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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
Review in the October 2020 issue of Library Journal
Three Words That Describe this Book: translation, meticulously researched, wide range of scares
Draft Review:
Known for their updated editions of classic horror stories, editors Jenkins and Cagle have taken on a new mission, collecting contemporary, acclaimed horror authors from around the world, translating may of them into English for the first time, adding a short introduction to each story in order to place them a context to be best enjoyed by a new, wider audience. This collection is stellar from top to bottom, but standouts include Christien Boomsma [Netherlands] with a nightmarish story of guilt spiraling out of control, and Bathie Ngoye Thiam [Senegal] who brings the rab [evil spirits] from his country’s oral history tradition to the page, terrifying readers near and far.
Verdict: This desperately needed anthology is meticulously researched and translated, offering stories from a variety of perspectives across five continents, and representing the broad range of storytelling styles and tropes that are used by all horror storytellers regardless of nationality. Readers will be clamoring for these fresh tales by current authors they probably didn’t know existed. Consider pairing it with A WORLD OF HORROR edited by Eric Guignard.
Three Words That Describe this Book: translation, meticulously researched, wide range of scares
Draft Review:
Known for their updated editions of classic horror stories, editors Jenkins and Cagle have taken on a new mission, collecting contemporary, acclaimed horror authors from around the world, translating may of them into English for the first time, adding a short introduction to each story in order to place them a context to be best enjoyed by a new, wider audience. This collection is stellar from top to bottom, but standouts include Christien Boomsma [Netherlands] with a nightmarish story of guilt spiraling out of control, and Bathie Ngoye Thiam [Senegal] who brings the rab [evil spirits] from his country’s oral history tradition to the page, terrifying readers near and far.
Verdict: This desperately needed anthology is meticulously researched and translated, offering stories from a variety of perspectives across five continents, and representing the broad range of storytelling styles and tropes that are used by all horror storytellers regardless of nationality. Readers will be clamoring for these fresh tales by current authors they probably didn’t know existed. Consider pairing it with A WORLD OF HORROR edited by Eric Guignard.
Evil faeries, creepy landlords, spiritualistic seances, and superstitions. Whether you’re a fan of international horror or brand new to the terrifying tales that lie beyond your own borders, you’re gonna wanna get your hands on this fantastic collection.
As someone who has very recently fallen in love with short stories during these long months in quarantine, this beautiful anthology was a real treat. THE VALANCOURT BOOK OF WORLD HORROR STORIES is an assemblage of chilling tales from nineteen countries, translated from thirteen different languages, and packaged in this stunning edition.
I really have to commend Valancourt Books for all the work, care, and love that went into this amazing book. There was clearly a mission to focus solely on horror from non-English speaking countries, stories usually only enjoyed by their local audiences and yet to be introduced to readers such as myself. Valancourt really searched the hidden crevices of the globe in order to find these horror gems that varied in style and culture.
My personal favorites in this anthology were:
The Time Remaining (Hungary)
Down, in Their World (Romania)
Senor Ligotti (Mexico)
The Collector (Peru)
The Bones in her Eyes (Netherlands)
Donation ( Denmark)
Mechanisms (Catalonia)
This was an impressive and very much appreciated achievement for editors James D. Jenkins and Ryan Cagle. The world is vast and I’m eagerly anticipating three or even four more amazing volumes of terror and fright from more countries! I can’t wait!
(Special thanks to Valancourt Books and Night Worms for sending this review copy for this #NightWormsBookParty)
As someone who has very recently fallen in love with short stories during these long months in quarantine, this beautiful anthology was a real treat. THE VALANCOURT BOOK OF WORLD HORROR STORIES is an assemblage of chilling tales from nineteen countries, translated from thirteen different languages, and packaged in this stunning edition.
I really have to commend Valancourt Books for all the work, care, and love that went into this amazing book. There was clearly a mission to focus solely on horror from non-English speaking countries, stories usually only enjoyed by their local audiences and yet to be introduced to readers such as myself. Valancourt really searched the hidden crevices of the globe in order to find these horror gems that varied in style and culture.
My personal favorites in this anthology were:
The Time Remaining (Hungary)
Down, in Their World (Romania)
Senor Ligotti (Mexico)
The Collector (Peru)
The Bones in her Eyes (Netherlands)
Donation ( Denmark)
Mechanisms (Catalonia)
This was an impressive and very much appreciated achievement for editors James D. Jenkins and Ryan Cagle. The world is vast and I’m eagerly anticipating three or even four more amazing volumes of terror and fright from more countries! I can’t wait!
(Special thanks to Valancourt Books and Night Worms for sending this review copy for this #NightWormsBookParty)
Horror isn’t exclusive to one country, one language, or one culture. It’s world wide. No matter where you’re from, you may have been exposed to a few pieces of horror from other countries, but I’d be willing to be that even if you’ve read translated works, the average reader isn’t doing so with much frequency.
That’s where valencourt books comes in. They’ve scoured the globe to bring you translations of horror stories from all over there world. There is something for everyone from every corner of the globe within this book, and it’s very likely that this is the first time you’ll read something by most, if not all of the authors in this book.
The premise is there, but the question to be asked is “Did the editors find GOOD stories. Stories worth sharing with others?” I believe they did, and this is a worthy entry in any horror fans anthology collection. A few of the standouts for me were
“All the birds” by Yvette Tan (Philippines)
Señor Ligotti by Bernardo Esquinca (Mexico)
The Bones in Her Eyes by Christien Boomsma
There really is something for everyone here. The book is labeled as volume one, and I really hope that Valancourt continues with this excellent premise, and that the execution can remain top notch. PICK THIS ONE UP
That’s where valencourt books comes in. They’ve scoured the globe to bring you translations of horror stories from all over there world. There is something for everyone from every corner of the globe within this book, and it’s very likely that this is the first time you’ll read something by most, if not all of the authors in this book.
The premise is there, but the question to be asked is “Did the editors find GOOD stories. Stories worth sharing with others?” I believe they did, and this is a worthy entry in any horror fans anthology collection. A few of the standouts for me were
“All the birds” by Yvette Tan (Philippines)
Señor Ligotti by Bernardo Esquinca (Mexico)
The Bones in Her Eyes by Christien Boomsma
There really is something for everyone here. The book is labeled as volume one, and I really hope that Valancourt continues with this excellent premise, and that the execution can remain top notch. PICK THIS ONE UP
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
I normally do not read horror stories, but I enjoyed this volume! Nice selection of countries and interesting stories.
I have to applaud the editors at Valancourt for the immense time and effort it must have taken to not only comb the globe for great stories, but to also translate them for this book. The magnitude of such an endeavor is overwhelming to me. Luckily it was all worth it as this is a fantastic collection of horrifying short stories from around the world!
The stories vary widely in their plots and the type of horror they contain, so there is truly something for everyone here. It was exciting reading this collection as each new story also introduced me to a new author, many of whom I would love to read more from. As with all anthologies there are hits and misses, but overall this is a solid group of entertaining and terrifying tales!!
Some stand outs for me are:
“Mater Tenebrarum” by Pilar Pedraza (Spain)
“The Time Remaining” by Attila Veres (Hungary)
“Señor Ligotti” by Bernardo Esquinca (Mexico)
“The Bones in Her Eyes” by Christien Boomsma (Netherlands)
“All the Birds” by Yvette Tan (Philippines)
The stories vary widely in their plots and the type of horror they contain, so there is truly something for everyone here. It was exciting reading this collection as each new story also introduced me to a new author, many of whom I would love to read more from. As with all anthologies there are hits and misses, but overall this is a solid group of entertaining and terrifying tales!!
Some stand outs for me are:
“Mater Tenebrarum” by Pilar Pedraza (Spain)
“The Time Remaining” by Attila Veres (Hungary)
“Señor Ligotti” by Bernardo Esquinca (Mexico)
“The Bones in Her Eyes” by Christien Boomsma (Netherlands)
“All the Birds” by Yvette Tan (Philippines)
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Vomit, Stalking, Murder
Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, Vomit, Alcohol
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Violence
solid collection. favourites: uironda, luigi musolino (Italian); backstairs, anders fager (swedish), pale toes, marko hautala (finnish).
also honourable mention to the time remaining, attila veres (hungarian) and donation, lahrs ahn (danish) weren't favs they just scarred me the most i saw a tumblr post about used plushies and it was more terrifying than sweet after reading ttt :/
also honourable mention to the time remaining, attila veres (hungarian) and donation, lahrs ahn (danish) weren't favs they just scarred me the most i saw a tumblr post about used plushies and it was more terrifying than sweet after reading ttt :/