Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology by Shane Hawk, Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.

16 reviews

kat_c_h's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I love the mix of short stories from different indigenous authors. Some I deeply loved while others I really struggled to get through. I loved the integration of different folk tails.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, and Child abuse

Moderate: Suicide, Colonisation, Racism, Death, and Cursing

cadence99's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

I really enjoyed this fantastic Anthology. Many stories were deeply disconcerting, and had me jumpy and on edge after some late night reading. Some of my favorites were White Hills, Scariest. Story. Ever. and Eulogy for A Brother, Resurrected (this one in particular was my favorite, and I look forward to reading more from the author!)- I’d highly recommend this to anyone looking for thoughtful, well crafted horror that packs a punch

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child death, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Ableism, Abandonment, Abortion, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Gore, Physical abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Addiction, Chronic illness, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Violence, Racism, Child abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, and Vomit

justagir1's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Colonisation, Death, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Blood, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Sexual content, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Violence, Body horror, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Hate crime, Slavery, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, and Sexual violence

warlocksarecool21's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.75

This was a really interesting collection of Indigenous short stories. As with any anthology, it’s hard to rate because you personally like some more than others. I have a hard time with anything that’s super graphic/gory and has body horror, so any of the stories with those elements weren’t that good for me, and there were a number of them like that. However if that’s your thing in horror you might like those stories more. I particularly enjoyed the ones that were either ghost stories (especially Dead Owls by Mona Susan Power) and thrillers (“Collections” and “Navajo Don’t Wear Elk Teeth” really stood out to me). There were a few like “Heart Shaped Clock” and “Sundays” that I thought were really emotional or powerful but I don’t necessarily know what genre to put them in, as they didn’t fit any of the categories I listed above. Even though many of the stories weren’t for me, I really liked seeing different elements of Indigenous cultures and history and it’s worth a read just for that alone, even if you don’t like traditional horror that much. There’s a really broad range of stories here and I definitely found some new authors to explore. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Chronic illness, Classism, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Rape, Violence, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, and Cannibalism

midsummernoodle's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

I really enjoyed this anthology. Of course there were some stories I liked more than others (and some I did not understand), but overall I had a good time with it! 

If you have any triggers at all, you should look up CWs for the individual stories. There are some disturbing plots in this book. Pretty much every story has the potential to be upsetting, but that’s dark fiction for you. 🤷🏻‍♀️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Blood, Animal death, Colonisation, Rape, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Grief, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Miscarriage

Minor: War, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Xenophobia, Classism, Car accident, Hate crime, and Genocide

caseythereader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

Thanks to Vintage Books for the free copy of this book.

- NEVER WHISTLE AT NIGHT is a collection of horror stories by Indigenous authors. The stories range from the supernatural to the psychological, and each left me chilled and unsettled.
- While many of these stories feature literal monsters, many are primarily about the horrors of humans and the many lasting nightmares of colonization.
- There are several well-known authors included here - Orange, Dimaline, Rice, Hobson, etc., and many that are new to me, including a few authors whose debuts are forthcoming. This is definitely a collection to check out if you want to see the future of Indigenous literature. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, Confinement, Cursing, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Car accident, Classism, Colonisation, Genocide, Gore, and Gun violence