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iamastraythought's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
4.0
A very good anthology. I really liked the stories 'mine seven' 'creeping ivy' and 'murder board'
zarco_j's review against another edition
5.0
This new anthology contains 20 original horror stories, 16 of which have been commissioned from some of the top names in the genre, and 4 of which have been selected from the 100s of stories sent to Flame Tree during a 2-week open submissions window.
I absolutely adored each and every story in this collection. I really hope this does become a yearly event as I will definitely purchase more.
Thanks to NetGalley and Flame Tree for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
I absolutely adored each and every story in this collection. I really hope this does become a yearly event as I will definitely purchase more.
Thanks to NetGalley and Flame Tree for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
guarinous's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars.
After Sundown is a collection of horror short stories made possible by Flame Tree Press. It collects 20 stories with a focus on new/emerging talent (four of the stories were found by using an open submission format). While there are some familiar names on this list (Ramsey Campbell for one), it is an admirable goal to showcase newer talent in such an open ended and flexible genre. Taken as a collection, it's a bit of an uneven ride. Some stories are fantastic throughout, if a bit derivative at times. (I'm certain I've read at least two other horror stories with the same premise as "Creeping Ivy" but it's still an effective trope.) However, there are a few that fall short of the mark by either not packing enough scares or ending abruptly right when something of interest happens. While an abrupt ending is a common theme in horror, it always works better when it's justified and feels believable.
While genre fans may not find much that is new in this collection, it is still a fun read that is easy to pick up and read in small bursts.
**Thanks to Flame Tree Press and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.**
After Sundown is a collection of horror short stories made possible by Flame Tree Press. It collects 20 stories with a focus on new/emerging talent (four of the stories were found by using an open submission format). While there are some familiar names on this list (Ramsey Campbell for one), it is an admirable goal to showcase newer talent in such an open ended and flexible genre. Taken as a collection, it's a bit of an uneven ride. Some stories are fantastic throughout, if a bit derivative at times. (I'm certain I've read at least two other horror stories with the same premise as "Creeping Ivy" but it's still an effective trope.) However, there are a few that fall short of the mark by either not packing enough scares or ending abruptly right when something of interest happens. While an abrupt ending is a common theme in horror, it always works better when it's justified and feels believable.
While genre fans may not find much that is new in this collection, it is still a fun read that is easy to pick up and read in small bursts.
**Thanks to Flame Tree Press and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.**
jayfr's review against another edition
5.0
This new anthology contains 20 original horror stories, 16 of which have been commissioned from some of the top names in the genre, and 4 of which have been selected from the 100s of stories sent to Flame Tree during a 2-week open submissions window.
I absolutely adored each and every story in this collection. I really hope this does become a yearly event as I will definitely purchase more.
Thanks to NetGalley and Flame Tree for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
I absolutely adored each and every story in this collection. I really hope this does become a yearly event as I will definitely purchase more.
Thanks to NetGalley and Flame Tree for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
ajfromuk's review
This was my third attempt to read this book and unfortunately the stories are just very boring.
The last one I tried to read just didn't engage me (going on about lumpy socks) and I didn't even finish that so decided this book broke me.
The last one I tried to read just didn't engage me (going on about lumpy socks) and I didn't even finish that so decided this book broke me.
undertheradar's review against another edition
3.0
In this horror anthology, collected by Mark Morris, the stories range from ok to great!
Some of the standouts were:
THE IMPORTANCE OF ORAL HYGIENE
RESEARCH
&
GAVE
I would read a full length novel of RESEARCH and thought the other two were perfectly constructed as short stories.
There were more than a few letdowns including BUTTERFLY ISLAND, which I expected more of and I didn’t really care for a lot of the sci fi blends.
Overall, a great collection to add to your shelf. Enough for everyone to go around.
Thanks to Netgalley and Flame Tree Press for this advanced copy!
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Some of the standouts were:
THE IMPORTANCE OF ORAL HYGIENE
RESEARCH
&
GAVE
I would read a full length novel of RESEARCH and thought the other two were perfectly constructed as short stories.
There were more than a few letdowns including BUTTERFLY ISLAND, which I expected more of and I didn’t really care for a lot of the sci fi blends.
Overall, a great collection to add to your shelf. Enough for everyone to go around.
Thanks to Netgalley and Flame Tree Press for this advanced copy!
⭐️⭐️⭐️
booktrunks's review against another edition
2.0
I want to start by saying thank you, Grady Hendrix, for being a reliable source of good scary stories in my life, and for making this book more bearable. You are one of the most consistent people in my life, and I never have to doubt that a piece of your writing will slap.
Now that I've said that, this anthology just absolutely did not work for me. It's about 280 pages long, and it has 20 STORIES. I sincerely don't understand why they would limit these authors like that, some of the stories were legitimately 4.5 pages long, and that's simply not enough room for a good story (Grady's was the longest as far as I know, so I feel like that is scientific evidence that the rest of the stories were far too short). I constantly felt like authors either had to cut out necessary info from the beginning of their story, leaving me confused, or they had to just stop the story abruptly, which left me super disappointed. I was actually starting to get angry in the middle of the collection because of how many stories left me unsatisfied, and I would have DNFd this if I wasn't waiting to get to Grady. I was so excited to pick this up and sample a bunch of new horror authors to try about since previously I have only read 3 or 4, but this didn't help me at all! On top of the stories being too short, a lot of these straight up were not scary, and I am so pathetically easily scared, so that's saying something.
I saw that the publisher had decided to try and do a yearly volume of these horror stories, so with that in mind I don't understand why they didn't cut the amount of authors in half and give them twice as much room to write, because I am almost 100% sure that would have made this better. But, after reading, I do not think I will be picking up the second volume. I honestly can't even recommend this, unfortunately. I'm sure these are all fantastic authors, but there was no room for them to show that.
Now that I've said that, this anthology just absolutely did not work for me. It's about 280 pages long, and it has 20 STORIES. I sincerely don't understand why they would limit these authors like that, some of the stories were legitimately 4.5 pages long, and that's simply not enough room for a good story (Grady's was the longest as far as I know, so I feel like that is scientific evidence that the rest of the stories were far too short). I constantly felt like authors either had to cut out necessary info from the beginning of their story, leaving me confused, or they had to just stop the story abruptly, which left me super disappointed. I was actually starting to get angry in the middle of the collection because of how many stories left me unsatisfied, and I would have DNFd this if I wasn't waiting to get to Grady. I was so excited to pick this up and sample a bunch of new horror authors to try about since previously I have only read 3 or 4, but this didn't help me at all! On top of the stories being too short, a lot of these straight up were not scary, and I am so pathetically easily scared, so that's saying something.
I saw that the publisher had decided to try and do a yearly volume of these horror stories, so with that in mind I don't understand why they didn't cut the amount of authors in half and give them twice as much room to write, because I am almost 100% sure that would have made this better. But, after reading, I do not think I will be picking up the second volume. I honestly can't even recommend this, unfortunately. I'm sure these are all fantastic authors, but there was no room for them to show that.
ljwrites85's review against another edition
4.0
After Sundown is a fantastic collection of short stories from established authors and new talent.
Each story was gripping in their own unique way, no story felt the same or was on the same theme. I was really kept on my toes while reading these stories!
There were, of course, a few standouts:
Swanskin by Alison Littlewood. A tale in which swans have their skins stolen and they have to stay in human form, serving their husbands. There was just something so ethereal about this story, and the imagery the author used was so vivid.
Creeping Ivy by Laura Purcell. A historical piece of fiction about a diary unearthed at a dig site and the intriguing story within its pages. This was just a brilliant atmospheric read, I'm definitely putting Laura Purcell's book on my tbr list.
The Naughty Step by Stephen Volk. A story about a social worker called to a house after a little boy witnesses his mother's death. Goodness, this pulled at my heartstrings and was creepy at the same time.
Branch Line by Paul Finch. A cold case interview about a young boy who went missing in the 1970s and the unbelievable tale of the survivor. I love a ghost story, and this one was both realistic and creepy.
I had an issue with the fact I felt some stories could have been longer, particularly CJ Tudor's Butterfly Island, I would have read an entire book about that story!
I would recommend this collection, not only for horror lovers, but if you enjoy stories that really pull you in and keep you enthralled.
Each story was gripping in their own unique way, no story felt the same or was on the same theme. I was really kept on my toes while reading these stories!
There were, of course, a few standouts:
Swanskin by Alison Littlewood. A tale in which swans have their skins stolen and they have to stay in human form, serving their husbands. There was just something so ethereal about this story, and the imagery the author used was so vivid.
Creeping Ivy by Laura Purcell. A historical piece of fiction about a diary unearthed at a dig site and the intriguing story within its pages. This was just a brilliant atmospheric read, I'm definitely putting Laura Purcell's book on my tbr list.
The Naughty Step by Stephen Volk. A story about a social worker called to a house after a little boy witnesses his mother's death. Goodness, this pulled at my heartstrings and was creepy at the same time.
Branch Line by Paul Finch. A cold case interview about a young boy who went missing in the 1970s and the unbelievable tale of the survivor. I love a ghost story, and this one was both realistic and creepy.
I had an issue with the fact I felt some stories could have been longer, particularly CJ Tudor's Butterfly Island, I would have read an entire book about that story!
I would recommend this collection, not only for horror lovers, but if you enjoy stories that really pull you in and keep you enthralled.
nerdontheloose's review against another edition
4.0
This is an anthology of 20 horror shorts, including some famous names too. I’m a sucker for short stories and this one lived quite up to the expectations. What I really liked was how out of the box some of these ideas were, very original and a treat to read, but most of them dealing with the ideas of the end of the world and apocalypse, making it a perfect read for this year, lol.
Some of these were really great, others not so much and I kinda struggled with them, but that said, every story tops the crazy, out of the box ideas. Among others, my absolute favorites were Swanskin by Allison Littewood, It doesn’t feel right by Michael Marshall Smith, Gave by Michael Bailey, Research by Tim Lebbon, and Branch line by Paul Finch.
Totally recommended if you like crazy, and mind bending horror short stories.
Some of these were really great, others not so much and I kinda struggled with them, but that said, every story tops the crazy, out of the box ideas. Among others, my absolute favorites were Swanskin by Allison Littewood, It doesn’t feel right by Michael Marshall Smith, Gave by Michael Bailey, Research by Tim Lebbon, and Branch line by Paul Finch.
Totally recommended if you like crazy, and mind bending horror short stories.