Reviews tagging 'Grief'

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

31 reviews

danimacuk's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Blood, Xenophobia, Violence, Torture, Racism, Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Classism

Moderate: Confinement, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Rape, Abandonment, Animal death, and Grief

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

katieandkiri's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Forever changed by reading these incredible stories. They aren’t the kind to leave you. Truly a life changing experience reading this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Violence, Colonisation, Child abuse, Death, Gaslighting, and Grief

Moderate: Gun violence, Body horror, Blood, Gore, and Sexual assault

Minor: Cannibalism

hyphae's review

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Body horror, Blood, Drug abuse, Death, Alcohol, and Addiction

annemaries_shelves's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

4.25 stars

As with every anthology, there are some personal hits and some personal 'okays'. There wasn't a bad story in this bunch, though!

The editors did a fantastic job compiling a set of stories that alternately scare, unsettle, disturb, or otherwise make you feel something. There's an emphasis on themes of colonialism and racism, grief, hauntings and spirits, identity and family, and the unexplainable (either to the reader, to an individual outside a particular culture's set of traditions and knowledges, or to the characters themselves). 

While some stories are more traditionally scary/disturbing, many land on the side of just unsettling or tense. I recommend readers go in without any expectations of mainstream horror or dark fiction to enhance your experience with the great storytelling found in this collection.

I truly enjoyed reading so many new to me authors (including some I've wanted to try for while) as well as revisiting some authors through their short stories. 

My favourites include:
Kushtuka by Mathilda Zeller
White Hills by Rebecca Roanhorse
Navajos don't wear elk teeth by Conley Lyons
Snakes are born in the dark - D.H. Trujillo
Scariest. Story. Ever. by Richard Van Camp
Human Eaters by Royce K. Young Wolf
Sundays by David Heska Wanbli Weiden
The Scientist's Horror Story by Darcie Little Badger
Collections by Amber Blaeser-Wardzala
Limbs by Waubgeshig Rice

CW: rape (on-page rape of children at residential schools), murder, forced abortion, gore and body injuries, mental illness, drinking/alcohol abuse, colonialism, insects (ticks specifically), and more

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Pregnancy, Abortion, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Racism, Rape, Addiction, Child abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Grief, Medical content, Murder, and Torture

yinflower's review

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Vomit, Physical abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Grief, Death, Colonisation, Murder, Medical trauma, Hate crime, Genocide, War, Violence, Torture, Suicide, Rape, and Gun violence

mmccombs's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.5

Probably one of the strongest short story anthologies I’ve ever read! I have read a fair amount of horror at this point and am often hard to please, and I’d say like 1/3 of these stories made me say “oh no” out loud which is hard to do! Obviously, I enjoyed some much more than others, but I was very impressed by how much these stories complimented each other while also providing such diverse approaches to and perspectives on horror. Some were more thriller-y, some classic feeling slashers, some very grounded in folklore, others sharp social commentaries. My favorites were Kushtuka, Tick Talk, Night in the Chrysalis, Behind Collin’s Eyes, and Uncle Robert Rides the Lightning (and SGJ’s foreword, which probably doesn’t count as a story but really hyped me up for the collection so I’ll give it a shoutout, too). This anthology has introduced me to a lot of new authors I’m excited about, I had a great spooky time reading this one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Grief, Murder, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Child abuse, Colonisation, and Violence

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abortion, and Animal death

luckylulureads's review

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Xenophobia, Rape, Racial slurs, Medical trauma, Body horror, Vomit, Grief, Child death, and Injury/Injury detail

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

readingwithkaitlyn's review

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Death, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Hate crime, Body horror, Gore, Racism, Gun violence, Torture, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual violence, and Grief

Moderate: Cannibalism, Medical content, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Fire/Fire injury, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Medical trauma, Alcohol, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Panic attacks/disorders, Ableism, Bullying, Physical abuse, Body shaming, Vomit, Genocide, Colonisation, Abortion, and Chronic illness

Minor: Excrement, Misogyny, Death of parent, Animal death, Self harm, War, Cancer, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Sexism, Infidelity, Drug use, Homophobia, and Alcoholism

Residential schools, MMIWG2S.