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readingvicariously's review against another edition
4.0
I have to applaud the editors at Valancourt for the immense time and effort it must have taken to not only comb the globe for great stories, but to also translate them for this book. The magnitude of such an endeavor is overwhelming to me. Luckily it was all worth it as this is a fantastic collection of horrifying short stories from around the world!
The stories vary widely in their plots and the type of horror they contain, so there is truly something for everyone here. It was exciting reading this collection as each new story also introduced me to a new author, many of whom I would love to read more from. As with all anthologies there are hits and misses, but overall this is a solid group of entertaining and terrifying tales!!
Some stand outs for me are:
“Mater Tenebrarum” by Pilar Pedraza (Spain)
“The Time Remaining” by Attila Veres (Hungary)
“Señor Ligotti” by Bernardo Esquinca (Mexico)
“The Bones in Her Eyes” by Christien Boomsma (Netherlands)
“All the Birds” by Yvette Tan (Philippines)
The stories vary widely in their plots and the type of horror they contain, so there is truly something for everyone here. It was exciting reading this collection as each new story also introduced me to a new author, many of whom I would love to read more from. As with all anthologies there are hits and misses, but overall this is a solid group of entertaining and terrifying tales!!
Some stand outs for me are:
“Mater Tenebrarum” by Pilar Pedraza (Spain)
“The Time Remaining” by Attila Veres (Hungary)
“Señor Ligotti” by Bernardo Esquinca (Mexico)
“The Bones in Her Eyes” by Christien Boomsma (Netherlands)
“All the Birds” by Yvette Tan (Philippines)
graceexe's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
casdelvo's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Sexual violence, Rape, Child death, Animal death, Gore, Kidnapping, Violence, Body horror, and Death
Moderate: Gun violence, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Terminal illness, Stalking, and Murder
Minor: Drug use, Sexual content, Infidelity, Alcohol, Cursing, and Vomit
leguinstan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Body horror
Moderate: Violence, Rape, and Sexual violence
saintmaud's review against another edition
solid collection. favourites: uironda, luigi musolino (Italian); backstairs, anders fager (swedish), pale toes, marko hautala (finnish).
also honourable mention to the time remaining, attila veres (hungarian) and donation, lahrs ahn (danish) weren't favs they just scarred me the most i saw a tumblr post about used plushies and it was more terrifying than sweet after reading ttt :/
also honourable mention to the time remaining, attila veres (hungarian) and donation, lahrs ahn (danish) weren't favs they just scarred me the most i saw a tumblr post about used plushies and it was more terrifying than sweet after reading ttt :/
braunm580's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
joecam79's review against another edition
5.0
Valancourt has just added to its impressive catalogue what might well be the jewel in its (Gothic) crown: "The Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories". In this veritable labour of love, editors (and Valancourt founders) James D. Jenkins and Ryan Cagle have combed through stories in a myriad of languages to come up with a selection of twenty-one contemporary horror stories from around the world, all of which are being published in English for the first time ever. Choosing the stories must have been a mammoth task. What is even more remarkable is that Jenkins prepared most of the translations himself. Having a command of so many languages is an achievement – but what is even more impressive is that these are no workaday renditions, but readable, fluent translations into English which manage to retain the different narrative voices and styles of the original.
How to start reviewing such a wealth of remarkable stories? I will not even attempt to do so but will simply list some reasons why you should check out this anthology.
1. Although some of the featured authors are very well-known in their respective countries, they are hardly household names in the English-speaking world. The lover of horror stories seeking new voices from outside the established English-language canon will find plenty to discover here.
2. The authors who make an appearance in this anthology are not “different” just because they are little-known, but because they genuinely bring something new to the horror genre. More often than not, their stories reflects folklore which will be unfamiliar to most readers. To cite just a couple of examples, Yvette Tan’s All the Birds incorporates elements from Filipino mythology and folklore, while Bathie Ngoye Thiam’s The House of Leuk Dawour taps into Senegal’s long tradition of supernatural storytelling. Down, in their World by Flavius Ardelean revives the scarier aspects of Romanian folklore.
3. Even when not directly inspired by local myths, many of the stories reflect aspects, landscapes and issues of the authors’ countries of origin. Menopause by Flore Hazoumé, for instance, provides social commentary on African society’s approach to womenhood whereas Luigi Musolino’s Uironda – a strong opener to this anthology – evokes the dreary highways of Northern Italy’s industrial hinterland.
4. Diversity and variety are two key characteristics of this anthology. As the editors explain in their foreword, they aimed to ensure a high rate of inclusion of women writers, authors of colour, and LGBT-interest material. This is no mere tip of the hat to political correctness but a genuine desire to make this anthology as inclusive as possible. And, ultimately, this is reflected in the sheer literary variety found between the book’s covers. Certainly, all the featured stories qualify as horror. But this is a broad church indeed. Just come inside and take your seat in your favourite aisle – whether the horror you love is psychological and Aickman-like, Lovecraftian (cosmic or reptilian), gory, surreal, or tinged with crime, folklore or comedy… you’ll find something for you.
5. The best reason to savour this anthology however is the quality of the writing. Judging from the reviews I’ve read, the horror community is showing this anthology well-deserved love. But this should honestly be more than a “niche interest” collection – this is great contemporary world literature, independently of its genre.
Here’s the roll call of stories:
Pilar Pedraza, 'Mater Tenebrarum' (Spain)
Flavius Ardelean, 'Down, in Their World' (Romania)
Anders Fager, 'Backstairs' (Sweden)
Tanya Tynjälä, 'The Collector' (Peru)
Frithjof Spalder, 'The White Cormorant' (Norway)
Jose María Latorre, 'Snapshots' (Spain)
Luigi Musolino, 'Uironda' (Italy)
Martin Steyn, 'Kira' (South Africa)
Attila Veres, 'The Time Remaining' (Hungary)
Lars Ahn, 'Donation' (Denmark)
Bernardo Esquinca, 'Señor Ligotti' (Mexico)
Cristina Fernández Cubas, 'The Angle of Horror' (Spain)
Christien Boomsma, 'The Bones in Her Eyes' (Netherlands)
Elisenda Solsona, 'Mechanisms' (Catalonia)
Michael Roch, 'The Illogical Investigations of Inspector André Despérine' (Martinique)
Solange Rodríguez Pappe, 'Tiny Women' (Ecuador)
Bathie Ngoye Thiam, 'The House of Leuk Dawour' (Senegal)
Marko Hautala, 'Pale Toes' (Finland)
Yvette Tan, 'All the Birds' (Philippines)
Ariane Gélinas, 'Twin Shadows' (Québec)
Flore Hazoumé, 'Menopause' (Ivory Coast)
Tantalizingly, The Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories bears the subtitle “Volume 1”. The editors have announced on social media that they’re already working on the next instalment in what promises to be another great series from Valancourt. Bring them on!
https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/2021/01/Valancourt-Book-of-World-Horror-Stories-Jenkins-Cagle.html
How to start reviewing such a wealth of remarkable stories? I will not even attempt to do so but will simply list some reasons why you should check out this anthology.
1. Although some of the featured authors are very well-known in their respective countries, they are hardly household names in the English-speaking world. The lover of horror stories seeking new voices from outside the established English-language canon will find plenty to discover here.
2. The authors who make an appearance in this anthology are not “different” just because they are little-known, but because they genuinely bring something new to the horror genre. More often than not, their stories reflects folklore which will be unfamiliar to most readers. To cite just a couple of examples, Yvette Tan’s All the Birds incorporates elements from Filipino mythology and folklore, while Bathie Ngoye Thiam’s The House of Leuk Dawour taps into Senegal’s long tradition of supernatural storytelling. Down, in their World by Flavius Ardelean revives the scarier aspects of Romanian folklore.
3. Even when not directly inspired by local myths, many of the stories reflect aspects, landscapes and issues of the authors’ countries of origin. Menopause by Flore Hazoumé, for instance, provides social commentary on African society’s approach to womenhood whereas Luigi Musolino’s Uironda – a strong opener to this anthology – evokes the dreary highways of Northern Italy’s industrial hinterland.
4. Diversity and variety are two key characteristics of this anthology. As the editors explain in their foreword, they aimed to ensure a high rate of inclusion of women writers, authors of colour, and LGBT-interest material. This is no mere tip of the hat to political correctness but a genuine desire to make this anthology as inclusive as possible. And, ultimately, this is reflected in the sheer literary variety found between the book’s covers. Certainly, all the featured stories qualify as horror. But this is a broad church indeed. Just come inside and take your seat in your favourite aisle – whether the horror you love is psychological and Aickman-like, Lovecraftian (cosmic or reptilian), gory, surreal, or tinged with crime, folklore or comedy… you’ll find something for you.
5. The best reason to savour this anthology however is the quality of the writing. Judging from the reviews I’ve read, the horror community is showing this anthology well-deserved love. But this should honestly be more than a “niche interest” collection – this is great contemporary world literature, independently of its genre.
Here’s the roll call of stories:
Pilar Pedraza, 'Mater Tenebrarum' (Spain)
Flavius Ardelean, 'Down, in Their World' (Romania)
Anders Fager, 'Backstairs' (Sweden)
Tanya Tynjälä, 'The Collector' (Peru)
Frithjof Spalder, 'The White Cormorant' (Norway)
Jose María Latorre, 'Snapshots' (Spain)
Luigi Musolino, 'Uironda' (Italy)
Martin Steyn, 'Kira' (South Africa)
Attila Veres, 'The Time Remaining' (Hungary)
Lars Ahn, 'Donation' (Denmark)
Bernardo Esquinca, 'Señor Ligotti' (Mexico)
Cristina Fernández Cubas, 'The Angle of Horror' (Spain)
Christien Boomsma, 'The Bones in Her Eyes' (Netherlands)
Elisenda Solsona, 'Mechanisms' (Catalonia)
Michael Roch, 'The Illogical Investigations of Inspector André Despérine' (Martinique)
Solange Rodríguez Pappe, 'Tiny Women' (Ecuador)
Bathie Ngoye Thiam, 'The House of Leuk Dawour' (Senegal)
Marko Hautala, 'Pale Toes' (Finland)
Yvette Tan, 'All the Birds' (Philippines)
Ariane Gélinas, 'Twin Shadows' (Québec)
Flore Hazoumé, 'Menopause' (Ivory Coast)
Tantalizingly, The Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories bears the subtitle “Volume 1”. The editors have announced on social media that they’re already working on the next instalment in what promises to be another great series from Valancourt. Bring them on!
https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/2021/01/Valancourt-Book-of-World-Horror-Stories-Jenkins-Cagle.html
lareinadehades's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25