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zshadow126's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
katross3's review
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
4.25
thegayestghost's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Medical trauma, Violence, Physical abuse, Gore, Medical content, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Child death, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Torture, and Toxic relationship
ridgewaygirl's review
4.0
This is the second anthology I've read that was edited by Joyce Carol Oates, and let me just say that she knows how to pick a good story. Or maybe, when JCO calls and asks an author to write a short story for a collection she's putting together, the author brings their A game instead of hammering out something the night before it's due. The second scenario is the more likely one, don't you agree?
This anthology collects works from a wide variety of women writers, from Margaret Atwood (a truly imaginative story called Metempsychosis, or The Journey of the Soul about a snail whose soul is transmogrified into the body of a young woman), to Tananarive Due (Dancing, in which a woman can no longer control her feet), to Elizabeth Hand (with a riff on the story of Bluebeard's wife called The Seventh Bride, or Female Curiosity]). The quality of the stories is high, and the variety is impressive. I've discovered a few new authors to look for and I got to enjoy new work by favorites.
This anthology collects works from a wide variety of women writers, from Margaret Atwood (a truly imaginative story called Metempsychosis, or The Journey of the Soul about a snail whose soul is transmogrified into the body of a young woman), to Tananarive Due (Dancing, in which a woman can no longer control her feet), to Elizabeth Hand (with a riff on the story of Bluebeard's wife called The Seventh Bride, or Female Curiosity]). The quality of the stories is high, and the variety is impressive. I've discovered a few new authors to look for and I got to enjoy new work by favorites.
bookwomble's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.0
noelles_shelves's review
3.0
Overall, this is a solid body horror anthology. There were some standout stories, but there were also some that I didn't really like. After spending some time reflecting, I would rate each story as follows:
1. Frank Jones by Aimee Bender - 5 stars - so bizarre it's memorable! I enjoyed it.
2. Dancing by Tananarive Due - 4 stars - really scary if you think about it. I like Due's style.
3. Scarlet Ribbons by Megan Abbott - 2 stars - too vague for me. Not too horrific.
4. Malena by Joanna Margaret - 5 stars - emotional and unpleasant. Definitely body horror.
5. Dancing with Mirrors by Lisa Lim - 2 stars - I liked the illustrations, but it fell flat compared to the others.
6. Metempsychosis, or The Journey of the Soul by Margaret Atwood - 5 stars - body horror but not in the expected way. This was a great story.
7. Concealed Carry by Lisa Tuttle - 5 stars - current and terrifying! The ending shocked me.
8. Gross Anatomy by Aimee LaBrie - 5 stars - by far the most disgusting in this book. She understood the assignment.
9. Breathing Exercise by Raven Leilani - 1 star - among the other stories, this feels out of place. I'm unsure how this is really "body horror."
10. Muzzle by Cassandra Khaw - 1 star - I've tried SO hard to like Khaw's writing, but I just don't. Interesting concept but its muddled by pretentious vocabulary.
11. Her Heart May Fail Her by Yumi Dineen Shiroma - 1 star - I vaguely understand what the author was going for here, but it didn't work.
12. The Chair of Tranquility (from the Diary of Mrs. Thomas Peele, Trenton, New Jersey, 1853) by Joyce Carol Oates - 3 stars - really scary that this is a real "treatment" plan. It was good, but tame.
13. The Seventh Bride, or Female Curiosity by Elizabeth Hand - 4 stars -
14. Nemesis by Valerie Martin - 5 stars - gotta love it when narcissistic men get what they deserve. I loved it.
15. Sydney by Sheila Kohler - 4 stars - strong story to end the collection. This is the only story to really focus on body horror combined with technology.
1. Frank Jones by Aimee Bender - 5 stars - so bizarre it's memorable! I enjoyed it.
2. Dancing by Tananarive Due - 4 stars - really scary if you think about it. I like Due's style.
3. Scarlet Ribbons by Megan Abbott - 2 stars - too vague for me. Not too horrific.
4. Malena by Joanna Margaret - 5 stars - emotional and unpleasant. Definitely body horror.
5. Dancing with Mirrors by Lisa Lim - 2 stars - I liked the illustrations, but it fell flat compared to the others.
6. Metempsychosis, or The Journey of the Soul by Margaret Atwood - 5 stars - body horror but not in the expected way. This was a great story.
7. Concealed Carry by Lisa Tuttle - 5 stars - current and terrifying! The ending shocked me.
8. Gross Anatomy by Aimee LaBrie - 5 stars - by far the most disgusting in this book. She understood the assignment.
9. Breathing Exercise by Raven Leilani - 1 star - among the other stories, this feels out of place. I'm unsure how this is really "body horror."
10. Muzzle by Cassandra Khaw - 1 star - I've tried SO hard to like Khaw's writing, but I just don't. Interesting concept but its muddled by pretentious vocabulary.
11. Her Heart May Fail Her by Yumi Dineen Shiroma - 1 star - I vaguely understand what the author was going for here, but it didn't work.
12. The Chair of Tranquility (from the Diary of Mrs. Thomas Peele, Trenton, New Jersey, 1853) by Joyce Carol Oates - 3 stars - really scary that this is a real "treatment" plan. It was good, but tame.
13. The Seventh Bride, or Female Curiosity by Elizabeth Hand - 4 stars -
14. Nemesis by Valerie Martin - 5 stars - gotta love it when narcissistic men get what they deserve. I loved it.
15. Sydney by Sheila Kohler - 4 stars - strong story to end the collection. This is the only story to really focus on body horror combined with technology.
rosebudthom's review
4.0
I usually don't like reviewing collections as they're varied and hard to generalise, but I can say with confidence I enjoyed A Darker Shade of Noir a lot! I was first drawn in by the idea of body horror from purely female and enby authors, and it didn't disappoint. Part I is very minor horror, mostly just what I would call odd. Part II absolutely had me in its grip, especially with Margaret Atwood's Memempsychosis (the opening story of Part II) and Gross Anatomy by Aimee LaBrie. Part III was a good wind-down, I felt, coming in strong with Joyce Carol Oates' The Chair of Tranquility and ending strong with Sydney by Sheila Kohler, both of which played on what I feel to be very female fears. All in all, I'd recommend this to any horror fan, as it has a bit of everything, and I feel the term "body horror" was used nice and broadly to refer not just to maladies of the body, but also the very nature of being trapped within a body, and foreign bodies invading ones' own.
Thank you to Edelweiss for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Edelweiss for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.