Scan barcode
Reviews
Dark Screams: Volume Five by Del James, Bentley Little, J. Kenner, Mick Garris, Kealan Patrick Burke
mad_about_books's review
5.0
Editors Brian James Freeman and Richard Chizmar do a great job of bringing talented authors together, and offering up anthologies that are truly worth reading. Generally speaking, I am not a fan of the short story form. This is the fifth DARK SCREAMS book packed with well written, unique tales in the horror genre. That's another thing that bugs me. Fiction gets separated into the various genres purportedly to make it easier for people to find the literature they like to read. It is unfortunate that folks run screaming from the horror genre and thus never get to read the fine prose written by these folks.
Everything You’ve Always Wanted By Mick Garris
==============================================
Mick Garris is an American filmmaker, screenwriter, and writer in the horror genre that has been recognized in the field several times. In "Everything You've Always Wanted," he explores the psyche of a filmmaker with one real success in his low-budget indie film, and a second not-so-successful second studio backed endeavor.
Jack Tarrington is guest of honor at a horror convention in Indianapolis. It is the 25th anniversary of his one success. He has been living off that success for a long time. Now he is being recognized, given accolades by his fans. He gets to bask in the limelight of this adulation but does he really want it all?
This is an excellent study in human nature with a perfect depiction of the serious FanCon.
The Land Of Sunshine By Kealan Patrick Burke
============================================
Folks out there that "don't read horror" are missing out on some beautiful writing. Sometimes I just want to stick a piece in front of them without letting them see the title or the author and then telling them to just read. Genre fiction bias robs the masses who consume only mainstream, New York Times Best Seller List books of some of the richest experiences literature has to offer.
Mechanical Gratitude By Del James
=================================
Here we have a fast paced overview of a pretty lucky, if otherwise ordinary life. Then there is the car, described in terms that any American will appreciate. You know the old saying... 'take care of your car and it will take care of you.'
The One and Only By J. Kenner
=============================
New Orleans is one of my favorite places, and I've only been there once for a long weekend. I am drawn to anything written with New Orleans as its setting. Imagine that New Orleans is your life's destination. You have no choice but to go to the city of the Cafe du Monde, Jackson Square, and Saint Louis Cemetery. Is it Voodoo magic, fate or a combination of the two?
The Playhouse By Bentley Little
===============================
What is your first thought when reading the title of this tale? The theater where the local amateur drama society puts on a show every year might come to mind. That's where I went and found myself wondering just when the 'playhouse' was going to make its appearance. Silly me!
Everything You’ve Always Wanted By Mick Garris
==============================================
Mick Garris is an American filmmaker, screenwriter, and writer in the horror genre that has been recognized in the field several times. In "Everything You've Always Wanted," he explores the psyche of a filmmaker with one real success in his low-budget indie film, and a second not-so-successful second studio backed endeavor.
Jack Tarrington is guest of honor at a horror convention in Indianapolis. It is the 25th anniversary of his one success. He has been living off that success for a long time. Now he is being recognized, given accolades by his fans. He gets to bask in the limelight of this adulation but does he really want it all?
This is an excellent study in human nature with a perfect depiction of the serious FanCon.
The Land Of Sunshine By Kealan Patrick Burke
============================================
Folks out there that "don't read horror" are missing out on some beautiful writing. Sometimes I just want to stick a piece in front of them without letting them see the title or the author and then telling them to just read. Genre fiction bias robs the masses who consume only mainstream, New York Times Best Seller List books of some of the richest experiences literature has to offer.
Mechanical Gratitude By Del James
=================================
Here we have a fast paced overview of a pretty lucky, if otherwise ordinary life. Then there is the car, described in terms that any American will appreciate. You know the old saying... 'take care of your car and it will take care of you.'
The One and Only By J. Kenner
=============================
New Orleans is one of my favorite places, and I've only been there once for a long weekend. I am drawn to anything written with New Orleans as its setting. Imagine that New Orleans is your life's destination. You have no choice but to go to the city of the Cafe du Monde, Jackson Square, and Saint Louis Cemetery. Is it Voodoo magic, fate or a combination of the two?
The Playhouse By Bentley Little
===============================
What is your first thought when reading the title of this tale? The theater where the local amateur drama society puts on a show every year might come to mind. That's where I went and found myself wondering just when the 'playhouse' was going to make its appearance. Silly me!
daynpitseleh's review against another edition
2.0
I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was one of the weaker entries in the Dark Screams series, and I didn't really care for many of the stories. If you enjoy the Dark Screams series, then read away, but if this is your first introduction to the series I would recommend you read one of the other volumes first.
This was one of the weaker entries in the Dark Screams series, and I didn't really care for many of the stories. If you enjoy the Dark Screams series, then read away, but if this is your first introduction to the series I would recommend you read one of the other volumes first.
macbean221b's review
2.0
I received DARK SCREAMS: VOLUME FIVE as an ARC from NetGalley.com.
This collection opens up with EVERYTHING YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED by Mick Garris. This story takes up slightly more than half of the entire book. And I very strongly disliked it. First of all, I'm not a big fan of body horror. Every once in a while it's done in a way that doesn't make me feel like I'm watching someone's horrible idea of pornography, but...so very rarely. Almost everything in this story made me want to just skip to the next one, from things like ethnicity being described in food terms (this just sends up big red flags for me) to the fact that the main character is completely detestable and unrelatable and not even in an interesting way. Ugh.
The next story is THE LAND OF SUNSHINE by Kealan Patrick Burke. I'm just going to copy the notes I made right after finishing: I spent most of this one trying to figure out what was going on and what it was supposed to be about, and...I failed. I didn't know what was coming, and I don't understand it. Also, it felt like it was written with heavy use of a thesaurus, resulting in gems like "[a feeling] of something not quite amiss, but awry." Again: ugh.
MECHANICAL GRATITUDE by Del James was the first story in DARK SCREAMS: VOLUME FIVE that I didn't feel like I'd wasted my time reading. It wasn't the most memorable story but I enjoyed it while I was reading it, and at the end I wished it had been expanded a little bit more.
Next was THE ONE AND ONLY by J. Kenner. Looking at the story summary, I don't really remember it, and my notes read only "Predictable." So...uh...not exactly a ringing endorsement.
The final story in the book was the one I was most looking forward to: THE PLAYHOUSE by Bentley Little. I have to admit, I am a fan of Bentley Little, though I'm a pretty critical fan. This story was, I felt, the best one in the collection. I was properly creeped out at a couple different points in it, and for the second time in this book I wished for something a little longer with some more details. Not a whole novel, though; my most common criticism of Bentley Little is that his novel-length stories tend to go off the rails a little and wind up being a bit of a disappointment.
So. Two stories out of five I felt were worth reading. Doing the math, the DARK SCREAMS series averages about two and a half stars for me. I'm not sure if I'll continue reading/reviewing them if more of them are published.
This collection opens up with EVERYTHING YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED by Mick Garris. This story takes up slightly more than half of the entire book. And I very strongly disliked it. First of all, I'm not a big fan of body horror. Every once in a while it's done in a way that doesn't make me feel like I'm watching someone's horrible idea of pornography, but...so very rarely. Almost everything in this story made me want to just skip to the next one, from things like ethnicity being described in food terms (this just sends up big red flags for me) to the fact that the main character is completely detestable and unrelatable and not even in an interesting way. Ugh.
The next story is THE LAND OF SUNSHINE by Kealan Patrick Burke. I'm just going to copy the notes I made right after finishing: I spent most of this one trying to figure out what was going on and what it was supposed to be about, and...I failed. I didn't know what was coming, and I don't understand it. Also, it felt like it was written with heavy use of a thesaurus, resulting in gems like "[a feeling] of something not quite amiss, but awry." Again: ugh.
MECHANICAL GRATITUDE by Del James was the first story in DARK SCREAMS: VOLUME FIVE that I didn't feel like I'd wasted my time reading. It wasn't the most memorable story but I enjoyed it while I was reading it, and at the end I wished it had been expanded a little bit more.
Next was THE ONE AND ONLY by J. Kenner. Looking at the story summary, I don't really remember it, and my notes read only "Predictable." So...uh...not exactly a ringing endorsement.
The final story in the book was the one I was most looking forward to: THE PLAYHOUSE by Bentley Little. I have to admit, I am a fan of Bentley Little, though I'm a pretty critical fan. This story was, I felt, the best one in the collection. I was properly creeped out at a couple different points in it, and for the second time in this book I wished for something a little longer with some more details. Not a whole novel, though; my most common criticism of Bentley Little is that his novel-length stories tend to go off the rails a little and wind up being a bit of a disappointment.
So. Two stories out of five I felt were worth reading. Doing the math, the DARK SCREAMS series averages about two and a half stars for me. I'm not sure if I'll continue reading/reviewing them if more of them are published.
kittykult's review against another edition
2.0
I pretty much hated every story in this collection is except for the last one, The Playhouse by Bentley Little, which is honestly a 5 star and deserves to be its own book.
wellwortharead's review against another edition
5.0
Dark Screams Volume 5 contains 5 short horror stories
First up in this collection is the very enjoyable Everything You’ve Always Wanted by Mick Garris. This is the story of the guest of honor at "Monsterthon", a convention of horror fans and horror has beens revisiting their glory days. When he meets a fan who has a movie of her own for him to view, what he sees leads to a horrifying yet some what comedic turn of events in which he learns it may be best not to get everything he ever wanted, because in the end happiness is fleeting while the cost is permanent.
Next up is The Land of Sunshine By Kealan Patrick Burke
Most of us have been in a relationship where we have been betrayed, or we lost that lovin’ feeling, Maybe our partner lost that feeling. But is it really just a feeling or is it something more tangible that has been lost. Can it ever be found?
The third entry Mechanical Gratitude by Del James is
sort of a love story with a twilight zone vibe to it, and it was my favorite of the bunch.
Next is The one and only by J kenner
A broken hearted college student heads off to New Orleans with friends after a break up and finds out for himself whether or not Voodoo is real or just for tourists.
Last but by all means not least is The Playhouse by Bentley Little
A real Estate agent’s ordinary work day is anything but, as she discovers in the playhouse of the untended backyard of her new listing.. This story actually gave me chills.
All in all this collection is well worth a read.
First up in this collection is the very enjoyable Everything You’ve Always Wanted by Mick Garris. This is the story of the guest of honor at "Monsterthon", a convention of horror fans and horror has beens revisiting their glory days. When he meets a fan who has a movie of her own for him to view, what he sees leads to a horrifying yet some what comedic turn of events in which he learns it may be best not to get everything he ever wanted, because in the end happiness is fleeting while the cost is permanent.
Next up is The Land of Sunshine By Kealan Patrick Burke
Most of us have been in a relationship where we have been betrayed, or we lost that lovin’ feeling, Maybe our partner lost that feeling. But is it really just a feeling or is it something more tangible that has been lost. Can it ever be found?
The third entry Mechanical Gratitude by Del James is
sort of a love story with a twilight zone vibe to it, and it was my favorite of the bunch.
Next is The one and only by J kenner
A broken hearted college student heads off to New Orleans with friends after a break up and finds out for himself whether or not Voodoo is real or just for tourists.
Last but by all means not least is The Playhouse by Bentley Little
A real Estate agent’s ordinary work day is anything but, as she discovers in the playhouse of the untended backyard of her new listing.. This story actually gave me chills.
All in all this collection is well worth a read.
charshorrorcorner's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars!
Yet another collection is coming out via the Dark Screams format, which combines authors both known and unknown, perhaps in an effort to get those unknowns some exposure. In my experience, most of the Dark Screams volumes have been good and this one was no exception. I'll do a quick rundown of each story here:
Everything You’ve Always Wanted by Mick Garris. I thought this one started off well enough, but then something went awry. This tale had a Clive Barker vibe to it, and probably would have made a great Twilight Zone episode. From what I understand, Mick Garris used to produce the show Masters of Horror. This story would've worked well there too. 3*
The Land of Sunshine by Kealan Patrick Burke. I love Kealan Patrick Burke. Lurve. Him. But I'm sad to say this tale didn't quite work for me. It was dense and dark, and I usually love that, but in this case, I felt like I was plodding through. A KPB tale that doesn't quite work for me still rates 3.5*, so it's all good.
Mechanical Gratitude by Del James. I'm an American Muscle Car loving gal, so when a story comes my way about a BADASS 68 Camaro SS with a 396 under the hood? I'm IN. The car was great but I found the story to be unoriginal. 3*
The One and Only by J. Kenner. I'd not heard of this author before reading this story but I looked her up when I was done. It seems that this type of ghost/horror/voodoo story is not really her thing, but I think she should make it so, because this story ROCKED. 4*
The Playhouse by Bentley Little. I haven't read any Bentley Little stories in a while and this one makes me think I need to return to his catalog and knock a few more of his books off my TBR. This story is about a playhouse. A cool little playhouse with an Easy Bake Oven and fresh mud. But something weird is going on in there...perhaps you should pop on in and bake a mudpie? 5*
So, my math combines these ratings and comes out with a 3.7-so 3.5 stars it is. These Dark Screams volumes are always so interesting, even if all the stories don't work for the reader. You can discover new authors and rediscover old ones, and that's always a good thing in my book.
Recommended for fans of short story collections!
*A free e-ARC of this book was provided to me by the publisher, via Net Galley, in exchange for an honest review. This is it.*
Yet another collection is coming out via the Dark Screams format, which combines authors both known and unknown, perhaps in an effort to get those unknowns some exposure. In my experience, most of the Dark Screams volumes have been good and this one was no exception. I'll do a quick rundown of each story here:
Everything You’ve Always Wanted by Mick Garris. I thought this one started off well enough, but then something went awry. This tale had a Clive Barker vibe to it, and probably would have made a great Twilight Zone episode. From what I understand, Mick Garris used to produce the show Masters of Horror. This story would've worked well there too. 3*
The Land of Sunshine by Kealan Patrick Burke. I love Kealan Patrick Burke. Lurve. Him. But I'm sad to say this tale didn't quite work for me. It was dense and dark, and I usually love that, but in this case, I felt like I was plodding through. A KPB tale that doesn't quite work for me still rates 3.5*, so it's all good.
Mechanical Gratitude by Del James. I'm an American Muscle Car loving gal, so when a story comes my way about a BADASS 68 Camaro SS with a 396 under the hood? I'm IN. The car was great but I found the story to be unoriginal. 3*
The One and Only by J. Kenner. I'd not heard of this author before reading this story but I looked her up when I was done. It seems that this type of ghost/horror/voodoo story is not really her thing, but I think she should make it so, because this story ROCKED. 4*
The Playhouse by Bentley Little. I haven't read any Bentley Little stories in a while and this one makes me think I need to return to his catalog and knock a few more of his books off my TBR. This story is about a playhouse. A cool little playhouse with an Easy Bake Oven and fresh mud. But something weird is going on in there...perhaps you should pop on in and bake a mudpie? 5*
So, my math combines these ratings and comes out with a 3.7-so 3.5 stars it is. These Dark Screams volumes are always so interesting, even if all the stories don't work for the reader. You can discover new authors and rediscover old ones, and that's always a good thing in my book.
Recommended for fans of short story collections!
*A free e-ARC of this book was provided to me by the publisher, via Net Galley, in exchange for an honest review. This is it.*
caidyn's review
4.0
Everything You've Always Wanted - 4.5/5: What a story this one was. At first, I was worried it would suck. Honestly, that was my opinion. I hated the MC, the information on his past didn't really interest me, the writing was just okay for me. Then, it picked up and it picked up fast. It had a squick of mine for sex. Sex isn't something I'm terribly interested in (I'm the A in LGBTQIA, and it doesn't stand for ally.) but I don't mind reading/writing it. I'll put my squick in spoiler form so you don't have to read it if you don't want to. It was sex on a woman's period. I have no huge problem with periods or anything like that. It's natural. People have gotten it throughout the ages. But, I just don't like sex or any mention of it that has to do with arousal towards that natural thing. It just grosses me out. After that, I got a huge kick out of the story and my enjoyment of it increased ten-fold. Lots of sex. Lots of genitals. But, it was oh so funny and a great story after the slow beginning. Plus, oh my god, that ending. His dick literally ran away from him. That's hilarious.
The Land of Sunshine - 3/5: I think my problem with this one was that I missed the meaning. I mean, I sort of understood what the author was getting at, but then on the other hand I felt like I completely missed it at the same time. Although, I have to say that I really enjoyed that the characters remained nameless. It was like something you'd see at the beginning of an episode of a sci-fi show, right before the title sequence rolls.
Mechanical Gratitude - 4/5: This one was the sad one. Not, like, sobbing sad, just an "Oh, I wasn't expecting that." I wouldn't call this one horror, really. It had aspects of horror to it, then it didn't. It was very different than what I've read before, and it was good. I would have read a longer story of this, because this one was pretty short.
The One and Only - 4/5: New Orleans? Voodoo? Literally all I could think of was AHS: Coven, even though that was my least favorite season yet. I wasn't a fan of how the MC thought about women, so I wasn't terribly sad to see his fate. Served him right, really. Maybe that's just because I have a high standard to how women should be treated, but whatever. The story itself was interesting and every detail mentioned tied into the plot one way or another. I love it when stories do that.
The Playhouse - 3.5/5: Not exactly the strong finish I'd been looking forward to based on the first story, but it was still good. Children creep me out, and while this didn't involve children, it sort of did at the heart of the story. Getting lost in a playhouse, not paying attention to time. It's something that's reminiscent to childhood when it comes down to it.
My overall rating: 3.8
The Land of Sunshine - 3/5: I think my problem with this one was that I missed the meaning. I mean, I sort of understood what the author was getting at, but then on the other hand I felt like I completely missed it at the same time. Although, I have to say that I really enjoyed that the characters remained nameless. It was like something you'd see at the beginning of an episode of a sci-fi show, right before the title sequence rolls.
Mechanical Gratitude - 4/5: This one was the sad one. Not, like, sobbing sad, just an "Oh, I wasn't expecting that." I wouldn't call this one horror, really. It had aspects of horror to it, then it didn't. It was very different than what I've read before, and it was good. I would have read a longer story of this, because this one was pretty short.
The One and Only - 4/5: New Orleans? Voodoo? Literally all I could think of was AHS: Coven, even though that was my least favorite season yet. I wasn't a fan of how the MC thought about women, so I wasn't terribly sad to see his fate. Served him right, really. Maybe that's just because I have a high standard to how women should be treated, but whatever. The story itself was interesting and every detail mentioned tied into the plot one way or another. I love it when stories do that.
The Playhouse - 3.5/5: Not exactly the strong finish I'd been looking forward to based on the first story, but it was still good. Children creep me out, and while this didn't involve children, it sort of did at the heart of the story. Getting lost in a playhouse, not paying attention to time. It's something that's reminiscent to childhood when it comes down to it.
My overall rating: 3.8
tieflingkisser's review
2.0
In most Dark Screams volumes I enjoy at least half of the selected tales, but The Playhouse was the only story in this particular collection that I enjoyed.
More...