Reviews tagging 'Grief'

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

13 reviews

kingsteph's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Slavery, and Addiction

Moderate: Police brutality, Mental illness, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, and Murder

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

heggs's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Slavery, Cultural appropriation, Drug abuse, Body horror, Child death, Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Violence, and Gore

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

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

cherrywine's review

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Physical abuse, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Body horror

Moderate: Car accident, Death, and Drug abuse

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.

kayceeisbookish's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

4.25

A compelling and insightful anthology. It left me often with feelings of unease (in a good way that you want in horror style books) and a unique version of various fears that these authors have developed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Animal death, Blood, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Body horror, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Addiction, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Car accident, Confinement, Drug use, Genocide, Slavery, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Misogyny, Police brutality, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Cursing, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Terminal illness, Vomit, Cancer, Mental illness, and Grief

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

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.