A review by brnineworms
Death in the Mouth: Original Horror by People of Color by Cassie Hart, Sloane Leong

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.5

Death in the Mouth is hit-or-miss like any anthology, but overall my opinion skews positive. There were a few stories that stood out as solid examples of the horror genre. “They Will Take Up Serpents” by Yah Yah Schofield was really good but I think should have been cropped to just the baptism scene. The second half isn’t bad but that first half would stand up perfectly well on its own and a tight story is stronger than a bloated one. I liked “What Hurts Henry Watanabe” by J L Akagi but the ending did hinge on the protagonist doing something that was obviously foolish. “Tongue Is a Void” by P H Low deserves a shout-out too; it was wonderfully poetic and didn’t overstay its welcome. This collection also includes “Some of Us Are Grapefruit” by Rivers Solomon. I’ve been meaning to read Solomon’s work for a while now and this was my first experience of their writing. I can’t say I fully understood the story but I was certainly intoxicated by it, so I’ll be keeping an eye out for their other works.

Each story was accompanied by a black-and-white illustration. I think this was a wise move because, with so many tales packed into one anthology, the artwork went a long way to break up the text and separate the stories from one another – plus it’s nice to look at! My favourites were Solomon Enos’s piece for “Paradise” and Viv Magaña’s for “The Mother-Wound.”

Would I recommend Death in the Mouth? Sure. I wouldn’t call it a must-read but it’s a fitting choice for spooky season. I think the cover art alone makes it worth buying.

CONTENT WARNINGS: surreality, body horror, gore, lots of bodily fluids (blood, urine, etc), alcohol/drugs, sex, sexual harrassment/assault, impregnation, self harm, suicide, murder, death, violence, child abuse, gaslighting, religious trauma, stalking, and generally unsettling vibes typical of horror fiction