Reviews

It Was All A Dream: An Anthology of Bad Horror Tropes Done Right by Helena O'Connor, Laurel Hightower, Cormack Baldwin, Eric Raglin, Madison McSweeney, Gabino Iglesias, Erin Brown, Drew E. Huff, Gemma Files, LC von Hessen, Alex Woodroe, Angela Sylvaine, Wendy N. Wagner, K.A. Wiggins, Erin Keating, Nikki R. Leigh, J.V. Gachs, Laird Barron, Tom Coombe, Belicia Rhea, Brandon Applegate, Taylor Rae, Hailey Piper, Patrick Barb, Die Booth, Edward Lodi, Danielle Davis, Lyndon Nicholas

the_reading_vampire's review

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.0

bobmetal's review

challenging dark funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

kiracat13's review against another edition

The stories were okay, but not compelling enough to ever really pull me into the book as a whole. Finishing just the first five stories took me ages and at that point I decided I didn't care enough to keep going.

cabinet_13_review's review against another edition

5.0

Alien Abduction, Werewolves, and The killer who just won’t die are all too familiar horror tropes that even people who are not fans of the genre know. Is it possible to make these somewhat overused and tired tropes into something shiny and new again? That’s what It Was All A Dream and its various writers intend to do. I think it was a success.

I also loved the interior artwork provided for each story by Christopher Castillo.

Rated up. My rating is 4.5/5

There were 26 stories in total, loved 12 of them. Here are a few:

- Everyone’s Got a Little Devil in Them- based around the stories of the Jersey Devil author Erin Keating brings us a story that will make you question who is the devil in the story.
- Bloody Nights at Hippie Cliffs- author Eric Raglan flips the script on the “if you have the sex you die”
- Fuck this Shit Manor-Author Laurel Hightower explores one of my favorite tropes of the haunted house and puts a spin on what would happen if you couldn't get anyone to come to stay.
- A Maiden I Will Die- author LC von Hesson had to be laughing with this one, with an obvious play on Michael Myers, our FMC and Final Girl is the ultimate Final Girl as in, the last human left on Earth after the Killer who will not die continues to hunt her across the earth and time. Instead of the dread of a silent and unrelenting killer, our Final Girl, fed up with this tiring routine instead focuses on a more existential crisis.
- Don’t Go In the Woods…Or Do, See if I Care- author Patrick Barb also plays on the ever-present “foreshadowing, harbinger of danger” trope with the “crazy old man”, with plenty of chuckle-worthy moments
- Castoffs- takes the “Devil's Bargain” and turns it into a loophole that could make any Demon speechless and take pause.

vampirehelpdesk's review

adventurous dark emotional lighthearted fast-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

3.5

Favorites of the collection: Playing Tricks (only story I found remotely scary, though that does not really heavily influence my rating of the collection); Hail Mary, Full of Rage; Tattered Fairy, Hungry Fairy (hate the title, though, sorry); The Thickest Soup. 

Least favorites: It Wasn't a Wedding Cake; Hollywood Werewolf Conspiracy; Pizza Curse.

As a whole, this is one of the better small-press anthologies I've come across. Interesting prompt/theme, but more interesting is how each author interpreted it. In full honesty, some interpretations of "doing it right" means muddling things down and making horror more wholesome, which I do not personally enjoy. However, those that chose to rely on the tropes as a backbone to their own twist I think succeeded in surprising, diverse ways. Most importantly, I found this collection engaging and eclectic, so I think anyone can find a winner within. 

P.S. The drawings in this book are palpably done by a furry, and no, I don't need to fact-check that for myself. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and Animal death

Moderate: Cancer, Infidelity, Islamophobia, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Dementia, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Hate crime, Alcoholism, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Death, Gore, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Colonisation, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, Violence, Body horror, Sexual assault, Sexism, Vomit, Cannibalism, Classism, Cursing, Grief, Mental illness, Self harm, and Stalking

It's a horror book, but there are detailed content warnings in the back of the book. Honestly, for a horror reader, I found all of the above pretty mild except when marked as graphic, but I read dark books for pleasure.

aykdanroyd's review

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Self harm, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Racism, Stalking, Islamophobia, Child death, Bullying, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Animal death, Slavery, Fatphobia, Animal cruelty, and Gore

tarynwanderer's review

dark emotional funny 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

3.0

swampsounds's review

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

• 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

4.0

monstrousmind's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

4.5

ohhdeanna's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0