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Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'
Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror by Jordan Peele, John Joseph Adams
3 reviews
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.
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.
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
directorpurry's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
3.75
Even though I really should have finished this months ago, humongous, enormous thanks to Netgalley and Random House for my eARC! All opinions are my own.
At first glance, this anthology is a hard hitter. I haven't seen an author list this insane since the Norton Anthology of English Lit in college (/j 😂) The authors list basically reads like a preview to my 2024 February Black History month TBR. And it was introduced by <i>Jordan Peele</i>, the creator of my favorite horror film of all time?! (If you're wondering, it's <i>Nope</i>.) So, of course, as with all things I am shiveringly excited for, it took me literal MONTHS to get to.
Here, finally, is my review.
Reckless Eyeballing - 4 stars
A Black cop is seeing eyes on cars where the driver has committed a crime (though, in many cases a "crime"). He also deals with his insecurities in the unhealthiest way possible.
The ending made me literally gasp, "Holy shit," out loud. Also, I've now finally, finally read an N.K. Jemison! Very excited to read more by her.
Eye & Tooth - 4.5 stars
Atticus and Zelda, the Eye and the Tooth. Two powerful siblings who make their living solving problems of the inhuman.
a;sdflkj;asdlfjasldkfj!!!!! OMG!!! I want them as a full novel. Please, please, please Rebecca Roanhorse, I am begging for a series. 🙏
Wandering Devil - 3 stars
Wandering's in Freddy's blood. First, he left to look for his mother. Then he stayed gone to wander. Could he really be considering settling down?
This one made me a little sad at first, and I'm not totally sold with the ending. I'm not necessarily <i>surprised</i> with how it ended, but I don't know if all the ends were woven in before we got there.
Invasion of the Baby Snatchers - 5 stars
Alien. Babies.
X-FILES WHOMST? BREAKING DAWN, IS THAT YOU? My literal worst fucking nightmare. I want to throw up. This is the optimal short story because it's the perfect bite. I don't want more, I don't want less.
The Other One - 4 stars
Angela's just been broken up with by Ogelthorpe. (What a truly terrible name.)
The weirdest shit you can imagine ensues.
Lasirèn - 2.75 stars
What do you do when your sister returns, but she's not your sister?
I found the writing and the language used in this story to be beautiful, but they were more compelling than the actual plot.
The Rider - 3.5 stars
Two sisters try to join the Freedom Riders in the fight against Jim Crow.
Loved the premise and some of the choices were really intriguing in this one, but I found the ending quite abrupt.
The Asthete - 2.5 stars
Androids, called Art, live in a world where they are nothing more than entertainment, without the rights of many humans.
I don't know about this one. Absolutely fascinating concepts, and I really applaud the author for the creation. But it contained a lot of language and concepts that really just get thrown at you. It's a bit unexpected and not as easy to digest in such a short amount of pages.
Pressure - uhhh 2 stars?
You are the only Black person in your family. You are having a family reunion.
I LOVE second person narration. I think it's under-utilized and I want to see more of it. But I have no fucking clue what happened at the end of that story.
Dark Home - 3 stars
Nwokolo's father has died. When she returns to the United States from Nigeria, spirits may have followed with her.
I wish I loved Nnedi Okorafor's writing like so many other people seem to. Conceptually, her stories always hit the mark. But there's just something about the writing that never grabs me. This one was pretty good though!
Flicker - 3.5 stars
The world is going black, a few seconds at a time...
I love a good optometry horror story. Oh, is that niche? TOO BAD because I wrote and published one too!This is the kind of apocalypse story I like, where the whole concept of the apocalypse is so insane that it circles around to cool again. Like Bird Box vibes, but this time everything just disappears for a bit at a time.
The Most Strongest Obeah Woman of the World - 4.5 stars
Yenderil has been training to kill the Devil that lives in the blue hole. But she hasn't been training for this.
WOAH this one is so weird and good!!! What a wild story. I love the way it's written, there's something so engaging about the stylistic format.
The Norwood Trouble - 3.75 stars
Segregation is strong in Norwood.
But damn the Black families that live there can kickass.
A Grief of the Dead - 5 stars
Mahad's identical twin, Jamal, is dead. So why is he knocking at their sister's door?
This story fucked me UP in a good way. Wow. Also really, really, really heavy. Major CW on this one for gun violence, mass shootings, description of injuries, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts
A Bird Sings by the Etching Tree - 4 stars
Nothing good can come of a stretch of road called Dead Man's Curve.
👻👻👻👻
An American Fable - 3.5 stars
Noble Washington returns home from WWI, traveling by train to Chicago.
I love, love the mythology and magic behind this one.
Your Happy Place - 4 stars
The Process teaches those in the prison system new skills via AI learning and computer interfaces.
as;dflkjasd;fl Wowza. Very important story. Definitely one to read paired with Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Y. Davis. The opening quote from the Constitution is spot on.
Hide & Seek - 5 stars
a;fkldj I can't even summarize this story for you without spoilers. But I love P. Djèlí Clark so muchhhhhh. Body horror unmatched.
Origin Story - 4 stars
A play, set during the Unified Theory of Whiteness seminar course.
I don't think I'm capable of giving me feelings on this in two to three sentences. This one is a thinker.
Final thoughts: I'm not usually a short story reader, because I find when there's just a really good premise, I tend to get too attached to the idea. I want <i>more</i> than just the snippet we see of any give concept (see: Eye & Tooth). On the other hand, Invasion of the Baby Snatchers is basically my perfect short story because if I had been given <i>any</i> more I would have had nightmares!
This collection was wonderful and inventive and really explored the bounds of what is horror, some in the more standard ways and others showing the way an everyday event can turn. I would highly recommend checking this one out!
At first glance, this anthology is a hard hitter. I haven't seen an author list this insane since the Norton Anthology of English Lit in college (/j 😂) The authors list basically reads like a preview to my 2024 February Black History month TBR. And it was introduced by <i>Jordan Peele</i>, the creator of my favorite horror film of all time?! (If you're wondering, it's <i>Nope</i>.) So, of course, as with all things I am shiveringly excited for, it took me literal MONTHS to get to.
Here, finally, is my review.
Reckless Eyeballing - 4 stars
A Black cop is seeing eyes on cars where the driver has committed a crime (though, in many cases a "crime"). He also deals with his insecurities in the unhealthiest way possible.
The ending made me literally gasp, "Holy shit," out loud. Also, I've now finally, finally read an N.K. Jemison! Very excited to read more by her.
Eye & Tooth - 4.5 stars
Atticus and Zelda, the Eye and the Tooth. Two powerful siblings who make their living solving problems of the inhuman.
a;sdflkj;asdlfjasldkfj!!!!! OMG!!! I want them as a full novel. Please, please, please Rebecca Roanhorse, I am begging for a series. 🙏
Wandering Devil - 3 stars
Wandering's in Freddy's blood. First, he left to look for his mother. Then he stayed gone to wander. Could he really be considering settling down?
This one made me a little sad at first, and I'm not totally sold with the ending. I'm not necessarily <i>surprised</i> with how it ended, but I don't know if all the ends were woven in before we got there.
Invasion of the Baby Snatchers - 5 stars
Alien. Babies.
X-FILES WHOMST? BREAKING DAWN, IS THAT YOU? My literal worst fucking nightmare. I want to throw up. This is the optimal short story because it's the perfect bite. I don't want more, I don't want less.
The Other One - 4 stars
Angela's just been broken up with by Ogelthorpe. (What a truly terrible name.)
The weirdest shit you can imagine ensues.
Lasirèn - 2.75 stars
What do you do when your sister returns, but she's not your sister?
I found the writing and the language used in this story to be beautiful, but they were more compelling than the actual plot.
The Rider - 3.5 stars
Two sisters try to join the Freedom Riders in the fight against Jim Crow.
Loved the premise and some of the choices were really intriguing in this one, but I found the ending quite abrupt.
The Asthete - 2.5 stars
Androids, called Art, live in a world where they are nothing more than entertainment, without the rights of many humans.
I don't know about this one. Absolutely fascinating concepts, and I really applaud the author for the creation. But it contained a lot of language and concepts that really just get thrown at you. It's a bit unexpected and not as easy to digest in such a short amount of pages.
Pressure - uhhh 2 stars?
You are the only Black person in your family. You are having a family reunion.
I LOVE second person narration. I think it's under-utilized and I want to see more of it. But I have no fucking clue what happened at the end of that story.
Dark Home - 3 stars
Nwokolo's father has died. When she returns to the United States from Nigeria, spirits may have followed with her.
I wish I loved Nnedi Okorafor's writing like so many other people seem to. Conceptually, her stories always hit the mark. But there's just something about the writing that never grabs me. This one was pretty good though!
Flicker - 3.5 stars
The world is going black, a few seconds at a time...
I love a good optometry horror story. Oh, is that niche? TOO BAD because I wrote and published one too!
The Most Strongest Obeah Woman of the World - 4.5 stars
Yenderil has been training to kill the Devil that lives in the blue hole. But she hasn't been training for this.
WOAH this one is so weird and good!!! What a wild story. I love the way it's written, there's something so engaging about the stylistic format.
The Norwood Trouble - 3.75 stars
Segregation is strong in Norwood.
But damn the Black families that live there can kickass.
A Grief of the Dead - 5 stars
Mahad's identical twin, Jamal, is dead. So why is he knocking at their sister's door?
This story fucked me UP in a good way. Wow. Also really, really, really heavy. Major CW on this one for gun violence, mass shootings, description of injuries, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts
A Bird Sings by the Etching Tree - 4 stars
Nothing good can come of a stretch of road called Dead Man's Curve.
👻👻👻👻
An American Fable - 3.5 stars
Noble Washington returns home from WWI, traveling by train to Chicago.
I love, love the mythology and magic behind this one.
Your Happy Place - 4 stars
The Process teaches those in the prison system new skills via AI learning and computer interfaces.
as;dflkjasd;fl Wowza. Very important story. Definitely one to read paired with Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Y. Davis. The opening quote from the Constitution is spot on.
Hide & Seek - 5 stars
a;fkldj I can't even summarize this story for you without spoilers. But I love P. Djèlí Clark so muchhhhhh. Body horror unmatched.
Origin Story - 4 stars
A play, set during the Unified Theory of Whiteness seminar course.
I don't think I'm capable of giving me feelings on this in two to three sentences. This one is a thinker.
Final thoughts: I'm not usually a short story reader, because I find when there's just a really good premise, I tend to get too attached to the idea. I want <i>more</i> than just the snippet we see of any give concept (see: Eye & Tooth). On the other hand, Invasion of the Baby Snatchers is basically my perfect short story because if I had been given <i>any</i> more I would have had nightmares!
This collection was wonderful and inventive and really explored the bounds of what is horror, some in the more standard ways and others showing the way an everyday event can turn. I would highly recommend checking this one out!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Drug abuse, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Addiction, Sexual violence, Racism, Mental illness, Police brutality, Sexism, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, and Slavery
Moderate: Racial slurs, Gaslighting, and Self harm
Minor: Child death
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Drug use, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Police brutality, and Mental illness
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