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mialeyden's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars average. Like in every anthology, some stories are stronger, but this one has a good selection. My favourite was "Manufactured God" by P.L. McMillan and my other highlights were "Suspended in Light" by Alex Wolfgang, "Possess and Serve" by Christopher O'Halloran and "A Fistful of Murder" by Lindsey Ragsdale.
nikki_in_niagara's review
3.0
This anthology of mostly indie horror authors offers a wide variety of stories. Each story ends with a small blurb about the author which I appreciate in anthologies. There was also a wide variety of quality to the stories. There were a couple of excellent stories, a couple of duds, and the majority were good.
1. A Casual Encounter by Quinn Fern - A man and woman hook up in a motel after meeting online. Somewhat predictable but interesting. (3/5)
2. The Pigeon Lied by JW Donley - A young man works a lowly job for the Hell-adjacent Underworld. He gets mixed up with the Lords of certain houses and violence ensues with goons and demons. Fun (4/5)
3. Manufactured God by PL McMillan - It's the far future, Earth has suffered a Catalyst, and some anthropology students have landed to investigate a fissure. As they enter they find rooms full of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. Very good. Entertaining, fast-paced, and a bit gory. (5/5)
4. Red Punch Buggy by BOB Jenkin - A man rear-ends a VW Bug and has to escape the driver. Didn't like this one. The dialogue was bad. (2/5)
5. She's Taken Away by Shane Hawk - We read a transcription from the good twin. Predictable. (2/5)
6. Suspended in Light by Alex Wolfgang - A film student spends a Saturday watching 1920s donated reels and her life is changed forever. This was fantastic and extremely creepy. (5/5)
7. Gooseberry Bramble by Solomon Forse - A boy is warned not to go near the gooseberry bramble but, of course, he does. Pretty much predictable and is written in a style I can't stand, the narrative entirely in dialect. (2/5)
8. Clement & Sons by Joe Radkins - A woman moves into an old house and finds a beautiful grandfather clock still there. Good build up but the ending has no explanation. (3/5)
9. Possess and Serve by Christopher O'Halloran - It's a world where officers go into the bodies of those in danger and try to save life-threatening situations. One such officer is behind stolen jewellery and much more. Great premise, well well-written, and exciting story. (5/5)
10. Duplicitous Wings by Amanda Nevada Demel - A young witch conjures a spell to right the injustice of her father's will. Straightforward story. Ok read. (3/5)
11. It Gets In Your Eyes by Joseph Andre Thomas - A woman gets an increasingly worse eye problem but drs can find nothing wrong. Great body horror and anything to do with eyes creep me out. (4/5)
12. Red and the Beast by Thea Maeve - A retelling of a Red Riding Hood And Beauty and the Beast mashup. A dark romantasy which is not my thing at all. Decent story for what it was. (3/5)
13. The Intruder by Justin Full - A man finds himself having angry thoughts on his way home from work to see his apartment door is open. The writing style is hard to read and the story doesn't exactly make sense. (2/5)
14. Sprout by M David Clarkson - We read as a man is transformed into something else between the story of how he got there. Great body horror. Creepy. (4/5)
15. Junco Creek by SE Denton - After a woman's separation, she and her son go to a cabin in the woods to heal their relationship. They meet a dark mysterious man there. Entertaining. It is predictable though so just ok. (3/5)
16. A Fistful of Murder by Lindsey Ragsdale - A man receives a ten-dollar bill with "KILL" written on it. He gets an immediate urge to kill and steps on an ant. Things get worse from there. Short and sweet. (3/5)
1. A Casual Encounter by Quinn Fern - A man and woman hook up in a motel after meeting online. Somewhat predictable but interesting. (3/5)
2. The Pigeon Lied by JW Donley - A young man works a lowly job for the Hell-adjacent Underworld. He gets mixed up with the Lords of certain houses and violence ensues with goons and demons. Fun (4/5)
3. Manufactured God by PL McMillan - It's the far future, Earth has suffered a Catalyst, and some anthropology students have landed to investigate a fissure. As they enter they find rooms full of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. Very good. Entertaining, fast-paced, and a bit gory. (5/5)
4. Red Punch Buggy by BOB Jenkin - A man rear-ends a VW Bug and has to escape the driver. Didn't like this one. The dialogue was bad. (2/5)
5. She's Taken Away by Shane Hawk - We read a transcription from the good twin. Predictable. (2/5)
6. Suspended in Light by Alex Wolfgang - A film student spends a Saturday watching 1920s donated reels and her life is changed forever. This was fantastic and extremely creepy. (5/5)
7. Gooseberry Bramble by Solomon Forse - A boy is warned not to go near the gooseberry bramble but, of course, he does. Pretty much predictable and is written in a style I can't stand, the narrative entirely in dialect. (2/5)
8. Clement & Sons by Joe Radkins - A woman moves into an old house and finds a beautiful grandfather clock still there. Good build up but the ending has no explanation. (3/5)
9. Possess and Serve by Christopher O'Halloran - It's a world where officers go into the bodies of those in danger and try to save life-threatening situations. One such officer is behind stolen jewellery and much more. Great premise, well well-written, and exciting story. (5/5)
10. Duplicitous Wings by Amanda Nevada Demel - A young witch conjures a spell to right the injustice of her father's will. Straightforward story. Ok read. (3/5)
11. It Gets In Your Eyes by Joseph Andre Thomas - A woman gets an increasingly worse eye problem but drs can find nothing wrong. Great body horror and anything to do with eyes creep me out. (4/5)
12. Red and the Beast by Thea Maeve - A retelling of a Red Riding Hood And Beauty and the Beast mashup. A dark romantasy which is not my thing at all. Decent story for what it was. (3/5)
13. The Intruder by Justin Full - A man finds himself having angry thoughts on his way home from work to see his apartment door is open. The writing style is hard to read and the story doesn't exactly make sense. (2/5)
14. Sprout by M David Clarkson - We read as a man is transformed into something else between the story of how he got there. Great body horror. Creepy. (4/5)
15. Junco Creek by SE Denton - After a woman's separation, she and her son go to a cabin in the woods to heal their relationship. They meet a dark mysterious man there. Entertaining. It is predictable though so just ok. (3/5)
16. A Fistful of Murder by Lindsey Ragsdale - A man receives a ten-dollar bill with "KILL" written on it. He gets an immediate urge to kill and steps on an ant. Things get worse from there. Short and sweet. (3/5)
amy_da1sy's review
4.0
This collection of horror stories are really good and diverse. I really enjoyed these.
reads_vicariously's review
4.0
This anthology is great because not only did it introduce me to a bunch of new authors, but it introduced me to the HOWL Society (the "Horror-Obsessed Writing and Literature" society) which I'm very excited to learn more about - and maybe join one day??
Man, what a fun collection of stories! There is so much variety presented here (body horror, sci-fi horror, folklore, occult/cults, cosmic horror, hilarious horror, demons, monsters, evil twins, etc). Seriously, there's definitely something for everyone here - and luckily for me almost all of it worked! It just seemed like everyone involved had a great time writing these twisted tales, and their enthusiasm and creativity spills from the pages.
And speaking of the writers, it was awesome getting to meet a huge cast of new (to me) authors! Lots of talent here for sure. Oh, and several of the authors also provide illustrations for the stories which were so cool! Like I said, lots of talent.
I really did enjoy most of these stories, but some stand out ones for me were:
"Manufactured Gods" by P.L. McMillan - an epic blend of sci-fi horror, tech horror, and Egyptian mythology where a group of scientists go to explore the ruins of Earth and find a truly unsettling monster deep below ground.
"Red Punch Buggy" by B.O.B. Jenkin - at first read I found it to be a funny and disturbing little tale, but it has since burrowed into my brain and I can't stop thinking about it. Much like Scott Cole's Crazytimes, it uses humor mixed with shocking violence to wonderful effect.
"A Fistful of Murder" by Lindsey Ragsdale - a story about a man who finds a dollar bill with the word KILL written on it, and every time he looks at it he is forced to do just that. It's a simple idea but structured and played out beautifully.
"Suspended in Light" by Alex Wolfgang - another one that got under my skin and I can't stop thinking about. Creepy story of a women reviewing old film reels and unleashing a haunting force. I didn't fully understand the ending, but I enjoyed the ride.
Man, what a fun collection of stories! There is so much variety presented here (body horror, sci-fi horror, folklore, occult/cults, cosmic horror, hilarious horror, demons, monsters, evil twins, etc). Seriously, there's definitely something for everyone here - and luckily for me almost all of it worked! It just seemed like everyone involved had a great time writing these twisted tales, and their enthusiasm and creativity spills from the pages.
And speaking of the writers, it was awesome getting to meet a huge cast of new (to me) authors! Lots of talent here for sure. Oh, and several of the authors also provide illustrations for the stories which were so cool! Like I said, lots of talent.
I really did enjoy most of these stories, but some stand out ones for me were:
"Manufactured Gods" by P.L. McMillan - an epic blend of sci-fi horror, tech horror, and Egyptian mythology where a group of scientists go to explore the ruins of Earth and find a truly unsettling monster deep below ground.
"Red Punch Buggy" by B.O.B. Jenkin - at first read I found it to be a funny and disturbing little tale, but it has since burrowed into my brain and I can't stop thinking about it. Much like Scott Cole's Crazytimes, it uses humor mixed with shocking violence to wonderful effect.
"A Fistful of Murder" by Lindsey Ragsdale - a story about a man who finds a dollar bill with the word KILL written on it, and every time he looks at it he is forced to do just that. It's a simple idea but structured and played out beautifully.
"Suspended in Light" by Alex Wolfgang - another one that got under my skin and I can't stop thinking about. Creepy story of a women reviewing old film reels and unleashing a haunting force. I didn't fully understand the ending, but I enjoyed the ride.
elicevw's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
calebstephensauthor's review
5.0
It's quite simply a top-notch horror anthology, of which there are too few. Pick it up. You won't be disappointed.
mx_manda's review
dark
emotional
funny
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
3.5
A solid collection of diverse horror stories. Some much better written and executed than others.
The ones I enjoyed the most were It gets In Your Eyes, A Casual Encounter, and She’s Taken Away. I also really enjoyed Red and the Beast, but I’m not sure I agree that it’s a horror story and belonged in this collection. A dark, queer fairytale, for sure, and it would be a lovely expanded story as a novella.
Thought this volume could benefit from content warnings for each story in the back of the book, for those who may need them. I know I would have appreciated a heads up on a couple that were more heinously fatphobic than I expect when reading any kind of literature.
The ones I enjoyed the most were It gets In Your Eyes, A Casual Encounter, and She’s Taken Away. I also really enjoyed Red and the Beast, but I’m not sure I agree that it’s a horror story and belonged in this collection. A dark, queer fairytale, for sure, and it would be a lovely expanded story as a novella.
Thought this volume could benefit from content warnings for each story in the back of the book, for those who may need them. I know I would have appreciated a heads up on a couple that were more heinously fatphobic than I expect when reading any kind of literature.
paperwitches's review
4.0
This book is full of great stories by very talented authors, it’s Lovecraftian influences were very satisfying to a huge nerd like me - and I especially was a fan of Gooseberry Bramble and Suspended in Light - both of which gave me a very rare scare.
Based on the author this book is a mix of serious and lighthearted, some stories are very detailed and long - others are only a couple pages hence the first story, which was one of my favorites as well. I was interested in most of these plots, but not all are pulled off. I believe this book is mostly fun and entertaining, but it can be hit or miss. It has moments of true spookiness though, which is extremely rare! I felt honestly bothered by the idea of a child being trapped in a Berry, and popped between someone’s teeth.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me review this arc, I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Based on the author this book is a mix of serious and lighthearted, some stories are very detailed and long - others are only a couple pages hence the first story, which was one of my favorites as well. I was interested in most of these plots, but not all are pulled off. I believe this book is mostly fun and entertaining, but it can be hit or miss. It has moments of true spookiness though, which is extremely rare! I felt honestly bothered by the idea of a child being trapped in a Berry, and popped between someone’s teeth.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me review this arc, I thoroughly enjoyed it!
jdkauthor's review
5.0
Originally posted over at my personal blog site, Night Terror Novels
“The loop of punishing time spinning eternally, degrading what remained of her until there was nothing left. The weight of infinity pressed down on her – the past, present, and future pulling in all directions at once. In an entropic universe, there is no restoration without destruction, no give without take.”
– Alex Wolfgang, Suspended in Light
“The loop of punishing time spinning eternally, degrading what remained of her until there was nothing left. The weight of infinity pressed down on her – the past, present, and future pulling in all directions at once. In an entropic universe, there is no restoration without destruction, no give without take.”
– Alex Wolfgang, Suspended in Light