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Reviews tagging 'Body horror'
Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror by Jordan Peele, John Joseph Adams
32 reviews
ishouldreadthat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror and Blood
kirstym25's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Death, Body horror, and Racism
Moderate: Addiction and Drug abuse
Minor: Ableism, Mass/school shootings, and Gun violence
rorikae's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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
- 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
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.
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.kshertz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Minor: Gore, Ableism, Body horror, Addiction, Blood, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Abandonment, Drug use, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
zombiezami's review against another edition
4.0
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
katiemack's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
Like many reviewers, I saw Jordan Peele's name (along with other well-known authors) and instantly requested this eARC without even reading the description. While a few stories dragged for me, most of them are solidly terrifying and draw heavily on African mythology and cultural elements for their horror and conventions. The stories also vary in tropes and dabble in various genres, which I loved. Standouts include N.K. Jemison's "Reckless Eyeballing," Rebecca Roanhorse's "Eye and Tooth," Nnedi Okorafor's "Dark Home," L.S. Lewis' "Flicker," and P. Djèlí Clark's "Hide and Seek."
Graphic: Racism, Body horror, and Death
Moderate: Addiction, Gun violence, and Mental illness
Minor: Homophobia and Mass/school shootings
2treads's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Moderate: Body horror, Police brutality, Mental illness, Car accident, Gun violence, Racism, Grief, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
havelock's review
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Racism, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail
annreadsabook's review against another edition
4.5
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!!!
Graphic: Body horror, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Racial slurs, Car accident, Murder, Police brutality, Addiction, Death, and Drug abuse
Minor: Mass/school shootings