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crystaltydings's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
steveatwaywords's review
2.0
Seeking some original writers of the genre, I was disappointed to find that the old "Weeds" story by King was the highlight of the pile, here. Why must unexplained torturous circumstances be considered clever horror? Why must a simple revenge story with gore be considered remarkable enough to publish? No surprises and some bored frustrations made this a tough (though thankfully quick) read.
saemiligr's review
4.0
Of course King would write the short story that left me gagging. But over all I liked all the stories. ABSOLUTE Kudo's to the narrator of the audiobook! He managed to give each of the stories a different voice and it elevated everything.
beckylej's review
3.0
So author Brian James Freeman and Richard Chizmar of Cemetery Dance have put together a series of horror e anthologies for Random House's Hydra imprint. Cool right? Volume one released in December, two released in March, three is set for May, four is due out in August, and five is TBD. (I'll be reviewing vols 2 and 3 here on April 29 for TLC book tours.)
Each collection features a handful of horror's best and a combination of new and old tales. This first, for example, features one of King's earliest and new tales from the other four contributors.
Here's the full TOC:
Stephen King: Weeds
Kelley Armstrong: The Price You Pay
Bill Pronzini: Magic Eyes
Simon Clark: Murder in Chains
Ramsey Campbell: The Watched
Each of the stories is very different - there's no overarching theme to the collection except the genre itself - but each is a fun taste of terror. In "Weeds" a man is transformed after coming into contact with a meteorite. "The Price You Pay" is literally about the price you pay for certain deeds in life. "Magic Eyes" finds a man recounting how he ended up in the loony bin while "Murder In Chains" finds a man trapped in truly deadly circumstances. Finally, "The Watched" features a young boy caught in the middle of a revenge plot that could have deadly consequences.
Each collection features a handful of horror's best and a combination of new and old tales. This first, for example, features one of King's earliest and new tales from the other four contributors.
Here's the full TOC:
Stephen King: Weeds
Kelley Armstrong: The Price You Pay
Bill Pronzini: Magic Eyes
Simon Clark: Murder in Chains
Ramsey Campbell: The Watched
Each of the stories is very different - there's no overarching theme to the collection except the genre itself - but each is a fun taste of terror. In "Weeds" a man is transformed after coming into contact with a meteorite. "The Price You Pay" is literally about the price you pay for certain deeds in life. "Magic Eyes" finds a man recounting how he ended up in the loony bin while "Murder In Chains" finds a man trapped in truly deadly circumstances. Finally, "The Watched" features a young boy caught in the middle of a revenge plot that could have deadly consequences.
oneandonlywm3's review
4.0
I received an arc from Netgalley
Dark Screams is a collection of short stories from various authors. One of those authors would be Stephen King, and he's one of my favorites. I tried my best not to be biased about the novel just because he wrote one of the short stories, and in the end, his story was not even my favorite of them all.
There were 5 short stories, and 4 of them were really great short reads. The only bad one would be The Watched. I didn't enjoy it at all. Flat characters and boring plot. My favorite though would have to be Murder in Chains. It was the most exciting one and I even felt sorry for the main character. The other 3 were also good reads. This would be the very first "anthology" that I really enjoyed. I can't wait for volume 2 [if ever there will be one].
Short stories are the hardest to review, and I decided not to do an in depth review of each one. All you have to know is that this felt more like a thriller than horror. I still haven't read a novel that can garner the title of horror. 4/5 stars, because I hated the last story, and I can't really push myself to give this one a 5. It was not as astounding as I was hoping, but it was still a great read nonetheless.
Dark Screams is a collection of short stories from various authors. One of those authors would be Stephen King, and he's one of my favorites. I tried my best not to be biased about the novel just because he wrote one of the short stories, and in the end, his story was not even my favorite of them all.
There were 5 short stories, and 4 of them were really great short reads. The only bad one would be The Watched. I didn't enjoy it at all. Flat characters and boring plot. My favorite though would have to be Murder in Chains. It was the most exciting one and I even felt sorry for the main character. The other 3 were also good reads. This would be the very first "anthology" that I really enjoyed. I can't wait for volume 2 [if ever there will be one].
Short stories are the hardest to review, and I decided not to do an in depth review of each one. All you have to know is that this felt more like a thriller than horror. I still haven't read a novel that can garner the title of horror. 4/5 stars, because I hated the last story, and I can't really push myself to give this one a 5. It was not as astounding as I was hoping, but it was still a great read nonetheless.
mrsreads1's review
4.0
Brian Freeman's horror anthology contains five short stories, written by Stephen King, Kelly Armstrong, Bill Pronzini, Simon Clark, and Ramsey Campbell. This is to be the first of several and, if this is the case, he's off to a strong start.
This book was incredibly short - less than 100 pages - and was a very quick read. I easily clocked less than an hour of reading time with this one. The Stephen King story "Weeds" (also known as "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill") was one he wrote in the 70s and was featured in the second Creepshow film. It tells the tale of Jordy, a farmer who believes the meteor that lands in his backyard will bring him some fast cash, but sadly causes him more trouble than he anticipates. It was an almost humorous story, as Jordy continues to make things worse for himself until the sad end.
Most of the stories were good, but I have to confess that I believed the story by King to be the best (no surprise to me there). I was actually disappointed that Bill Pronzini's story, Magic Eyes, was a short story. After reading it, I wished it had been a whole novel, it was so enjoyable. The fourth story, Murder in Chains, felt as though it were a scene from the middle of a story and was a little too scattered in terms of plot for my liking, though it was more action-packed than the others. The fifth story, The Watched, was my least favorite. It had a good premise, but the execution just wasn't there.
All in all, this was an enjoyable read that I would recommend to fans of the genre, people who enjoy short story collections, or anyone interested in giving these authors a try for the first time without the commitment of reading a novel.
This book was incredibly short - less than 100 pages - and was a very quick read. I easily clocked less than an hour of reading time with this one. The Stephen King story "Weeds" (also known as "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill") was one he wrote in the 70s and was featured in the second Creepshow film. It tells the tale of Jordy, a farmer who believes the meteor that lands in his backyard will bring him some fast cash, but sadly causes him more trouble than he anticipates. It was an almost humorous story, as Jordy continues to make things worse for himself until the sad end.
Most of the stories were good, but I have to confess that I believed the story by King to be the best (no surprise to me there). I was actually disappointed that Bill Pronzini's story, Magic Eyes, was a short story. After reading it, I wished it had been a whole novel, it was so enjoyable. The fourth story, Murder in Chains, felt as though it were a scene from the middle of a story and was a little too scattered in terms of plot for my liking, though it was more action-packed than the others. The fifth story, The Watched, was my least favorite. It had a good premise, but the execution just wasn't there.
All in all, this was an enjoyable read that I would recommend to fans of the genre, people who enjoy short story collections, or anyone interested in giving these authors a try for the first time without the commitment of reading a novel.
chriszlol's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5