Reviews

Dark Dreams: A Collection of Horror and Suspense by Black Writers by Francine Lewis, Terence Taylor, Robert Fleming, Kalamu ya Salaam, Linda Addison, D.S. Foxx, Christopher Chambers, L.H. Moore, Rickey Windell George, Tananarive Due, Ahmad Wright, Joy M. Copeland, L.R. Giles, Zane, L.A. Banks, Gordon Doyle, Steven Barnes, Chesya Burke, Lawana Holland-Moore, Patricia E. Canterbury, Anthony Beal, Brandon Massey

spacem0nkeyyy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

joyful24's review against another edition

2.0

I got this book because i wanted to read Tananavarie Due and Stephen Barnes zombie story Danger Word before the short film came out. The rest of these stories were highly disappointing. I will say that Dreads by D.S. Foxx and he Who Takes Away the Pain by Chesya Burke were on point. Everything else was just okay and/or a nice try to cross genres. Not all that impressed or interested in adding these authors to my library.

mad_about_books's review against another edition

4.0

This book is apparently the first I reviews on Amazon. At that time, I was not reviewing everything that I read. I have a vague recollection of posting the Amazon review because of the story contained in this anthology written by Linda Addison. In fact, my review was directed at her story rather than the entire book. I must have rated the book 4 stars, but her contribution was definitely a 5-star read.

My Amazon review...
I was browsing around in Barnes & Noble one day and came across Dark Dreams among the new releases. I checked out the table of contents and was extremely pleased to find a story by my friend Linda Addison. Linda is a fine poet and brings the beauty of language to all her written works.

I went home and browsed for it on Amazon and found a second book to buy as a bundle with Dark Dreams called Dark Thirst that just happened to contain a novella by one Linda Addison. Of course, I immediately bought them both.

'The Power' is a terrific story. It is beautifully written and it touched my soul.

jonmhansen's review against another edition

3.0

Anthologies are a bit of a mixed bag: some stories you'll like, some you won't. This one's no exception.

honeycoveredpages's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Resident evil - Zane// But Beautiful and terrifying - Robert Fleming// He Who Takes Away the Pain - Chesya Burke// Bras Coupe - Kalamu ya Salaam// Hair Dreams - Joy M. Copeland// The Track - L.R. Giles// If the Walls Could Talk - L.A. Banks// The Fourth Floor - Ahmad Wright// Empty Vessel - Lawana Holland-Moore// I, Ghoul - Christopher Chambers// Dreads - D.S. Foxx// Plaything - Terence Taylor (Trigger: Sexual Abuse of a child)// The Power - Linda Addison// Red - Rickey Windell George// Siren Song - Francine Lewis// Granddad's Garage - Brandon Massey// Wild Chocolate - Patricia E. Canterbury// Cum onn, It'z Lovely Whether - Anthony Beal// The Gray Riders - B. Gordon Doyle// Danger Word - Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due

An anthology by all black authors. There are 20 stories. I really enjoyed the majority of the short stories in this book. I put a line through the stories that I didn’t like or DNF. The bolded books were my favorites and left me wanting more. 

The Track - L.R. Giles// If the Walls Could Talk - L.A. Banks// The Power - Linda Addison// Granddad's Garage - Brandon Massey// Wild Chocolate - Patricia E. Canterbury// Danger Word - Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due 

kaylahall702's review

The narrators sounded terrible for some reason but it could just be me! The one i did read  weren’t scary or good and the left too many open ended endings. 

the_bookubus's review against another edition

3.0

A very mixed bag of short stories but worth checking out for the gems. Initially I read the stories by female authors for Women in Horror month, then I came back later and read the ones by male authors. Overall I enjoyed the female written stories more. My favourite of the whole collection was Hair Dreams by Joy Copeland. I also really enjoyed Empty Vessel by Lawana Holland-Moore and Dreads by D.S. Foxx. The final story, Danger Word, by Tananarive Due and Stephen Barnes was excellent too.

jmanchester0's review

3.0

I didn't know what to expect especially after I got through the first couple stories. The first story, Resident Evil, has a lot of sex in it. I don't much like sex with my horror. Plus, the story was really poorly written. The dialogue was atrocious. I know that Zane is a fairly prolific author, and I assume she's popular. But this read like somebody's first draft of a story. I didn't care for it.

The second story (But Beautiful and Terrifying) was better written, but it was still about sex! Is this an anthology of horror or erotica?

He Who Takes Away the Pain. OK. Finally, a story without sex. And well written. But I still have no idea what it was about. I suspect it was an allegory for something, or a metaphor. But I don't know for what.

The fourth one (Brak Coopee) started out about sex. But then it start talking about race, which I thought would be interesting. Of course this is the story that has the line, "My accusation hung in the air like a fart." It wasn't even suspenseful, until the very end. This one was just OK.

Hair dreams. So far, this is my favorite. Good story. Great ending.

The Track was pretty good too.

If the Walls Could Talk. This is a pretty enjoyable story. About revenge and women done wrong.

The Fourth Floor. Short, sweet, and spooky.

Empty Vessel was horrifying. But not for scary or supernatural reasons.

I Ghoul and Dreads were interesting.

Plaything was disturbing, too.

The Power was a good story.

Red was just‰Ы_ ew. This is why horror and sex don't mix.

Spoiler

And what do you do when the protagonist is evil? And eats her own child?

Siren Song was well-written and well-performed.

Grandad's Garage was a great story.

Wild Chocolate was fascinating.

Come On! It's Lovely Weather is the second story in this set in which a giant phallus plays a central role. It's also has the honor of coining a term I bet has never been said: "Coital subservience." I like Krampus tales, but would have passed on this one.

The Gray Riders was interesting. Until the end.

Danger Word was a good story to end on.

Overall, I thought there were several stories here that were worth reading - but several that weren't worth it. I guess that's about like any short story anthology.

vulveeta's review

3.0

it's unfortunate that dark dreams starts off on such a horrible note with zane's "resident evil," an awful amalgam of vampire horror and erotica, because i'm sure that it could be really off-putting to someone who picks it up at random. however, if you power through or just ignore the story, i'm finding that DD reads as a typical anthology--some meh stories, and some that really shine. "bras coupe" and "hair dreams" are my favorites so far.

pages_and_procrastination's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

This was kind of disappointing.... there was potential in almost every story. But, they all stopped right when the story got to the good part. The stories were creepy but not scary. Would not recommend