Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology by Shane Hawk, Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.

37 reviews

kellymacbrown's review against another edition

Wasn’t what I was expected. Just crossed some personal lines for me. Made me uncomfortable in ways that seemed to have no real purpose. Definitely dark. Loved the first story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Abortion, Gore, Murder, Rape, Racism, Physical abuse, and Abandonment

kittyinatophat's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

Wow. All of these were so well written and scary in their own right, genuinely did not read one that I didn’t enjoy. I can definitely see myself coming back to this to reread in the future! 

I did have some that I found more unsettling than others that I have to highlight:

Kushtuka - Mathilda Zeller
Hunger - Phoenix Boudreau
Before I Go - Norris Black
Night in the Chrysalis - Tiffany Morris
Scariest Story Ever - Richard Van Camp
Human Eaters - Royce K Young Wolf
Dead Owls - Mona Susan Power
The Prepper - Morgan Talty
Eulogy for a Brother, Resurrected - Carson Faust
Night Moves - Andrea L. Rogers
Capgras - Tommy Orange
The Scientist’s Horror Story - Darcie Little Badger 
Collections - Amber Blaeser-Wardzalla

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Slavery, Violence, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Body horror, Cultural appropriation, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Torture, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, and Rape

allikay14's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Murder, Cannibalism, Cultural appropriation, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Racism, Child abuse, Gun violence, and Racial slurs

cadence99's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? Yes

4.25

I really enjoyed this fantastic Anthology. Many stories were deeply disconcerting, and had me jumpy and on edge after some late night reading. Some of my favorites were White Hills, Scariest. Story. Ever. and Eulogy for A Brother, Resurrected (this one in particular was my favorite, and I look forward to reading more from the author!)- I’d highly recommend this to anyone looking for thoughtful, well crafted horror that packs a punch

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child death, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Ableism, Abandonment, Abortion, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Gore, Physical abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Addiction, Chronic illness, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Violence, Racism, Child abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, and Vomit

tshaff's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Abandonment, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Vomit, Pedophilia, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Cannibalism, Body horror, Blood, Murder, Torture, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Hate crime, Gore, and Racism

latashman's review against another edition

Each story is well written and I like that they all end with an opening for you to fill in the rest. I am not in the right headspace to finish it right now though. I'll try to come back to it at a different time. I was expecting stories that are more fantasy oriented, but in these stories modern people are the evil. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Colonisation, Racism, Violence, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, and Rape

eaprilfish's review against another edition

Not quite what I expected from the marketing descriptions. All the stories I read were well written and engaging, but I think I was in the mood for more dark supernatural or magical realism stories. There was a significant amount of SA, and violence against children in the first few stories I didn't expect and had a hard time with. I wanted to push through and finish all the stories, but each one felt like a big trigger-gamble for me. This definitely isn't a knock on any of the authors! I might come back to this,  but right now I was ultimately not in the mood for the intensity of the violence in some of these stories.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Death, Physical abuse, Body horror, Abortion, Child abuse, Colonisation, and Gore

gnomeguy1138's review against another edition

dark tense

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Colonisation, Blood, Death, Violence, Child abuse, Hate crime, Torture, Death of parent, and Body horror

Moderate: Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Stalking

Minor: War, Religious bigotry, Vomit, Genocide, Death, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, and Death of parent

caitlynischeckedout's review against another edition

4.0

I averaged out my ratings for each of the 26 stories and then rounded up a smidge to 4.0 as I really enjoyed this collection. There’s a range of horror included from supernatural to interpersonal situations to colonization as a whole. The messages in the stories were powerful and well written, and I often felt strong emotions as I read. And that cover? So beautiful. 

My standout favorites were: 

• Kushtuka by Mathilda Zeller
• Hunger by Phoenix Boudreau 
• Before I Go by Norris Black
• Behind Colin’s Eyes by Shane Hawk
• Dead Owls by Mona Susan Power
• The Scientist’s Horror Story by Darcie Little Badger

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Physical abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Torture, and Emotional abuse

justagir1's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Colonisation, Death, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Blood, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Sexual content, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Violence, Body horror, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Hate crime, Slavery, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, and Sexual violence