Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

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

7 reviews

ruthypoo2's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

This a collection of very striking and what feel like deeply personal stories. All of them are a fresh take on old tropes with history woven into the narrative of many stories. There’s also a lot of social commentary presented in a surprisingly subtle tone, but it’s not like any punches are being pulled from the message most readers will receive. Such a wonderfully diverse variety of voices and topics- there’s easily something to satisfy a wide variety of audiences.

A lot of the stories are so memorable because of a broken-hearted emotion and/or family devotion that permeates. I have to say, at least on this reading, these are the stories that really landed for me, though there’s something truly innovative and captivating about every story. 

Eye and Tooth
Lasiren
A Grief of the Dead
Dark Home (one of the most creepy)
Flicker (disorienting)
Your Happy Place
Hide and Seek

I listened to the audiobook and there was at least one unique performer per story. I say performer instead of narrator because it feels like the narrators embody the intention of every story and they were all superb.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Violence, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, and Racism

Minor: Drug abuse, Sexual content, Child death, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Slavery, Alcohol, Bullying, Homophobia, Cursing, Drug use, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship

astrangewind's review

dark reflective 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

5.0

Out There Screaming left me breathless. It changed the way I feel about horror as a genre. I've never liked how the paranormal tends to be written, in books or in movies; the stories tend towards the Catholic concept of demons, which make each one of those stories predictable and, as a result, boring. But as I've journeyed into non-paranormal horror, it's always been too much for me, like the authors spend more time trying to cram in every gross and gory thing into the same package than actually writing a good story. Out There Screaming is different. It's gross and gory, sure, but it's not just those things. These Black authors' oubliettes - their Sunken Places - reveal the frightening underbelly of things that lurk in the corner of your vision, in the fabric of your interaction with the world, in your own psyche, deep and hungry and sometimes even hopeful.

I couldn't put it down. Out There Screaming is a shining example of what horror should be, not as violence for the sake of it but blooming outward from the real and tangible.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, Violence, Gun violence, Slavery, Drug use, Drug abuse, Car accident, Medical content, Police brutality, Grief, Toxic relationship, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racial slurs, War, Mass/school shootings, Hate crime, Confinement, Colonisation, Misogyny, Infertility, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pandemic/Epidemic, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Cancer, Addiction, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Vomit, and Panic attacks/disorders

vixenreader's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative 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? Yes

4.75

A smorgasbord of the best voices in Black Horror, there is a variety of stories that focus on a diverse set of fears. Even the stories that I was not entirely enthralled with were still  impressive. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, Gore, Child abuse, Sexual content, Blood, Body horror, Racial slurs, Cursing, Grief, Colonisation, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Racism, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Gaslighting, Body shaming, Car accident, Child death, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Abandonment, Cultural appropriation, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Drug use, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Vomit, Cannibalism, Bullying, Ableism, and Gun violence

Minor: Slavery, War, Deportation, Kidnapping, and Dementia

The trigger warnings are numerous and featured in specific stories.

jokehelldo's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

It's hard to rate an anthology, but I definitely recommend reading it and have some favourites.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Drug use, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Police brutality, and Mental illness

rorikae's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

'Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror' edited by Jordan Peele is an intriguing collection of horror short fiction written by a great collection of Black authors. The stories vary greatly though most have some type of speculative edge. The stories cover a range of topics from body horror and addiction to racism and being complicit in systems of power. I found that the level of horror in each varied greatly though all of the stories were well written. 
A few personal favorites from the collection include: 
- Reckless Eyeballing by N.K. Jemisin about the impact of our misdeeds and body horror 
- Eye & Tooth by Rebecca Roanhorse about a set of sibling monster hunters
- Invasion of the Baby Snatchers by Lesley Nneka Arimah which looks at a government agency set up to determine why an alien species is trying to imitate humans 
- Lasirèn by Erin E. Adams about sisters and predatory mermaids 
- The Rider by Tananarive Due which looks at racism and nature fighting back against its destruction
- Flicker by L.D. Lewis about what happens when everyone loses their sight for short intervals of time
- The Most Strongest Obeah Woman of the World by Nalo Hopkinson about possession and trying to save oneself from a monster
- Your Happy Place by Terence Taylor about the prison system and slave labor in a capitalist society 
- Hide & Seek by P. Djèlí Clark about addiction and siblings that have to protect themselves from their own family
An overall great collection that's great when looking for short stories that are a little bit more haunting. I discovered some new authors that I'm interested in reading more from and also experienced some great new stories from a few of my favorite authors. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Death, Drug use, Grief, Hate crime, Gaslighting, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Addiction, Blood, Bullying, Murder, Body horror, and Confinement

Moderate: Death of parent

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

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