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Reviews tagging 'Murder'
Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror by Jordan Peele, John Joseph Adams
21 reviews
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.
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
the_vegan_bookworm's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Like most anthologies, there were stories I liked a lot ("The Rider" and "Your Happy Place" being particular favourites) and ones I wasn't so keen on. Unfortunately, I felt a lot of the stories fell on a more under-developed end of the spectrum despite having really great premises. I also think I would have made changes to the order the stories were presented in, as some transitions from one story to another felt random instead of adding to the collection's overall narrative.
With this said, there is a great range of diversity in these stories and a lot that a horror fan would enjoy.
With this said, there is a great range of diversity in these stories and a lot that a horror fan would enjoy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Sexual content, Police brutality, Gore, Sexual assault, and Murder
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Racism, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Mental illness
zombiezami's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
4.0
As with most anthologies, there's a range of quality in the collected stories. Some were amazing and haunting, others were just ok, and a handful seemed not to understand the assignment (i.e. they were very clearly not horror.).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Body horror, Blood, Murder, Grief, Death, Animal death, Gore, Violence, Cursing, and Confinement
Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Sexual content, Police brutality, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Addiction
2treads's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
One thing that stuck with me as I read through each story is the familiarity I had with the writing style of the authors whose works I am familiar with, whether it be their shorter or longer works. They didn't disappoint here.
I am not normally a horror reader but I have come to realize that I enjoy the subtleties that can be used to unsettle and terrify.
It is clear that each writer brought their own style and genre-rich crafting power to these stories, mining the many ways in which existing as a Black body within certain and specific spaces can affect and warp us. I loved that these characters were allowed to spread their individualities across the page, be it in a sinister or innocent way. These stories looked into historical biases, contemporary anti-Black racism and violence, mental health struggles, family bonds, magic, hoodoo, identity, love, toxicity, and everything in between, making each story quite the reflection of cultural heritage and history.
I am not normally a horror reader but I have come to realize that I enjoy the subtleties that can be used to unsettle and terrify.
It is clear that each writer brought their own style and genre-rich crafting power to these stories, mining the many ways in which existing as a Black body within certain and specific spaces can affect and warp us. I loved that these characters were allowed to spread their individualities across the page, be it in a sinister or innocent way. These stories looked into historical biases, contemporary anti-Black racism and violence, mental health struggles, family bonds, magic, hoodoo, identity, love, toxicity, and everything in between, making each story quite the reflection of cultural heritage and history.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Police brutality, Mental illness, Car accident, Gun violence, Racism, Grief, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
onthesamepage's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The combination of an anthology curated by Jordan Peele and including a handful of authors I've loved reading from before made picking this up a no-brainer. There's an intro by Peele that explains the premise behind the anthology, which is basically meant to be like the Sunken Place in Get Out, i.e. a manifestation of the authors' personal horrors. I was really intrigued by this, since I felt like I was getting to peek into the authors' brains. I admittedly don't read much horror, but most of the stories felt on the tame side and lean more "vaguely disturbing" rather than outright "oh god what did I just read".
I do want to mention a couple of standouts, though.
Reckless Eyeballing by N.K. Jemisin (5⭐)
This was such a banger of a short story. It was unsettling and disgusting and I loved every second of it.
Flicker by L.D. Lewis (5⭐)
I loved the premise and the execution of this, and thought it was really creepy to boot.
Hide & Seek by P. Djeli Clark (5⭐)
I loved the slow build-up and how gradually we got to the meat of the story in this one.
The combination of an anthology curated by Jordan Peele and including a handful of authors I've loved reading from before made picking this up a no-brainer. There's an intro by Peele that explains the premise behind the anthology, which is basically meant to be like the Sunken Place in Get Out, i.e. a manifestation of the authors' personal horrors. I was really intrigued by this, since I felt like I was getting to peek into the authors' brains. I admittedly don't read much horror, but most of the stories felt on the tame side and lean more "vaguely disturbing" rather than outright "oh god what did I just read".
I do want to mention a couple of standouts, though.
Reckless Eyeballing by N.K. Jemisin (5⭐)
This was such a banger of a short story. It was unsettling and disgusting and I loved every second of it.
Flicker by L.D. Lewis (5⭐)
I loved the premise and the execution of this, and thought it was really creepy to boot.
Hide & Seek by P. Djeli Clark (5⭐)
I loved the slow build-up and how gradually we got to the meat of the story in this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Murder, and Racism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Addiction, and Child abuse
Minor: Homophobia
dogearedbooks's review
dark
emotional
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Murder
annreadsabook's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
4.5
If you were a 90s kid and loved/were forever traumatized by that book SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK and are looking for something similar this season, let me tell you this is one of those books. It’s jam-packed with stories from powerhouse Black writers such as Tananarive Due, Nnedi Okorafor, P Djéli Clark, N.K. Jemisin, and many more. These are stories that examine what it means to be scared in our world—it pushes the boundaries of Black folks’ realities and nightmares (because sometimes our reality can be the stuff of nightmares).
While I enjoyed all of these stories, some stand-outs to me were those by Tananarive Due, Tochi Onyebuchi, Terence Taylor, and Nnedi Okorafor. I love how each of these stories take reality and morph it into something a bit more unrecognizable and all the more unsettling. This book is a series of funhouse mirrors distorting the already warped world that Black folks occupy—you probably won’t like (or forget) what you see. There’s all-seeing cars, mysterious hitchhikers, dark entities that hound people late into the night, and much more. But that’s all I’m about to say! No spoilers here!
Y’all are gonna definitely want to get your hands on this! Your October scary story reading will not be complete without it.
Thank you so much to Random House for the gifted ARC!!!
While I enjoyed all of these stories, some stand-outs to me were those by Tananarive Due, Tochi Onyebuchi, Terence Taylor, and Nnedi Okorafor. I love how each of these stories take reality and morph it into something a bit more unrecognizable and all the more unsettling. This book is a series of funhouse mirrors distorting the already warped world that Black folks occupy—you probably won’t like (or forget) what you see. There’s all-seeing cars, mysterious hitchhikers, dark entities that hound people late into the night, and much more. But that’s all I’m about to say! No spoilers here!
Y’all are gonna definitely want to get your hands on this! Your October scary story reading will not be complete without it.
Thank you so much to Random House for the gifted ARC!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Racial slurs, Car accident, Murder, Police brutality, Addiction, Death, and Drug abuse
Minor: Mass/school shootings