point of view, but trod no new ground for me.
By contrast, Leah Bobet's "Stay" was an effective take on the Wendigo myth, weaving North American and European magic together into something delightfully human.
Simon Bestwick's "The Moraine" was another story I thought was excellent. While it could be described as a Cumbrian take on "Tremors", the central concept was genuinely chilling and the setting beautifully wrought. Bestwick's other story in the anthology was also notable.
I also enjoyed Margo Lanagan's "Mulberry Boys", Livia Llewellyn's "Omphalos" and, to a lesser extent, Glen Hirshberg's "You Become the Neighbourhood" and John Langan's "In Paris, In the Mouth of Kronos".
Overall I found this to be a good selection of stories dealing with primarily with what King calls "ordinary people in extraordinary situations". This is one for lovers of monsters and myths, not science and gore.
The anthology opens with a Stephen King story about a man possessed by a pain demon, and the sceptical nurse who doesn't believe such things exist. It's tempting to ascribe this story to King's own experiences, and therefore might be interesting from an auto-biographical point of view, but trod no new ground for me.
By contrast, Leah Bobet's "Stay" was an effective take on the Wendigo myth, weaving North American and European magic together into something delightfully human.
Simon Bestwick's "The Moraine" was another story I thought was excellent. While it could be described as a Cumbrian take on "Tremors", the central concept was genuinely chilling and the setting beautifully wrought. Bestwick's other story in the anthology was also notable.
I also enjoyed Margo Lanagan's "Mulberry Boys", Livia Llewellyn's "Omphalos" and, to a lesser extent, Glen Hirshberg's "You Become the Neighbourhood" and John Langan's "In Paris, In the Mouth of Kronos".
Overall I found this to be a good selection of stories dealing with primarily with what King calls "ordinary people in extraordinary situations". This is one for lovers of monsters and myths, not science and gore.
mzjai117's review against another edition
2.0
I’m not sure why this collection of weird stories would be considered the “best” horror of the year. I wonder what the worst was because none of the stories were scary. I wasted over 1000 minutes of my life listening to this book.