gravery's review

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Only listened to the story narrated by Erika Ishii, but I'd like to get to the rest later.

halfwolfhayden's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

I really want to have my blood sucked and then die, this book was pretty gay

darlingcami's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.0

ceru's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

4.0

raforall's review against another edition

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4.0

Review in the the April 2021 issue of Library Journal: https://www.libraryjournal.com/?reviewDetail=walk-among-us-compiled-edition-2110195

and on the blog [link live 4/5/21]: https://raforall.blogspot.com/2021/04/what-im-reading-april-horror-reviews.html

Three Words That Describe This Book: atmospheric, close narration, new voices for an old trope

Draft Review:
Set within the popular Vampire: The Masquerade role playing game world and originally published as audio only, Walk Among Us brings three exciting, new female horror authors together in one volume. While these novellas are not connected to each other in any way besides their vampire frame, they do all share an oppressive atmosphere and close narration which immediately draw readers into their unsettling worlds. “A Sheep Among Wolves” uses a horror lens to look at depression and grooming, appealing to readers of The Drowning Girl by Kiernan. “Fine Print” takes a detailed look at the consequences of making a dark deal much like the classic King novella “Fair Extensions” [Stephanie-- in Full Dark, No Stars]. And the final story, “The Land of Milk and Honey” contemplates vampire sustainable farming, reminiscent of Tender is the Flesh by Bazterrica. Each author has her own style, but all are immersive and terrifying.

Verdict: There is no need to know anything about the RPG in order to enjoy these modern, original, female focused novellas of vampire menace that take the old trope into exciting new directions. Just make sure you have the latest works by these authors in your collections as readers will be clamoring for more upon completion.

Extra notes:

Set in a world of a RPG [role playing game], but you do NOT have to know the world of the game to enjoy this collection of novellas. Originally in Audio only.

Three female horror authors to watch!

Obviously for fans of new tales of vampire menace, but each author has a different storytelling style and the frame of the vampire story is unique. So specific readalikes for each story and its main Frame:

A Sheep Among Wolves: Mental Health/Depressing and Grooming: The Drowning Girl by Kiernan

Fine Print: Consequences of a Dark Deal: "Fair Extensions" by King from FULL DARK NO STARS

The Land of Milk and Honey: Tender is the Flesh by Bazterrica

I don't expect every reader to like every story equally. But, each will have a reader who LOVES one of the stories and will seek out more by the author. Let patrons know that going in. The stories are not connected for those not aware of the RPG. They do not have to read it cover to cover.

sargasso_c's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

wisecraic's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

natreviews's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

So I really liked this book. The three short stories were really good, and they kept on improving from one to the next. The only reason this isn't getting 5 stars is because some were better than others. I found Genevieve Gornichec's to be the weakest of the 3 (which I found surprising, considering one of my favourite books is The Witches Heart). Cassandra Khaw's was an improvement, but the best was Caitlin Starling's. That doesn't mean any of them are not written well! They are all really well written. I just found Gornichec's to be a bit cliché, Khaw's to be a tiny bit confusing with an unlovable protagonist (which again, isn't a bad thing). It's hard to write for a world you didn't make up (as this is based on the world of the TTRPG), so major credit to all three stories. This also introduced me to Starling's work! I will defiantly be picking up some of her other works after reading this one!

tyrshand's review

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2.0

I think my rating on this one is completely down to me not being the right kind of reader for this book. The stories seemed well enough written and I enjoyed most of each story. However, each had a core piece that just felt... gross... to me, leading me to be quite unhappy with the way things turn out. I should clarify that it's more an emotionally gross feeling rather than gore or some such.

turtlebread's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0