Reviews

Hark! the Herald Angels Scream by Christopher Golden

ccopeland28's review

3.0

There are some good stories in this collection. I enjoyed it as a whole. It is deserving of a better cover than this, though. Based on the cover, I expected this to be a cheesy or hokey like a bad 80's horror movie, but I was pleased to find such great stories. Some so good that I will definitely check out the authors' other works.

melania_010200's review

3.0

3.25|5

This was so much better than expected. There’s at least a story for every taste in here and most of them I found to be really entertaining.
Much recommended especially if you’re bored by ‘traditional’ Christmas stories and you want something fresh.

sayrawww's review

3.0

The last 2021/ first 2022 book of the year! A fun Horror Christmas short story collection. I found a mixed bag of goodies and stories that were so-so. Not too many were terrifying, but a couple that gave me the chills and thrills.

Favorites:
Christmas in Barcelona
Love Me
It's a Wonderful Knife
The Second Floor of the Christmas Hotel
Hiking Through
& The Hangman's Bride

Ratings:
Absinthe and Angels ⭐⭐⭐
Christmas in Barcelona ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Fresh as the New Fallen Snow ⭐⭐⭐
Love Me ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Not Just for Christmas ⭐⭐⭐
Tenets ⭐⭐⭐
Good Deeds ⭐⭐⭐
It's a Wonderful Knife ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mistletoe and Holly ⭐⭐⭐
Snake's Tail ⭐⭐
The Second Floor of the Christmas Hotel ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Farrow Street ⭐⭐⭐
Dr. Velocity ⭐⭐
Yankee Swap: ⭐⭐⭐
Honor Thy Mother: ⭐⭐
Home: ⭐⭐⭐
Hiking Through: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Hangman's Bride: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

toryhallelujah's review

4.0

Fairly decent! One to read in drips and drabs, because too many Christmas horror stories back to back to back really lose their novelty.
1. Absinthe & Angels - 1 star
2. Christmas in Barcelona - 5 stars
3. Fresh as the New-Fallen Snow - 4 stars
4. Love Me - 2 stars
5. Not Just for Christmas - 3 stars
6. Tenets - 1 star (because holy DAMN were those guests overreacting with zero context!!!)
7. Good Deeds - 3.5 stars because even though it wasn't fantastically written, it was SO FUNNY. I fucking LOVED the premise -- that godawful "Christmas Shoes" song being so horrible that it sparks mass suicide. OMFG YES
8. It's a Wonderful Knife - 3 stars
9. Mistletoe and Holly - 2 stars (predictable)
10. Snake's Tail - 3 stars (I didn't get it...?)
11. The Second Floor of the Christmas Hotel - 4 stars because this one actually creeped me out
12. Farrow Street - 2 stars (it took me forever to figure out if the main character was British or American which really impacted the realism of the story)
13. Doctor Velocity - 1 star (is the Fire Zone some series I'm supposed to know about??)
14. Yankee Swap - 2 stars (it's just knockoff Saw and also I didn't get the ending)
15. Honor Thy Mother - 2 stars
16. Home - 3 stars because I didn't really get it either but it was evocative at least
17. Hiking Through - 4 stars and now I want to read Michael Koryta because it was FUNNY: "They had the questions you're used to from summer people if you grew up here [Maine] -- how cold is the winter, how much do we pay for lobster rolls, who has the best lobster roll, have you seen a moose, have you eaten a moose, have you seen a moose eating a lobster roll, and if so, how much did the moose pay for it?"
18. The Hangman's Bride - 2 stars (it went on...and on...and on...)

rovertoak's review

5.0

Christpoher Golden has assembled an amazing collection of short dark fiction in "Hark The Herald Angels Scream." Based on the cover and title, many readers may assume this is a fun, jaunty collection of horror stories, but instead will be pleasantly surprised by the seriousness and gravitas of most included works. An absolute gem.

figkeele's review

3.0

Favorites:
Kelley Armstrong: Absinthe & Angels
Scott Smith: Christmas in Barcelona
Seanan McGuire: Fresh as the New-Fallen Snow
Sarah Lotz: Not Just For Christmas
Christopher Golden: It's a Wonderful Knife
James A. Moore: Mistletoe and Holly
Sarah Langan: Snake's Tail
Tim Lebbon: Home

robert_bose's review

3.0

Some decent stories, but I was expecting more actual horror. Some of the stories weren't even all that dark, or just had a dark twist ending. I did very much enjoy Kelley Armstrong's 'Absinthe & Angels', Thomas E. Sniegoski's 'Love Me' and Michael Koryta's 'Hiking Through.'

imogeno's review

3.0

Some stories I liked a few others got a bit too into the rape or caged women for my tastes.

xavpas's review

3.0

This one was a fun read, but it was about 3 or 4 stories too long. Completing the book began to feel more like a chore rather than an expedition into Christmas themed horror stories. There were a few real winners in here, but most of the stories were your run of the mill, basic scary story.

spell_reader's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0