Reviews

The Gathering Dark: An Anthology of Folk Horror by Tori Bovalino

mariewikle's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

Every story I finished… I was like THAT is my favorite. All of them… I loved all of them 

idk_who0's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

meaganmart's review against another edition

4.0

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of short stories. The perfect read for easing into fall and to spooky season. These are the types of scary stories that will sit with you long after you've turned the last page. I did find it a bit too mature for my middle graders, so I will be sending it up to the high school we feed, but I think it's the perfect book for budding young adult feminists who like their horror with a side of smashing the patriarchy.

paragraphsandpages's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

hollistera's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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? N/A

4.0

This is an Anthology, some of the stories I really liked and some were just okay

epsyphus's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

I liked some of these more than others. I read somewhere that when it comes to writing, and writing short stories in particular, that every sentence counts. Every sentence must be building your story and steering your reader exactly where you want them to end up. I think some of these stories were more successful at that than others. Some of them I felt a little confused with. Still, I love a good horror story and these were enjoyable. 

alongreader's review against another edition

3.0

Ok, this was partly my fault. I misread the sumamry and thought this was retellings of urban legends. It's not; they're new stories based in the same kind of horror that colors urban legends. On the plus side, I'm possibly still as well up on my urban legends as I thought I was; I was getting really worried when I didn't recognise any of these!

Short story collections are very variable, not only between collections but within them, between the stories, as well. I really enjoyed a couple of the stories here, had a few that were dubious, one or two that were too complicated and not really suited to short story format, and a couple that could easily have become full novels. None of them really scared me as they all seemed very specific to place and circumstance, but they were quite creepy and I can see how people would be scared by them.
Not terrifying, but a good interesting read and a great introduction to some authors I wasn't too familiar with before.

l_brina's review against another edition

3.0

"He probably assumed that these were his trees, that this was his forest, and that I, by way of being on his property, was also his."

novelsallnight's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0

 Most of these stories were fine, but there was nothing that stuck out. I probably won't remember most of them very long but it was good overall. 

sveta_of_belinsk's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

5.0