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melodyseestrees's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
This anthology starts and ends strong. The first three stories and the last four all would've gotten ratings above 4.5 had I the luxury of giving them independent ratings. The middle three stories were 3-3.5 stars for me as there was a key element that felt rushed or cut out. These ratings averaged together netted the anthology a healthy 4.25, though it should've been 4.3 mathematically speaking.
Several of these stories suffer from their short length as they could have benefited from six or more pages to really develop into something.
The stories that most desperately needed something more were I Love Your Eyes, The Consumption of Vienna Montrose, and The Teeth Come Out At Night. The first of these three was so rushed that the big reveal at the end felt comical rather than scary. The second one was vague in a way that you can almost feel the details that should've been there. The last one had so much world just outside the plot that it was like looking at the world through a bus window as it speeds down the road.
Even though several of the stories use very popular flavors of horror there is just enough uniqueness to them that they feel fresh.
Several of these stories suffer from their short length as they could have benefited from six or more pages to really develop into something.
The stories that most desperately needed something more were I Love Your Eyes, The Consumption of Vienna Montrose, and The Teeth Come Out At Night. The first of these three was so rushed that the big reveal at the end felt comical rather than scary. The second one was vague in a way that you can almost feel the details that should've been there. The last one had so much world just outside the plot that it was like looking at the world through a bus window as it speeds down the road.
Even though several of the stories use very popular flavors of horror there is just enough uniqueness to them that they feel fresh.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Gore, Body horror, and Blood
Moderate: Confinement, Alcoholism, and Child abuse
Minor: Homophobia, Slavery, and Animal death
booksthatburn's review against another edition
emotional
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
I liked most of the stories in this collection. My favorites are "Lights" for its take on monstrosity and genre expectations, "All My Best Friends Are Dead" for the way it plays with characterization and perspective, and "No Harm Done" for the sudden pivot into horror after an interesting but not obviously creepy opening.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Body horror, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Classism, Confinement, Cursing, Stalking, Ableism, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Death, Death of parent, Self harm, Sexual content, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Minor: Abandonment, Vomit, Car accident, Excrement, Racism, Slavery, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Child abuse, Racial slurs, and Drug use
booktribe's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Wow… Just wow… This was my number 1 most anticipated release of 2023 and it DELIVERED! The creep factor in every story was high and the spooky vibes were immaculate! The stories ranged from suspenseful to eerie to terrifying! Any anthology is going to have hits and misses, but the hits in this collection HIT, and there were way more of them than misses! There were so many amazing stories that it was hard to pick my favorite! We have Southern gothic tales, Bloody Mary vibes, serial killers, and more! Any kind of horror story you’re looking for can be found in this collection! (Except vampires, I would’ve loved some vampires lol) This is a perfect read for Halloween, so make sure you get it on October 17th!
Ratings:
📚Lights by Kalynn Bayron: ⭐️⭐️ (Tw: child abuse)
📚Be Not Afraid by Ashia Monet: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📚All My Best Friends Are Dead by Liselle Sambury: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📚The Teeth Come Out at Night by Sami Ellis: ⭐️ (go ahead and skip this one😬)
📚I love your eyes by Joel Rochester: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📚The Consumption of Vienna Montrose by Joelle Wellington: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (All imma say is… Imagine the splinters🤭😭)
📚The Landscape of Broken Things by Brent Lambert: ⭐️⭐️
📚Mother, Daughter, and the Devil by Donyae Coles: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📚Papa Pearlie by Ryan Douglass: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Tw: Slavery & homophobia)
📚No Harm Done by Circe Moskowitz: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (My fave story! Tw: homophobia)
Average rating: 3.7 ⭐️’s
Overall rating: 5 ⭐️’s!
Thank you Chicago Review Press/Amberjack Publishing for this arc! All opinions are my own.
Ratings:
📚Lights by Kalynn Bayron: ⭐️⭐️ (Tw: child abuse)
📚Be Not Afraid by Ashia Monet: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📚All My Best Friends Are Dead by Liselle Sambury: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📚The Teeth Come Out at Night by Sami Ellis: ⭐️ (go ahead and skip this one😬)
📚I love your eyes by Joel Rochester: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📚The Consumption of Vienna Montrose by Joelle Wellington: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (All imma say is… Imagine the splinters🤭😭)
📚The Landscape of Broken Things by Brent Lambert: ⭐️⭐️
📚Mother, Daughter, and the Devil by Donyae Coles: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📚Papa Pearlie by Ryan Douglass: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Tw: Slavery & homophobia)
📚No Harm Done by Circe Moskowitz: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (My fave story! Tw: homophobia)
Average rating: 3.7 ⭐️’s
Overall rating: 5 ⭐️’s!
Thank you Chicago Review Press/Amberjack Publishing for this arc! All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Slavery
readthesparrow's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
SUMMARY
In All These Sunken Souls, horror is explored through a blending of genres–ghost stories, folklore, and weird, among others–written by established and debut Black authors.
REVIEW
All These Sunken Souls hits like hell and doesn’t stop. Every time I thought I’d surely found the standout story in the collection another came along and vied hard for the position, leaving me with three choices and no desire to choose favorites. So I shan’t! It's my review and I can do as I please.
“Be Not Afraid,” “The Consumption of Vienna Montrose,” and “Mother, Daughter, and the Devil” hit everything I want from a good horror short story. These three have fantastic prose that takes on a life of its own; it’s rare I feel like I can hear the protagonist's voice clear as day; these girls spoke. The narratives are fresh and unique while conversing with tropes, stories, and histories that came before them. And, as a bonus, they feature beautifully written female characters.
Save one, every single short story was as least three stars, with most of them being four or five stars. The single exception was a matter of purely taste–I didn’t enjoy the first five pages, skimmed ahead, and realized that my issue, the prose, persisted throughout. So I skipped it. (I only mention the fact I DNF’d this one story for transparency’s sake, as this was an ARC.)
Broadly speaking, this collection features tropes and themes I love love LOVE in horror. Body horror (tooth, flesh, and bone), names (and the lack of them), houses (sentient or otherwise), biblical imagery (of the accurate angelic sort), folk tales and ghost stories (told and acted), and the comfort–yet also the horrific pain–of isolation.
And that’s not all, of course. But you’ll explore the rest yourself.
INDIVIDUAL STORY RATINGS
INDIVIDUAL STORY RATINGS
"Lights" by Kalynn Bayron - ⭐⭐⭐
"Be Not Afraid" by Ashia Monet - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"All My Best Friends Are Dead" by Liselle Sambury - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
"The Teeth Come Out At Night" by Sami Ellis - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
"I Love Your Eyes" by Joel Rochester - DNF
"The Consumption of Vienna Montrose" by Joelle Wellington - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (ok it's 5⭐ but GOD I loved this one so much)
"The Landscape of Broken Things" by Brent Lambert - ⭐⭐⭐.5
"Mother, Daughter, and the Devil" by Donyae Coles - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"Papa Pearlie" by Ryan Douglass - ⭐⭐⭐
"No Harm Done" by Circe Moskowitz ⭐⭐⭐⭐
FINAL THOUGHTS
If you like horror, you absolutely must read this collection. Doubly so if you have interest in diverse horror, horror short stories, or, like me, just really love a visceral piece of character-driven horror.
Thank you to Amberjack Publishing for providing a digital ARC via Netgalley. If you are interested in All These Sunken Souls, it will be released 17 October 2023. If possible, support indie bookshops by purchasing the novel from your local brick and mortar or from Bookshop.org!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Classism, Gore, Body horror, Death, Violence, Medical content, and Murder
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Confinement
Minor: Stalking, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Animal death, Lesbophobia, Self harm, Pregnancy, and Sexual content
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