A review by derhindemith
Night Shadows: Queer Horror by Greg Herren, J.M. Redmann

2.0

Actually kind of conflicted about this anthology. It was a lot of thriller/action, and not much horror/supernatural. And then there was a lot of "here's an idea, but we're not going to develop it in any way"

The Hollow is Filled with Beautiful Monsters-One of the best stories in the anthology, and it really made the appeal of opioids understandable for me.

The Zealous Advocate-More thriller. And a lesbian with the moral compass of the main character in American Psycho was a little thin for me as a story, but I wouldn't mind a full novel about her.

Room Nine-Overly written, with a deus ex machina that should have been the whole story.

The Price-Very much like The Zealous Advocate, but with characters that were fleshed out enough so I cared about them.

The Matinee-Possibly my favorite (even though it's not horror) because I love slasher movies, and having it told so matter of factly from his point of view was wonderful

Capturing Jove Lunge-Weird. Cute. Captured the tone of a pulp story well, but didn't go long enough to understand the supernatural element hinted at but never actually shown.

A Letter to My Brother, relating Recent Events with Unintended Consequences-I really want to see this performed as a monologue

All the Pretty Boys-Boring. Lacked development of any kind. This was a concept that could be developed into a story

The Roommate-Super cute. A warning poltergeist

Filth-Nathan Burgoine is probably the reason I bought this, since I like his writing. I liked the way this superhero operates, but I'm really not a fan of homophobia as a villain.

Saint Louis 1990-I've been in love with Gilda since the first time I encountered her in a different short story, and this is no exception.

Blackout-This had so much potential. But homophobia as a villain, no ambiguity. I wanted better.

Crazy in the Night-This was stupid and unfinished

Ordinary Mayhem-Full disclosure: I didn't finish it because it was just thriller/action of the torture porn variety and I wasn't that invested. But I really liked how it was written.