mad_about_books's review against another edition
5.0
It looks like we are in for a rash of anthologies this Halloween. Editor Brian James Freeman is planning to debut five such books for fright night 2017.
"Strange Candy"
By Robert McCammon
McCammon never disappoints, and in this tale of Halloween in a small town lives up to expectation. Oh yes, you might want to have a hanky handy for this one.
"The Rage of Achilles or When Mockingbirds Sing"
By Kevin Lucia
All Hallows' Eve is the night when spirits walk, and things are possible like on no other night of the year. A priest in his confessional might have to consider that very thing.
"Demon Air"
By John R. Little
Not a good story for anyone with a fear of flying.
La Hacienda de los Muertos
By Lisa Morton
Lisa Morton weaves a tale of horror movie making that becomes all too real for the cast and crew.
#MakeHalloweenScaryAgain
By Mark Allan Gunnells
Facebook and hashtags aside, someone is out to make Halloween scary again.
Once again, Brian James Freeman gathers tales about things that go bump in the night. In other words, this is a perfect anthology for Halloween night.
"Strange Candy"
By Robert McCammon
McCammon never disappoints, and in this tale of Halloween in a small town lives up to expectation. Oh yes, you might want to have a hanky handy for this one.
"The Rage of Achilles or When Mockingbirds Sing"
By Kevin Lucia
All Hallows' Eve is the night when spirits walk, and things are possible like on no other night of the year. A priest in his confessional might have to consider that very thing.
"Demon Air"
By John R. Little
Not a good story for anyone with a fear of flying.
La Hacienda de los Muertos
By Lisa Morton
Lisa Morton weaves a tale of horror movie making that becomes all too real for the cast and crew.
#MakeHalloweenScaryAgain
By Mark Allan Gunnells
Facebook and hashtags aside, someone is out to make Halloween scary again.
Once again, Brian James Freeman gathers tales about things that go bump in the night. In other words, this is a perfect anthology for Halloween night.
mommasaystoread's review against another edition
4.0
Halloween Carnival Volume 1 is an entertaining collection of five novella length tales taking place on or around Halloween. The collection is very well written and each story is interesting in its own right, whether it adds a creepy twist at the end as in The Rage of Achilles or is creepy from the start as in #MakeHalloweenScaryAgain. Each story has its own twists and whether its scary or not is engaging and kept me turning pages. With elements of family, love, loss, and finding your roots, there's nothing over the top scary, but this collection is great for kicking off the season.
titanic's review against another edition
2.0
This book started off great, I really enjoyed the first two stories they sucked me in and I was thrilled to be reading them but the third story was stupid. Demons taken over a plane sounds very interesting, until you make them childish and have them make passengers bob for apples. Sure they were rotten apples in murky water, but it didn't make sense. The story only got downhill from then. They started off as these fearful demons but then they get afraid when the passengers stand up to them? And you expect me to believe all that happens in 24 hours? No thanks.
The next story was okay, not boring but nothing special about it. I didn't enjoy it, and it had a small racist character which left a slight bitter taste in my mouth, but it was readable. It was different.
The last story held so much potential, but the ending let it down, it was such a shame. I really expected it to have a better ending, and when it ended how it did I regretted reading the story. It spoilt it. I thought it was him, and when it was (sort of?) revealed that it was, I wasn't happy that I
got it right because it wasn't executed well enough.
The next story was okay, not boring but nothing special about it. I didn't enjoy it, and it had a small racist character which left a slight bitter taste in my mouth, but it was readable. It was different.
The last story held so much potential, but the ending let it down, it was such a shame. I really expected it to have a better ending, and when it ended how it did I regretted reading the story. It spoilt it. I thought it was him, and when it was (sort of?) revealed that it was, I wasn't happy that I
got it right because it wasn't executed well enough.
tyler_j's review against another edition
3.25
STRANGE CANDY by Robert McCammon★★★★★(5/5)
My favorite out of the collection! Not scary so much as heart-breaking, both hopeful and sad. A short but powerful ghost story.
THE RAGE OF ACHILLES by Kevin Lucia★★★.5 (3.5/5)
TW: Death, Murder, Suicide
Slightly confusing, but mostly heart-wrenching and haunting, about the pain of loss so all consuming it never really ends. A very moving story. A man has a son with autism who he loves very much and will go to great lengths for. I can't speak on the autism. Might be a bit hard to read for some in regards to ableism for lack of knowing how to better put it (though I wish I could figure out how to better put it). I am disabled myself (not autistic though so again, can't speak there) and can see how it might be hard to read for some disabled people, but personally I found it very well done. Not an easy read but still a powerful one about loss and grief.
DEMON AIR by John R. Little★.5(1.5/5)
This made no sense to me. I have no idea how Halle being Aborigine had anything to do with finding courage. I liked the part about her wanting to find out more about her identity after finding out she was adopted, but it just didn't go anywhere. One minute it had just became Halloween, the pilots became demon things to introduce the Halloween theme, Halle being Aborigine, which she just found out, ment she had to be courageous and stand up to them (which just felt like a weak plot point that had so much potential), and then quickly the scene and the day is over and they are still flying above the ocean. Not sure how that works. It just felt like the story had so much potential but it was too short to be fleshed out at all and didn't make any sense.
LA HACIENDA DE LOS MUERTOS by Lisa Morton★★(2/5)
TW: Racism
A racist actor gets called to be in a movie in Mexico. He doesn't believe in tall tales but is about to find out how true Urban Legends can be. It's at a ranch that is legitimately haunted. It's not really scary though. The actor's racism is talked about again and again, never followed up on and suddenly it's resolved magically at the end. I liked the urban legend and there is a bit of twist to it that I really appreciated.
#MAKEHALLOWEENSCARYAGAIN by Mark Allan Gunnells★★★.75(3.75/5)
TW: Death, Murder, Homophobia
A horror author is annoyed that people have turned Halloween into something no longer scary. So he starts a hashtag #MakeHalloweenScaryAgain that flops and does not catch on...except with one twisted person that ends up being a serial killer seeking out this past Halloween greatness and using the hashtag as a calling card at the murder scenes. Action and suspense were through-out the entire story (also the longest one being about 1/2 the book) at least until the end. I did guess the ending but did enjoy the journey getting there.
Final Thoughts
Average = 3.15
It's an anthology and in my limited anthology experience they do always seem to have some stories I enjoy and some I don't. It's just what happens. I am glad I read this for the 3 out of 5 stories I enjoyed and would recommend checking it out if you're interested. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
My favorite out of the collection! Not scary so much as heart-breaking, both hopeful and sad. A short but powerful ghost story.
THE RAGE OF ACHILLES by Kevin Lucia★★★.5 (3.5/5)
TW: Death, Murder, Suicide
Slightly confusing, but mostly heart-wrenching and haunting, about the pain of loss so all consuming it never really ends. A very moving story. A man has a son with autism who he loves very much and will go to great lengths for. I can't speak on the autism. Might be a bit hard to read for some in regards to ableism for lack of knowing how to better put it (though I wish I could figure out how to better put it). I am disabled myself (not autistic though so again, can't speak there) and can see how it might be hard to read for some disabled people, but personally I found it very well done. Not an easy read but still a powerful one about loss and grief.
DEMON AIR by John R. Little★.5(1.5/5)
This made no sense to me. I have no idea how Halle being Aborigine had anything to do with finding courage. I liked the part about her wanting to find out more about her identity after finding out she was adopted, but it just didn't go anywhere. One minute it had just became Halloween, the pilots became demon things to introduce the Halloween theme, Halle being Aborigine, which she just found out, ment she had to be courageous and stand up to them (which just felt like a weak plot point that had so much potential), and then quickly the scene and the day is over and they are still flying above the ocean. Not sure how that works. It just felt like the story had so much potential but it was too short to be fleshed out at all and didn't make any sense.
LA HACIENDA DE LOS MUERTOS by Lisa Morton★★(2/5)
TW: Racism
A racist actor gets called to be in a movie in Mexico. He doesn't believe in tall tales but is about to find out how true Urban Legends can be. It's at a ranch that is legitimately haunted. It's not really scary though. The actor's racism is talked about again and again, never followed up on and suddenly it's resolved magically at the end. I liked the urban legend and there is a bit of twist to it that I really appreciated.
#MAKEHALLOWEENSCARYAGAIN by Mark Allan Gunnells★★★.75(3.75/5)
TW: Death, Murder, Homophobia
A horror author is annoyed that people have turned Halloween into something no longer scary. So he starts a hashtag #MakeHalloweenScaryAgain that flops and does not catch on...except with one twisted person that ends up being a serial killer seeking out this past Halloween greatness and using the hashtag as a calling card at the murder scenes. Action and suspense were through-out the entire story (also the longest one being about 1/2 the book) at least until the end. I did guess the ending but did enjoy the journey getting there.
Final Thoughts
Average = 3.15
It's an anthology and in my limited anthology experience they do always seem to have some stories I enjoy and some I don't. It's just what happens. I am glad I read this for the 3 out of 5 stories I enjoyed and would recommend checking it out if you're interested. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
courtneyy41's review
3.0
I really wanted to love this. I am a fan of short stories, and I am a fan of spooky Halloween tales. I just wasn't crazy about these. They definitely left me wanting more. My favorite was #makehalloweenscaryagain. That one got a 3.5/5, the rest for me were around 2.5/5 so overall I gave it a 3. I just really wanted more from this unfortunately.
indiepauli47's review
4.0
Yay, first e-book of the year !
It was a quick, nice read, perfect for that time of the year.
5 stories from new-to-me authors, apart from McCammon, and I enjoyed all of them.
My favourite story was #MakeHalloweenScaryAgain, the last one, the longest as well (meaning more time to build up tension). Great story
Also amazing was The Rage of Achilles. Creepy and atmospheric
Again, enjoyed all of them, and it was a solid read for Halloween, can't wait to read the other volumes.
It was a quick, nice read, perfect for that time of the year.
5 stories from new-to-me authors, apart from McCammon, and I enjoyed all of them.
My favourite story was #MakeHalloweenScaryAgain, the last one, the longest as well (meaning more time to build up tension). Great story
Also amazing was The Rage of Achilles. Creepy and atmospheric
Again, enjoyed all of them, and it was a solid read for Halloween, can't wait to read the other volumes.
bbehring12's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
wellwortharead's review
4.0
These stories do revolve around Halloween but they are more than just horror. They are tales of grief, of love and loss, spirits with unfinished business, all surrounding the most otherworldly night of the year. They can be savored slowly to help you get into the spirit of Halloween or devoured quickly for a rush of spooky fun any time. I read them over a particularly hot week in July while I was away from my home and my air conditioner. I was almost able to convince myself that I could hear rustling leaves and a cool October wind. All were good, but for me the most notable in the bunch were...
Strange Candy- A story about a grieving man who finds peace after consuming an odd confection brought home in his child's trick or treat bag.
#MakeHalloweenScaryAgain -in which a writer who wishes to draw some interest and attention to his work stirs up a serial killer with his simple hashtag.
The Rage Of Achilles - A priest hears a haunting confession on Halloween from a man who has suffered a tragedy.
Highly recommended to all lovers of horror and Halloween.
I received an advance copy for review.
Strange Candy- A story about a grieving man who finds peace after consuming an odd confection brought home in his child's trick or treat bag.
#MakeHalloweenScaryAgain -in which a writer who wishes to draw some interest and attention to his work stirs up a serial killer with his simple hashtag.
The Rage Of Achilles - A priest hears a haunting confession on Halloween from a man who has suffered a tragedy.
Highly recommended to all lovers of horror and Halloween.
I received an advance copy for review.
3no7's review
4.0
“Halloween Carnival” is the definitive anthology for every fan of Halloween (and who isn’t?). It is a collection of five quick yet fantastic reads, all with a Halloween theme. The stories are all different, some longer and some shorter, but there is something for every reader, and all are engrossing. This collection allows a fan to read and finish a compelling story all in one sitting. It is perfect for plane trips, car rides, or while waiting for appointments or when taking others (CHILDREN) to practice, or lessons, or games, or meetings, or after-school events – the list goes on!
I received an advance copy of “Halloween Carnival” from Penguin Random House, Hydra, and NetGalley to read and review, and I was able to finish the stories on my time schedule without interrupting my other plans or forgetting where I was in the book. I could read these Halloween stories every year and love them each time.
I received an advance copy of “Halloween Carnival” from Penguin Random House, Hydra, and NetGalley to read and review, and I was able to finish the stories on my time schedule without interrupting my other plans or forgetting where I was in the book. I could read these Halloween stories every year and love them each time.