Reviews

This is a fantastic collection of short stories. I love a good short story book, and it has been a while since I have read one. This one is unique (at least in my experience) because it is a collection written by indigenous authors, and each story has something to do with indigenous people.

I would definitely put this collection in the horror genre, although not every story in it would fall into that category. Each of them is dark in some way, though. I counted 26 stories (my count could possibly be wrong), and I really liked most of them. There were one or two that I either didn't quite get, or simply didn't like. This, of course, is something that makes review/rating short story collections challenging, but I will always go with a rating that reflect the overall opinion of the book. And in this case, the majority wins.

Some of the ones that really caught my attention:

White Hills, by Rebecca Roanhorse - a chilling tale about the cost of affluence, especially when one marries into it. Also deals with extreme racism.

Quantum, by Nick Medina - blood purity determines how children are treated

Hunger, by Phoenix Boudreau (one of my favorites) - a fantastic tale about a "wehtigo," a spirit creature that inhabits bodies and feeds off of others. It is defeated by a couple of unlikely suspects. Calls frat boys "Empty young men." I laughed hard at that.

Tick Talk, by Cherie Dimaline (I've put a couple more of hers on my TBR, now) - a rather gross story (but I still liked it) about a monstrous tick

Snakes Are Born in the Dark, by D.H. Trujillo - Another great one. A hike involving three people (a girl, her fiance, and a friend) goes badly; magic may have been involved. It reminded me a little of The Ruins (the book, not the movie).

Scariest. Story. Ever., by Richard Van Camp - this one was a little different. It had the potential of being scary, then it wasn't at all, and was, in fact, rather heartwarming.

Human Eaters, by Royce K. Young Wolf - a great story that centered around lore

Sundays, by David Heska Wanbli Weiden - I kept having the feeling that I had read this one before, but I'm not sure. This one involved priestly pedophilia and the possibility of revenge many years later.

The Scientist's Horror Story, by Darcie Little Badger - another great story about three scientists who are trying to out-story one another. Two great "ghost" stories in one.

Collections, by Amber Blaeser-Wardzala - Human heads on the wall like hunting trophies! A young lady trying to get ahead in school encounters a professor with an eccentric taste in decorations. Somewhat open-ended at the end.

I won't bother to mention which ones I thought were weak, and I didn't include every story that I liked. Hard to pick a favorite, but it was probably between "Hunger," "Snakes Are Born in the Dark," "Scariest. Story. Ever.," and "Collections."

I highly recommend this collection of short stories!

natecons's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

jzupp's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Content Warnings

ananamauvais's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? N/A

4.5

autumnhab's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

A short story of indigenous peoples stories. This book has some strange tellings, but just because we haven’t heard of something doesn’t make it any less true. This book was read for book club and I did enjoy it.

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