A review by parksidereads
Screams From the Dark: 29 Tales of Monsters and the Monstrous by Ellen Datlow
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
If Ellen Datlow edited a phone book, I’d read it… cover to cover.
Seriously, Datlow is the Queen Midas of anthologies... Anything this woman touches is gold and 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤: 𝟐𝟗 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 is no exception.
Once again, Datlow masterfully weaves together a collection of stories that are all unique from each other but have a common thread linking each of the 29 stories together.
Monsters. It doesn’t matter how you define them, human or supernatural, they are what terrifies us to the core, what goes bump in the night, the reason so many of us horror fans stay up reading late into the night… and this collection will having you reading with the light on.
As with many anthologies there are strong stories that steal the spotlight, some that hold their own, and a few that fade into the background. These were my favorites:
𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝
A reality much like our own, but with a little more bite... Left me thirsty for more.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐰𝐚𝐲
Who’s really the monster, man or beast? I found myself holding my breath waiting to find out.
𝐖𝐞𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐧
Gemma has the amazing ability to create such vivid imagery I can see the story play out like a film in my head, every bloody second of it.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐉𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐲 𝐏𝐞𝐜𝐤
Jimmy’s a dipshit, Mrs. Y is my hero, and letting your child grow up is hard… Also, I fucking loved this story.
𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐩
As a mother I found this incredibly unsettling, yet like a deer in headlights, I couldn’t look away.
𝐒𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐏𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐨
What happens when a human monster meets a not so human monster or when a gardener meets a bird watcher?
𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥
I love that DeMeester’s writing style is unapologetically feminine. I devoured this story to the very end.
Thanks @tornightfire @netgalley for the ARC. 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 is available June 7, just in time for some delicious summer horror reading!
🗣 𝐷𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠?
#NetGalley #TorNighfire #EllenDatlow #ScreamsFromtheDark #ParksideReads
Seriously, Datlow is the Queen Midas of anthologies... Anything this woman touches is gold and 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤: 𝟐𝟗 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 is no exception.
Once again, Datlow masterfully weaves together a collection of stories that are all unique from each other but have a common thread linking each of the 29 stories together.
Monsters. It doesn’t matter how you define them, human or supernatural, they are what terrifies us to the core, what goes bump in the night, the reason so many of us horror fans stay up reading late into the night… and this collection will having you reading with the light on.
As with many anthologies there are strong stories that steal the spotlight, some that hold their own, and a few that fade into the background. These were my favorites:
𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝
A reality much like our own, but with a little more bite... Left me thirsty for more.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐰𝐚𝐲
Who’s really the monster, man or beast? I found myself holding my breath waiting to find out.
𝐖𝐞𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐧
Gemma has the amazing ability to create such vivid imagery I can see the story play out like a film in my head, every bloody second of it.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐉𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐲 𝐏𝐞𝐜𝐤
Jimmy’s a dipshit, Mrs. Y is my hero, and letting your child grow up is hard… Also, I fucking loved this story.
𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐩
As a mother I found this incredibly unsettling, yet like a deer in headlights, I couldn’t look away.
𝐒𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐏𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐨
What happens when a human monster meets a not so human monster or when a gardener meets a bird watcher?
𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥
I love that DeMeester’s writing style is unapologetically feminine. I devoured this story to the very end.
Thanks @tornightfire @netgalley for the ARC. 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 is available June 7, just in time for some delicious summer horror reading!
🗣 𝐷𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠?
#NetGalley #TorNighfire #EllenDatlow #ScreamsFromtheDark #ParksideReads