Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology by Shane Hawk, Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.

87 reviews

dezzella's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

Went a little outside of my usual genre reading this, not usually the horror/thriller type reader, but I really enjoyed this! I thought there was lots of variety in the types of stories you encounter (whether from a paranormal/otherworldly experience to just other humans doing some terrible things). Glad I picked this up, and would recommend for those who love dark stories.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Racism, Blood, Abortion, Gore, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Miscarriage, and Death

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Stalking, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, and Adult/minor relationship

lantastic1's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

 I didn’t know what to expect when I picked up this book of short stories. Horror isn’t generally my genre, but indigenous fiction definitely is, so I went into this with an open mind.

I loved this collection. It’s the perfect mix of truly terrifying body horror (I don’t know I’ll ever quite get over Snakes are Born in the Dark), traditional horror stories (Hunger was one of my favorites), stories centered in indigenous traditions (Scariest. Story. Ever. let me into a world I know little about), and social commentary (Quantum was one of the most disturbing things I’ve ever read, and Sundays was heartbreaking).

My favorite stories, however, were the two more traditional satire pieces - White Hills and Collections. They have a Get Out feel to them but with this added layer of written tradition that I really responded to. I won’t give anything away about the plots - you should just read the book, seriously - but they were both captivating and deeply disturbing.

Shane Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. did a great job curating this collection, and you can absolutely tell that they are Own Voices editors by the stories they chose. This was amazing, highly recommend you checking it out, even if Horror isn’t your first choice!

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Gore

ramakn22's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Grief, Genocide, Death, Cultural appropriation, Confinement, Body horror, Slavery, Gaslighting, Violence, Sexual assault, Hate crime, Gun violence, War, Racial slurs, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Murder, Rape, Alcoholism, Trafficking, Suicide, Racism, and Torture

kittyinatophat's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Wow. All of these were so well written and scary in their own right, genuinely did not read one that I didn’t enjoy. I can definitely see myself coming back to this to reread in the future! 

I did have some that I found more unsettling than others that I have to highlight:

Kushtuka - Mathilda Zeller
Hunger - Phoenix Boudreau
Before I Go - Norris Black
Night in the Chrysalis - Tiffany Morris
Scariest Story Ever - Richard Van Camp
Human Eaters - Royce K Young Wolf
Dead Owls - Mona Susan Power
The Prepper - Morgan Talty
Eulogy for a Brother, Resurrected - Carson Faust
Night Moves - Andrea L. Rogers
Capgras - Tommy Orange
The Scientist’s Horror Story - Darcie Little Badger 
Collections - Amber Blaeser-Wardzalla

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Slavery, Violence, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Body horror, Cultural appropriation, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Torture, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, and Rape

lingfish7's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

🎧This book is fascinating. It’s a dark fiction/horror anthology written by 26 indigenous authors. The audiobook was fantastic because each short story is narrated by a different voice actor (and most of the voices are also indigenous). What amazed me most about this collection is the sheer variety of sub-genres within horror. Some stories pertain to the past (historical fiction) and others take place in present day. Some are gory, others are eerie. Some are more believable (just plain old racism) and others have a tinge of magical realism. 

I highly recommend this anthology as it also provides exposure to a variety of indigenous authors that I proceeded to add to my TBR. I cannot wait to check out what else these authors have written. All of the stories center indigenous voices and culture. Each story brings out the unique experiences of being native in a white supremacist world. In a way, horror is closer to reality for many indigenous families because the literal and cultural genocide they endured (and still endure) is nothing short of horrific. I think there’s something to be said about the horror genre providing an excellent template for processing generational trauma and systemic racism. 

Give this book a read if you want a unique collection of scary and eerie stories. Give this book a read if you want to expand your diversity reading in terms of genre, culture, and race. Indigenous books like these are so vital. What a truly phenomenal collection.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Racism, and Violence

willow_thewisp's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Torture, Cultural appropriation, Cannibalism, Violence, Rape, and Blood

ehmannky's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This anthology features a really broad array of dark fiction from indigenous authors. A lot of the stories are really good, though just like with any anthology there were a few that I just didn't care for. I also felt like I expected it to be a bit more horror-focused, when there were a few stories that were about horrible things (I'm thinking specifically about one that focuses on a man's desire to get revenge on the priest that raped in him a boarding school). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Gun violence, Violence, Gore, Body horror, Death, and Murder

bookedandbusy's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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? No

4.0

I really enjoyed this book! The stories were creepy and interesting and I loved the length of them! One story however made me VERY uncomfortable, hence four stars instead of 4.5/5 it was called “Sunday” other than that, I loved this book!! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Child abuse, Body horror, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Gun violence, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Colonisation

cadence99's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.25

I really enjoyed this fantastic Anthology. Many stories were deeply disconcerting, and had me jumpy and on edge after some late night reading. Some of my favorites were White Hills, Scariest. Story. Ever. and Eulogy for A Brother, Resurrected (this one in particular was my favorite, and I look forward to reading more from the author!)- I’d highly recommend this to anyone looking for thoughtful, well crafted horror that packs a punch

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child death, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Ableism, Abandonment, Abortion, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Gore, Physical abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Addiction, Chronic illness, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Violence, Racism, Child abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, and Vomit

kristenbynoe's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Forced institutionalization, Death, Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Pedophilia, Violence, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Rape, Murder, Gore, and Mental illness