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Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'
Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology by Shane Hawk, Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.
25 reviews
rubl_b's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Graphic: Physical abuse, Cursing, Child abuse, Violence, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual violence, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Murder, and Sexual content
pigeonmellow's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
If you’re considering reading it, you’ll likely find something to enjoy!! It’s an anthology with over 20 short stories by as many authors, so you’re bound to find a story and an author you connect to.
I enjoyed hearing all the different writing styles (I listened to the audiobook version), and especially loved the voice actor Sheldon Elter, who voiced several of the stories. Sheldon Elter brought the characters and action to life with his emotion and voices — and none of his skillful spice distracted from the heart of the story, only served it. Sheldon Elter — you rule!
This book swerved for me towards the end. First, because I wasn’t aware when I picked it up that SA would be a major element in two stories (there was something that border-lined sexual violence in a third one, but it wasn’t viewed as a assault by the character who experienced it). Some readers can get through SA in their stories, but for me, it’s a trigger I can’t get past. Speaking of which: I completely skipped the second to last story (I think it was that one?) because, without warning, it opened with a first-person description of child SA in progress. I couldn’t do that one.
Second — as someone with a mental illness, I’m always hesitant when it comes to horror stories that paint mentally ill people as monsters or mental illness as a supernatural evil. At best, it’s tired — at worst, it’s perpetuating a harmful stigma. So yeah — for me personally, it’s not enjoyable to find that the “horror” of the story is a character being mentally ill and not taking their medication. In this anthology, there was one story that disappointed me in that way.
Lastly, I wasn’t ever creeped out by any of the stories, or on the edge of my seat with any of them — something I was looking forward to, as it was a horror anthology. Maybe that’s because I was listening to the audiobook version, and not reading in silence?
Huge trigger warnings for colonization, racism, white supremacy, racial slurs, talk of genocide and all of that directed at Indigenous people. If that is something that is a trigger for you, just know that all of those topics come up in almost every story. As one would expect, likely, given that these are horror stories written by Indigenous people, about Indigenous characters from this real world, where all of these horrors make up the real past and present.
Okay. ALL THAT BEING SAID: I did *really* love learning more about indigenous culture, and hearing about the fears, battles, resilience and triumphs of indigenous people. I am very interested in continuing to read my fav authors from this anthology! I learned a LOT I didn’t know before, and so much of the writing was so visceral, which I enjoyed immensely. This book has further motivated me to continue reading work by indigenous authors featuring indigenous characters and stories.
I want to note here, too, that horror stories deal with complicating and disturbing topics. So (apart from painting mental illness as an “evil”), I understand that my displeasure at some of these topics mostly means I’m a bit of a picky horror reader!
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Cursing, Mental illness, Rape, Child abuse, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Blood, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, and Racism
sakiido'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
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Stalking, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Bullying, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Car accident, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Death, Drug use, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Torture, Suicide, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual violence
laymanh's review
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Racial slurs, Forced institutionalization, Death, Body horror, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Sexual violence, Blood, Racism, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Hate crime, and Cultural appropriation
shuttersham's review against another edition
Graphic: Child death, Rape, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Cancer, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Racism, Sexual assault, Addiction, Mental illness, Gun violence, Grief, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Physical abuse, and Pedophilia
moukinnokage's review
Graphic: Grief, Miscarriage, Racism, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, and Racial slurs
cadence99'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? Yes
4.25
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
tshaff's review
- 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? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Genocide, Abandonment, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Vomit, Pedophilia, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Cannibalism, Body horror, Blood, Murder, Torture, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Hate crime, Gore, and Racism
lilyg2704's review
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Gore, and Colonisation
Moderate: Mental illness and Sexual assault
Minor: Addiction and Emotional abuse
i chose the most general warnings since there’s so many options. it’s def a heavy book at times and if u need more specific warnings feel free to ask! i the stories are so good tho.gnomeguy1138's review
4.5
Graphic: Racism, Colonisation, Blood, Death, Violence, Child abuse, Hate crime, Torture, Death of parent, and Body horror
Moderate: Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Stalking
Minor: War, Religious bigotry, Vomit, Genocide, Death, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, and Death of parent