sumayyah_t's review
5.0
We are Sycorax's Daughters
Sycorax's Daughters are us. We are the saviors, the monsters, the witches, the the magic personified. Billed as horror, some stories fall under the speculative umbrella, and leave the reader with thoughts to ponder. Others leave the reader inexplicably chilled and turning on every light possible. Poetry is interspersed and offers views on love, death, and redemption.
Sycorax's Daughters are us. We are the saviors, the monsters, the witches, the the magic personified. Billed as horror, some stories fall under the speculative umbrella, and leave the reader with thoughts to ponder. Others leave the reader inexplicably chilled and turning on every light possible. Poetry is interspersed and offers views on love, death, and redemption.
klibri's review
2.5
"Summer Skin" by Zin E. Rocklyn ★★★½
"Taking the Good" by Dana Mcknight ★★★½
"Foundling" by Tenea D. Johnson ★★★½
"Taking the Good" by Dana Mcknight ★★★½
"Foundling" by Tenea D. Johnson ★★★½
zekereadshorror's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
sarah984's review
dark
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
This is an anthology of horror-themed works (short stories and poems) by African American women. I liked the variety of themes in the various works, and the focus in the stories on Black women as focal characters. The stories vary widely in tone and subject matter so I think there is something for everyone, but I personally found the strong religious bent of some of the stories kind of off-putting.
Favourites: Tree of the Forest Seven Bells Turns the World Round Midnight by Sheree Renée Thomas, Kim by Nicole D. Sconiers, The Mankana-kil by L. Penelope.
Favourites: Tree of the Forest Seven Bells Turns the World Round Midnight by Sheree Renée Thomas, Kim by Nicole D. Sconiers, The Mankana-kil by L. Penelope.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Abortion, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Medical content, Racism, and Slavery
Moderate: Child death, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Bullying
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Death of parent, Homophobia, Infertility, and Infidelity
caitlin_waddick's review against another edition
5.0
This book was a fun read. Black womxn writers. Black womxn characters.
Fabulous breadth of content:
Science fiction. Fantasy. Horror. Comedy. Mystery. Ghost stories. Caribbean mythology. Succubus. Monsters. Shapeshifters. Trolls. The paranormal. Mermaids. Varmpires. American slavery. Torture. Hell. Hallucination. Bad technology of our future or our parallel future. Down by the Bayou. Seeing auras. Voodoo/hoodoo. People of varying social classes. The only dyke bar still open. ... Lacking only werewolves. So, as long as you aren't, like, "Werewolves or bust," you''ll find fun herein!
The writing quality varies widely, and I liked it.
Fabulous breadth of content:
Science fiction. Fantasy. Horror. Comedy. Mystery. Ghost stories. Caribbean mythology. Succubus. Monsters. Shapeshifters. Trolls. The paranormal. Mermaids. Varmpires. American slavery. Torture. Hell. Hallucination. Bad technology of our future or our parallel future. Down by the Bayou. Seeing auras. Voodoo/hoodoo. People of varying social classes. The only dyke bar still open. ... Lacking only werewolves. So, as long as you aren't, like, "Werewolves or bust," you''ll find fun herein!
The writing quality varies widely, and I liked it.
planetwhileaway's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
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
4.0
A collection of short horror written by Black women. Other than a few duds, these stories were incredible. Some fun (Ma Laja, Born Again), some unsettling (Kim, The Ever After), and some heartbreaking (Letty, Mama), these stories offer a fresh and much-needed perspective on the horror genre. Unfortunately, many of these fantastic authors have not written anything outside of this collection. I hope that changes!
evavroslin's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of the highest quality anthologies I have read this year--highlighting the short stories and poems of Black women writers. Similarly to "Dark Mojo: Conjure Stories," this is an anthology with an unparalleled quality and features some of the most impactful and hard-hitting fiction I've read in a very long time. This should be on everyone's radar and definitely deserves some recognition come award season.
jjmbookstam92's review against another edition
3.0
I loved this book in concept but in practise I was dissappointed overall. It's usually hit and miss for me with short story bundles, same with this one. A lot of the more interesting ones ended abruptly without any purpose in either narrative tension or symbolism. The editing process has also fallen short quite a few times. With obvious typing and grammatical errors that have no basis in the style of the writer.
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