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semajluap's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
linc4017's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
spooky_librarian's review against another edition
4.0
“Follow me– but be mindful not to leave the lighted path. I cannot guarantee your safety should you stray into the shadows.”
Another fantastic collection from HOWL Society Press that I feel so honored to have grace my home-library shelves. HOWLS FROM THE DARK AGES brings you 18 short stories filled with dark magic, adventure and curses galore. If there’s one thing I’m certain you need added to your home library, it’s a mosh-pit of body horror, cosmic horror, dark fantasy, ghost stories, fairy tales, and even a bit of horror comedy, all set in the Dark Ages. There’s a little something for everybody!
What’s especially unique about this anthology is that it’s set up as if you, the reader, are on a tour of an odd museum. The narrator–or “curator”-- leads you from one chilling story to another, displaying them as exhibits. It’s such a creative way to transition between tales! Another plus for me was that while this is an anthology with a Middle Ages theme, not all the stories are set in Medieval Europe. One story–A Dowry for Your Hand–is set in China, while another story–In Every Drop– is set in what I’d like to guess is somewhere in South America.
A handful of my favorites in this collection were:
Palette by J.L. Keifer
Brother Cornelius by Peter Ong Cook
A Dowry for Your Hand by Michelle Tang
In Every Drop by Lindsey Ragsdale
The Final Book of Sainte Foy's Miracles by M.E. Bronstein
A Dark Quadrivium by David Worn
If you, as a reader, are a lover of dark magic, spells, curses, and all things supernatural, this will make an excellent addition to your shelves.
(Special thanks to editor Solomon Forse and HOWL Society Press for a very beautiful review copy!)
Another fantastic collection from HOWL Society Press that I feel so honored to have grace my home-library shelves. HOWLS FROM THE DARK AGES brings you 18 short stories filled with dark magic, adventure and curses galore. If there’s one thing I’m certain you need added to your home library, it’s a mosh-pit of body horror, cosmic horror, dark fantasy, ghost stories, fairy tales, and even a bit of horror comedy, all set in the Dark Ages. There’s a little something for everybody!
What’s especially unique about this anthology is that it’s set up as if you, the reader, are on a tour of an odd museum. The narrator–or “curator”-- leads you from one chilling story to another, displaying them as exhibits. It’s such a creative way to transition between tales! Another plus for me was that while this is an anthology with a Middle Ages theme, not all the stories are set in Medieval Europe. One story–A Dowry for Your Hand–is set in China, while another story–In Every Drop– is set in what I’d like to guess is somewhere in South America.
A handful of my favorites in this collection were:
Palette by J.L. Keifer
Brother Cornelius by Peter Ong Cook
A Dowry for Your Hand by Michelle Tang
In Every Drop by Lindsey Ragsdale
The Final Book of Sainte Foy's Miracles by M.E. Bronstein
A Dark Quadrivium by David Worn
If you, as a reader, are a lover of dark magic, spells, curses, and all things supernatural, this will make an excellent addition to your shelves.
(Special thanks to editor Solomon Forse and HOWL Society Press for a very beautiful review copy!)
pbanditp's review
4.0
HOWLS FROM THE DARK AGES -what a super collection of stories based in the dark ages. In this book you are able to tour the world, not just Europe, as there are settings all over the globe.
In between each story there is a museum curator showing off relics from the stories and discussing them.
Travel back with the HOWL Society to feel like you are there, reliving history. There are so many great stories in here I couldn’t list all my favorites. Some were humorous, some make you tense, some brought awe, and all of them were entertaining.
I do have to mention one story. The whole book ends with a lyrical poem by Jessica Peter that I have fallen in love with. It is absolutely morbid but fascinating story that you could hear the minstrels singing and even the musicians playing along. I wanted to get up and dance a jig while I was reading it.
I learned from the biography at the end of the book that Christopher Buehlman toured with renaissance festivals with his show Christophe the Insultor, Verbal Mercenary. It is our duty to get this show back in action and invite him to every con to perform
In between each story there is a museum curator showing off relics from the stories and discussing them.
Travel back with the HOWL Society to feel like you are there, reliving history. There are so many great stories in here I couldn’t list all my favorites. Some were humorous, some make you tense, some brought awe, and all of them were entertaining.
I do have to mention one story. The whole book ends with a lyrical poem by Jessica Peter that I have fallen in love with. It is absolutely morbid but fascinating story that you could hear the minstrels singing and even the musicians playing along. I wanted to get up and dance a jig while I was reading it.
I learned from the biography at the end of the book that Christopher Buehlman toured with renaissance festivals with his show Christophe the Insultor, Verbal Mercenary. It is our duty to get this show back in action and invite him to every con to perform
annarella's review
5.0
I requested this arc because I like Christopher Buehlman's stories and I'm fascinated by the Dark Ages, a good time for any type of horror.
This is an excellent anthology, each story introduced by a sort of museum artefact. It's hard to tell which was my favorite story, I like them all and read them over a couple of week enjoying them.
There's a lot of different type of horror stories: some are on the "not for the faint of heart" side, other are about religion or historical moments.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
This is an excellent anthology, each story introduced by a sort of museum artefact. It's hard to tell which was my favorite story, I like them all and read them over a couple of week enjoying them.
There's a lot of different type of horror stories: some are on the "not for the faint of heart" side, other are about religion or historical moments.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
bobmetal's review
4.0
A range of styles of horror lurk inside this collection. There's body horror, cosmic horror and just plain nasty horror. Having everything themed around the Dark Ages gives all the stories a sense of originality.
My favourites were
The Crowning by Caleb Stephens - a dark take on a fairy tale
Palette by J.L. Kiefer - an obsession with beauty leads to some horrific body horror
In Thrall to This Good Earth by Hailey Piper - three men hired to remove a Haunting threat discover they may be out of their depth
In Every Drop by Lindsey Ragsdale - something is killing off the villagers, what will a mother do to protect her daughter
A Dowry For Your Hand by Michelle Tang - revenge, marriage and body horror
The Fourth Scene by Brian Evenson - a tapestry holds a terrible secret
Well worth reading
I received a copy from the publisher for an honest review
My favourites were
The Crowning by Caleb Stephens - a dark take on a fairy tale
Palette by J.L. Kiefer - an obsession with beauty leads to some horrific body horror
In Thrall to This Good Earth by Hailey Piper - three men hired to remove a Haunting threat discover they may be out of their depth
In Every Drop by Lindsey Ragsdale - something is killing off the villagers, what will a mother do to protect her daughter
A Dowry For Your Hand by Michelle Tang - revenge, marriage and body horror
The Fourth Scene by Brian Evenson - a tapestry holds a terrible secret
Well worth reading
I received a copy from the publisher for an honest review
dreadfulbooks's review against another edition
5.0
I knew I had to read this book once I knew that Christopher Buehlman gave the introduction. Between Two Fires is one of my all time favorite books and I knew that I would absolutely love an entire anthology filled with medieval horror.
Howls From the Dark Ages did not disappoint one bit. While it's completely a medieval horror book, it also ties in horror from all over the place. Body, cosmic, paranormal and religious themes are seen throughout it's entirety.
My only complaint is I wish some of the stories were full sized books. Especially "The Crowing" and "White Owl". I just needed more!
Howls From the Dark Ages did not disappoint one bit. While it's completely a medieval horror book, it also ties in horror from all over the place. Body, cosmic, paranormal and religious themes are seen throughout it's entirety.
My only complaint is I wish some of the stories were full sized books. Especially "The Crowing" and "White Owl". I just needed more!
lizzillia's review
4.0
Where to begin? Such a varied selection of tales touching on body horror, fear of religion, good and evil, Heaven and Hell. Eighteen tales all woven together by a narrator who leads us through this museum of the macabre. That touch, that, for me, was brilliant.
So which tales did I enjoy the most? The Crowing was an excellent way to start the anthology - full of fantasy and betrayal. I loved Palette, the mixture of beauty and body horror - superb. For horror, Brother Cornelius. The Final Book of Sainte Foy's Miracles - all about a mischievous saint. I think my favourite was The Forgotten Valley - the legend of the spear and desire.
There was not one story that left me disappointed and to end with The Lai of the Danse Macabre, it was like that After Eight mint at the end of a meal - a perfect ending to a sumptuous feast.
So which tales did I enjoy the most? The Crowing was an excellent way to start the anthology - full of fantasy and betrayal. I loved Palette, the mixture of beauty and body horror - superb. For horror, Brother Cornelius. The Final Book of Sainte Foy's Miracles - all about a mischievous saint. I think my favourite was The Forgotten Valley - the legend of the spear and desire.
There was not one story that left me disappointed and to end with The Lai of the Danse Macabre, it was like that After Eight mint at the end of a meal - a perfect ending to a sumptuous feast.
bookishactor's review
5.0
I received a complimentary eARC of Howls from the Dark Ages edited by P.L. McMillian and Solomon Forse from HOWL Society Press, and provided feedback on formatting and typos. I am also a member of the HOWL Society, but I am not published in this anthology of medieval horror and am not personally profiting from its sale. All opinions are my own.
Howls from the Dark Ages is the second anthology of short horror fiction from HOWL Society Press, following their debut anthology Howls from Hell in 2021. This book, like the prior volume, is largely an effort of emerging horror authors from the writers channel in the HOWL Society Discord, an online book club which clawed its way into existence out of the /r/horrorlit subreddit in the early months of the COVID pandemic. Unlike the prior book, which featured a variety of different stories spanning sub-genres, this collection features stories specifically set in the medieval period from both HOWLS members and other authors.
HftDA begins with an introduction from Christopher Buehlman, who lends insight from the process of writing his own novel of medieval horror (Between Two Fires) to illuminate the challenge of writing period horror and contextualize the tales that follow.
The book begins with a short note from a “curator,” establishing a recurring framework in which the reader is cast in the role of a visitor to a mysterious museum. Before each story the reader reads a short note about and views an object (created by a litany of artists) which features prominently in the story that follows. This was a fascinating idea, even if this concept did seem slightly confusing as I read the first curatorial note.
The stories are all set during the medieval period, most in Europe though the Americas and China are also represented. The protagonists come from a variety of backgrounds, though as might be expected a great many are monks, nuns, knights, etc. One of the strengths of a common time period setting is the ability to explore similar themes, tropes, and other elements across multiple authors, styles, and points of view. Yet this also resulted in a lot of repetition in themes, character types, etc. This isn’t a bad thing, just know going in that you’re going to read a lot of stories exploring some common ground. For example, a lot of the stories dealt with medieval Christianity (and attitudes about it ranged from critical to creative!)
Overall I found the stories to range from “good” to “great.” While a few left me with unanswered questions or a bit confused, many were totally immersive in the medieval world and combined excellent storytelling with horrifying and engaging plots and imagery. My favorite stories in the anthologies included Angelus by Philippa Evans, Brother Cornelius by Peter Ong Cook, Deus Vult by Ethan Yoder, The Final Book of Sainte Foy’s Miracles by M.E. Bronstein, The Fourth Scene by Brian Evenson, White Owl Stevie Edwards, A Dark Quadrivium by David Worn, and the story-in-verse The Lai of the Danse Macabre by Jessica Peter.
I enjoyed HftDA. Fans of medieval horror (or just medieval stories) will likely love it too. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Howls from the Dark Ages is the second anthology of short horror fiction from HOWL Society Press, following their debut anthology Howls from Hell in 2021. This book, like the prior volume, is largely an effort of emerging horror authors from the writers channel in the HOWL Society Discord, an online book club which clawed its way into existence out of the /r/horrorlit subreddit in the early months of the COVID pandemic. Unlike the prior book, which featured a variety of different stories spanning sub-genres, this collection features stories specifically set in the medieval period from both HOWLS members and other authors.
HftDA begins with an introduction from Christopher Buehlman, who lends insight from the process of writing his own novel of medieval horror (Between Two Fires) to illuminate the challenge of writing period horror and contextualize the tales that follow.
The book begins with a short note from a “curator,” establishing a recurring framework in which the reader is cast in the role of a visitor to a mysterious museum. Before each story the reader reads a short note about and views an object (created by a litany of artists) which features prominently in the story that follows. This was a fascinating idea, even if this concept did seem slightly confusing as I read the first curatorial note.
The stories are all set during the medieval period, most in Europe though the Americas and China are also represented. The protagonists come from a variety of backgrounds, though as might be expected a great many are monks, nuns, knights, etc. One of the strengths of a common time period setting is the ability to explore similar themes, tropes, and other elements across multiple authors, styles, and points of view. Yet this also resulted in a lot of repetition in themes, character types, etc. This isn’t a bad thing, just know going in that you’re going to read a lot of stories exploring some common ground. For example, a lot of the stories dealt with medieval Christianity (and attitudes about it ranged from critical to creative!)
Overall I found the stories to range from “good” to “great.” While a few left me with unanswered questions or a bit confused, many were totally immersive in the medieval world and combined excellent storytelling with horrifying and engaging plots and imagery. My favorite stories in the anthologies included Angelus by Philippa Evans, Brother Cornelius by Peter Ong Cook, Deus Vult by Ethan Yoder, The Final Book of Sainte Foy’s Miracles by M.E. Bronstein, The Fourth Scene by Brian Evenson, White Owl Stevie Edwards, A Dark Quadrivium by David Worn, and the story-in-verse The Lai of the Danse Macabre by Jessica Peter.
I enjoyed HftDA. Fans of medieval horror (or just medieval stories) will likely love it too. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️