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defaultnamespace's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-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
3.5
natalyamarie_'s review
2.0
overall, the book was pretty boring and just seemed to drag on. there were definitely some stories i liked a lot but most of them were unentertaining and dull.
juffnstuff's review
dark
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Vomit, and Murder
j_o600's review
3.5
This was wildly uneven. There are some really chaotic and fun gems in here, and I think the collection is at its strongest when the authors are just being unhinged (sweet potato, serial killer love story, Bigfoot hunters, monster island). There are some more serious gems too, like Crick Crack (personally the scariest story), Blodzuger, and the Joyce Carol Oates story that made me so angry.
There’s some interesting experiments too—where I don’t think the story is fully realized or polished, but the ideas at play are unique and fun (the Midway and Now Voyager come to mind).
But then there’s a huge amount that are just odd. A lot go for the “who is the real monster” theme and it doesn’t work. There’s always going to be forgettable stories in a collection, but the stupid pandering in some really irritated me. A LOT of these stories ended with me thinking “ok so what.”
It’s not a terrible collection but it is long and that makes the slog of the worst stories/forgettable stories hit much harder. I really wanted to love this, and I’m glad I read it, because the good stories are treasures. But overall, this collection needed a lot more editing.
There’s some interesting experiments too—where I don’t think the story is fully realized or polished, but the ideas at play are unique and fun (the Midway and Now Voyager come to mind).
But then there’s a huge amount that are just odd. A lot go for the “who is the real monster” theme and it doesn’t work. There’s always going to be forgettable stories in a collection, but the stupid pandering in some really irritated me. A LOT of these stories ended with me thinking “ok so what.”
It’s not a terrible collection but it is long and that makes the slog of the worst stories/forgettable stories hit much harder. I really wanted to love this, and I’m glad I read it, because the good stories are treasures. But overall, this collection needed a lot more editing.
kleonard's review
4.0
The typical mix of good and less good horror stories. I always look for collections edited by Datlow because I know that within them I'll find some clever and original stories (as well as some I don't like as much but can--when I'm not reviewing them--skip over). Here I've read them all, and especially enjoyed Stephen Graham Jones, Joe Lansdale, Nathan Ballingrud, and Gemma Files's contributions.
guarinous's review
3.0
Screams from the Dark is a horror anthology edited by Ellen Datlow collecting 29 original short stories, all ostensibly themed around monsters, both traditional (vampires, werewolves, etc) and figurative (humanity). Veteran horror fans will find a decent amount to like here, but overall I found the experience to be more miss than hit.
Pros:
- A wide variety of authors, both well known (John Langan, Stephen Graham Jones, Gemma Files) and up-and-coming names in the scene.
- Many of the authors chose creative, interesting ways to play with the monster theme instead of devolving every tale into a zombie trope. (Some of my favorites were the sentient Island that a vampire and werewolf find themselves trapped on, the sailing group trapped by a fire breathing giant, and the "love story" of the murderer and the guy with a giant mouth in his chest that feeds on bodies).
- The majority of the stories are very short so even if you don't like one, it's not a huge time sink.
Cons:
- A lot of the stories are just not very interesting, or stretch the monster theme to ludicrous levels. I found myself skimming more often than I'd like.
- Despite the stories being short, this is a HUGE collection. I read it on Kindle but I can imagine in book form it has to be about 400-500 pages easy. This becomes a problem if you end up not liking a lot of the stories like me.
- Tonal issues. In a collection this is to be expected, but going from Stephen Graham Jones doing comedy horror to a brutal look at postpartum depression by AC Wise was a bit much.
FFO: vamps, Finding Bigfoot, bite sized snacks.
**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and Netgalley**
Pros:
- A wide variety of authors, both well known (John Langan, Stephen Graham Jones, Gemma Files) and up-and-coming names in the scene.
- Many of the authors chose creative, interesting ways to play with the monster theme instead of devolving every tale into a zombie trope. (Some of my favorites were the sentient Island that a vampire and werewolf find themselves trapped on, the sailing group trapped by a fire breathing giant, and the "love story" of the murderer and the guy with a giant mouth in his chest that feeds on bodies).
- The majority of the stories are very short so even if you don't like one, it's not a huge time sink.
Cons:
- A lot of the stories are just not very interesting, or stretch the monster theme to ludicrous levels. I found myself skimming more often than I'd like.
- Despite the stories being short, this is a HUGE collection. I read it on Kindle but I can imagine in book form it has to be about 400-500 pages easy. This becomes a problem if you end up not liking a lot of the stories like me.
- Tonal issues. In a collection this is to be expected, but going from Stephen Graham Jones doing comedy horror to a brutal look at postpartum depression by AC Wise was a bit much.
FFO: vamps, Finding Bigfoot, bite sized snacks.
**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and Netgalley**
librarylove4eva's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
5.0
Short story collection. Absolutely fantastic. Some stories better than others, all worth the time and energy to read. Some creepy, goosepimple; others, keep the light on horror. Gonna be seeking out Ellen Datlow collections in the future.