Reviews tagging 'Blood'
Screams From the Dark: 29 Tales of Monsters and the Monstrous by Ellen Datlow
2 reviews
ehmannky's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
A few of the stories were really, really good, but for the most part I felt the stories in here were middling. There were only one or two that felt like a true drag, so I kept with it but it wasn't the best anthology I've ever read.
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Dementia, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, and Violence
enchantressreads's review
adventurous
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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Screams from the Dark is anthology of 29 short stories discovering the monstrous. I love a good anthology, but this one fell a little flat for me. It was compiled to celebrate very classic tropes of horror, but it felt very basic. To someone who is new to horror stories, I feel like this would be a great place to start. More veteran horror readers might not be a huge fan of every story in this anthology.
There were definitely some great stories in this collection, but it mostly felt average, totaling up to a 3.3 average rating. Now, a 3 is not a terrible score and I would still recommend this to people who are interested. There are some great authors in this collection, and I felt it wasn’t the best stories these authors could have given.
However, I did love a few stories, listed below:
There were definitely some great stories in this collection, but it mostly felt average, totaling up to a 3.3 average rating. Now, a 3 is not a terrible score and I would still recommend this to people who are interested. There are some great authors in this collection, and I felt it wasn’t the best stories these authors could have given.
However, I did love a few stories, listed below:
- The Island by Norman Partridge
- Burial by Kristi DeMeester
- and my personal favorite, Bloedzuiger by John Langan
For anyone who loved The Fisherman, Bloedzuiger will be a lovely surprise. Of course, Datlow saved the best for last.
Those were my five star stories, but I also had a few four star stories, so some honorable mentions are:
- Red Wet Grin by Gemma Files
- Children of the Night by Stephen Graham Jones
- The Smell of Waiting by Kaaron Warren
This is my first Datlow anthology, and while I wasn’t as happy with it as expected, I do plan on reading more of her compilations.
Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the chance to read this advanced review copy. I’m a day late, but Screams from the Dark is available now!
Moderate: Gaslighting, Sexism, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Racism, Body horror, Gore, and Self harm
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