Reviews

The Mammoth Book of Folk Horror: Evil Lives on in the Land! by Stephen Jones

theduchess93's review

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5.0

This collection made me read a Sherlock Holmes story and I loved it. I also enjoyed the mix of contemporary and older stories.

wdianasheppard's review

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5.0

This book is indeed mammoth - a chonker over 500 pages - and runs the gamut from classic spooky tales from old masters to more recent offerings by modern authors. As with any anthology, I had my favorites, but I really can't stress enough the overall quality of this collection. I mean, is that shocking? Stephen Jones is a BEAST when it comes to the horror genre.

One thing that I particularly enjoyed about this collection is that it focused on stories that had connections to nature. Lots of themes here about man vs wild, settling the land, colonization... all from different perspectives and given the nature of this anthology (both older works and newer) it turns into a snake eating its own tail: how do humans effect the natural world around them? Where are our blind spots? What are we capable of?

Definitely pick this one up if you love cornfields, the mist between trees, and the echo of a songbird that suddenly stops short.

Thank you to the publisher for this ARC! I thoroughly enjoyed it.

keithhanson's review

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

jacksondavis999's review

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.75

feathersmcgraw's review

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dark fast-paced

4.0

annarella's review

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5.0

What can be wrong in a book edited by Stephen Jones and featuring Algernon Blackwood, H. P. Lovecraft, M. R. James​, Ramsey Campbell, Storm Constantine, Christopher Fowler, Alison Littlewood, and Kim Newman?
Nothing as they're all master storyteller and their story can always scare me.
So please go and read it. It's a very huge book but this means a lot of fun.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine

thewintersings's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

bookwisp86's review

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4.0

A good collection of folk horror stories with some classics as well as some more contemporary authors. As with all collections there are some good and some bad tales.

moonlit_shelves's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

2.0

morticia_59's review

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medium-paced

2.0

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