Reviews tagging 'Death'

Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology by Shane Hawk, Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.

56 reviews

cartermon4's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Death

Moderate: Torture, Violence, Sexual content, Blood, Sexual assault, and Colonisation

cerasaurusrex's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Hate crime, Mental illness, Murder, Abortion, Addiction, Cannibalism, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Body horror, Bullying, Colonisation, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Racial slurs, Racism, Drug abuse, Gore, Grief, and Violence

melshoo's review

challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

I don’t feel that I can give a numeric rating to this book because the things I disliked are pretty inherent to the horror genre, such as body horror and violence. Very unsettling, especially with the undertones of racial violence and history included.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, and Body horror

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Stalking, Colonisation, Murder, Mental illness, and Sexual assault

Minor: Child death and Death of parent

annamorgan27's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Murder, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Gore, Racism, Racial slurs, Torture, and Violence

hillcm91's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

3.75

some of these were 4.5-5 starts and others were 2-2.5 so I'm averaging my rating to be somewhere in the middle.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Abortion, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Violence, Racial slurs, Pedophilia, Grief, Rape, and Homophobia

poisoned_icecream's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Classism, Physical abuse, Suicide, Genocide, Religious bigotry, Body horror, Child abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Violence, Alcohol, Colonisation, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Child death, Death, and Homophobia

menglert's review against another edition

dark mysterious

4.5

I often have a tough time getting into short story collections just because there isn't the intrigue of a continuous plot line to make me keep reading -- this is anthology was great though. I really enjoyed the length of each story and the order that they were in. I have a very specific brand of horror I like to read (creepy, mysterious, haunting) and most of the stories in this collection really scratched that itch for me. 

Please note that my list of content warnings is not exhaustive. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Colonisation, Death, Racism, and Xenophobia

smokeandwires's review

dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

It's hard to give an overall review for an anthology. Some stories were better than others, but lots of different types of horror are represented here, so there will be at least a few stories that any reader could enjoy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Racism, and Child abuse

Moderate: Violence, Alcohol, Rape, Death, Gore, and Mental illness

blchabot's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

A fantastic compilation of Indigenous stories told by Indigenous people. There is a harrowing sense of realism in each of the stories within this anthology, proof that culturally significant narratives are best told through the eyes and mouths of those who have lived it. Definitely a top read for 2024

As someone who loves myth, folklore and sharing scary stories around a campfire, I was enthralled with  the concept of so many different "scary stories" told by Indigenous writers.

"Never Whistle at Night" is a compilation of 26 stories exploring dark themes that really highlights the incredible significance of storytelling for all Indigenous people.

Each story tackles a uniquely dark and harrowing topic ranging from the obvious topics of racism, colonialism, residential schools and the effect of generational trauma, NWAN touches Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, blood quantum and Indigenous monsters like the Kusktuka.

Some of my favourites included:

· Navajos don't wear Elk Teeth by @conleylyons
A man moves into a new neighbourhood and finds himself in a strange relationship with a very forward man who keeps an even stranger collection.

· Tick Talk by Cherie Dimaline
A man goes on a hunting trip after losing his father only to end up with a little passenger who won't quite go away.

· Snakes are Born in the Dark by D.H. Trujillo
A spelunking trip to see protected Indigenous cave painting goes horribly wrong when a white man chooses to engage in casual racism.

In order to engage in the cultural act of oral storytelling, I listened to this on audible. I highly recommend it, so you too can truly experience these stories.

There is an emotional difference when you hear stories written by the likes of Cherie Dimaline, DH Trujillo and Rebecca Roanhorse read by incredible narrators like @ghostkeepermusic @kaniehtiio @thesheldonelter that really puts you in the story.

I had so many visceral emotions when contemplating the things left unsaid at the end of each of the short stories but the most terrifying part was how monstrous humanity has, and continues to be towards the Indigenous Community. The acknowledgments, read by editors shane.hawk and @tvayyyy said it best:

It's something else to be a monster made man, in a world of man made monsters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Grief, Blood, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Racism, Violence, Addiction, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Body horror, Child death, and Classism

Residential Schools

paintedanna's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Each chapter was its own little horror story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Child death, Murder, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Genocide, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Sexual harassment, Blood, Vomit, Transphobia, and Death