ohhdeanna's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This was pure bloody gold. What an engaging, thought-provoking and entertaining collection of short stories and poetry!! A. R. Ward has done it again. I feel like anytime I see her name on something, I just assume it's going to be good.
I LOVED this. I couldn't even pick a handful of stories to list as my favourites because I genuinely loved all of them. I thought they were creepy and unnerving without being over the top, and that they had an important message without being too preachy. A fine line to walk, but the authors did it so well in this collection.
Highly recommend!
I LOVED this. I couldn't even pick a handful of stories to list as my favourites because I genuinely loved all of them. I thought they were creepy and unnerving without being over the top, and that they had an important message without being too preachy. A fine line to walk, but the authors did it so well in this collection.
Highly recommend!
sanaya863's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
5.0
my short story is in this :) but everyone's work in this is absolutely brilliant!
wendigo's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.5
inciminci's review
4.0
Whether the natural world was always sentient and held out hope for us eventually didn’t matter; what mattered was that nature rose up universally, in a single instant enacting a simple plan: do unto them as they have done to us.
With horror being a mirror to society’s fears and concerns, the emergence of the subgenre eco-horror is no surprise, really. If anything, I’m surprised it hasn’t yet gone beyond a rather paltry movement of cryptid-related nature horror, post-apocalyptic catastrophe or dystopic horror claimed mainly by science fiction and a few dedicated authors, like Brian Evenson or Jeff VanderMeer, who weave environmental anxieties in varying amounts into their work. So, it was a blast to discover Chlorophobia: An Eco-Horror Anthology, a collection of short stories and poems with artistic and/or politic ambitions focused on ecological problems, because well, it was about time.
In 37 short stories and 13 poems you can find the full range and every aspect of environmental horrors; vegetables and plants revolting, toxic air, overpopulation, alien creatures of the sea taking control over humanity, hunger, drought, bees dying, trees and mushrooms and kudzu bushes taking revenge… I’m not a great fan of poetry in English but I have a few favorites among the short stories:
“The Calcium Chimes Will Sway” by Hazel Ragaire, in which the end of the world from the hand of trees (the arbocalypse, he he) and plants is described in a really superb prose;
“Neon Fly” by S.J. Townend in which themes like food, contamination, pandemic, and the hope of life on a new planet are being tackled;
“The Red Sea” by G. B. Lindsey – this one is amazing! The very horrific and psychedelic descriptions of a day on a beach of different kind and finally
“The Uyturoi” by Zé Burns where we discover a new marine species and they’re not very nice, to say the least.
I hope that this book opens a new trend for more radical writing on ecological themes in horror, Chlorophobia" is very highly recommended for sure.
With horror being a mirror to society’s fears and concerns, the emergence of the subgenre eco-horror is no surprise, really. If anything, I’m surprised it hasn’t yet gone beyond a rather paltry movement of cryptid-related nature horror, post-apocalyptic catastrophe or dystopic horror claimed mainly by science fiction and a few dedicated authors, like Brian Evenson or Jeff VanderMeer, who weave environmental anxieties in varying amounts into their work. So, it was a blast to discover Chlorophobia: An Eco-Horror Anthology, a collection of short stories and poems with artistic and/or politic ambitions focused on ecological problems, because well, it was about time.
In 37 short stories and 13 poems you can find the full range and every aspect of environmental horrors; vegetables and plants revolting, toxic air, overpopulation, alien creatures of the sea taking control over humanity, hunger, drought, bees dying, trees and mushrooms and kudzu bushes taking revenge… I’m not a great fan of poetry in English but I have a few favorites among the short stories:
“The Calcium Chimes Will Sway” by Hazel Ragaire, in which the end of the world from the hand of trees (the arbocalypse, he he) and plants is described in a really superb prose;
“Neon Fly” by S.J. Townend in which themes like food, contamination, pandemic, and the hope of life on a new planet are being tackled;
“The Red Sea” by G. B. Lindsey – this one is amazing! The very horrific and psychedelic descriptions of a day on a beach of different kind and finally
“The Uyturoi” by Zé Burns where we discover a new marine species and they’re not very nice, to say the least.
I hope that this book opens a new trend for more radical writing on ecological themes in horror, Chlorophobia" is very highly recommended for sure.
amy_fw's review
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jetpackdracula's review
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
gabianjos's review
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
catsluvcoffee's review
3.0
Eco-horror has quickly become one of my favorite subgenres of horror. There's something about the earth fighting back against what humanity has wrought that cheers my horror-loving heart. This anthology contains 37 short stories and 13 poems of all kinds of plant life, floral and fauna, insects, sea creatures and more. Some standouts from the collection:
In Sonora Taylor's "Farm-to-Table", a couple on a terrible first date experience a botanical takeover. There's some great body horror imagery to make you squirm.
"Chrysanthemum" by Victoria Audley tells us of the secret darkness the language of flowers can reveal.
"Imitation of Life" by J.R. Handfield teaches us the lesson the narrator had yet to comprehend—the invasiveness of the water hyacinth.
Sanaya Deas gives us an unyielding voraciousness in the form of seemingly innocuous red berries in "The Hunger".
In spite of an unfulfilled expectation of the protagonist to be a Snow White or a Briar Rose, "The Heartwood" by Sally Hughes ends up sounding like the darkest of fairytales. This one was a favorite with its Perrault-like feel.
Chlorophobia is more than a pretty cover. It's a scary good collection of stories ranging from surreal to dreadful. While there were some stories that didn't work so well for me, most were a lot of fun.
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In Sonora Taylor's "Farm-to-Table", a couple on a terrible first date experience a botanical takeover. There's some great body horror imagery to make you squirm.
"Chrysanthemum" by Victoria Audley tells us of the secret darkness the language of flowers can reveal.
"Imitation of Life" by J.R. Handfield teaches us the lesson the narrator had yet to comprehend—the invasiveness of the water hyacinth.
Sanaya Deas gives us an unyielding voraciousness in the form of seemingly innocuous red berries in "The Hunger".
In spite of an unfulfilled expectation of the protagonist to be a Snow White or a Briar Rose, "The Heartwood" by Sally Hughes ends up sounding like the darkest of fairytales. This one was a favorite with its Perrault-like feel.
Chlorophobia is more than a pretty cover. It's a scary good collection of stories ranging from surreal to dreadful. While there were some stories that didn't work so well for me, most were a lot of fun.
Website | Twitter | Pinterest