Reviews

Anoka: A Collection of Indigenous Horror by Shane Hawk

fialtea's review

dark reflective medium-paced

4.0

ryleeisreading's review

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

bookendtobookend's review

DNF @ 34%…This was interesting but I rented it from the library and had a hard time reading it from the Libby app.  

noodlebooknook's review against another edition

4.0

3.75 stars

I am not a huge fan of horror as a genre of books so no horror book has ever really given me a huge wow factor after reading it. This collection of short horror stories however was pretty cool.

I think if you’re a fan of horror you’ll definitely enjoy this piece.

I did really enjoy the notes at the end about each piece and you can tell the author is really passionate about this work!

fexelli's review against another edition

1.0

I wanted to like this. I loved the idea behind it, but the execution was just extremely poor. This felt throughout like a teenager's first attempts at horror, relying on the most basic of tropes. The dialogue was sometimes very stilted and unnatural (and not in a creepy way, coming from characters that had no need to feel 'off'). Every story except Orange (which was alright on its own, but I wouldn't consider it horror by any stretch of the inagination) had no real twists and went exactly the way I expected, just using basic horror ideas to give gross imagery (which sometimes worked, sometimes just felt forced). Overall I would say the only story in this I felt was worth my time at all was Orange, which has a good twist at the end, but it was more of a genre-less short story than any sort of creepy horror tale.

youraveragedave's review

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I picked up this book after reading the anthology Shane Hawk edited, Never Whistle at Night.

This short story collection all takes place in Anoka, MN and all involve indigenous characters.  

There are author's notes at the end which add to each story, I recommend reading them.  

A few of my favorites: "Orange", "Dead America" & "Transfigured"

auntiemaleficent's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.25

ravensalwaysreading's review

Couldn't get past the poor writing. 

markthulhu's review against another edition

4.0

Each story in this creepy collection has its own style, mood and pace, and yet all come from the singular, strong voice of new writer Shane Hawk. It’s hard to pick a favourite from this collection but I’m going to pick ‘Imitate’, my new favourite doppelgänger story. Keep an eye on Shane Hawk. I for one look forward to reading more from this talented writer.

harvestingbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25