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frithnanth's review
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
dantastic's review
3.0
Whispers from the Abyss 2 is a collection of 25 tales inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft.
I donated for the Kickstarter that created this anthology. It was well worth it.
Much like the original [b:Whispers from the Abyss|18712643|Whispers from the Abyss|Kat Rocha|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1382630222s/18712643.jpg|26572922], Whispers From the Abyss 2 is a collection of tales designed to be wolfed down in one sitting.
Like all anthologies, the quality of the tales vary. Quality-wise, I felt like this one was a step behind the original. However, the content was worth the price, maybe even a wider range of Lovecraftian nasties than the previous one. Azathoth and the Innsmouth folk were prominently featured, always a plus in my book.
For my money, the standouts of Whispers from the Abyss 2 are We Are Not These Bodies, Strung Between the Stars by AC Wise, The Labyrinth of Sleep by Orrin Grey, Death May Die by Nathan Wunnder, Shadow Transit by Ferrett Steinmetz, Lucky Chuck Takes the Sunshine Express by John Palisano, and The Vindication of Y'ha-Nthlei by David Busboom.
While I didn't enjoy it as much as [b:Whispers from the Abyss|18712643|Whispers from the Abyss|Kat Rocha|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1382630222s/18712643.jpg|26572922] or [b:Heroes of Red Hook|32184368|Heroes of Red Hook|Brian M. Sammons|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1474596789s/32184368.jpg|52823114], Whispers From the Abyss 2 was still a good weird fiction anthology. I'll be ready when the Kickstarter for the third volume is announced. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
I donated for the Kickstarter that created this anthology. It was well worth it.
Much like the original [b:Whispers from the Abyss|18712643|Whispers from the Abyss|Kat Rocha|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1382630222s/18712643.jpg|26572922], Whispers From the Abyss 2 is a collection of tales designed to be wolfed down in one sitting.
Like all anthologies, the quality of the tales vary. Quality-wise, I felt like this one was a step behind the original. However, the content was worth the price, maybe even a wider range of Lovecraftian nasties than the previous one. Azathoth and the Innsmouth folk were prominently featured, always a plus in my book.
For my money, the standouts of Whispers from the Abyss 2 are We Are Not These Bodies, Strung Between the Stars by AC Wise, The Labyrinth of Sleep by Orrin Grey, Death May Die by Nathan Wunnder, Shadow Transit by Ferrett Steinmetz, Lucky Chuck Takes the Sunshine Express by John Palisano, and The Vindication of Y'ha-Nthlei by David Busboom.
While I didn't enjoy it as much as [b:Whispers from the Abyss|18712643|Whispers from the Abyss|Kat Rocha|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1382630222s/18712643.jpg|26572922] or [b:Heroes of Red Hook|32184368|Heroes of Red Hook|Brian M. Sammons|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1474596789s/32184368.jpg|52823114], Whispers From the Abyss 2 was still a good weird fiction anthology. I'll be ready when the Kickstarter for the third volume is announced. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
jdhacker's review
1.0
'A Lovecraft inspired anthology' is something you're either going to be excited about or groan over at this points in time, depending on your proclivities. While there are 30 some entries in this one, it clocks in at 210 pages, so they're mostly very short and make for quick, engaging reads taken individually. The book is well put together physically, there's some great cover art I have some more general things to say about the collection/publisher, but first I want to give some shout outs to a few outstanding entries.
There's a great opening entry, 'Iden-Ishii' from Greg Stolze who you may recognize from his work with White Wolf. Jonathan Sharp's musical 'The Nation of Disease' is a nice followup to that. And of course, Chad Fifer's 'Afraid of Dobermans' is as always fantastic.
I didn't want to dig too deeply into the individual stories because when I sat down to write this and did some checking I came across some concernings. No reflection of the authors that were included, I've read (and in some cases communicated with) them lots of other places and their work is great.
But looking at 01Publishing's website, I was right off the bat assaulted by some messaging against political correctness and 'No Safe Spaces.' Which, incidentally, is also the name of the podcast that Rocha and Finney run, which is pretty aggressive in its anti-pc talk. The slogan is also on some of their graphics, which seem like sf/horror versions of a some of the skull (punisher skull, skull mask, etc.) iconography used by the far right these days. Symbolism not helped by it being flag coloured/patterned. Doing some digging on twitter, it looks like Rocha (the editor as well, for the record) has changed accounts a few times, with the most recent one talking about moving to Parler in the bio. Some of her older accounts appear to have followed accounts espousing uniting traditional conservatives and libertarians to 'take back our culture.' In some of her Youtube videos there use of the alt-right slur 'soyboy', during which Patton Oswalt of all people is pictured.
Could these all be individual red flags that ultimately amount to nothing? Sure. But taken as a collection of facts, as well as some other bits and pieces of catch phrases, rhetoric, and political figures the editors seem to follow, its cause for some concern. I have queries out to some authors that have worked with this publisher and Rocha to see if I can get anything more concrete. But at this points, especially with some of the youtube video comments about lovely, humane people, I can't endorse anything put out by this publisher. Which is a shame because I dearly love some of the authors included here. If you really want to check it out, please buy it used and don't support a publisher that endorses such problematic views. I know Chris Lackey and Chad Fifer have made the stories they had in this and the subsequent collection available as audio stories through Witch House Media and the HP Lovecraft Literary Podcast. You may want to check them out there.
There's a great opening entry, 'Iden-Ishii' from Greg Stolze who you may recognize from his work with White Wolf. Jonathan Sharp's musical 'The Nation of Disease' is a nice followup to that. And of course, Chad Fifer's 'Afraid of Dobermans' is as always fantastic.
I didn't want to dig too deeply into the individual stories because when I sat down to write this and did some checking I came across some concernings. No reflection of the authors that were included, I've read (and in some cases communicated with) them lots of other places and their work is great.
But looking at 01Publishing's website, I was right off the bat assaulted by some messaging against political correctness and 'No Safe Spaces.' Which, incidentally, is also the name of the podcast that Rocha and Finney run, which is pretty aggressive in its anti-pc talk. The slogan is also on some of their graphics, which seem like sf/horror versions of a some of the skull (punisher skull, skull mask, etc.) iconography used by the far right these days. Symbolism not helped by it being flag coloured/patterned. Doing some digging on twitter, it looks like Rocha (the editor as well, for the record) has changed accounts a few times, with the most recent one talking about moving to Parler in the bio. Some of her older accounts appear to have followed accounts espousing uniting traditional conservatives and libertarians to 'take back our culture.' In some of her Youtube videos there use of the alt-right slur 'soyboy', during which Patton Oswalt of all people is pictured.
Could these all be individual red flags that ultimately amount to nothing? Sure. But taken as a collection of facts, as well as some other bits and pieces of catch phrases, rhetoric, and political figures the editors seem to follow, its cause for some concern. I have queries out to some authors that have worked with this publisher and Rocha to see if I can get anything more concrete. But at this points, especially with some of the youtube video comments about lovely, humane people, I can't endorse anything put out by this publisher. Which is a shame because I dearly love some of the authors included here. If you really want to check it out, please buy it used and don't support a publisher that endorses such problematic views. I know Chris Lackey and Chad Fifer have made the stories they had in this and the subsequent collection available as audio stories through Witch House Media and the HP Lovecraft Literary Podcast. You may want to check them out there.
carlosernesto's review
4.0
Enjoyable collection with some real gems, though two of the stories were marked by unfortunate contempt for rural working-class whites.
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