Reviews tagging 'Torture'

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

56 reviews

tainolibrary's review against another edition

3.0

While some of the selections were exactly the kind of “ghost tales” inspired by (if not directly from) various Native cultures that I was anticipating, others fell short. They’re all well-written stories, don’t get me wrong, but some just felt out of place. I also don’t love the fact there weren’t any content warnings to be found in the book (I read a digital copy) and, yes, they’re very much needed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Excrement, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Vomit, Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Classism, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Murder, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, and Xenophobia

mikcarrington's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Y'all, check content warnings.
I'd initially expected this to be a lot of folklore/supernatural (the title in particular gave me that impression). While there's definitely some of that in there, it does not take the forefront as I think through the incredible stories in this collection. There's such a great range of extremely disturbing to lighter fare, with concerning endings and righteous ones. Many of these stories will likely stick with me for years to come. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Torture, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault

hannahleewhite's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Racism, Violence, Body horror, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

renwrites13's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

very diverse, lots of diff types of horror. not just indigenous mythology, but also crime and other genres with a creepy twist. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Genocide, Torture, Gore, Racism, Rape, Death, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Murder, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Body horror

Moderate: Cancer, Confinement, Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, Vomit, Child death, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Alcohol, and Suicide

Minor: Gun violence, Cultural appropriation, Fire/Fire injury, Cannibalism, Classism, Excrement, and Alcohol

sakiido's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Stalking, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Bullying, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Car accident, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Death, Drug use, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Torture, Suicide, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual violence

nexusgoblin's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Hate crime, Death, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Torture, Violence, and Sexual violence

ramakn22's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Grief, Genocide, Death, Cultural appropriation, Confinement, Body horror, Slavery, Gaslighting, Violence, Sexual assault, Hate crime, Gun violence, War, Racial slurs, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Murder, Rape, Alcoholism, Trafficking, Suicide, Racism, and Torture

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

mykieangelno's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Gore, Sexual assault, and Child abuse

alaris's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture and Body horror