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celjla212's review
4.0
This is a fine collection of scary short stories. While some offer more chills than others ( I wouldn’t read Nancy alone at night), they all had great twists and led to pretty cool conclusions.
My favorite story is probably Nancy by Darynda Jones. It’s the story of a high school girl who seems to be tormented by a poltergeist–but when a new girl in town tries to help her, she discovers a shocking secret. This story was rather scary…I DID read it late into the night and kept looking over my should to make sure nothing was there!
Another great one is I Love You, Charlie Pearson by Jacqueline Frank. As the story of a young boy who seems to have a very creepy crush on an older girl unfolds, you get squirmy and by the end you have your mouth open in shock…because the ending was definitely unexpected!
Dark Screams Volume 3 is a gathering of perfect little bites of fiction, and as you finish one story you’ll definitely be ready to move on to the next one. Reader beware!
My favorite story is probably Nancy by Darynda Jones. It’s the story of a high school girl who seems to be tormented by a poltergeist–but when a new girl in town tries to help her, she discovers a shocking secret. This story was rather scary…I DID read it late into the night and kept looking over my should to make sure nothing was there!
Another great one is I Love You, Charlie Pearson by Jacqueline Frank. As the story of a young boy who seems to have a very creepy crush on an older girl unfolds, you get squirmy and by the end you have your mouth open in shock…because the ending was definitely unexpected!
Dark Screams Volume 3 is a gathering of perfect little bites of fiction, and as you finish one story you’ll definitely be ready to move on to the next one. Reader beware!
mad_about_books's review
5.0
The third installment of the DARK SCREAMS anthology series offers up a variety of authors and tales to tantalize even the most jaded reader.
The Collected Short Stories of Freddie Prothero by Peter Straub
===============================================================
Peter Straub is generally considered to be a literary horror writer, and I generally agree with this sentiment. He begins this short with his usual aplomb with the preface to the collection that follows.
Group of Thirty by Jack Ketchum
===============================
Jack Ketchum is, without a doubt, one of my favorite writers. His command of language and his choice of subject matter are a chilling combination of horror and reality. He writes compelling psychological horror that often comes from the actual horrors human beings perpetuate on each other. "Group of Thirty" reads like it is a transcript of his own nightmare.
Nancy by Darynda Jones
======================
This is the first piece I've read by Darynda Jones, and I am impressed. I am hoping that her homages to well-known items in horror and speculative fiction were intentional, because they really gave the story a depth that I quite enjoy. You know that feeling that you're in with the in-crowd? I look forward to reading more just like this one.
I Love You Charlie Pearson by Jacqueline Frank
==============================================
Here is another new voice for me; I do so enjoy discovering writers that are new to me. There are those we love from afar and those we love right to their very core. The gamut of love and obsession gets a brand new twist here.
The Lone and Level Sands Stretch Far by Brian Hodge
===================================================
My first impression of this story was that it wasn't a horror story at all, then the horror of nihilism reared its subtle head by first disguising itself as minimalism. I may have said too much.
Although I am familiar with the name Brian Hodge, I haven't, as yet, read much of his work. There is nothing like a longish short story to whet one's appetite for more of the same. I do look forward to reading more by this author.
With the exception, perhaps, of the Peter Straub offering, which was not to my liking, I can surely recommend DARK SCREAMS: VOLUME 3 to the most discerning readers of both supernatural and psychological horror.
This review is based on the pre-release copy provided by NetGalley and Cemetery Dance in exchange for a review. Unfortunately, I was left off the initial reviewer list, so my review is offered after publication.
The Collected Short Stories of Freddie Prothero by Peter Straub
===============================================================
Peter Straub is generally considered to be a literary horror writer, and I generally agree with this sentiment. He begins this short with his usual aplomb with the preface to the collection that follows.
Group of Thirty by Jack Ketchum
===============================
Jack Ketchum is, without a doubt, one of my favorite writers. His command of language and his choice of subject matter are a chilling combination of horror and reality. He writes compelling psychological horror that often comes from the actual horrors human beings perpetuate on each other. "Group of Thirty" reads like it is a transcript of his own nightmare.
Nancy by Darynda Jones
======================
This is the first piece I've read by Darynda Jones, and I am impressed. I am hoping that her homages to well-known items in horror and speculative fiction were intentional, because they really gave the story a depth that I quite enjoy. You know that feeling that you're in with the in-crowd? I look forward to reading more just like this one.
I Love You Charlie Pearson by Jacqueline Frank
==============================================
Here is another new voice for me; I do so enjoy discovering writers that are new to me. There are those we love from afar and those we love right to their very core. The gamut of love and obsession gets a brand new twist here.
The Lone and Level Sands Stretch Far by Brian Hodge
===================================================
My first impression of this story was that it wasn't a horror story at all, then the horror of nihilism reared its subtle head by first disguising itself as minimalism. I may have said too much.
Although I am familiar with the name Brian Hodge, I haven't, as yet, read much of his work. There is nothing like a longish short story to whet one's appetite for more of the same. I do look forward to reading more by this author.
With the exception, perhaps, of the Peter Straub offering, which was not to my liking, I can surely recommend DARK SCREAMS: VOLUME 3 to the most discerning readers of both supernatural and psychological horror.
This review is based on the pre-release copy provided by NetGalley and Cemetery Dance in exchange for a review. Unfortunately, I was left off the initial reviewer list, so my review is offered after publication.
montes's review
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
daynpitseleh's review
1.0
I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I did not care too much for Dark Screams: Volume Two, but there were a few decent stories in it, so I decided to try Volume Three. Unfortunately, I did not really care for many of these stories at all. I enjoyed the last story the most, but unfortunately, I was disappointed in that story by its underwhelming ending.
I did not care too much for Dark Screams: Volume Two, but there were a few decent stories in it, so I decided to try Volume Three. Unfortunately, I did not really care for many of these stories at all. I enjoyed the last story the most, but unfortunately, I was disappointed in that story by its underwhelming ending.
macbean221b's review
4.0
I received DARK SCREAMS: VOLUME THREE as an ARC through NetGalley.com.
DARK SCREAMS: VOLUME THREE consists of five horror stories. As is almost always true with short story collections, these vary fairly widely in quality, but I still decided to round up my 3.5 stars to 4, because there was only one that I flat-out disliked, and the two that I liked the most sandwiched it and made me just about able to forget that I'd even read it at all.
The first story is THE COLLECTED SHORT STORIES OF FREDDIE PROTHERO by Peter Straub. This one is a little difficult because Freddie Prothero is a very young boy--three or four years old, I think, when he writes the first few 'stories' (each just a handful of sentences strung together), and still only eight at the time of the final one. As such, the reader has to do a fair amount of translating. But if you can read dialects and if you pay attention to the introduction section of the overall piece, you shouldn't have much trouble, and the end result is awfully creepy.
Second is GROUP OF THIRTY by Jack Ketchum, about a horror writer who gets invited to a scifi book club's gathering for a Halloween-themed meeting and ends up in a very different situation than he expected. I have to admit, I'm not much of a Jack Ketchum fan, so I expected to be at least bored and maybe as much as disgusted with this story. Instead, I found it interesting, if fairly predictable, and the last sentence made me smile.
The middle story in this volume of DARK SCREAMS is NANCY by Darynda Jones, wherein the new girl in the "most haunted town in the United States" gets caught up in trying to solve the school outcast's ghost problem. There were elements of this that I wasn't super fond of, but overall it felt...comfortable. The kind of story I can snuggle up with my puppy and read in the dark, feeling anxious during it but fine after the ending. It's one of my two favorites in this collection.
Next is I LOVE YOU, CHARLIE PEARSON by Jacquelyn Frank, in which Charlie Pearson is a really creepy stalker, made even creepier by the fact that the story is told from his point of view and he sees his actions as natural and/or romantic. Despite the twist ending, I was just too turned off by the obsessive/murderous stalker thing to enjoy it at all. Eurgh. *shudders*
The last story in this volume of DARK SCREAMS is THE LONE AND LEVEL SANDS STRETCH FAR AWAY by Brian Hodge. This one just struck a chord very close to my heart, which I did not expect at all, since it's framed and summarised as a story about a marriage, which is...not really my thing at all. But I identified strongly with new neighbor Marni's fascination with death and decay and ruins. Her whole attitude toward the world really grabbed my attention, and the changes in Aidan as he got to know her better reminded me of my younger self. And I found the ending bleak in an oddly comforting way.
DARK SCREAMS: VOLUME THREE consists of five horror stories. As is almost always true with short story collections, these vary fairly widely in quality, but I still decided to round up my 3.5 stars to 4, because there was only one that I flat-out disliked, and the two that I liked the most sandwiched it and made me just about able to forget that I'd even read it at all.
The first story is THE COLLECTED SHORT STORIES OF FREDDIE PROTHERO by Peter Straub. This one is a little difficult because Freddie Prothero is a very young boy--three or four years old, I think, when he writes the first few 'stories' (each just a handful of sentences strung together), and still only eight at the time of the final one. As such, the reader has to do a fair amount of translating. But if you can read dialects and if you pay attention to the introduction section of the overall piece, you shouldn't have much trouble, and the end result is awfully creepy.
Second is GROUP OF THIRTY by Jack Ketchum, about a horror writer who gets invited to a scifi book club's gathering for a Halloween-themed meeting and ends up in a very different situation than he expected. I have to admit, I'm not much of a Jack Ketchum fan, so I expected to be at least bored and maybe as much as disgusted with this story. Instead, I found it interesting, if fairly predictable, and the last sentence made me smile.
The middle story in this volume of DARK SCREAMS is NANCY by Darynda Jones, wherein the new girl in the "most haunted town in the United States" gets caught up in trying to solve the school outcast's ghost problem. There were elements of this that I wasn't super fond of, but overall it felt...comfortable. The kind of story I can snuggle up with my puppy and read in the dark, feeling anxious during it but fine after the ending. It's one of my two favorites in this collection.
Next is I LOVE YOU, CHARLIE PEARSON by Jacquelyn Frank, in which Charlie Pearson is a really creepy stalker, made even creepier by the fact that the story is told from his point of view and he sees his actions as natural and/or romantic. Despite the twist ending, I was just too turned off by the obsessive/murderous stalker thing to enjoy it at all. Eurgh. *shudders*
The last story in this volume of DARK SCREAMS is THE LONE AND LEVEL SANDS STRETCH FAR AWAY by Brian Hodge. This one just struck a chord very close to my heart, which I did not expect at all, since it's framed and summarised as a story about a marriage, which is...not really my thing at all. But I identified strongly with new neighbor Marni's fascination with death and decay and ruins. Her whole attitude toward the world really grabbed my attention, and the changes in Aidan as he got to know her better reminded me of my younger self. And I found the ending bleak in an oddly comforting way.
beckylej's review
3.0
In Dark Screams volume 4, the editors bring together more thrills and chills with a super fun mix of horror big wigs and two ladies who are best known for their paranormal tales! They do hold their own quite well, I have to say! Here's the full TOC:
Peter Straub: The Collected Short Stories of Freddie Prothero
Jack Ketchum: Group of Thirty
Darynda Jones: Nancy
Jacquelyn Frank: I Love You, Charlie Pearson
Brian Hodge: The Lone One and Leven Sands Stretch
Straub's tale of a boy who seemingly foretells his own death first appeared in the 2013 Cemetery Dance collection, Turn Down the Lights. The remaining stories are all brand spanking new to the collection. Ketchum's piece is about an author who comes head to head with a strange set of fans (hopefully this one isn't the least bit autobiographical!) while Darynda Jones gives us a fabulous ghost story. Frank's "Charlie Pearson" is a twisted tale of love and obsession, and Hodge forces us to consider whether urban decay might be catching.
Brian Hodge and Darynda Jones take the top spots in this one for me. Seriously, ghosts and the end of the world? I'm down for that!
Peter Straub: The Collected Short Stories of Freddie Prothero
Jack Ketchum: Group of Thirty
Darynda Jones: Nancy
Jacquelyn Frank: I Love You, Charlie Pearson
Brian Hodge: The Lone One and Leven Sands Stretch
Straub's tale of a boy who seemingly foretells his own death first appeared in the 2013 Cemetery Dance collection, Turn Down the Lights. The remaining stories are all brand spanking new to the collection. Ketchum's piece is about an author who comes head to head with a strange set of fans (hopefully this one isn't the least bit autobiographical!) while Darynda Jones gives us a fabulous ghost story. Frank's "Charlie Pearson" is a twisted tale of love and obsession, and Hodge forces us to consider whether urban decay might be catching.
Brian Hodge and Darynda Jones take the top spots in this one for me. Seriously, ghosts and the end of the world? I'm down for that!
oneandonlywm3's review
2.0
I got a copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Holy shit Dark Screams keeps getting worse every volume. I just remembered that I didn't even finish the second one because it was so bad. I apparently requested for the fourth volume. I'm really hoping it would turn out better than this. I don't think I'll ever finish the second volume though, it was just so boring.
There are 5 short stories here. I gave two of them a 4, one of them a 3, and the other 2 a 1 star rating. The first short story was awful as fuck. I can consider it as the worst short story I have ever read. I know the author tried to be witty by using a weird ass language, but it didn't work for me. It was too fucking annoying to begin with. I can't believe Peter Straub wrote that piece of crap. I heard amazing things about him, but that short story was just garbage.
I gave Group of Thirty and I Love You, Charlie Pearson a 4 star rating. Both were really good and had a good set of characters. The first one had a creepy vibe to it, but the ending made it lose one star. ILCP was typical young-adult scare. The plot was simple and the ending was not that bad. Both stories made me bump the 1 star rating to 1.5, nicely rounded up to 2.
Short review because I don't want to seem to rant about how much I hate this. Let's keep it short, this was a weak volume. Nothing compared to the first one.
1.5/5 stars. I'm giving the series one last chance with vol.4. I'm not sure if there will be succeeding volumes, but if the fourth one sucks, then it's goodbye to the series in general.
Holy shit Dark Screams keeps getting worse every volume. I just remembered that I didn't even finish the second one because it was so bad. I apparently requested for the fourth volume. I'm really hoping it would turn out better than this. I don't think I'll ever finish the second volume though, it was just so boring.
There are 5 short stories here. I gave two of them a 4, one of them a 3, and the other 2 a 1 star rating. The first short story was awful as fuck. I can consider it as the worst short story I have ever read. I know the author tried to be witty by using a weird ass language, but it didn't work for me. It was too fucking annoying to begin with. I can't believe Peter Straub wrote that piece of crap. I heard amazing things about him, but that short story was just garbage.
I gave Group of Thirty and I Love You, Charlie Pearson a 4 star rating. Both were really good and had a good set of characters. The first one had a creepy vibe to it, but the ending made it lose one star. ILCP was typical young-adult scare. The plot was simple and the ending was not that bad. Both stories made me bump the 1 star rating to 1.5, nicely rounded up to 2.
Short review because I don't want to seem to rant about how much I hate this. Let's keep it short, this was a weak volume. Nothing compared to the first one.
1.5/5 stars. I'm giving the series one last chance with vol.4. I'm not sure if there will be succeeding volumes, but if the fourth one sucks, then it's goodbye to the series in general.
charshorrorcorner's review
3.0
I received an email from this publisher, inviting me to Net Galley to download this book. Since I read the first two volumes and enjoyed them, I hopped right over to NG and downloaded this bad boy. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped.
The Collected Short Stories of Freddie Prothero by Peter Straub: I love Peter Straub or perhaps I should say I lurve him? Ghost Story was my favorite book for over two decades. But the story in this collection? I couldn't make heads or tails of it. It reminded me of Flowers for Algernon, but at least in that book, I could make out what was being said. What use is a story if you can't even read it? 2*
Group of Thirty by Jack Ketchum:
I love Jack Ketchum too, though his books often contain difficult subject matter. This was rather tame for Ketchum. I enjoyed it, but it didn't knock my socks off. 3.5*
Nancy by Darynda Jones: I thought this one started out good, but the ending was too pat and deus ex machina-y for me. 3*
I Love You Charlie Pearson by Jaquelyn Frank: I liked this one quite a bit-a boy stalking a girl until she turns the tables. (It's been done before, but I still enjoyed it.) 4*
The Lone and Level Sands Stretch Far Away by Brian Hodge: I love Brian Hodge and I enjoyed this story of urban explorers and ugly discoveries. I'm not sure if I'm imagining it, because I haven't seen anyone else mention it, but I believe this story has some connection to Whom the Gods Would Destroy. As a big fan of cosmic horror, which is what I choose to think this story is about, I gave it 4*.
I averaged out the 5 stories and came up with a 3 star rating. I found this collection slightly disappointing considering the heavy hitting authors contained within. However, I 'll happily check out volume 4, mostly because I'm afraid I'll miss something great!
Overall this is a decent collection of stories, but I can't give it my full recommendation.
*I received this book free from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. This is it.*
The Collected Short Stories of Freddie Prothero by Peter Straub: I love Peter Straub or perhaps I should say I lurve him? Ghost Story was my favorite book for over two decades. But the story in this collection? I couldn't make heads or tails of it. It reminded me of Flowers for Algernon, but at least in that book, I could make out what was being said. What use is a story if you can't even read it? 2*
Group of Thirty by Jack Ketchum:
I love Jack Ketchum too, though his books often contain difficult subject matter. This was rather tame for Ketchum. I enjoyed it, but it didn't knock my socks off. 3.5*
Nancy by Darynda Jones: I thought this one started out good, but the ending was too pat and deus ex machina-y for me. 3*
I Love You Charlie Pearson by Jaquelyn Frank: I liked this one quite a bit-a boy stalking a girl until she turns the tables. (It's been done before, but I still enjoyed it.) 4*
The Lone and Level Sands Stretch Far Away by Brian Hodge: I love Brian Hodge and I enjoyed this story of urban explorers and ugly discoveries. I'm not sure if I'm imagining it, because I haven't seen anyone else mention it, but I believe this story has some connection to Whom the Gods Would Destroy. As a big fan of cosmic horror, which is what I choose to think this story is about, I gave it 4*.
I averaged out the 5 stories and came up with a 3 star rating. I found this collection slightly disappointing considering the heavy hitting authors contained within. However, I 'll happily check out volume 4, mostly because I'm afraid I'll miss something great!
Overall this is a decent collection of stories, but I can't give it my full recommendation.
*I received this book free from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. This is it.*
mikekaz's review
3.0
Editors Brian James Freeman and Richard Chizmar continue doing an excellent job with the Dark Screams anthologies. Volume 3 pulls together stories from another five big-name authors. Or at least I think they are big names; Darynda Jones and Jacquelyn Frank are the two authors from this collection that I hadn't read previously. Similar to Shawntelle Madison from DARK SCREAMS: VOLUME 2, both Jones and Frank are associated with paranormal romance books, a category which I don't normally read. Unfortunately I found this volume to be the weakest of the three Dark Screams collections. Part of that was probably due to my expectations. I had high hopes for Straub, Ketchum and Hodge since each of them have written novels that I absolutely loved! Their contributions here didn't match to the levels I desired from them. As with the previous volumes, here are my comments on each story, going from least to most favorite.
"The Collected Short Stories of Freddie Prothero" by Peter Straub - I think that my problem with this story was with the method that it was told. The story involves experts writing about the stories of Freddie Prothero, a young child who writes about his life and a scary encounter. Since the story unfolds from the point of view of objective reviewers, I was never pulled into the story. Maybe I would have been if the events occurred linearly. I also couldn't tell if the buildup of Freddie's ability as an author was satire or serious. After the reviews, the story continues with Freddie's stories. Unfortunately since Freddie was still a child when he disappeared, the stories are written in a juvenile way: another barrier to becoming emotionally vested in the story. And then the stories themselves did nothing for me.
"I Love You, Charlie Pearson" by Jacquelyn Frank - While a good story that definitely engaged me, the ending undid the previous efforts. I was able to get into Charlie's mind and see how it was unhinged. And I enjoyed the path through the story and what was happening. But the ending became too cliché. It was kind of a Twilight Zone ending but it was also too much from left field to keep the mood going. Think Twilight Zone but with a Tales From the Darkside ending.
"Group of Thirty" by Jack Ketchum - When reading a story that focuses on an author, there is a natural inclination to wonder how much the story mirrors the real author's life. Fortunately other than the initial setup for the character, there is little commonality between Jack Ketchum and his character Jonathan Daniels, at least little commonality that I am aware of. Anyway, Daniels gets pulled into meeting the Essex County Science Fiction Group and ends up with a confrontation that had to be as much fun to write as it was to read. It was very easy to imagine and real to picture.
"Nancy" by Darynda Jones - This story was able to beat out the others not just because it was easy to picture and the real characters but there was also a degree of fun to the story. Not the same type of fun from a Jeff Strand book but instead the fun of watching different clichés get spun on their heads. Stereotypes are used to help set up the story and then they are spun around, making the story even more fun. And it's not until you finish that you realize that another stereotype was being set up just to be spun around 180 degrees also. This could have easily ended up being boring but instead was a joy to read.
"The Lone and Level Sands Stretch Far Away" by Brian Hodge - As the longest story in this collection, it benefited by having characters become three dimensional. More was happening to them than just the events in the story. We can feel the tedium build in the main characters' marriage. Then Aidan gets to learn something new and enjoy a new spark in his life. The problem? His wife Tara is not there with him. Not a problem by itself but it is enough to create a wedge in their marriage. The supernatural element in the story is kept to a minimum but considering the drama unfolding amongst the characters, it was the perfect amount.
"The Collected Short Stories of Freddie Prothero" by Peter Straub - I think that my problem with this story was with the method that it was told. The story involves experts writing about the stories of Freddie Prothero, a young child who writes about his life and a scary encounter. Since the story unfolds from the point of view of objective reviewers, I was never pulled into the story. Maybe I would have been if the events occurred linearly. I also couldn't tell if the buildup of Freddie's ability as an author was satire or serious. After the reviews, the story continues with Freddie's stories. Unfortunately since Freddie was still a child when he disappeared, the stories are written in a juvenile way: another barrier to becoming emotionally vested in the story. And then the stories themselves did nothing for me.
"I Love You, Charlie Pearson" by Jacquelyn Frank - While a good story that definitely engaged me, the ending undid the previous efforts. I was able to get into Charlie's mind and see how it was unhinged. And I enjoyed the path through the story and what was happening. But the ending became too cliché. It was kind of a Twilight Zone ending but it was also too much from left field to keep the mood going. Think Twilight Zone but with a Tales From the Darkside ending.
"Group of Thirty" by Jack Ketchum - When reading a story that focuses on an author, there is a natural inclination to wonder how much the story mirrors the real author's life. Fortunately other than the initial setup for the character, there is little commonality between Jack Ketchum and his character Jonathan Daniels, at least little commonality that I am aware of. Anyway, Daniels gets pulled into meeting the Essex County Science Fiction Group and ends up with a confrontation that had to be as much fun to write as it was to read. It was very easy to imagine and real to picture.
"Nancy" by Darynda Jones - This story was able to beat out the others not just because it was easy to picture and the real characters but there was also a degree of fun to the story. Not the same type of fun from a Jeff Strand book but instead the fun of watching different clichés get spun on their heads. Stereotypes are used to help set up the story and then they are spun around, making the story even more fun. And it's not until you finish that you realize that another stereotype was being set up just to be spun around 180 degrees also. This could have easily ended up being boring but instead was a joy to read.
"The Lone and Level Sands Stretch Far Away" by Brian Hodge - As the longest story in this collection, it benefited by having characters become three dimensional. More was happening to them than just the events in the story. We can feel the tedium build in the main characters' marriage. Then Aidan gets to learn something new and enjoy a new spark in his life. The problem? His wife Tara is not there with him. Not a problem by itself but it is enough to create a wedge in their marriage. The supernatural element in the story is kept to a minimum but considering the drama unfolding amongst the characters, it was the perfect amount.