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It Calls From the Sky: Terrifying Tales from Above by G. Allen Wilbanks, Jay Sandlin, Marc Sorondo
severina2001's review against another edition
3.0
Anthology of horror tales focusing on threats from above.
After I was about a third of the way through this book of short stories, I checked the publisher. It's a small indie press that takes open-call submissions and offers $10 to $20 if the story is accepted. Knowing this, I realized that the stories in this anthology are most likely from new authors that are still learning the craft and I was therefore a little more lenient. Because there are some really interesting story ideas here, but I did find that many (especially in the first half of the book) got bogged down in overly flowery descriptions and metaphors out the wazoo. And then some of the blame can get placed on the editors, who missed many easily fixable errors such as sound-similar words used (when instead of went, for example); a character whose name switches from Ava to Ada and then back to Ava; and incomplete sentences.
There were some standouts that I enjoyed.
The Traveler by G. Allen Wilbanks is told from the point of view of a microscopic alien that lands on Earth. As it investigates its new environment, it begins to learn… and grow. Wilbanks does a great job of maintaining an eerie, otherworldly voice throughout.
Flickering by G.A. Alexander is a creepy, well-written version of what is behind one of those flickering-lights/static/distorted-voices haunted house videos that dominate paranormal "reality" shows. It does suffer from a rather abrupt ending.
Keep One in the Chamber by T.M. Brown deals with alien invasion in three stages, and the author creates a stark, barren and menacing landscape in only a few short paragraphs. This one has a nice, three-dimensional character for its lead, and a bleak, unrelenting tone that takes skill to create.
Lastly, Rainfall by Marie McWilliams. I can't finish without mentioning this one, involving rain that turns people into zombies. It's delightfully gruesome, and honestly feels like the start of a longer story. I like the protagonist, a teenager wracked by guilt and yet able to do what has to be done, and really feel that by fleshing out (heh) the beginning it could be the start of a really good novel.
The stories in this anthology feature many different types of threats from above, anything from a malevolent God to aliens to demons to giant winged predators. I should warn that most of these stories are on the grisly side, so they are probably not for the faint of heart.
After I was about a third of the way through this book of short stories, I checked the publisher. It's a small indie press that takes open-call submissions and offers $10 to $20 if the story is accepted. Knowing this, I realized that the stories in this anthology are most likely from new authors that are still learning the craft and I was therefore a little more lenient. Because there are some really interesting story ideas here, but I did find that many (especially in the first half of the book) got bogged down in overly flowery descriptions and metaphors out the wazoo. And then some of the blame can get placed on the editors, who missed many easily fixable errors such as sound-similar words used (when instead of went, for example); a character whose name switches from Ava to Ada and then back to Ava; and incomplete sentences.
There were some standouts that I enjoyed.
The Traveler by G. Allen Wilbanks is told from the point of view of a microscopic alien that lands on Earth. As it investigates its new environment, it begins to learn… and grow. Wilbanks does a great job of maintaining an eerie, otherworldly voice throughout.
Flickering by G.A. Alexander is a creepy, well-written version of what is behind one of those flickering-lights/static/distorted-voices haunted house videos that dominate paranormal "reality" shows. It does suffer from a rather abrupt ending.
Keep One in the Chamber by T.M. Brown deals with alien invasion in three stages, and the author creates a stark, barren and menacing landscape in only a few short paragraphs. This one has a nice, three-dimensional character for its lead, and a bleak, unrelenting tone that takes skill to create.
Lastly, Rainfall by Marie McWilliams. I can't finish without mentioning this one, involving rain that turns people into zombies. It's delightfully gruesome, and honestly feels like the start of a longer story. I like the protagonist, a teenager wracked by guilt and yet able to do what has to be done, and really feel that by fleshing out (heh) the beginning it could be the start of a really good novel.
The stories in this anthology feature many different types of threats from above, anything from a malevolent God to aliens to demons to giant winged predators. I should warn that most of these stories are on the grisly side, so they are probably not for the faint of heart.
iris_ymra's review against another edition
4.0
It Calls From The Sky is an anthology with a compilation of short stories where the Sky become the background -- the main theme incorporated -- in every story. With 23 chapters of short stories that covered various plots and themes that are definitely eerie and trilling altogether. I'd say that most of the stories would make a great book if ever to be written as a whole book of fiction.
My personal favourites would be Tenure, Follow You into the Dark, The Forgotten Prince, Flying Home, Thorn in My Side, On A Wing and A Prayer, Raindance, Keep One in the Chamber, The Winged Plague and Rainfall.
My personal favourites would be Tenure, Follow You into the Dark, The Forgotten Prince, Flying Home, Thorn in My Side, On A Wing and A Prayer, Raindance, Keep One in the Chamber, The Winged Plague and Rainfall.
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