Reviews

Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers

razzberry_pi's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Really good set of connected short stories following a Cherokee family line from the 19th century into the future, showing the impacts of colonialism and violence. Intertwines fantasy/horror elements within its historical fiction in a really interesting way. 

Some of the threads can be a bit difficult to follow between stories especially since they are from a limited character POV. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Violence, Death of parent, and Child death

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Abortion

Minor: War

laurenmiller100's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

This is a good horror anthology. I agree with what others have said that it would help to have some knowledge of Cherokee history, customs, and mythology to truly appreciate it. As with any set of short stories, there is a mixed bag and a range of quality. But the writing is good. I especially enjoyed the following stories:

An Old Fashioned Girl
Man Made Monsters
Maria Most Likely
Snow Day
Ghost Cat
The Zombies Attack the Drive-In

xxoorbweaverxx's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

arghmargh's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

4.25

sarawoltz1's review against another edition

3.0

the stories that i loved were absolutely incredible and some of the best horror works i’ve ever read ! unfortunately most of the stories weren’t my cup of tea but i can tell how talented she is

borghalrantipole's review

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious sad 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

3.75

celestial_being's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

nicoleceballos's review

fast-paced

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

3.0

I was so excited for this, but ended up being disappointed. The short stories were all over the place. Some were great and some weren't. I feel like the good ones would have worked better as full length novels because they kinda just ended, with nothing resolved. 

flowerwineandbooks's review

4.0

This is an odd book, and a hard one to rate and review, but I think it's ingenuity deserves that much. The more I sit on these stories the richer I find them and I enjoy the stories much more then I did while reading them at face value. At first glance, the characters felt underdeveloped/disconnected on the surface, but after having read the entirety and looking back with the big picture, I can see that they're beautifully wound together in an inter-generational story as well as a fully integrated character arc spanning across centuries.

This is definitely some lovely, weird, creepy horror!! This Indigenous horror is just so incredibly terrifying and densely layered. Readers will definitely get more out of these stories with some background knowledge on Cherokee history in the US.

Also - THE ILLUSTRATIONS! Wow. The black pages with the white graphics worked SO WELL and the images themselves seamlessly combined with the Cherokee syllabary is absolutely stunning. It adds an atmospheric tone to the genre, themes, setting, characters, everything.

There are tons of trigger warnings for grief, suicide, sexual assault, death of children, murder, MMIW, school shootings, domestic abuse, and I'm likely forgetting some.

Scariest Stories:
An Old-Fashioned Girl
Man Made Monsters
Lens
Deer Women

Most Impactful Stories:
Snow Day
Ghost Cat
Ama's Boys
The Zombies Attack the Drive-In!

Favorite Stories:
Hell Hound in No Man's Land
Me and My Monster
Deer Women
I Come From the Water

readingintheether's review

5.0

4.5 stars