Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

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

71 reviews

caidyn's review

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

An excellent collection! I really did enjoy it and all the Indigenous stories.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, and Miscarriage

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

2treads's review

dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The ways in which the authors came together to produce stories that draw directly from their past, present, colonial history, and cultural worldviews really made these stories great and chilling reads. As always, with every anthology, there are stories that really struck a nerve and linger at the back of the mind and others that were just OK. But all in all, this collection really embodies Indigenous people's culture, ritual, trauma, and beliefs.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Blood, and Colonisation

Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Violence, and Vomit

laurareads87's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

I was very excited to read Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology, and it has absolutely lived up to expectations.  The collection is wide ranging, and diverse in terms of both the themes the stories explore and their styles, moods, and approaches to horror.  Inevitably, as with any anthology, I preferred some stories over others.  I was drawn to this collection as it contains several authors whose works I've previously enjoyed, and I finish it with quite a few authors who are new to me but whom I hope to read more from. 

Content warnings - there are a lot of them: Violence, murder, death, torture, sexual violence, rape, gun violence, domestic violence, child abuse, child neglect, injury detail, xenophobia, racism, colonialism, misogyny, sexism, sexual harassment, gore, body horror, animal cruelty, animal death, and probably more.  There is some very difficult to read content in this collection.

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada & NetGalley for providing an ARC for me to review.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual violence, Colonisation, Rape, Gun violence, Death, Torture, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Murder, Racism, Abandonment, Sexism, and Body horror

elvenpanther's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.0

Over the years I've picked up a few short story anthologies with the best of intentions, but despite my best efforts, they go unfinished and forgotten. 
 I've been wanting to change this because I LOVE the idea of short story collections. The collaboration between multiple authors, each lending their unique voice and interpretation to the theme of the collection, and providing the opportunity to find new favorites.
 Therefore, I was thrilled to receive an advanced copy of Never Whistle at Night from Shane Hawk, Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. and Penguin Random House. And I can say with all honesty that each story within it kept me hooked.
 Not only did this anthology offer a variety of stories centered on supernatural and folk horror, as well as the horrors inherent in our history's greed and violence, it provided a wonderful showcase of the current indigenous voices in the literary field. 
 After reading some of Stephen Graham Jones work, I really have been wanting to find more indigenous authors to add to my reading list. This book has given me a wonderful jumping off point. I don't think there was a single story in this collection that I disliked and as I've seen others mention, many of the stories were written in a way that begged to be thoughtfully chewed on for a while before moving into the next.  Even though I would have happily continued reading longer versions of any of the stories, none of them felt incomplete to me and didn't leave me with that sense that something was lacking.
 I think this anthology is definitely worth the ready if you are a fan of subtle horror, or even if you are looking to expand your reading list to include new authors. 
 Thank you Netgalley, Penguin Random House, and the authors for providing me with a copy of this anthology. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture

Moderate: Alcoholism, Colonisation, Murder, and Racism

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.