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othersociologist's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, and Child death
geve_'s review against another edition
4.0
3.5 overall. Any anthology is gonna have good and bad, and I enjoyed this one more than not. There were a few stinkers, mostly fine stories and few I really liked.
Favs:
The Moraine - Simon Bestwick: This was a really fun little survival adventure. Well written and unique. Was surprised at how much I liked it.
Final Girl Theory - A. C. Wise: I like stories about cursed media and this one hit a lot of what I love. Unclear which person is really the evil one, very fun back story. Prob my fav of the bunch. Really well done.
Final Verse - Chet Williamson: Sorta similar to the above, cursed media. This one wasn't quite as good, and had a bit of cheese to it, but still an enjoyable read.
Fine stories:
The Little Green God of Agony - Stephen King: I mean, I'm not really a fan of modern king shorts I guess. this was fine, very King, well written just kinda meh story. Nothing wrong with it.
Stay - Leah Bobet: I liked the mythology here, but the pacing and depth of character needed a bit
Blackwood's Baby - Laird Barron: Overwritten but still not a bad story. Pretty visual and a bit cheese, not bad.
Looker - David Nickle: More weird fiction than horror, I like the unlikable characters are worse than the deformities. Reminded me of black hole a bit.
The Show - Priya Sharma: Not bad, totally serviceable, nothing really new, but fine.
In Paris, In the Mouth of Kronos - John Langan: Well written but more of the same, very similar ot other stories, and tied into Langan's other stories.
Roots and All - Brian Hodge: I liked the beginning of this, I didn't love the payoff, but didn't hate it iguess.
no opinion/forgettable:
Dermot - Simon Bestwick
Black Feathers - Alison J. Littlewood
In the Absence of Murdock - Terry Lamsley
Little Pig - Anna Taborska
disliked:
Mulberry Boys - Margo Lanagan
Omphalos - Livia Llewellyn
You Become the Neighborhood - Glen Hirshberg
The Ballad of Ballard and Sandrine - Peter Straub
Favs:
The Moraine - Simon Bestwick: This was a really fun little survival adventure. Well written and unique. Was surprised at how much I liked it.
Final Girl Theory - A. C. Wise: I like stories about cursed media and this one hit a lot of what I love. Unclear which person is really the evil one, very fun back story. Prob my fav of the bunch. Really well done.
Final Verse - Chet Williamson: Sorta similar to the above, cursed media. This one wasn't quite as good, and had a bit of cheese to it, but still an enjoyable read.
Fine stories:
The Little Green God of Agony - Stephen King: I mean, I'm not really a fan of modern king shorts I guess. this was fine, very King, well written just kinda meh story. Nothing wrong with it.
Stay - Leah Bobet: I liked the mythology here, but the pacing and depth of character needed a bit
Blackwood's Baby - Laird Barron: Overwritten but still not a bad story. Pretty visual and a bit cheese, not bad.
Looker - David Nickle: More weird fiction than horror, I like the unlikable characters are worse than the deformities. Reminded me of black hole a bit.
The Show - Priya Sharma: Not bad, totally serviceable, nothing really new, but fine.
In Paris, In the Mouth of Kronos - John Langan: Well written but more of the same, very similar ot other stories, and tied into Langan's other stories.
Roots and All - Brian Hodge: I liked the beginning of this, I didn't love the payoff, but didn't hate it iguess.
no opinion/forgettable:
Dermot - Simon Bestwick
Black Feathers - Alison J. Littlewood
In the Absence of Murdock - Terry Lamsley
Little Pig - Anna Taborska
disliked:
Mulberry Boys - Margo Lanagan
Omphalos - Livia Llewellyn
You Become the Neighborhood - Glen Hirshberg
The Ballad of Ballard and Sandrine - Peter Straub
howl's review against another edition
I liked Leah Bobet’s story a lot but I’ve been mostly ambivalent about the others so I’m finally going to dnf
sleepyboi2988's review against another edition
4.0
This cultivated collection moves back into four star territory for me.
These stories were more creeping dread than outright horror I found but in that creeping dread you find some truly gasp worthy gems that pushed my boundaries a bit in a good way.
Easy to get lost in this collection and easy to devour them quickly.
These stories were more creeping dread than outright horror I found but in that creeping dread you find some truly gasp worthy gems that pushed my boundaries a bit in a good way.
Easy to get lost in this collection and easy to devour them quickly.
michaellouisdixon's review against another edition
3.0
There are some gems in this collection of stories. While there were a number that just left me feeling flat.
The following stories made it worth the cover price:
The Moraine by Simon Bestwick
Blackwood's Baby by Laird Barron
Roots and All by Brian Hodge
Final Verse by Chet Williamson
In Paris, In the Mouth of Kronos by John Langan
The Ballad of Ballard and Sandrine by Peter Straub
MLD
The following stories made it worth the cover price:
The Moraine by Simon Bestwick
Blackwood's Baby by Laird Barron
Roots and All by Brian Hodge
Final Verse by Chet Williamson
In Paris, In the Mouth of Kronos by John Langan
The Ballad of Ballard and Sandrine by Peter Straub
MLD
littleowllost'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
jlaney's review against another edition
2.0
I normally love these books but I just couldn't get into this one as much. I did really enjoy The Moraine (Simon Bestwick), Roots And All (Brian Hodge), and Black Feathers (Alison Littlewood). There were a couple more that weren't too bad but there were a lot of them that immediately fell flat and just weren't incredibly interesting to me.
caitlinxmartin's review against another edition
4.0
Ellen Datlow has edited lots of wonderful anthologies over the year. Her influence in the areas of fantasy and horror know no bounds. She's smart, a good reader, and she chooses well - all great qualities in an editor.
I'm sort of back and forth with horror. I love it in so many ways, yet it's so difficult to find horror that's worth reading (or horror movies worth seeing, frankly). Everything's gotten so obvious and much has descended to the level of torture porn and that just doesn't draw me in. I want something more, something different, something surprising, stuff that skitters in the night, Elder Gods, dumb decisions, and creepiness. I've most recently found more of that in horror comics than in straight horror, but when I saw this Datlow anthology, I thought it would be a good place to find some scary stories. And I was right.
Just about all the stories in this anthology are worth reading. As with all collections some stories stand out more to some readers than other stories, but these are all of high quality and introduced me to a new writer whose novel I just read and reviewed, David Nickle.
Let's talk about the short stories that really stood out for me. First there is Stephen King who has some kind of deranged genius in his head who knows how to tell a story and how to scare the crap out of you without being predictable or cliched. He's also a good writer, particularly as a writer about childhood. I love that. His story in this collection is "The Little Green God of Agony" and it is all about what you're willing to do for money, what money can and cannot buy you, and just how much you may have to sacrifice to relieve pain (real or imagined).
I also enjoyed "Stay" by Leah Bobet, an intelligent modern exploration of the Wendigo mythos. Wendigos appear in the mythology of many different Native American tribes, particularly those who speak Algonquin. Wendigos are evil cannibalistic spirits who can possess human beings turning them into evil cannibalistic people. Anyone with any knowledge of them knows that they are terrifying. "Stay" deftly leverages this mythology within a modern day town of Dene. It's fascinating, reads very real, and also scared the crap out of me.
I'd never read Laird Barron before, but now I'll be looking for him. Let me say that I am not a huge Lovecraft fan, although I do like the Lovecraft mythos. I just can't read the man himself - his writing makes me cringe. Laird Barron's story, "Blackwood's Baby" is set within a Lovecraftian mythos, but also hearkens back to old stories about rich gentlemen and their safaris - playing at hunting for trophies - and their guides. This was a wonderful, engrossing story that rang lots of literary referential bells for me and definitely made me want more of Mr. Barron's words.
Lastly, there is "Looker" by David Nickle. This is a story about a man who meets a woman who is covered in eyes - yes, literal working eyes. Romance and bad things ensue. This was a very difficult story for me to read because it was just so damned creepy and this creepy ickyness juxtaposed with its gorgeous writing made want to sleep with lights on. I was very fortunate after reading this to get an opportunity to read and review Mr. Nickles' new novel, Rasputin's Bastards, and do an author Q and A with him and I am now a big fan.
My one criticism of this book is that the first 10 percent of it is devoted to an entirely too detailed and long-winded rundown of other horror that's worth reading that didn't make the anthology or sources for horror or just lists and lists and lists. A few pages of this would have been a nice addition, but it takes up so much room at the beginning of the book that I honestly almost didn't read any of these stories and that would have been a pity.
Overall, great horror stories. I'm happy to have read them - they restore my faith in the genre.
I'm sort of back and forth with horror. I love it in so many ways, yet it's so difficult to find horror that's worth reading (or horror movies worth seeing, frankly). Everything's gotten so obvious and much has descended to the level of torture porn and that just doesn't draw me in. I want something more, something different, something surprising, stuff that skitters in the night, Elder Gods, dumb decisions, and creepiness. I've most recently found more of that in horror comics than in straight horror, but when I saw this Datlow anthology, I thought it would be a good place to find some scary stories. And I was right.
Just about all the stories in this anthology are worth reading. As with all collections some stories stand out more to some readers than other stories, but these are all of high quality and introduced me to a new writer whose novel I just read and reviewed, David Nickle.
Let's talk about the short stories that really stood out for me. First there is Stephen King who has some kind of deranged genius in his head who knows how to tell a story and how to scare the crap out of you without being predictable or cliched. He's also a good writer, particularly as a writer about childhood. I love that. His story in this collection is "The Little Green God of Agony" and it is all about what you're willing to do for money, what money can and cannot buy you, and just how much you may have to sacrifice to relieve pain (real or imagined).
I also enjoyed "Stay" by Leah Bobet, an intelligent modern exploration of the Wendigo mythos. Wendigos appear in the mythology of many different Native American tribes, particularly those who speak Algonquin. Wendigos are evil cannibalistic spirits who can possess human beings turning them into evil cannibalistic people. Anyone with any knowledge of them knows that they are terrifying. "Stay" deftly leverages this mythology within a modern day town of Dene. It's fascinating, reads very real, and also scared the crap out of me.
I'd never read Laird Barron before, but now I'll be looking for him. Let me say that I am not a huge Lovecraft fan, although I do like the Lovecraft mythos. I just can't read the man himself - his writing makes me cringe. Laird Barron's story, "Blackwood's Baby" is set within a Lovecraftian mythos, but also hearkens back to old stories about rich gentlemen and their safaris - playing at hunting for trophies - and their guides. This was a wonderful, engrossing story that rang lots of literary referential bells for me and definitely made me want more of Mr. Barron's words.
Lastly, there is "Looker" by David Nickle. This is a story about a man who meets a woman who is covered in eyes - yes, literal working eyes. Romance and bad things ensue. This was a very difficult story for me to read because it was just so damned creepy and this creepy ickyness juxtaposed with its gorgeous writing made want to sleep with lights on. I was very fortunate after reading this to get an opportunity to read and review Mr. Nickles' new novel, Rasputin's Bastards, and do an author Q and A with him and I am now a big fan.
My one criticism of this book is that the first 10 percent of it is devoted to an entirely too detailed and long-winded rundown of other horror that's worth reading that didn't make the anthology or sources for horror or just lists and lists and lists. A few pages of this would have been a nice addition, but it takes up so much room at the beginning of the book that I honestly almost didn't read any of these stories and that would have been a pity.
Overall, great horror stories. I'm happy to have read them - they restore my faith in the genre.