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A review by charshorrorcorner
Dark Screams: Volume Five by Del James, Mick Garris, Kealan Patrick Burke
4.0
3.5 stars!
Yet another collection is coming out via the Dark Screams format, which combines authors both known and unknown, perhaps in an effort to get those unknowns some exposure. In my experience, most of the Dark Screams volumes have been good and this one was no exception. I'll do a quick rundown of each story here:
Everything You’ve Always Wanted by Mick Garris. I thought this one started off well enough, but then something went awry. This tale had a Clive Barker vibe to it, and probably would have made a great Twilight Zone episode. From what I understand, Mick Garris used to produce the show Masters of Horror. This story would've worked well there too. 3*
The Land of Sunshine by Kealan Patrick Burke. I love Kealan Patrick Burke. Lurve. Him. But I'm sad to say this tale didn't quite work for me. It was dense and dark, and I usually love that, but in this case, I felt like I was plodding through. A KPB tale that doesn't quite work for me still rates 3.5*, so it's all good.
Mechanical Gratitude by Del James. I'm an American Muscle Car loving gal, so when a story comes my way about a BADASS 68 Camaro SS with a 396 under the hood? I'm IN. The car was great but I found the story to be unoriginal. 3*
The One and Only by J. Kenner. I'd not heard of this author before reading this story but I looked her up when I was done. It seems that this type of ghost/horror/voodoo story is not really her thing, but I think she should make it so, because this story ROCKED. 4*
The Playhouse by Bentley Little. I haven't read any Bentley Little stories in a while and this one makes me think I need to return to his catalog and knock a few more of his books off my TBR. This story is about a playhouse. A cool little playhouse with an Easy Bake Oven and fresh mud. But something weird is going on in there...perhaps you should pop on in and bake a mudpie? 5*
So, my math combines these ratings and comes out with a 3.7-so 3.5 stars it is. These Dark Screams volumes are always so interesting, even if all the stories don't work for the reader. You can discover new authors and rediscover old ones, and that's always a good thing in my book.
Recommended for fans of short story collections!
*A free e-ARC of this book was provided to me by the publisher, via Net Galley, in exchange for an honest review. This is it.*
Yet another collection is coming out via the Dark Screams format, which combines authors both known and unknown, perhaps in an effort to get those unknowns some exposure. In my experience, most of the Dark Screams volumes have been good and this one was no exception. I'll do a quick rundown of each story here:
Everything You’ve Always Wanted by Mick Garris. I thought this one started off well enough, but then something went awry. This tale had a Clive Barker vibe to it, and probably would have made a great Twilight Zone episode. From what I understand, Mick Garris used to produce the show Masters of Horror. This story would've worked well there too. 3*
The Land of Sunshine by Kealan Patrick Burke. I love Kealan Patrick Burke. Lurve. Him. But I'm sad to say this tale didn't quite work for me. It was dense and dark, and I usually love that, but in this case, I felt like I was plodding through. A KPB tale that doesn't quite work for me still rates 3.5*, so it's all good.
Mechanical Gratitude by Del James. I'm an American Muscle Car loving gal, so when a story comes my way about a BADASS 68 Camaro SS with a 396 under the hood? I'm IN. The car was great but I found the story to be unoriginal. 3*
The One and Only by J. Kenner. I'd not heard of this author before reading this story but I looked her up when I was done. It seems that this type of ghost/horror/voodoo story is not really her thing, but I think she should make it so, because this story ROCKED. 4*
The Playhouse by Bentley Little. I haven't read any Bentley Little stories in a while and this one makes me think I need to return to his catalog and knock a few more of his books off my TBR. This story is about a playhouse. A cool little playhouse with an Easy Bake Oven and fresh mud. But something weird is going on in there...perhaps you should pop on in and bake a mudpie? 5*
So, my math combines these ratings and comes out with a 3.7-so 3.5 stars it is. These Dark Screams volumes are always so interesting, even if all the stories don't work for the reader. You can discover new authors and rediscover old ones, and that's always a good thing in my book.
Recommended for fans of short story collections!
*A free e-ARC of this book was provided to me by the publisher, via Net Galley, in exchange for an honest review. This is it.*