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

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

 ‘Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology’ edited by Shake Hawk and Theodore C. Van Alst Jr is a great anthology collecting horror short stories from a variety of Indigenous writers. The stories span the more fantastical to the horrors of everyday lived existence. Between exploring folklore horrors and the horrors of humanity, this anthology does a great job of showcasing not only a variety of writing talent but also a variety of what Indigenous writers find horrific. A few personal favorite stories from this collection include: 
-          White Hills by Rebecca Roanhorse, which touches on the violence of white supremacy and the idea of ‘pure’ blood 
-          Navajos Don’t Wear Elk Teeth by Conley Lyons, which discusses feeling entitled to a person and seeing them as a commodity 
-          Quantum by Nick Media, which touches on the idea of blood quantum and the impacts of nurturing (or lack there of) on a child 
-          Scariest Story Every by Richard VanCamp, which discusses the importance of story and who gets to tell a story 
-          Collections by Amber Blaeser-Wardzala, which delves into academia and how academia collects diverse students to tokenize and use them 
I enjoyed so many of these stories and this is just a selection of some of my favorites. This anthology has definitely added more authors to my TBR list and I’m excited to explore some of their other works. I highly recommend this anthology if you are interested in horror short stories. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings