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roguemedvsa's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
kirsty_reads_books's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
kaz_309's review
5.0
I really enjoyed this collection. A real range with some unsettling and scary stories, a couple I found funny, and a few that really moved me. The illustrations are good and add an extra gothic layer to the the experience.
claireak95's review
4.0
Very cool collection of stories. I listened to the audio and some of these narrators were much easier to understand than others to my American ears. The stories were varying levels of creepy and it was a good time. 3.5/5 stars.
fiendfull's review
4.0
Haunted Voices is a collection of spooky stories by Scotland's oral storytellers, in both text and audio format. The stories are short and varied, including some from archival recordings of past storytellers and others that are distinctly modern involving video shops and ghosts watching Love Island. The collection has a wide range of tales, all featuring gothic elements but with varying levels of terror and humour, and often a sense of locality and oral tradition.
Though the anthology has two elements, text and audio, it is difficult not to think of all of the pieces as how they'd be told out loud, even when reading the book. The variety of the collection makes it exciting to see what is coming next, and the short length of the stories means that readers could easily pick and choose which to read or listen to at what point. As someone who doesn't listen to audiobooks due to an inability to focus on them, I read the collection first, then went back and listened to some of the stories that had stuck with me, but I imagine that for a lot of people, it will be the audio version that is the real selling point, and the text more of a bonus extra. Some of my highlights were 'Soul Mates', a goth love story in a graveyard (there are a lot of graveyards in the collection, as you might expect), 'the possession', a tale of hungry ghosts and what they really want, and 'The Cravin', a comic yet thoughtful reimagining of Poe's 'The Raven'.
This collection features a range of stories, storytellers, and Scottish locations, really showcasing the fact that Gothic oral storytelling is alive and haunting. The audio version will definitely appeal to anyone who enjoys spooky podcasts and similar audio storytelling forms, and the text version is great for dipping in and out of due to the short length of the stories.
Though the anthology has two elements, text and audio, it is difficult not to think of all of the pieces as how they'd be told out loud, even when reading the book. The variety of the collection makes it exciting to see what is coming next, and the short length of the stories means that readers could easily pick and choose which to read or listen to at what point. As someone who doesn't listen to audiobooks due to an inability to focus on them, I read the collection first, then went back and listened to some of the stories that had stuck with me, but I imagine that for a lot of people, it will be the audio version that is the real selling point, and the text more of a bonus extra. Some of my highlights were 'Soul Mates', a goth love story in a graveyard (there are a lot of graveyards in the collection, as you might expect), 'the possession', a tale of hungry ghosts and what they really want, and 'The Cravin', a comic yet thoughtful reimagining of Poe's 'The Raven'.
This collection features a range of stories, storytellers, and Scottish locations, really showcasing the fact that Gothic oral storytelling is alive and haunting. The audio version will definitely appeal to anyone who enjoys spooky podcasts and similar audio storytelling forms, and the text version is great for dipping in and out of due to the short length of the stories.
coldlimebars's review
4.0
- get the audiobook
- 3.5 stars, rounded up because I listened to this while wandering through the streets of Edinburgh's Old Town at night
- I couldn't understand the narrator of "The Warlock of Robbie Ha" on account of his thick Scottish accent, but maybe that's just my poor listening comprehension
- 3.5 stars, rounded up because I listened to this while wandering through the streets of Edinburgh's Old Town at night
- I couldn't understand the narrator of "The Warlock of Robbie Ha" on account of his thick Scottish accent, but maybe that's just my poor listening comprehension
thegothiclibrary's review
5.0
Haunted Voices contains thirty-one stories, six of which come from archived recordings preserved by the University of Edinburgh’s School of Scottish Studies. These recordings date back to the ’70s and ’80s—and even one from the ’50s—and are told by highly regarded traditional storytellers. The archived recordings are interspersed between tales commissioned specifically for this volume by contemporary writers, poets, singers, voice actors, and spoken word artists. In the audiobook version, each writer reads their own story, alongside the original archived recordings. The archived tales have been transcribed for the ebook and paperback versions, and each story is accompanied by a spine-chilling illustration by Zuzanna Kwiecien. I highly recommend the audiobook for the most authentic oral storytelling experience, though if you have trouble parsing heavy Scottish accents, you may want to follow along with the ebook, as well. Most of the tales are quite short, making them perfect bite-sized pieces when you just need a little dose of horror.
See my full review: https://www.thegothiclibrary.com/review-of-haunted-voices-scottish-gothic/
See my full review: https://www.thegothiclibrary.com/review-of-haunted-voices-scottish-gothic/
joannam13's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0