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A review by caidyn
Dark Screams: Volume Five by Del James, Bentley Little, J. Kenner, Mick Garris, Kealan Patrick Burke
4.0
Everything You've Always Wanted - 4.5/5: What a story this one was. At first, I was worried it would suck. Honestly, that was my opinion. I hated the MC, the information on his past didn't really interest me, the writing was just okay for me. Then, it picked up and it picked up fast. It had a squick of mine for sex. Sex isn't something I'm terribly interested in (I'm the A in LGBTQIA, and it doesn't stand for ally.) but I don't mind reading/writing it. I'll put my squick in spoiler form so you don't have to read it if you don't want to. It was sex on a woman's period. I have no huge problem with periods or anything like that. It's natural. People have gotten it throughout the ages. But, I just don't like sex or any mention of it that has to do with arousal towards that natural thing. It just grosses me out. After that, I got a huge kick out of the story and my enjoyment of it increased ten-fold. Lots of sex. Lots of genitals. But, it was oh so funny and a great story after the slow beginning. Plus, oh my god, that ending. His dick literally ran away from him. That's hilarious.
The Land of Sunshine - 3/5: I think my problem with this one was that I missed the meaning. I mean, I sort of understood what the author was getting at, but then on the other hand I felt like I completely missed it at the same time. Although, I have to say that I really enjoyed that the characters remained nameless. It was like something you'd see at the beginning of an episode of a sci-fi show, right before the title sequence rolls.
Mechanical Gratitude - 4/5: This one was the sad one. Not, like, sobbing sad, just an "Oh, I wasn't expecting that." I wouldn't call this one horror, really. It had aspects of horror to it, then it didn't. It was very different than what I've read before, and it was good. I would have read a longer story of this, because this one was pretty short.
The One and Only - 4/5: New Orleans? Voodoo? Literally all I could think of was AHS: Coven, even though that was my least favorite season yet. I wasn't a fan of how the MC thought about women, so I wasn't terribly sad to see his fate. Served him right, really. Maybe that's just because I have a high standard to how women should be treated, but whatever. The story itself was interesting and every detail mentioned tied into the plot one way or another. I love it when stories do that.
The Playhouse - 3.5/5: Not exactly the strong finish I'd been looking forward to based on the first story, but it was still good. Children creep me out, and while this didn't involve children, it sort of did at the heart of the story. Getting lost in a playhouse, not paying attention to time. It's something that's reminiscent to childhood when it comes down to it.
My overall rating: 3.8
The Land of Sunshine - 3/5: I think my problem with this one was that I missed the meaning. I mean, I sort of understood what the author was getting at, but then on the other hand I felt like I completely missed it at the same time. Although, I have to say that I really enjoyed that the characters remained nameless. It was like something you'd see at the beginning of an episode of a sci-fi show, right before the title sequence rolls.
Mechanical Gratitude - 4/5: This one was the sad one. Not, like, sobbing sad, just an "Oh, I wasn't expecting that." I wouldn't call this one horror, really. It had aspects of horror to it, then it didn't. It was very different than what I've read before, and it was good. I would have read a longer story of this, because this one was pretty short.
The One and Only - 4/5: New Orleans? Voodoo? Literally all I could think of was AHS: Coven, even though that was my least favorite season yet. I wasn't a fan of how the MC thought about women, so I wasn't terribly sad to see his fate. Served him right, really. Maybe that's just because I have a high standard to how women should be treated, but whatever. The story itself was interesting and every detail mentioned tied into the plot one way or another. I love it when stories do that.
The Playhouse - 3.5/5: Not exactly the strong finish I'd been looking forward to based on the first story, but it was still good. Children creep me out, and while this didn't involve children, it sort of did at the heart of the story. Getting lost in a playhouse, not paying attention to time. It's something that's reminiscent to childhood when it comes down to it.
My overall rating: 3.8