Reviews with content warning for Abortion - Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology

never whistle at night is an anthology of indigenous dark fiction, containing 26 stories from writers across a variety of tribes and areas. i dont read a lot of horror, so this was branching outside of my normal fiction genres, and reading bipoc horror is different than white horror because there are additional layers of horrors and things to fear for us.the stories in this collection tell tales of monsters, nightmares, bodies, bugs, of colonization and retribution. i didn’t give it a full five stars because i was hoping for a little more queer rep.

the story i enjoyed most was uncle robert rides the lightning by kate hart, about love and grief and ghosts. my other favorite stories were kushtuka by mathilda zeller, white hills by rebecca roanhorse, hunger by phoenix boudreau, human eaters by royce k. young wolf, and the scientist’s horror story by darcie little badger.

i want to thank whoever bought me this from my bookshop wishlist, it didnt come with a note!

TWs

general TW for colonization, death, murder, residential schools, and violence.

kushtuka: unwanted touching

white hills: forced abortion

navajo don't wear elk teeth: sex on page, unwanted rough sex

wingless: animal death, child abuse

quantum: child abuse/neglect

tick talk: misogyny, bugs

snakes are born in the dark: birth, destruction of petroglyphs, pus

before i let go: suicide

behind colin's eyes: body stuff (nails falling off, teeth falling out), mention of child labor

heart-shaped clock: drug use

scariest.story.ever: animal death, drugs

human eaters: mentions youth death

the prepper: elder neglect, mental break, self-harm

uncle robert rides the lightning: grief

sundays: child rape, pedophilia, suicide

eulogy for a brother, resurrected: homophobia

limbs: physical torture

photo review here: https://www.instagram.com/p/C5CPl5hvClS/?igsh=NzBmMjdhZWRiYQ==

Content Warnings

asurasantosha's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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kitstonglade's review

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dark mysterious sad 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

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dezzella's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

Went a little outside of my usual genre reading this, not usually the horror/thriller type reader, but I really enjoyed this! I thought there was lots of variety in the types of stories you encounter (whether from a paranormal/otherworldly experience to just other humans doing some terrible things). Glad I picked this up, and would recommend for those who love dark stories.

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black_cat_iiix's review

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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kellymacbrown's review against another edition

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Wasn’t what I was expected. Just crossed some personal lines for me. Made me uncomfortable in ways that seemed to have no real purpose. Definitely dark. Loved the first story.

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