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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I had so much fun with most of the stories in this!! I found some new authors I definitely have to look into as well as some great stories from already favorite authors. I wish I could give this 5 stars because I had such a good time with this anthology, but alas there were some 3 and 4 stars (and gasp one 2 star). But I did have five 5 star stories and three 4.5 stories so I absolutely loved the majority of the short stories in this collection <3
I've loved dark academia as an aesthetic since the first moodboard I saw on Tumblr, but the actual execution of it in literature can be dodgy. Sometimes, novels that call themselves "dark academia" try too hard to be The Secret History, and sometimes they just ape the trends of the genre without any of the literary substance; ie, "this takes place at a boarding school, so it's dark academia". No, no.
Luckily, "In These Hallowed Halls" as a short story collection has more hits than misses. Part of that is due to the care with which the authors were selected: ML Rio, Layne Fargo, Olivie Blake, and Phoebe Wynne are all greats in the genre who know what they're doing. Consequently, their stories linger longer than others - there's a good marriage there of aesthetic and substance. Some of the authors unfamiliar to me also did great work - I can't wait to read Susie Yang's White Ivy now that I've read her short story.
As with any collection, some works just don't land. For the most part, though, this collection is a good representation of the 'dark academia' genre with a solid more-than-half of the selections being worth reading.
Luckily, "In These Hallowed Halls" as a short story collection has more hits than misses. Part of that is due to the care with which the authors were selected: ML Rio, Layne Fargo, Olivie Blake, and Phoebe Wynne are all greats in the genre who know what they're doing. Consequently, their stories linger longer than others - there's a good marriage there of aesthetic and substance. Some of the authors unfamiliar to me also did great work - I can't wait to read Susie Yang's White Ivy now that I've read her short story.
As with any collection, some works just don't land. For the most part, though, this collection is a good representation of the 'dark academia' genre with a solid more-than-half of the selections being worth reading.
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
interesting themes but honestly not what i would call too dark academia? i don’t think the majority were really dark academia at all, just horror that happened to take place around schools
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i gotta be honest i lost my copy of this book for like a month and a half and now that i’ve found it again i’m not really in the mood for a short story collection anymore, will return someday
This is a mixed bag but I enjoyed a majority of the stories in this collection.
1000 ships by Kate Weinberg - 2.5 stars
I liked the ending as the professor got what he had coming. But I wasn't a fan of the plot nor the writing style. I'm a bit disappointed that this started off with a story I didn't like.
Pythia by Olivie Blake - 4.5 stars
I love how Olivie Blake put so much world building and character development in 30 pages! I was hooked while reading and I didn't see the end coming.
Sabbatical by James Tate Hill - 4 stars
The characters are so messy but I enjoyed my time reading this.
The Hare and The Hound by Kelly Andrew - 4.75 stars
I really didn't expect this to go in the direction it went. I loved this story. It's made me more excited to pick up the Whispering Dark by Kelly Andrew.
X House by J.T. Ellison - 4.25 stars.
I can't believe this ended the way it did. I could easily read like a 300 + page book on this story!
The Ravages by Layne Fargo - 3.5 stars.
I enjoyed this one but it didn't surprise me like the other stories in this collection has.
Four Funerals by David Bell - 1 star.
I wasn't a fan of this story. Its one redeeming feature was the writing style.
The Unknowable Pleasures by Susie Yang - 1.5 stars
This was weird and went absolutely nowhere.
Weekend at Bertie's by M. L. Rio - 4 stars.
The characters are messy and clearly did certain things to make their lives better. I have a theory about Lou and what that ending means
1000 ships by Kate Weinberg - 2.5 stars
I liked the ending as the professor got what he had coming. But I wasn't a fan of the plot nor the writing style. I'm a bit disappointed that this started off with a story I didn't like.
Pythia by Olivie Blake - 4.5 stars
I love how Olivie Blake put so much world building and character development in 30 pages! I was hooked while reading and I didn't see the end coming.
Sabbatical by James Tate Hill - 4 stars
The characters are so messy but I enjoyed my time reading this.
The Hare and The Hound by Kelly Andrew - 4.75 stars
I really didn't expect this to go in the direction it went. I loved this story. It's made me more excited to pick up the Whispering Dark by Kelly Andrew.
X House by J.T. Ellison - 4.25 stars.
I can't believe this ended the way it did. I could easily read like a 300 + page book on this story!
The Ravages by Layne Fargo - 3.5 stars.
I enjoyed this one but it didn't surprise me like the other stories in this collection has.
Four Funerals by David Bell - 1 star.
I wasn't a fan of this story. Its one redeeming feature was the writing style.
The Unknowable Pleasures by Susie Yang - 1.5 stars
This was weird and went absolutely nowhere.
Weekend at Bertie's by M. L. Rio - 4 stars.
The characters are messy and clearly did certain things to make their lives better. I have a theory about Lou and what that ending means
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
dark
mysterious
fast-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
Some were good some were just plain boring. Only a handful of stories were truly dark academia but then again I guess its a broad genre.