Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

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

7 reviews

eficca33's review

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad 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

4.75

This collection of short stories was intense and brilliant. Please check TW for yourself before reading, but it's worth it!! Some of these stories will stay in my mind for months, I know it!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Racial slurs, Bullying, Chronic illness, Classism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, Death, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Trafficking, Violence, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Torture, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Animal death, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Death of parent, and Kidnapping

bookedandbusy's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? No

4.0

I really enjoyed this book! The stories were creepy and interesting and I loved the length of them! One story however made me VERY uncomfortable, hence four stars instead of 4.5/5 it was called “Sunday” other than that, I loved this book!! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Child abuse, Body horror, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Gun violence, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Colonisation

acepiary's review

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Racism, Hate crime, Death, Sexual violence, Blood, Animal death, Colonisation, Bullying, Murder, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Suicide, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Racial slurs, Cultural appropriation, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, and Body horror

justagir1's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Colonisation, Death, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Blood, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Sexual content, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Violence, Body horror, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Hate crime, Slavery, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, and Sexual violence

sydapel's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

I mean, from the incredible cover to all the new indigenous authors I have to check out, this was so worth the two month library wait. I feel like I better how appreciate horror and dark fiction uncover the nuances of our racist and colonialist mindsets. There's also so much storytelling and context these stories add to a wide range of Indigenous cultures. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Alcoholism, Drug use, Rape, Murder, Racism, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Physical abuse, Hate crime, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, and Violence

warlocksarecool21's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.75

This was a really interesting collection of Indigenous short stories. As with any anthology, it’s hard to rate because you personally like some more than others. I have a hard time with anything that’s super graphic/gory and has body horror, so any of the stories with those elements weren’t that good for me, and there were a number of them like that. However if that’s your thing in horror you might like those stories more. I particularly enjoyed the ones that were either ghost stories (especially Dead Owls by Mona Susan Power) and thrillers (“Collections” and “Navajo Don’t Wear Elk Teeth” really stood out to me). There were a few like “Heart Shaped Clock” and “Sundays” that I thought were really emotional or powerful but I don’t necessarily know what genre to put them in, as they didn’t fit any of the categories I listed above. Even though many of the stories weren’t for me, I really liked seeing different elements of Indigenous cultures and history and it’s worth a read just for that alone, even if you don’t like traditional horror that much. There’s a really broad range of stories here and I definitely found some new authors to explore. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Chronic illness, Classism, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Rape, Violence, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, and Cannibalism

caseythereader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

Thanks to Vintage Books for the free copy of this book.

- NEVER WHISTLE AT NIGHT is a collection of horror stories by Indigenous authors. The stories range from the supernatural to the psychological, and each left me chilled and unsettled.
- While many of these stories feature literal monsters, many are primarily about the horrors of humans and the many lasting nightmares of colonization.
- There are several well-known authors included here - Orange, Dimaline, Rice, Hobson, etc., and many that are new to me, including a few authors whose debuts are forthcoming. This is definitely a collection to check out if you want to see the future of Indigenous literature. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, Confinement, Cursing, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Car accident, Classism, Colonisation, Genocide, Gore, and Gun violence