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Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'
Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology by Shane Hawk, Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.
10 reviews
alienrosey's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Racism, Rape, Terminal illness, Sexual violence, Gore, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Torture and Suicide
tainolibrary's review against another edition
3.0
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
pigeonmellow's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
If you’re considering reading it, you’ll likely find something to enjoy!! It’s an anthology with over 20 short stories by as many authors, so you’re bound to find a story and an author you connect to.
I enjoyed hearing all the different writing styles (I listened to the audiobook version), and especially loved the voice actor Sheldon Elter, who voiced several of the stories. Sheldon Elter brought the characters and action to life with his emotion and voices — and none of his skillful spice distracted from the heart of the story, only served it. Sheldon Elter — you rule!
This book swerved for me towards the end. First, because I wasn’t aware when I picked it up that SA would be a major element in two stories (there was something that border-lined sexual violence in a third one, but it wasn’t viewed as a assault by the character who experienced it). Some readers can get through SA in their stories, but for me, it’s a trigger I can’t get past. Speaking of which: I completely skipped the second to last story (I think it was that one?) because, without warning, it opened with a first-person description of child SA in progress. I couldn’t do that one.
Second — as someone with a mental illness, I’m always hesitant when it comes to horror stories that paint mentally ill people as monsters or mental illness as a supernatural evil. At best, it’s tired — at worst, it’s perpetuating a harmful stigma. So yeah — for me personally, it’s not enjoyable to find that the “horror” of the story is a character being mentally ill and not taking their medication. In this anthology, there was one story that disappointed me in that way.
Lastly, I wasn’t ever creeped out by any of the stories, or on the edge of my seat with any of them — something I was looking forward to, as it was a horror anthology. Maybe that’s because I was listening to the audiobook version, and not reading in silence?
Huge trigger warnings for colonization, racism, white supremacy, racial slurs, talk of genocide and all of that directed at Indigenous people. If that is something that is a trigger for you, just know that all of those topics come up in almost every story. As one would expect, likely, given that these are horror stories written by Indigenous people, about Indigenous characters from this real world, where all of these horrors make up the real past and present.
Okay. ALL THAT BEING SAID: I did *really* love learning more about indigenous culture, and hearing about the fears, battles, resilience and triumphs of indigenous people. I am very interested in continuing to read my fav authors from this anthology! I learned a LOT I didn’t know before, and so much of the writing was so visceral, which I enjoyed immensely. This book has further motivated me to continue reading work by indigenous authors featuring indigenous characters and stories.
I want to note here, too, that horror stories deal with complicating and disturbing topics. So (apart from painting mental illness as an “evil”), I understand that my displeasure at some of these topics mostly means I’m a bit of a picky horror reader!
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Cursing, Mental illness, Rape, Child abuse, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Blood, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, and Racism
asurasantosha's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Mental illness, Rape, Child abuse, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Racism, Stalking, Abortion, Animal death, Cannibalism, Hate crime, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Blood, Gore, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, and Violence
bookedandbusy's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.0
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Child abuse, Body horror, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Gun violence, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Colonisation
cadence99's review against another edition
- 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
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
kristenbynoe's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Forced institutionalization, Death, Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Pedophilia, Violence, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Rape, Murder, Gore, and Mental illness
warlocksarecool21's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Chronic illness, Classism, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Rape, Violence, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, and Cannibalism
midsummernoodle's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
If you have any triggers at all, you should look up CWs for the individual stories. There are some disturbing plots in this book. Pretty much every story has the potential to be upsetting, but that’s dark fiction for you. 🤷🏻♀️
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Blood, Animal death, Colonisation, Rape, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Grief, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Miscarriage
Minor: War, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Xenophobia, Classism, Car accident, Hate crime, and Genocide
akizato's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Overall, I really liked it! My favourite stories were:
- Kushtuka by Mathilda Zeller (very strong opener!)
- Hunger by Phoenix Boudreau
- Snakes Are Born in the Dark by DH Trujillo
- Scariest. Story. Ever by Richard Van Camp
- Dead Owls by Mona Susan Power
- Sundays by David Heska Wanbli Weiden
- The Scientist's Horror Story by Darcie Little Badger (too real as someone with a life sciences degree)
- Collections by Amber Blaeser-Wardzala
Graphic: Violence, Rape, Child abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Murder, Torture, Abortion, Body horror, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Vomit, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Vomit, Animal death, Classism, Colonisation, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship