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daniellesteenrod's review
4.0
Halloween Carnival Volume 1 is a horror anthology perfect for the Halloween season. There are a total of 5 stories in this anthology; all of which take place on Halloween. Some are sad, some are nail-biters, and some are just plain horror. This series isn't all out gore, so if that is what you are looking for, you won't find any of that here. I really enjoyed all 5 of these stories for different reasons. I am going to give a brief review of each story contained in this anthology and my star rating.
Strange Candy by Robert McCammon
This story is tied for my favorite story in the anthology. I wouldn't consider this story to be horror, as it wasn't scary at all. I really loved the premise of the story, and thought it was the perfect starter story for this anthology. While it was sad, it still belonged in the anthology as it took place on Halloween. It dealt with spirits that wanted to pass on a message to their loved ones before moving on to the afterlife. I rated this story 5 out of 5 stars!!
The Rage of Achilles or When Mockingbirds Sing by Kevin Lucia
Another sad story in the Halloween anthology. This one was full of tension. I was biting my nails with suspense. I almost did cry in this one. This story deals with an autistic boy and the story itself was just so heartbreaking. You'll find ghosts in this Halloween story. I rated this one 4 out of 5 stars.
Demon Air by John R. Little
If you were wondering if there was going to be a story that was actually horror, then you're in luck. Demon Air is definitely a short horror story that takes place on a plane. This may be the shortest one in the anthology, but it had just what I was looking for in a Halloween anthology! You'll find demons in this story! I rated this one 4 out of 5 stars!
La Hacienda de los Muertos by Lisa Morton
Unfortunately, this was my least favorite story in the entire anthology. The main character is an American with a prejudice against Mexicans. This turned me off instantly and I had a hard time getting over it. By the end, the main character does redeem himself, just not enough for me to forgive. In this story, you'll find the Mexican ghost story of La Llorona. I have heard this tale before and I really did enjoy this aspect of the story. I rated this on 3 out of 5 stars.
#MakeHalloweenScaryAgain by Mark Allan Gunnells
This was my other favorite story from this anthology! It was definitely the longest one and it took up half of the book. This is another horror story that interweaved horror and social media. I was a bit skeptical at first with the title being a hashtag, but I was pleasantly surprised at how good this story actually was! I rated this one 5 out of 5 stars!
My combined total rating came out to be 4.2 out of 5 stars, so all together, I rated this entire anthology 4 stars. If you are looking for some Halloween stories for the season without gore, definitely pick this one up! It was a very entertaining read!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this advanced copy in return for an honest review.
Strange Candy by Robert McCammon
This story is tied for my favorite story in the anthology. I wouldn't consider this story to be horror, as it wasn't scary at all. I really loved the premise of the story, and thought it was the perfect starter story for this anthology. While it was sad, it still belonged in the anthology as it took place on Halloween. It dealt with spirits that wanted to pass on a message to their loved ones before moving on to the afterlife. I rated this story 5 out of 5 stars!!
The Rage of Achilles or When Mockingbirds Sing by Kevin Lucia
Another sad story in the Halloween anthology. This one was full of tension. I was biting my nails with suspense. I almost did cry in this one. This story deals with an autistic boy and the story itself was just so heartbreaking. You'll find ghosts in this Halloween story. I rated this one 4 out of 5 stars.
Demon Air by John R. Little
If you were wondering if there was going to be a story that was actually horror, then you're in luck. Demon Air is definitely a short horror story that takes place on a plane. This may be the shortest one in the anthology, but it had just what I was looking for in a Halloween anthology! You'll find demons in this story! I rated this one 4 out of 5 stars!
La Hacienda de los Muertos by Lisa Morton
Unfortunately, this was my least favorite story in the entire anthology. The main character is an American with a prejudice against Mexicans. This turned me off instantly and I had a hard time getting over it. By the end, the main character does redeem himself, just not enough for me to forgive. In this story, you'll find the Mexican ghost story of La Llorona. I have heard this tale before and I really did enjoy this aspect of the story. I rated this on 3 out of 5 stars.
#MakeHalloweenScaryAgain by Mark Allan Gunnells
This was my other favorite story from this anthology! It was definitely the longest one and it took up half of the book. This is another horror story that interweaved horror and social media. I was a bit skeptical at first with the title being a hashtag, but I was pleasantly surprised at how good this story actually was! I rated this one 5 out of 5 stars!
My combined total rating came out to be 4.2 out of 5 stars, so all together, I rated this entire anthology 4 stars. If you are looking for some Halloween stories for the season without gore, definitely pick this one up! It was a very entertaining read!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this advanced copy in return for an honest review.
caffeinatedbibliophile's review
3.0
Review originally posted on my blog.
First, I rate anthologies like this by rating each individual story, then averaging all those ratings together to come up with a rating for the whole book. Also, because these are short stories, I don’t want to say much about them, so this should be a short review.
I received an eARC for review from Net Galley.
Strange Candy by Robert McCammon– This was a nice story to kick things off with. It wasn’t particularly scary, just a little creepy (and also a little heartwarming), and very Halloween-y. I gave it 4/5 stars.
The Rage of Achilles or When Mockingbirds Sing by Kevin Lucia– I thought this one was a little spooky, but still not very scary. It did have a nice mysterious vibe going on, though, and I actually didn’t see the twist at the end coming. However, for this one, I feel like it was a little too short, because there were too many questions left at the end about certain things. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars.
Demon Air by John R. Little– This was my least favorite story. I thought it was boring, kind of disjointed, and overly cheesy. I gave it 1 out of 5 stars :/
La Hacienda de los Muertos by Lisa Morton– I’m familiar with a certain legend that was used in this story, and I ended up actually liking this one more than I thought I would when I first started reading it. It was like a combination western/horror, and I thought it was a bit spooky. But, it felt a little too rushed at the end and I think it would have worked better if it had been just a little longer. I gave it 4/5 stars.
#MakeHalloweenScaryAgain by Mark Allan Gunnells– This was my favorite story, and it’s also the longest, taking up just a little less than 50% of this collection. I have a few minor complaints, but they’re not really relevant to the story. It wasn’t terrifying, but it was suspenseful and felt like an homage to some of my favorite horror movies in some ways. I gave this one 5 out of 5 stars.
I was a tiny bit let down by this collection because I was hoping to be really scared by it, but it only succeeded a few times in making me feel a little creeped out. Still, it was an enjoyable read and I’ll definitely be looking most of these writers up to read more from them.
Would I recommend it? Probably, but not if you’re looking for lots of gore or something truly terrifying (unless you’re very easily scared, in which case this might work for you).
First, I rate anthologies like this by rating each individual story, then averaging all those ratings together to come up with a rating for the whole book. Also, because these are short stories, I don’t want to say much about them, so this should be a short review.
I received an eARC for review from Net Galley.
Strange Candy by Robert McCammon– This was a nice story to kick things off with. It wasn’t particularly scary, just a little creepy (and also a little heartwarming), and very Halloween-y. I gave it 4/5 stars.
The Rage of Achilles or When Mockingbirds Sing by Kevin Lucia– I thought this one was a little spooky, but still not very scary. It did have a nice mysterious vibe going on, though, and I actually didn’t see the twist at the end coming. However, for this one, I feel like it was a little too short, because there were too many questions left at the end about certain things. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars.
Demon Air by John R. Little– This was my least favorite story. I thought it was boring, kind of disjointed, and overly cheesy. I gave it 1 out of 5 stars :/
La Hacienda de los Muertos by Lisa Morton– I’m familiar with a certain legend that was used in this story, and I ended up actually liking this one more than I thought I would when I first started reading it. It was like a combination western/horror, and I thought it was a bit spooky. But, it felt a little too rushed at the end and I think it would have worked better if it had been just a little longer. I gave it 4/5 stars.
#MakeHalloweenScaryAgain by Mark Allan Gunnells– This was my favorite story, and it’s also the longest, taking up just a little less than 50% of this collection. I have a few minor complaints, but they’re not really relevant to the story. It wasn’t terrifying, but it was suspenseful and felt like an homage to some of my favorite horror movies in some ways. I gave this one 5 out of 5 stars.
I was a tiny bit let down by this collection because I was hoping to be really scared by it, but it only succeeded a few times in making me feel a little creeped out. Still, it was an enjoyable read and I’ll definitely be looking most of these writers up to read more from them.
Would I recommend it? Probably, but not if you’re looking for lots of gore or something truly terrifying (unless you’re very easily scared, in which case this might work for you).
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