Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

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

14 reviews

bkwrm1317's review

dark emotional funny 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? It's complicated

4.5

I generally don’t enjoy short stories, but do like anthologies a bit more sometimes. I found so many new authors whose work I want to read here and thoroughly enjoyed near all of these dark fiction short stories. 

Please do note CWs as there are a number to be aware of, and that shift from story to story. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Pedophilia, Body horror, Colonisation, Racism, Abandonment, and Torture

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

bunkadunk5's review

Forced miscarriage in the second story of the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage and Xenophobia

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

tainolibrary's review

3.0

While some of the selections were exactly the kind of “ghost tales” inspired by (if not directly from) various Native cultures that I was anticipating, others fell short. They’re all well-written stories, don’t get me wrong, but some just felt out of place. I also don’t love the fact there weren’t any content warnings to be found in the book (I read a digital copy) and, yes, they’re very much needed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Excrement, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Vomit, Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Classism, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Murder, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, and Xenophobia

sakiido's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Stalking, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Bullying, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Car accident, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Death, Drug use, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Torture, Suicide, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual violence

ramakn22's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Grief, Genocide, Death, Cultural appropriation, Confinement, Body horror, Slavery, Gaslighting, Violence, Sexual assault, Hate crime, Gun violence, War, Racial slurs, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Murder, Rape, Alcoholism, Trafficking, Suicide, Racism, and Torture

moukinnokage's review

The second story absolutely BROKE me 😭 I wanted to read spooky horror like the Kushtuka, not reality. The book touches on some of the worst aspects of human history, including genocide, discrimination, and dehumanization. It is beautifully written overall. That said, I personally won’t finish it for my mental health.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Miscarriage, Racism, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, and Racial slurs

tshaff's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Abandonment, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Vomit, Pedophilia, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Cannibalism, Body horror, Blood, Murder, Torture, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Hate crime, Gore, and Racism

latashman's review

Each story is well written and I like that they all end with an opening for you to fill in the rest. I am not in the right headspace to finish it right now though. I'll try to come back to it at a different time. I was expecting stories that are more fantasy oriented, but in these stories modern people are the evil. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Colonisation, Racism, Violence, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, and Rape