A review by gentlemanjeff
Screams From the Dark: 29 Tales of Monsters and the Monstrous by Ellen Datlow

4.0

In rating each story individually and averaging the result, this one doesn't quite hit the 4 star mark, but that kind of analysis neglects important context. So many of these stories are above average that the overall collection deserves at least four stars. As with any anthology, there are some conspicuous exceptions in which authors were too abstract or got too preachy for my taste, but these are few and far between. Similar stories seem to be grouped together in Screams from the Dark, but the variety dips only temporarily and there's great range in terms of style and content throughout that keep the journey interesting for the reader. That's due in part to the size of the volume, but the selections were definitely well made and they include some of the best horror authors writing today. Fans of Datlow's past anthologies will be very satisfied, as will readers looking for inventive, fearsome monsters. The complete list of highlights for this collection is too numerous to go through in detail, but these are the ones that will stay with me the most:

"The Midway" by Fran Wilde
"The Atrocity Exhibitionists" by Brian Hodge
"The Island" by Norman Partridge
“The Last Drop” by Carole Johnstone
“Three Mothers Mountain” by Nathan Ballingrud
"Sweet Potato" by Joe R. Lansdale
"Bitten by Himself" by Laird Barron
"Beautiful Dreamer" by Jeffrey Ford
"Bloedzuiger" by John Langan

A big thank you to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for the ARC.