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apocalyptus's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
marcel's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
3.0
favs: the juniper tree, the power and the passion, chattery teeth, the erl-king, the specialist's hat
curlybooks's review against another edition
3.0
I really liked reading this collection, more for the fact that it helped me narrow my likes and dislikes when it comes to horror, than because the stories were all consistently good. There were some true gems and some real bombs in here, but I guess that's to be expected in an anthology. Overall I recommend this book, especially if your looking for a sampling of what the genre has to offer and some new authors you may not have heard of before.
•Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament-4.5 stars
A disturbed and depressed woman has the ability to manipulate and control flesh.
Gory and twisted, with interesting complex characters and great writing.
•Dancing Chickens-3 stars
Orphaned and abused kid makes first contact with aliens in a very twisted turn of events.
Surprising, yet ultimately not horrifying enough. The realities of street life had more impact than the climax of the story.
•The Greater Festival of Masks-1 star
Man stumbles upon weird town's mask ceremony.
Totally forgettable, not scary, and uninspired.
•The Pear Shaped Man-3.5 stars
An oddly figured and mysterious man becomes obsessed with his new neighbor, and he wants to show her his special things.
Creepy stalker body horror, with a helping hand of paranoia and the supernatural bumping up against the everyday.
•The Juniper Tree -2.5 stars
Boy meets a predator at his local cinema.
A slightly disjointed account of one boy's loss of innocence in his local movie theater. Not really horror, more of an account of one boy's sick encounter with a pedophile and the psychological repercussions.
•Ten Minutes Forty Five Seconds- 2 stars
A man afraid of heights is on a flight with his coworkers.
This had some good writing and imagery, but overall left me wanting more. Too many unanswered questions and the convoluted technobabble was a miss.
•The Power and The Passion-5 stars
Human monster vs. supernatural monster.
Excellent writing, unapologetic, vivid imagery, and an awesome character study of a total psychopath. Might just be my favorite story of the collection.
•The Phone Woman- 2.5 stars
When a crazy person asks to use the phone, weirdness ensues.
This tried too hard to be a deep and philosophical study on modernity and the suburban lifestyle's effects on the human condition. However, it was a pretty decent portrait of one man's sexual and homicidal deviance being awakened.
•Teratisms-1 star
Have no idea what this was actually about as the writing was virtually unreadable. Just skip this one!
•Chattery Teeth-1 star
A hitchhiker's nefarious plans are interrupted by a deranged set of toy teeth.
Boring, blah storytelling. Not scary at all or creepy in the least. Just kind of laughable really.
•A Little Night Music-3 stars
An original and musical take on Zombie lore.
An oddly unique story about transformation and what it means to be dead inside.
•Calcutta, Lord of Nerves- 3.5 stars
A young woman worships a goddess in a zombie infested Calcutta.
Really interesting story, with visceral horrifying imagery and a mythological slant on zombies. The young female character was also a strong point to the story, being interesting in and of herself.
•The Erl-King- 0 stars
I just skimmed this one as I found it to be really boring. Fantasy just isn't for me and this was no exception. It just didn't grab me.
•The Dog Park- 1 star
A man searches for his missing dog at a dog park frequented by Hollywood types.
Not sure if I just missed the point or if there wasn't one. The story was cut off prematurely, there was no horror anywhere, and it just kind of petered out. Good writing that went nowhere.
•Rain Falls- 3 stars
A man's encounter with violence in a pub may be more dangerous then he expected.
I liked this one quite a bit. It had an excellent build up and a supernatural twist which I'm learning that I like in my horror.
•Refrigerator Heaven- 4 stars
A refrigerator becomes one man's path to enlightenment.
Really really like this one! A claustrophobic and imagery laden story about being pushed to your limits and the horrifying things humans do to one another.
•———— - 2 stars
A girl's trip to visit her wealthy family turns into a disturbing experience that will haunt her into adulthood.
An intriguing exercise in exploring memory and the fallibility of our minds, but a little too vague to actually be horrifying or shocking. An interesting writing device in the form of a black rectangle is used to represent lost or blocked memories, but even that wasn't as effective as it could have been.
•Eaten- 2 stars
A brother looking for his sister gets more than he bargained for in this poem style depiction of scenes from a pornographic horror movie.
What a bizarre story. Weirdly sexual and dark, this was unexpected from what I've read of Gaiman's other works. I think this would have been better had the style been less gimmicky and more straightforward, as the format seemed to limit the amount of details, which I think the story needed to be more effectively horrifying.
•The Specialist's Hat- 3 stars
Twin girls move into a haunted house with their father after their mother passes and creepiness ensues.
Really good atmospheric writing and an all around interesting addition to the gothic haunted house genre. I wish there was a little less ambiguousness, but it was still pretty creepy. Love the descriptions of the old mansion.
•The Tree is my Hat- 1 star
A man travels to an island where his life and local mythology begin to meld.
What a stupid and pointless story. I hated the writing style, it was full of wooden and stilted characters, silly asides, and purposefully vague nonsense. There was no real explanation of the magic/mythology and the story itself was just ridiculous. Not scary or tension filled in the least and the "poignant" ending was anything but, because at that point who cares. I have no idea how anyone could think this story was worth putting in a collection like this.
• Heat- 2.5 stars
A grief stricken mother hallucinates and becomes obsessed with fire.
I liked this story but did not find anything significantly interesting about it or particularly horrifying. Instead it was a slow (pardon the pun) burn about one woman's attempts to deal with tragedy and the toll it's taken on her psyche.
•No Strings- 1 star
Radio host finds himself the victim of mimicking monsters after a late night in the studio.
Boring, not well plotted and frankly a waste of time. Not scary or even suspenseful and the ending felt rushed and like it came out of no where.
•Stitch-2.5 stars
A woman is obsessed with the embroidered picture in the upstairs bathroom.
While somewhat suspenseful and interesting, I was looking for more. More intrigue, more sinisterness, more fear, more everything really. While the story boasts a nice twist, I didn't care enough about the characters for it to be impactful or horrifying. Just another ok selection in this collection.
•Dancing Men- 1 star
A boy visits his dying Grandfather who lived through the Holocaust.
Didn't like this one either. Boring and not interesting at all. Way to mystical and not scary in the least.
•My Father's Mask- 3 stars
A boy is taken on vacation with his parents to a cabin in the woods, when things take weird turn, his parents are acting bizarrely, strange people are hanging around and masks clutter the interior of the cabin.
I enjoyed this story. It was well written, mysterious, intriguing, and magical without being ridiculous. The parents' disturbing behavior and oddness gave the story tension and the mother was just weird. While I wish there had been more clarity about what was going on, it made sense that the story left me with questions as it was told from the POV of the young son, who also didn't have a clue.
•Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament-4.5 stars
A disturbed and depressed woman has the ability to manipulate and control flesh.
Gory and twisted, with interesting complex characters and great writing.
•Dancing Chickens-3 stars
Orphaned and abused kid makes first contact with aliens in a very twisted turn of events.
Surprising, yet ultimately not horrifying enough. The realities of street life had more impact than the climax of the story.
•The Greater Festival of Masks-1 star
Man stumbles upon weird town's mask ceremony.
Totally forgettable, not scary, and uninspired.
•The Pear Shaped Man-3.5 stars
An oddly figured and mysterious man becomes obsessed with his new neighbor, and he wants to show her his special things.
Creepy stalker body horror, with a helping hand of paranoia and the supernatural bumping up against the everyday.
•The Juniper Tree -2.5 stars
Boy meets a predator at his local cinema.
A slightly disjointed account of one boy's loss of innocence in his local movie theater. Not really horror, more of an account of one boy's sick encounter with a pedophile and the psychological repercussions.
•Ten Minutes Forty Five Seconds- 2 stars
A man afraid of heights is on a flight with his coworkers.
This had some good writing and imagery, but overall left me wanting more. Too many unanswered questions and the convoluted technobabble was a miss.
•The Power and The Passion-5 stars
Human monster vs. supernatural monster.
Excellent writing, unapologetic, vivid imagery, and an awesome character study of a total psychopath. Might just be my favorite story of the collection.
•The Phone Woman- 2.5 stars
When a crazy person asks to use the phone, weirdness ensues.
This tried too hard to be a deep and philosophical study on modernity and the suburban lifestyle's effects on the human condition. However, it was a pretty decent portrait of one man's sexual and homicidal deviance being awakened.
•Teratisms-1 star
Have no idea what this was actually about as the writing was virtually unreadable. Just skip this one!
•Chattery Teeth-1 star
A hitchhiker's nefarious plans are interrupted by a deranged set of toy teeth.
Boring, blah storytelling. Not scary at all or creepy in the least. Just kind of laughable really.
•A Little Night Music-3 stars
An original and musical take on Zombie lore.
An oddly unique story about transformation and what it means to be dead inside.
•Calcutta, Lord of Nerves- 3.5 stars
A young woman worships a goddess in a zombie infested Calcutta.
Really interesting story, with visceral horrifying imagery and a mythological slant on zombies. The young female character was also a strong point to the story, being interesting in and of herself.
•The Erl-King- 0 stars
I just skimmed this one as I found it to be really boring. Fantasy just isn't for me and this was no exception. It just didn't grab me.
•The Dog Park- 1 star
A man searches for his missing dog at a dog park frequented by Hollywood types.
Not sure if I just missed the point or if there wasn't one. The story was cut off prematurely, there was no horror anywhere, and it just kind of petered out. Good writing that went nowhere.
•Rain Falls- 3 stars
A man's encounter with violence in a pub may be more dangerous then he expected.
I liked this one quite a bit. It had an excellent build up and a supernatural twist which I'm learning that I like in my horror.
•Refrigerator Heaven- 4 stars
A refrigerator becomes one man's path to enlightenment.
Really really like this one! A claustrophobic and imagery laden story about being pushed to your limits and the horrifying things humans do to one another.
•———— - 2 stars
A girl's trip to visit her wealthy family turns into a disturbing experience that will haunt her into adulthood.
An intriguing exercise in exploring memory and the fallibility of our minds, but a little too vague to actually be horrifying or shocking. An interesting writing device in the form of a black rectangle is used to represent lost or blocked memories, but even that wasn't as effective as it could have been.
•Eaten- 2 stars
A brother looking for his sister gets more than he bargained for in this poem style depiction of scenes from a pornographic horror movie.
What a bizarre story. Weirdly sexual and dark, this was unexpected from what I've read of Gaiman's other works. I think this would have been better had the style been less gimmicky and more straightforward, as the format seemed to limit the amount of details, which I think the story needed to be more effectively horrifying.
•The Specialist's Hat- 3 stars
Twin girls move into a haunted house with their father after their mother passes and creepiness ensues.
Really good atmospheric writing and an all around interesting addition to the gothic haunted house genre. I wish there was a little less ambiguousness, but it was still pretty creepy. Love the descriptions of the old mansion.
•The Tree is my Hat- 1 star
A man travels to an island where his life and local mythology begin to meld.
What a stupid and pointless story. I hated the writing style, it was full of wooden and stilted characters, silly asides, and purposefully vague nonsense. There was no real explanation of the magic/mythology and the story itself was just ridiculous. Not scary or tension filled in the least and the "poignant" ending was anything but, because at that point who cares. I have no idea how anyone could think this story was worth putting in a collection like this.
• Heat- 2.5 stars
A grief stricken mother hallucinates and becomes obsessed with fire.
I liked this story but did not find anything significantly interesting about it or particularly horrifying. Instead it was a slow (pardon the pun) burn about one woman's attempts to deal with tragedy and the toll it's taken on her psyche.
•No Strings- 1 star
Radio host finds himself the victim of mimicking monsters after a late night in the studio.
Boring, not well plotted and frankly a waste of time. Not scary or even suspenseful and the ending felt rushed and like it came out of no where.
•Stitch-2.5 stars
A woman is obsessed with the embroidered picture in the upstairs bathroom.
While somewhat suspenseful and interesting, I was looking for more. More intrigue, more sinisterness, more fear, more everything really. While the story boasts a nice twist, I didn't care enough about the characters for it to be impactful or horrifying. Just another ok selection in this collection.
•Dancing Men- 1 star
A boy visits his dying Grandfather who lived through the Holocaust.
Didn't like this one either. Boring and not interesting at all. Way to mystical and not scary in the least.
•My Father's Mask- 3 stars
A boy is taken on vacation with his parents to a cabin in the woods, when things take weird turn, his parents are acting bizarrely, strange people are hanging around and masks clutter the interior of the cabin.
I enjoyed this story. It was well written, mysterious, intriguing, and magical without being ridiculous. The parents' disturbing behavior and oddness gave the story tension and the mother was just weird. While I wish there had been more clarity about what was going on, it made sense that the story left me with questions as it was told from the POV of the young son, who also didn't have a clue.
madarauchiha's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.0
❤️ 🧡 💛 💚 💙 💜 my about / byf / CW info carrd: https://uchiha-madara.carrd.co/ 💜 💙 💚 💛 🧡❤️
I used to enjoy Datlow's anthologies but the more I read them, the more apparent how much transphobia, transmisogyny, pedophilia, csa, incest, all types of racism esp anti black racism, is in these stories. Out of all of the stories in the publishing world, you can't find any without this shit?
The only ones I liked:
The Erl-King: Elizabeth Hand
I didn't care for the incest, but the imagery was lovely.
The Specialist’s Hat: Kelly Link
Oh I love a good, decent spooky creepy story. Vague horrors, plot twists, animal symbolism... yes please.
Special mention: No Strings: Ramsey Campbell
◆ Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament: Clive Barker
minor whorephobic language,
medium gore,
major racism, transphobia,
cw racism, derogatory anti sex work language
"His eyes were being forced into slits like a child imitating a monstrous Oriental, his mouth was hauled wide and tight, his smile brilliant. The words were difficult to say—
“Stop…it…”
She shook her head.
“Whore…” he said again, still defying her"
it's very stale cishet male horror author. no further cws as I'm skipping this one. We need to send clive barker to the grave and throw away everything he ever made. Good bye.
◆ Dancing Chickens: Edward Bryant
medium unsanitary, dead animals,
major rape, grooming pedophilia, child abuse
fuck this author for their nasty pedo shit
◆ The Greater Festival of Masks: Thomas Ligotti
medium body horror, bonfire,
◆ The Pear-Shaped Man: George R. R. Martin
skipped
◆ The Juniper Tree: Peter Straub
author used racial slur n word. skipped.
◆ Two Minutes Forty-Five Seconds: Dan Simmons
minor gore,
medium Vietnam war, suicide,
major heights?,
◆ The Power and the Passion: Pat Cadigan
minor gendered slurs, misogyny, police, bruises, off screen domestic abuse, guns,
medium torture, child death, sexual harassment, gore, torture, bone fractures,
major unsanitary but not fully explicit gross out levels, religion catholicism,
◆ The Phone Woman: Joe R. Lansdale
minor rape,
medium unsanitary, medical situations, ableism,
author uses hard r n slur. no further cws
◆ Teratisms: Kathe Koja
minor gendered slurs, blood,
medium smoking tobacco, unsanitary, NSFW,
◆ Chattery Teeth: Stephen King
skipped
◆ A Little Night Music: Lucius Shepard
medium murder, alcohol, misogyny, death threats, NSFW, infidelity,
◆ Calcutta, Lord of Nerves: Poppy Z. Brite
this is some stupid racist shit from a stupid racist white man
◆ The Erl-King: Elizabeth Hand
minor drugs weed, NSFW, maybe weird biphobic stereotypes?, gore, torture, alcohol, smoking, child abuse, hand trauma, amputation, hypodermic needle, animal death, drugs cocaine,
medium child neglect, transmisogyny, misgendering, transphobia, murder, gore,
major animal death, animal abuse, animal cruelty, incest / csa / pedophilia,
◆ The Dog Park: Dennis Etchison
major dogs
author used an anti black racist reference [golliwog] no further CWs I'm skipping this
◆ Rain Falls: Michael Marshall Smith
minor anti black stereotype, drugs lsd / heroine,
medium child abuse off screen in the past, violence, body horror?, gore and blood,
major alcohol? set in a tavern, dogs,
note: bizarre consistent commentary about sexism and misogyny,
◆ Refrigerator Heaven: David J. Schow
minor anti Rromani slur,
medium NSFW sex scene,
major imprisonment, torture, gore,blood, self harm,
◆ Joyce Carol Oates
minor gendered slurs,
medium drowning. open water,
major fatphobia, child abuse, pedophilia and incest, csa,
◆ Eaten (Scenes from a Moving Picture: Neil Gaiman
skipped, fuck gaiman,
◆ The Specialist’s Hat: Kelly Link
minor alcohol, poison,
medium body horror, snakes, infidelity,
◆ The Tree is My Hat: Gene Wolfe
medium ableism, colonization,
major racism,
author used a racial slur, no further cws
◆ Heat: Steve Rasnic Tem
minor deaths murder suicide,
major fire, gore, burns
◆ No Strings: Ramsey Campbell
minor anti Rromani slur once, drug addiction, insects,
medium classism with regards to people without housing, police, unsanitary, body horror,
◆ Stitch: Terry Dowling
medium orphaning, demolition, gore, murder, child death
major pedophilia?,
◆ Dancing Men: Glen Hirshberg
major holocaust, genocide, antisemitism in relation to the mentioned, anti Native racism,
four uses of the anti Rromani g slur,
author bizarrely sexualized the Native woman,
glen hirschberg is a shitty godawful racist who can suck the shit straight out of my asshole. skipped.
◆ My Father’s Mask: Joe Hill
minor use of the q slur not homophobic
medium death, gore, heights, NSFW nudity, animal death and gore,
major pedophilia and incest?, murder,
I used to enjoy Datlow's anthologies but the more I read them, the more apparent how much transphobia, transmisogyny, pedophilia, csa, incest, all types of racism esp anti black racism, is in these stories. Out of all of the stories in the publishing world, you can't find any without this shit?
The only ones I liked:
The Erl-King: Elizabeth Hand
I didn't care for the incest, but the imagery was lovely.
The Specialist’s Hat: Kelly Link
Oh I love a good, decent spooky creepy story. Vague horrors, plot twists, animal symbolism... yes please.
Special mention: No Strings: Ramsey Campbell
◆ Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament: Clive Barker
minor whorephobic language,
medium gore,
major racism, transphobia,
cw racism, derogatory anti sex work language
“Stop…it…”
She shook her head.
“Whore…” he said again, still defying her"
it's very stale cishet male horror author. no further cws as I'm skipping this one. We need to send clive barker to the grave and throw away everything he ever made. Good bye.
◆ Dancing Chickens: Edward Bryant
medium unsanitary, dead animals,
major rape, grooming pedophilia, child abuse
fuck this author for their nasty pedo shit
◆ The Greater Festival of Masks: Thomas Ligotti
medium body horror, bonfire,
◆ The Pear-Shaped Man: George R. R. Martin
skipped
◆ The Juniper Tree: Peter Straub
author used racial slur n word. skipped.
◆ Two Minutes Forty-Five Seconds: Dan Simmons
minor gore,
medium Vietnam war, suicide,
major heights?,
◆ The Power and the Passion: Pat Cadigan
minor gendered slurs, misogyny, police, bruises, off screen domestic abuse, guns,
medium torture, child death, sexual harassment, gore, torture, bone fractures,
major unsanitary but not fully explicit gross out levels, religion catholicism,
◆ The Phone Woman: Joe R. Lansdale
minor rape,
medium unsanitary, medical situations, ableism,
author uses hard r n slur. no further cws
◆ Teratisms: Kathe Koja
minor gendered slurs, blood,
medium smoking tobacco, unsanitary, NSFW,
◆ Chattery Teeth: Stephen King
skipped
◆ A Little Night Music: Lucius Shepard
medium murder, alcohol, misogyny, death threats, NSFW, infidelity,
◆ Calcutta, Lord of Nerves: Poppy Z. Brite
this is some stupid racist shit from a stupid racist white man
◆ The Erl-King: Elizabeth Hand
minor drugs weed, NSFW, maybe weird biphobic stereotypes?, gore, torture, alcohol, smoking, child abuse, hand trauma, amputation, hypodermic needle, animal death, drugs cocaine,
medium child neglect, transmisogyny, misgendering, transphobia, murder, gore,
major animal death, animal abuse, animal cruelty, incest / csa / pedophilia,
◆ The Dog Park: Dennis Etchison
major dogs
author used an anti black racist reference [golliwog] no further CWs I'm skipping this
◆ Rain Falls: Michael Marshall Smith
minor anti black stereotype, drugs lsd / heroine,
medium child abuse off screen in the past, violence, body horror?, gore and blood,
major alcohol? set in a tavern, dogs,
note: bizarre consistent commentary about sexism and misogyny,
◆ Refrigerator Heaven: David J. Schow
minor anti Rromani slur,
medium NSFW sex scene,
major imprisonment, torture, gore,blood, self harm,
◆ Joyce Carol Oates
minor gendered slurs,
medium drowning. open water,
major fatphobia, child abuse, pedophilia and incest, csa,
◆ Eaten (Scenes from a Moving Picture: Neil Gaiman
skipped, fuck gaiman,
◆ The Specialist’s Hat: Kelly Link
minor alcohol, poison,
medium body horror, snakes, infidelity,
◆ The Tree is My Hat: Gene Wolfe
medium ableism, colonization,
major racism,
author used a racial slur, no further cws
◆ Heat: Steve Rasnic Tem
minor deaths murder suicide,
major fire, gore, burns
◆ No Strings: Ramsey Campbell
minor anti Rromani slur once, drug addiction, insects,
medium classism with regards to people without housing, police, unsanitary, body horror,
◆ Stitch: Terry Dowling
medium orphaning, demolition, gore, murder, child death
major pedophilia?,
◆ Dancing Men: Glen Hirshberg
major holocaust, genocide, antisemitism in relation to the mentioned, anti Native racism,
four uses of the anti Rromani g slur,
author bizarrely sexualized the Native woman,
glen hirschberg is a shitty godawful racist who can suck the shit straight out of my asshole. skipped.
◆ My Father’s Mask: Joe Hill
minor use of the q slur not homophobic
medium death, gore, heights, NSFW nudity, animal death and gore,
major pedophilia and incest?, murder,
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Torture, and Transphobia
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