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pdestrienne's review
dark
medium-paced
3.75
the more authors, the more opportunity for stories that are so-so. and the narrators were just okay. but it definitely held my attention for the whole 14 hours
joshgauthier's review against another edition
4.0
Like any anthology, some of these stories are better than others. But with authors including Nathan Ballingrud, Seanan McGuire, and Cassandra Khaw, Body Shocks keenly displays the ability of body horror not only to disturb, but to offer powerful commentary, reflection, and insight. With a wide range of styles and themes, Body Shocks is not for the faint of heart, but there's definite treasure here for any horror fan with stories that will linger--both for what they have to say and the images they contain--all carefully curated by the highly accomplished Ellen Datlow.
full_of_flowers's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
4.0
A large variety in the era, voice, and style of these stories, which is both a bug and a feature. Anyone interested in body horror is likely to find some they really like here, although they'll likely find others ranging from "meh" to "dear lord." My personal favorites were ones that effectively used their creepy imagery to make relevant connections to our everyday lives, whether they examined beauty standards, class inequalities, or the ways in which we define humanity.
The Travellers Stay: 2.25
Toother: 2.75
Painlessness: 3.25
You go Where it Takes you: 4.75
A Positive: 4.5
La Beauté Sans Vertu: 4.0
Subsumption: 4.0
Spar: 3.75
It was the Heat: 3.75
Atwater: 4.0
The Transfer: 3.5
Welcome to Mengele's: 3.0
Black Neurology: A Love Story: 0.0
Cuckoo: 4.25
Cinerous: 4.75
The Truth that Lies Under Skin and Meat: 4.5
Natural Skin: 4.75
The Lake: 4.75
I'm Always Here: 4.75
The Look: 4.5
The Old Women Who Were Skinned: 5.0
Spores: 4.5
Sweet Subtleties: 3.75
Elegy for a Suicide: 3.0
Skin City: 3.0
A True Friend: 2.5
What I Found in the Shed: 4.0
Fabulous Beasts: 4.5
Tissue Ablation and Variant Regeneration: A Case Report: 4.5
The Travellers Stay: 2.25
Toother: 2.75
Painlessness: 3.25
You go Where it Takes you: 4.75
A Positive: 4.5
La Beauté Sans Vertu: 4.0
Subsumption: 4.0
Spar: 3.75
It was the Heat: 3.75
Atwater: 4.0
The Transfer: 3.5
Welcome to Mengele's: 3.0
Black Neurology: A Love Story: 0.0
Cuckoo: 4.25
Cinerous: 4.75
The Truth that Lies Under Skin and Meat: 4.5
Natural Skin: 4.75
The Lake: 4.75
I'm Always Here: 4.75
The Look: 4.5
The Old Women Who Were Skinned: 5.0
Spores: 4.5
Sweet Subtleties: 3.75
Elegy for a Suicide: 3.0
Skin City: 3.0
A True Friend: 2.5
What I Found in the Shed: 4.0
Fabulous Beasts: 4.5
Tissue Ablation and Variant Regeneration: A Case Report: 4.5
mb918's review against another edition
3.0
Like with most anthologies, some of these stories were fantastic, and some were boring as hell. A couple were way too similar for my taste, but there were a few EXCELLENT and unique body horror concepts and gruesome descriptions that definitely satisfied my horror craving.
skilah's review against another edition
slow-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
3.0
xwritingstoriesx's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Each and every one of these stories was beyond original and innovative. Some stories reminded me of Shirley Jackson's narrative voice (especially with It Was The Heat), Goosebumps and Jacqueline Wilson with the short story, Fabulous Beasts. This mix of authors is odd but it really does work. I also really appreciated the OCD representation in the story, Spores. I too suffer from contamination OCD and I saw myself in the MC and felt that it accurately portrayed the disorder. My favourites of this collection include Painlessness, Subsumption, Welcome to Mengele's, Natural Skin, The Look, Spores, Fabulous Beasts and Tissue Abulation and Variant Regeneration. Overall, I rate the collection a 4.5 stars.
the travellers stay 4 stars
toother 4.25 stars
painlessness 4.5 stars
you go where it takes you 4.5 stars
A Positive 4.25 stars
La Beaut Sans vertu 4 stars
subsumption 4.75 stars
spar 4.25 stars
it was the heat 4.25 stars
the transfer 3 stars
Welcome to Mengele's 4.75 stars
black neurology 4 stars
cuckoo 4.25 stars
cinerous 4 stars
the truth that lies under skin and meat 4.5 stars
Natural Skin 4.75 stars
The Lake 4.5 stars
I'm always Here 4 stars
The Look 4.75 stars
The Old Women Who Were Skinned 4 stars
Spores 4.75 stars
Sweet Subtleties 4 stars
Elegy for Suicide 3.75 stars
Skin City 4.25 stars
A True Friend 4 stars
What I found In the Shed 4 stars
Fabulous Beasts 4.5 stars
Tissue Abulation and variant regeneration: a case report 4.75 stars
the travellers stay 4 stars
toother 4.25 stars
painlessness 4.5 stars
you go where it takes you 4.5 stars
A Positive 4.25 stars
La Beaut Sans vertu 4 stars
subsumption 4.75 stars
spar 4.25 stars
it was the heat 4.25 stars
the transfer 3 stars
Welcome to Mengele's 4.75 stars
black neurology 4 stars
cuckoo 4.25 stars
cinerous 4 stars
the truth that lies under skin and meat 4.5 stars
Natural Skin 4.75 stars
The Lake 4.5 stars
I'm always Here 4 stars
The Look 4.75 stars
The Old Women Who Were Skinned 4 stars
Spores 4.75 stars
Sweet Subtleties 4 stars
Elegy for Suicide 3.75 stars
Skin City 4.25 stars
A True Friend 4 stars
What I found In the Shed 4 stars
Fabulous Beasts 4.5 stars
Tissue Abulation and variant regeneration: a case report 4.75 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Incest, Rape, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
alphabetseeds's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I have very mixed feelings about this collection, which has everything to do with me and nothing to do with the quality of the writing. Quality of the writing is very good. However, I discovered while reading that body horror, for the most part, is not for me.
I preferred the stories that had to do with unexpected transformation and general weirdness and disliked the stories that relied on sexual violence, revenge porn, and general shittiness of the main characters.
Highlights for me were the following stories:
- Painlessness by Kirstyn McDermott - a woman relocates and tries to befriend her next door neighbor, who has a troubling condition. I liked the unsure dynamic between them and the hesitancy of putting yourself out there after escaping from toxic relationships.
- Subsumption by Lucy Taylor - nature fights back after a cataclysmic event. Gave me 10 Cloverfield Lane vibes, but what happens after.
- The Lake by Tananarive Due - a teacher moves into a lakehouse in Florida and no one warns her about the dangers of swimming in the lake. I love stories where local superstitions end up being true, and everyone who lives there just holds on to this knowledge.
- The Old Women who were Skinned by CArmen Maria Machado - creepy fairy tale about two sisters who live in solitude until one day, the king comes calling. It was weird and gruesome and just worked for me.
- Spores by Seanan McGuire - a bio lab tech with extreme OCD realizes that there's something seriously wrong with the mold on the peaches. Seriously, fungus is scary.
The whole point of bingo is to challenge yourself, and I sure did.
I preferred the stories that had to do with unexpected transformation and general weirdness and disliked the stories that relied on sexual violence, revenge porn, and general shittiness of the main characters.
Highlights for me were the following stories:
- Painlessness by Kirstyn McDermott - a woman relocates and tries to befriend her next door neighbor, who has a troubling condition. I liked the unsure dynamic between them and the hesitancy of putting yourself out there after escaping from toxic relationships.
- Subsumption by Lucy Taylor - nature fights back after a cataclysmic event. Gave me 10 Cloverfield Lane vibes, but what happens after.
- The Lake by Tananarive Due - a teacher moves into a lakehouse in Florida and no one warns her about the dangers of swimming in the lake. I love stories where local superstitions end up being true, and everyone who lives there just holds on to this knowledge.
- The Old Women who were Skinned by CArmen Maria Machado - creepy fairy tale about two sisters who live in solitude until one day, the king comes calling. It was weird and gruesome and just worked for me.
- Spores by Seanan McGuire - a bio lab tech with extreme OCD realizes that there's something seriously wrong with the mold on the peaches. Seriously, fungus is scary.
The whole point of bingo is to challenge yourself, and I sure did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Violence
sonicb00's review against another edition
It totally lost my interest. There were a few that were interesting, but mostly it was just bizarre rather than horror. Once the stories started getting sexual it just totally threw me off and I just didn't care anymore.
raforall's review against another edition
5.0
Reading for review in Booklist- Star Review in the August SF/F/H spotlight issue: http://raforall.blogspot.com/2021/08/what-im-reading-august-issue-of-booklist.html
From the draft review:
"Multiple award-winner Datlow has worked her way backward, through previously published stories from across the dark fiction landscape, uncovering the breadth of of these horrific tales of the human body being taken over and transformed into something unsettling at best and grotesque at worst, stories that were often hidden under a different designation, but are now proudly displayed in this standard setting anthology."
From the draft review:
"Multiple award-winner Datlow has worked her way backward, through previously published stories from across the dark fiction landscape, uncovering the breadth of of these horrific tales of the human body being taken over and transformed into something unsettling at best and grotesque at worst, stories that were often hidden under a different designation, but are now proudly displayed in this standard setting anthology."