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vampirehelpdesk's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Favorites of this collection include: For Sale by Owner, Money of the Dead, Hag, and Skinder’s Veil (banger to end on, seriously). Least favorites: Refinery Road (I wish I liked Stephen Graham Jones but I can’t), The Party (same sentiment but with Paul Tremblay—both seem like guys I would love to hang with but writing wise, not my jam), and Something Like Living Creatures (same about John Langan, whoops). I loved how everyone interpreted the theme of Shirley Jackson’s influence—whether it be a phrase from one of her books (looking at Carmen Maria Machado), to her tropes of cruel mothers (Joyce Carol Oates does this one) and outsiders (Cassandra Khaw’s contribution) and the overall feeling of a world that seems somewhere between reality and dreams (Kelly Link, again, what a great end note). One of the best anthologies I’ve read and highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Self harm, Blood, Gore, Death of parent, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Body horror, Abandonment, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, and Bullying
mangofandango's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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
4.5
Shirley Jackson is a fave, and some of the authors in this collection are too (Elizabeth Hand! SGJ!) so I was pretty excited to find this one at my library. And it was as enjoyable as I hoped! Sometimes, I find short story collections make me kind of restless, because they're uneven and it's hard to keep momentum going when changing stories frequently, and I start to become preoccupied with how many are left. There were a couple stories in here that didn't really do it for me, but most of them really did, enough that I felt invested even between tales. Some stories were enchanting (the Kelly Link) some haunting (Elizabeth Hand), atmospheric ("Hag", the Seanan McGuire), some skin-crawlingly horrifying ("Tiptoe", oh my god). There's a touch of dystopia ("Special Meal") and a story by Joyce Carol Oates so disturbing and sad that it will stay with me in a horrifying way. They all have a Shirley Jackson-esque thread running through them, despite being extremely different stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Child abuse, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Stalking
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