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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
12 different stories by 12 different authors, some were clearly 5 stars and I was sad they're only 30 pages long, while others are 2 stars and boring.
Was something different, liked it
Was something different, liked it
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
I don't really understand the complaint that most of these stories don't fit into the "Dark Academia" genre. Dark Academia isn't a genre with an actual definition, it's just a name that's stuck in recent years. In my opinion, Dark Academia novels are campus novels with a little bit of murder on the side, and since most of these stories had that, I was satisfied.
1000 Ships by Kate Weinberg
3 stars - Loved the writing, cool but very simple story. I'll probably check out the author's books at some point.
Pythia by Olivie Blake
5 stars - Love Olivie Blake, she never disappoints.
Sabbatical by James Tate Hill
2 stars - The story doesn't hold up well on its own because it's very clearly about already established characters in another book. Plus I really disliked the writing style.
The Hare and the Hound by Kelly Andrew
3.5 stars - Really enjoyed it but the ending was a bit anticlimactic and not very satisfying. I'm interested to check out this author's other works.
X House by J.T. Ellison
3 stars - It would have benefited from being longer and building up the suspense a bit more.
The Ravages by Layne Fargo
3.5 stars - Creepy and satisfying.
Four Funerals by David Bell
4 stars - I would read a full-length novel based on this story. It explored such an interesting moral dilemma. I blamed and felt for the protagonist in equal measure.
The Unknowable Pleasures by Susie Yang
4 stars - I was really enjoying this until the ending because it made the entire story seem pointless. Beautiful writing, though, and fantastic characterization for such a short story. I'll definitely check out the author's other works after this.
Weekend at Bertie's by M.L. Rio
5 stars - This short story was one of two reasons I picked this book up, and it did not disappoint. Rio's writing is intoxicating, and so are her characters.
I especially loved these lines:
Some nights she wandered in and out of dreams, up and down the halls of the crumbling house, reaching around every dark corner in search of remorse, but could never find it, never grasp it, never hold it fast. Sometimes, to tame her restless hands, she ran her fingers through her tangled curls and savored the tenderness there.
Perfection.
The Professor of Ontography by Helen Grant
5 stars - A delightful surprise. I loved everything about this.
Phobos by Tori Bovalino
3 stars - Interesting story, but it could have had more depth. I wanted to know more about Prometheus. I'm also already starting to forget it.
Playing by Phoebe Wynne
2.5 stars - Very interesting protagonist, but she was the only thing that stood out in this story. It wasn't very memorable.
1000 Ships by Kate Weinberg
3 stars - Loved the writing, cool but very simple story. I'll probably check out the author's books at some point.
Pythia by Olivie Blake
5 stars - Love Olivie Blake, she never disappoints.
Sabbatical by James Tate Hill
2 stars - The story doesn't hold up well on its own because it's very clearly about already established characters in another book. Plus I really disliked the writing style.
The Hare and the Hound by Kelly Andrew
3.5 stars - Really enjoyed it but the ending was a bit anticlimactic and not very satisfying. I'm interested to check out this author's other works.
X House by J.T. Ellison
3 stars - It would have benefited from being longer and building up the suspense a bit more.
The Ravages by Layne Fargo
3.5 stars - Creepy and satisfying.
Four Funerals by David Bell
4 stars - I would read a full-length novel based on this story. It explored such an interesting moral dilemma. I blamed and felt for the protagonist in equal measure.
The Unknowable Pleasures by Susie Yang
4 stars - I was really enjoying this until the ending because it made the entire story seem pointless. Beautiful writing, though, and fantastic characterization for such a short story. I'll definitely check out the author's other works after this.
Weekend at Bertie's by M.L. Rio
5 stars - This short story was one of two reasons I picked this book up, and it did not disappoint. Rio's writing is intoxicating, and so are her characters.
I especially loved these lines:
Some nights she wandered in and out of dreams, up and down the halls of the crumbling house, reaching around every dark corner in search of remorse, but could never find it, never grasp it, never hold it fast. Sometimes, to tame her restless hands, she ran her fingers through her tangled curls and savored the tenderness there.
Perfection.
The Professor of Ontography by Helen Grant
5 stars - A delightful surprise. I loved everything about this.
Phobos by Tori Bovalino
3 stars - Interesting story, but it could have had more depth. I wanted to know more about Prometheus. I'm also already starting to forget it.
Playing by Phoebe Wynne
2.5 stars - Very interesting protagonist, but she was the only thing that stood out in this story. It wasn't very memorable.
dark
• 1000 ships: Kate Weinberg ⭐⭐
• Pythia: Olivie Blake ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Sabbatical: James Tate Hill ⭐
• The Hare and the Hound: Kelly Andrews ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• X house: J.T. Ellison ⭐⭐⭐
• The Ravages: Layne Fargo ⭐⭐⭐
• Four Funerals: David Bell ⭐⭐
• The Unknowable Pleasures: Susie Yang ⭐⭐⭐
• Weekend at Berties: M.L. Rio ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The Professor of Ontography: Helen Grant ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Phobos: Tori Bovalino ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Playing: Phoebe Wynne ⭐⭐
• Pythia: Olivie Blake ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Sabbatical: James Tate Hill ⭐
• The Hare and the Hound: Kelly Andrews ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• X house: J.T. Ellison ⭐⭐⭐
• The Ravages: Layne Fargo ⭐⭐⭐
• Four Funerals: David Bell ⭐⭐
• The Unknowable Pleasures: Susie Yang ⭐⭐⭐
• Weekend at Berties: M.L. Rio ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The Professor of Ontography: Helen Grant ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Phobos: Tori Bovalino ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Playing: Phoebe Wynne ⭐⭐
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
1000 Ships by Kate Weinberg ⭐⭐⭐
While finely and well told, I don't believe that this story was the right choice for the first story post the foreword by the editors. Early on I had certain expectations for the story to come full circle in a specific way, and when it didn't, I was left extremely disappointed. Mind you, I didn't need a specific ending, there were a couple different ways that the story could have been brought full circle but I won't list those here as there would be no way to avoid spoilers.
There's also the fact that this short story - as stated in the author's note at the end - acts as a prequel to The Truants by the same author. There are ways that one can write a short story that takes place within the same story or even with the same characters as a series - or as this one is, a prequel, without relying on the reader to know anything about the main story, but this short story does not do that well enough. I felt as though I was missing something so when I came across the author's note it made sense, but sadly didn't clear anything up about the story itself.
Pythia by Olivie Blake ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Out of all twelve of these stories, Blake's ranked among my absolute favorites. With a unique and honestly terrifying take on our future - whether near or far off - in regards to artificial intelligence and super computers, I enjoyed the easy back and forth snippets of unconventional dialogue and the main character's own recollection of events revolving around the sudden death of a girl, one suspiciously close to the disappearance of another.
So many wonderful yet unnerving ideas filled the 30+ pages - from cults around technology, a type of magic that links both technology and magic together, making technology mimic humans. A few lines of binary, a few softly muttered spells would then complete such tasks. But the most horrifying element of Olivie Blake's story is the idea of being able to - in a way - resurrect a person's soul, and insert it into AI, much less more than one someone's soul. Blake's writing style oddly reminds me of Veronica Roth's in the Chosen Ones, which only made this more enjoyable to read. To wrap it all up, there was an unsettling undertone throughout and I felt uneasy the rest of the work day.
Sabbatical by James Tate Hill ⭐
Sadly, this story was incredibly boring (I kept stating so to my coworkers while reading even), that I found myself trying to hurry through the story and honestly I don't think I retained much of anything from my reading of this story.
The Hare and The Hound by Kelly Andrews ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I was pleasantly surprised by the execution of this story, and how the writing kept my attention and hoping that the stories to come would be just as good if not even somehow better for the rest of the anthology. While most of my thoughts contain many spoilers and I try to not spoil ARCs, I will say that I was so happy that my own theories that I began to have quite quickly after Arlen was introduced weren't just revealed as correct, but merely implied, suggested that I had been right through my reading and analysis of the story.
I would love to see more to this story from Andrews in the future, maybe even in Arlen's point of view, and then picking up after the short story ended or even before. This story left me with so many questions and so many thoughts - and in the best way possible.
X House by JT Ellison ⭐⭐
This one was alright. I did find the idea of hazing so extreme that both a student and teacher ended up dead to be interesting though. I do wish that there had been more to this story than what almost felt like a "don't do drugs" PSA but for hazing.
The Ravages by Layne Fargo ⭐
So I genuinely remember nothing about this story.
Four Funerals by David Bell ⭐⭐
While the writing was fine, the topic didn't feel particularly dark academia. This is just something that can happen at any time, any school, for any reason, in any class. It happens frequently. If school shootings were more rare in the US then maybe I could consider the topic more dark academia. Otherwise it feels like it's just a dark real life topic. I also wasn't really a fan of the point of view it took, and there were too many things left unanswered and I really disliked our POV character.
The Unknowable Pleasures by Susie Yang ⭐⭐
The writing was actually really good here but the story felt pointless. It didn't even feel specifically dark academia - though I suppose a mystery and an academic setting is really all that's needed for something to be considered. I think the only thing that really made this an interesting story was the main character's mental health and I wish there was actually more discussion about that, instead of the story ending the way it did.
Weekend at Berties by ML Rio ⭐
This is so distantly related to academia - with the murdered person being related to the characters academically, this was boring and odd.
The Professor of Ontography by Helen Grant ⭐⭐⭐
Not really sure what to rate this one, as it did a particularly good job of scaring the living shit out of me and leaving me uneasy for the rest of the night - but in a different way than Pythia did. Though I'm not sure that is particularly a very strong compliment as I'm very easily scared and given nightmares, plus I still had Pythia's unease running through my veins at the time of reading. I will say the writing was excellent, but I also wish that the pacing had been different, not exactly faster or slower, just... different.
Phobos by Tori Bovalino ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
One of my other favorites in this anthology, I found Phobos to be excellently written and felt like a true dark academic story! I really liked the discussions of class and privilege had in this story as it related to the main character, and felt that they were only "quick" due to the nature of it being a short story and I would absolutely <i> love </i> to see a full length novel, or even just a novella diving into the whole story before and during and after.
I also really loved how she ended up committing her murder of a lower ranking student in the end, and god I could go on and on, and while I know most of these aren't linked to a bigger work I would just die for a full length novel or novella of this one, and I will repeat that until the day I die. (I also think this should have been swapped with Playing in order to close out the anthology)
Playing by Phoebe Wynne ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The plot twist of this one was great! And to be honest the plot twist is why I'm giving this story four stars. I really liked how the main character started to think about the funerals she played at, and even had moments that made it seem like she didn't know what she was doing (ha me trying super hard not to spoil), but in the end fully knew what she was doing, and someone else at the funerals seeming to catch on as well. A delightful story, though I feel like this should not have been the closer.
With an interesting premise, and many big name authors in the genre, In These Hallowed Halls promises much, but sadly doesn't deliver on about half of it. I found only about three stories that were five stars, with the majority of the stories being three or less, mostly less and less frequently three.
I really wish that they had been able to get the five star stories first, and then take them and go "we want the rest of the collection to match these vibes" even if it meant replacing some of the three and four star stories, because if I could get stories like Pythia, The Hare and The Hound, and Phobos for the entire anthology, I can sacrifice Playing and The Professor of Ontography. I will say that while this anthology was largely disappointing (I had extremely and possibly way too high of expectations for this collection) - I would love to see more anthologies in a similar vein.
Anthologies about other trends in literature right now, maybe light academia, cottagecore, fairycore, etc. Basically I would love lighter stories but I could also accept a second volume of dark academia inspired stories, if we got more authors.
While I loved that not a lot of these authors were well known, I would also love a second volume with other authors such as Leigh Bardugo (Ninth House), Mona Awad (Bunny), Dona Tartt (The Secret History, The Goldfinch), Antonia Angress (Sirens & Muses), even Daisy Alpert Florin (yes I did just write a review for her book My Last Innocent Year).
Generally, the concept and premise was spectacular, the execution - not as much, but also not as badly as it could have gone.
While finely and well told, I don't believe that this story was the right choice for the first story post the foreword by the editors. Early on I had certain expectations for the story to come full circle in a specific way, and when it didn't, I was left extremely disappointed. Mind you, I didn't need a specific ending, there were a couple different ways that the story could have been brought full circle but I won't list those here as there would be no way to avoid spoilers.
There's also the fact that this short story - as stated in the author's note at the end - acts as a prequel to The Truants by the same author. There are ways that one can write a short story that takes place within the same story or even with the same characters as a series - or as this one is, a prequel, without relying on the reader to know anything about the main story, but this short story does not do that well enough. I felt as though I was missing something so when I came across the author's note it made sense, but sadly didn't clear anything up about the story itself.
Pythia by Olivie Blake ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Out of all twelve of these stories, Blake's ranked among my absolute favorites. With a unique and honestly terrifying take on our future - whether near or far off - in regards to artificial intelligence and super computers, I enjoyed the easy back and forth snippets of unconventional dialogue and the main character's own recollection of events revolving around the sudden death of a girl, one suspiciously close to the disappearance of another.
So many wonderful yet unnerving ideas filled the 30+ pages - from cults around technology, a type of magic that links both technology and magic together, making technology mimic humans. A few lines of binary, a few softly muttered spells would then complete such tasks. But the most horrifying element of Olivie Blake's story is the idea of being able to - in a way - resurrect a person's soul, and insert it into AI, much less more than one someone's soul. Blake's writing style oddly reminds me of Veronica Roth's in the Chosen Ones, which only made this more enjoyable to read. To wrap it all up, there was an unsettling undertone throughout and I felt uneasy the rest of the work day.
Sabbatical by James Tate Hill ⭐
Sadly, this story was incredibly boring (I kept stating so to my coworkers while reading even), that I found myself trying to hurry through the story and honestly I don't think I retained much of anything from my reading of this story.
The Hare and The Hound by Kelly Andrews ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I was pleasantly surprised by the execution of this story, and how the writing kept my attention and hoping that the stories to come would be just as good if not even somehow better for the rest of the anthology. While most of my thoughts contain many spoilers and I try to not spoil ARCs, I will say that I was so happy that my own theories that I began to have quite quickly after Arlen was introduced weren't just revealed as correct, but merely implied, suggested that I had been right through my reading and analysis of the story.
I would love to see more to this story from Andrews in the future, maybe even in Arlen's point of view, and then picking up after the short story ended or even before. This story left me with so many questions and so many thoughts - and in the best way possible.
X House by JT Ellison ⭐⭐
This one was alright. I did find the idea of hazing so extreme that both a student and teacher ended up dead to be interesting though. I do wish that there had been more to this story than what almost felt like a "don't do drugs" PSA but for hazing.
The Ravages by Layne Fargo ⭐
So I genuinely remember nothing about this story.
Four Funerals by David Bell ⭐⭐
While the writing was fine, the topic didn't feel particularly dark academia. This is just something that can happen at any time, any school, for any reason, in any class. It happens frequently. If school shootings were more rare in the US then maybe I could consider the topic more dark academia. Otherwise it feels like it's just a dark real life topic. I also wasn't really a fan of the point of view it took, and there were too many things left unanswered and I really disliked our POV character.
The Unknowable Pleasures by Susie Yang ⭐⭐
The writing was actually really good here but the story felt pointless. It didn't even feel specifically dark academia - though I suppose a mystery and an academic setting is really all that's needed for something to be considered. I think the only thing that really made this an interesting story was the main character's mental health and I wish there was actually more discussion about that, instead of the story ending the way it did.
Weekend at Berties by ML Rio ⭐
This is so distantly related to academia - with the murdered person being related to the characters academically, this was boring and odd.
The Professor of Ontography by Helen Grant ⭐⭐⭐
Not really sure what to rate this one, as it did a particularly good job of scaring the living shit out of me and leaving me uneasy for the rest of the night - but in a different way than Pythia did. Though I'm not sure that is particularly a very strong compliment as I'm very easily scared and given nightmares, plus I still had Pythia's unease running through my veins at the time of reading. I will say the writing was excellent, but I also wish that the pacing had been different, not exactly faster or slower, just... different.
Phobos by Tori Bovalino ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
One of my other favorites in this anthology, I found Phobos to be excellently written and felt like a true dark academic story! I really liked the discussions of class and privilege had in this story as it related to the main character, and felt that they were only "quick" due to the nature of it being a short story and I would absolutely <i> love </i> to see a full length novel, or even just a novella diving into the whole story before and during and after.
I also really loved how she ended up committing her murder of a lower ranking student in the end, and god I could go on and on, and while I know most of these aren't linked to a bigger work I would just die for a full length novel or novella of this one, and I will repeat that until the day I die. (I also think this should have been swapped with Playing in order to close out the anthology)
Playing by Phoebe Wynne ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The plot twist of this one was great! And to be honest the plot twist is why I'm giving this story four stars. I really liked how the main character started to think about the funerals she played at, and even had moments that made it seem like she didn't know what she was doing (ha me trying super hard not to spoil), but in the end fully knew what she was doing, and someone else at the funerals seeming to catch on as well. A delightful story, though I feel like this should not have been the closer.
With an interesting premise, and many big name authors in the genre, In These Hallowed Halls promises much, but sadly doesn't deliver on about half of it. I found only about three stories that were five stars, with the majority of the stories being three or less, mostly less and less frequently three.
I really wish that they had been able to get the five star stories first, and then take them and go "we want the rest of the collection to match these vibes" even if it meant replacing some of the three and four star stories, because if I could get stories like Pythia, The Hare and The Hound, and Phobos for the entire anthology, I can sacrifice Playing and The Professor of Ontography. I will say that while this anthology was largely disappointing (I had extremely and possibly way too high of expectations for this collection) - I would love to see more anthologies in a similar vein.
Anthologies about other trends in literature right now, maybe light academia, cottagecore, fairycore, etc. Basically I would love lighter stories but I could also accept a second volume of dark academia inspired stories, if we got more authors.
While I loved that not a lot of these authors were well known, I would also love a second volume with other authors such as Leigh Bardugo (Ninth House), Mona Awad (Bunny), Dona Tartt (The Secret History, The Goldfinch), Antonia Angress (Sirens & Muses), even Daisy Alpert Florin (yes I did just write a review for her book My Last Innocent Year).
Generally, the concept and premise was spectacular, the execution - not as much, but also not as badly as it could have gone.
This collection wasn’t perfect, but there were some real bangers. Campus/dark academia is such catnip for me, so even the so-so stories still had some fun elements.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Murder, Alcohol