Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror by Jordan Peele, John Joseph Adams

5 reviews

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Death, Hate crime, Blood, Car accident, Violence, Racism, Body horror, Murder, and Death of parent

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Misogyny, Sexism, Pregnancy, Child death, Racial slurs, Drug use, Cannibalism, Police brutality, Abandonment, Gun violence, Medical content, Slavery, Drug abuse, and Child abuse

Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Rape, Homophobia, Suicide, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

booksthatburn's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective 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

4.5

OUT THERE SCREAMING is an excellent collection of horror tales from a Black lens. Most of the stories are set in some version of the United States, and many deal either explicitly or implicitly with the distinctly American flavors of racism and anti-Blackness which are deeply imbedded in this country. Many of them come at it sideways, it's the water in which they swim but it's not the focus of their story, if its referenced at all. 

I love "Reckless Eyeballing" by N.K. Jemisin for its sharp characterization and disturbingly literal execution of a titular pun. It's a great choice for opening the anthology. The ending of "Eye & Tooth" by Rebecca Roanhorse genuinely surprised me, and was well-placed to adjust my expectations of how ideas of monstrosity might play out through the collection. I appreciate "Invasion of the Baby Snatchers" by Lesley Nneka Arimah because pregancy is a triggering topic for me and one of the few ways I can comfortably engage with it is through horror. "The Aesthete" by Justin C. Key uses the language of Art to present a different and horrific system of denial of personhood and autonomy, making an incisive social commentary without ever stepping out of the story's frame (as the best horror does). "Flicker" by L.D. Lewis is a very cool premise which uses the short story format to great effect (I love apocalyptic stories). "Your Happy Place" is brilliantly layered, topping its own baseline for horror through a recombination of slavery and capitalism, two things which are awful on their own but even worse together. 

The whole collection flows well, don't miss OUT THERE SCREAMING if you like horror. And, if horror isn't your thing, go find these excellent authors elsewhere, as many of them have published work in other genres. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, Death, Racism, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Infertility, Death of parent, Cursing, Sexism, Murder, Pregnancy, Body horror, Grief, Medical content, Physical abuse, Cancer, Animal death, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Fatphobia, Confinement, Child death, Vomit, Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Suicide, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Gun violence, Alcohol, and Drug abuse

Minor: Self harm, Stalking, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Ableism, Forced institutionalization, War, Rape, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, and Cannibalism

“Reckless Eyeballing” - CW for cursing, misogyny, sexism, sexual content, sexual assault, blood, violence, racism, injury detail, police brutality, murder, death. Minor CW for ableist language, domestic abuse, self harm. “Eye & Tooth” - CW for cursing, blood, violence. Minor CW for ableist language, domestic abuse, cannibalism, murder, child death, death. “Wandering Devil” - CW for abandonment. “Invasion of the Baby Snatchers” - CW for pregnancy, body horror, death. “The Other One” - CW for blood, gore, body horror, violence. Minor CW for ableist language, sexual content, mental illness, forced institutionalization, cursing, drug use, stalking, self harm, suicide, death. “Lasirèn” - CW for kidnapping, violence. Minor CW for abandonment, pregnancy (brief mention). “The Rider” - CW for racism, blood, violence, death. Minor CW for police brutality, bus accident, rape (brief mention). “The Aesthete” - CW for sexual content, cursing, infertility, blood, kidnapping, medical content, medical trauma, cancer, suicide, parental death, child death, death “Pressure” - CW for racism, homophobia, racial slurs, cursing, fatphobia, blood, injury detail, animal death. “Dark Home” - CW for grief, cursing, sexism, misogyny, blood, parental death, death. “Flicker” - CW for vomit, blood, violence, gun violence, death. “The Most Strongest Obeah Woman of the World” - Graphic CW for blood, gore, body horror. CW for vomit, violence, medical trauma, animal death, child death, parental death, death. “The Norwood Trouble” - CW for cursing, racism, violence, gun violence. Minor CW for ableism, sexual assault, drug use, alcohol, slavery, parental death, death. “A Grief of the Dead” - CW for grief, sexual content, alcohol, blood, gore, violence, gun violence, injury detail, suicidal thoughts, slavery, murder, parental death, death. “A Bird Sings by the Etching Tree” - CW for racism, alcohol, blood, gore, violence, injury detail, car accident, murder, death. “An American Fable” - Graphic CW for racism, blood, violence, death. CW for injury detail, medical content. Minor CW for war. “Your Happy Place” - CW for blood, confinement, slavery, murder, child death, death. Minor CW for sexual content, drug use, drug abuse. “Hide & Seek” - CW for cursing, drug use, drug abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, child abuse, blood, gore, body horror, parental death, death. Minor CW for excrement. “Origin Story” - CW for racism, sexism. Minor CW for fire, blood, gore, violence, animal death.

savvylit's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

This excellent collection of horror stories is brimming with immensely talented Black authors. Not only that, but the frights are non-stop - regardless of whether they are rooted in terrifying reality, magic, or mythology. One of my personal favorites in this collection is the opener: "Reckless Eyeballing" by N.K. Jemisin. In it, a cruel highway patrolman notices that some vehicles have developed human eyes. In another favorite, "Your Happy Place" by Terence Taylor, a former prisoner turns into a whistleblower at the experimental prison where he had been incarcerated. Lastly - but certainly not least - in "Lasirèn" by Erin E. Adams, a trio of sisters in Haiti reckon with a siren and her devastating demands. And those are just my own favorites! This anthology has so many more stories that are just as chilling and riveting.

Overall, I would highly recommend this collection to the following folks:
• fans of horror & speculative fiction.
• fans of Jordan Peele & his films.
• fans of the Netflix series "Black Mirror."
If you fit any (or all) of those categories, you will definitely not want to miss out on Out There Screaming!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Racism, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Mental illness

localnikita's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicide, Drug abuse, Gore, and Gun violence

Minor: Sexual harassment

ilusomochi's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This is the first ARC I was approved for on NetGalley and what an honor it was to read these perfectly crafted horror stories. 

Reading horror is much like watching it. Some stories are good and some are bad. Out There Screaming may be my favorite collection of horror stories to date. 

Luckily, this Anthology was chock full of fantastic writing. There was not a single story that I did not like. Now, the caveat of horror is that the good stories make you feel an amalgam of disturbed feelings. I was spooked, uncomfortable, sad, and sometimes hopeless, especially when the stories tied in realistic themes of problems we face in reality. But that is why I loved reading this anthology so much. I like when literature evokes strong feelings. Whether you are a seasoned horror lit enthusiast, just getting into the genre, or are curious, this is the perfect fall read to dive into. Knowing that Jordan Peele had a hand in editing, makes the experience that much more special. 

Thank you Random House and NetGalley for entrusting me with a set of masterpieces. I will be sure to look for other writings of these authors.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Death, Racism, and Slavery

Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Racism, Addiction, Slavery, Sexual assault, Grief, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, Violence, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Hate crime, Gun violence, Excrement, Colonisation, and Suicide