A review by raforall
Screams From the Dark: 29 Tales of Monsters and the Monstrous by Ellen Datlow
4.0
Review in the April 2022 issue of Library Journal.
Three Words That Describe This Book: Range of Scares, all original stories, well known authors
DRAFT REVIEW:
Much like she did in the award winning anthology Echoes for the ghost story, Datlow turns her focus to monsters, this time collecting original stories from 29 authors, like bestsellers Stephen Graham Jones and Joyce Carol Oates as well as emerging voices like Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ and Priya Sharma. The result, a book that lays down the gauntlet, redefining this classic and much beloved subgenre for a 21st Century audience with stories that actively explore the monsters that surround us, both supernatural and human. With so many talented authors represented, there is also a satisfyingly wide arc of writing styles, settings, type of monster, and range of fear induced from psychological dread to visceral terror to darkly humorous, with all stops in between. Two stories that stood out are Kaaron Warren’s "The Smell of Waiting,” a compelling and creepy tale of a young girl with a gift (or is it a curse?) and John Langan’s mesmerizing, "Bloedzuiger,” another one of his “fishing stories,” a tale that is both innocuously mundane and terrifyingly disturbing– all at once.
Verdict: This epic volume, with its impressive table of contents, will satisfy the hordes of readers looking for new takes on the monster trope and pairs nicely with the Bram Stoker nominated Miscreations: Gods, Monstrosities, & Other Horrors. Edited by Murano and Bailey.
Notes:
Stories that explore the monster trope by exploring the monsters we can be as humans.
No reprints. All original for this anthology. 29 stories-- and long. This is an Epic collection. Laying down the gauntlet of what the monster story is right now-- with many of today's best Horror voices.
My favorites: The John Langan Story-- "Bloedzuiger"-- somehow it is both mundane and disturbing, innocuous and terrifying. There is also humor-- It is another one of his "fishing stories."
Kaaron Warren, "The Smell of Waiting" a young girl with a gift or a curse.
“The Special One” by Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ. Very unsettling.
Readalikes: Clearly-- Miscreations: Gods, Monstrosities, & Other Horrors. Edited by Doug Murano and Michael Bailey.
This reminded me of Datlow's Echoes anthology from a few years ago. That was also all original [save I think 3] and had today's best authors doing their take on Ghost Stories.
Three Words That Describe This Book: Range of Scares, all original stories, well known authors
DRAFT REVIEW:
Much like she did in the award winning anthology Echoes for the ghost story, Datlow turns her focus to monsters, this time collecting original stories from 29 authors, like bestsellers Stephen Graham Jones and Joyce Carol Oates as well as emerging voices like Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ and Priya Sharma. The result, a book that lays down the gauntlet, redefining this classic and much beloved subgenre for a 21st Century audience with stories that actively explore the monsters that surround us, both supernatural and human. With so many talented authors represented, there is also a satisfyingly wide arc of writing styles, settings, type of monster, and range of fear induced from psychological dread to visceral terror to darkly humorous, with all stops in between. Two stories that stood out are Kaaron Warren’s "The Smell of Waiting,” a compelling and creepy tale of a young girl with a gift (or is it a curse?) and John Langan’s mesmerizing, "Bloedzuiger,” another one of his “fishing stories,” a tale that is both innocuously mundane and terrifyingly disturbing– all at once.
Verdict: This epic volume, with its impressive table of contents, will satisfy the hordes of readers looking for new takes on the monster trope and pairs nicely with the Bram Stoker nominated Miscreations: Gods, Monstrosities, & Other Horrors. Edited by Murano and Bailey.
Notes:
Stories that explore the monster trope by exploring the monsters we can be as humans.
No reprints. All original for this anthology. 29 stories-- and long. This is an Epic collection. Laying down the gauntlet of what the monster story is right now-- with many of today's best Horror voices.
My favorites: The John Langan Story-- "Bloedzuiger"-- somehow it is both mundane and disturbing, innocuous and terrifying. There is also humor-- It is another one of his "fishing stories."
Kaaron Warren, "The Smell of Waiting" a young girl with a gift or a curse.
“The Special One” by Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ. Very unsettling.
Readalikes: Clearly-- Miscreations: Gods, Monstrosities, & Other Horrors. Edited by Doug Murano and Michael Bailey.
This reminded me of Datlow's Echoes anthology from a few years ago. That was also all original [save I think 3] and had today's best authors doing their take on Ghost Stories.