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A review by laelyn
In These Hallowed Halls by Marie O'Regan, Paul Kane
3.0
Dark academia is a genre I've always adored, and when I stumbled upon this anthology my interest was immediately peaked. Add to that the fact that M. L. Rio contributed to this - her novel is still one of my all time favourites - and I just had to read this. Well... let's just say this is a mixed bag. There were some gems in it, but also some stories where I really wondered why they would be categorized as dark academia at all. Dark academia does not just mean "school setting" after all.
To give a very short overview:
1000 Ships by Kate Weinberg - apparently this was more or less just an ad for Weinbergs novel 'The Truants', of which this story was a prequel, a peak into the past of what I think is the protagonist of said book. While the subject matter was interesting, I didn't care about that protagonist at all and the whole thing felt pointless. Also wasn't really dark academia, I would say.
Pythia by Olivie Blake - I'm not sure I would call this dark academia either, but the premise was super intriguing and I really enjoyed this story. The fragmented narrative, with interview snippets woven into the story, was interesting to read and there was a really cool twist. One of my favourites.
Sabbatical by James Tate Hill - Honestly, I really really didn't like this. Disturbing portrayal of mental illness and generally just pointless, nothing even remotely dark academia about this.
The Hare and the Hound by Kelly Andrew - another one of my favourites. Magical realism-ish story about one pitiful guy's descent into basically madness because of a terrible thing in his past. Really good and atmospheric.
X-House by JT Ellison - intriguing concept, but I feel this really needed more pages to really work. It felt unfinished, which made the (admittedly predictable) twist ending feel kind of cheap.
The Ravages by Layne Fargo - a fun story about revenge on a cheating ex, which I really enjoyed reading, but will ultimately be forgotten quickly.
Four Funerals by David Bell - again, nothing dark academia about this but I was still intrigued because it deals with the aftermath of a school shooting and the guilt of a surviving teacher who blames himself. Definitely triggering. Didn't work as a short story for me but could have been an interesting book, I guess, though not one marketed as dark academia as well.
The Unknowable Pleasures by Susie Yang - the protagonist in this one is super unlikeable and her actions are deplorable, but I do feel like that was the point and it really pointed a mirror at the fetishization of LGBTQ relationships, especially mlm ones, and the obsession that goes along with it. If you've ever seen one of those haha fun tiktoks of a girl filming two guys that "would be a hot couple", yeah, this is a story about that kind of behaviour, though it also goes deeper than just that - in the end, it's about creating a fantasy to ignore the deep unsatisfaction of your own life. Absolutely brutal ending, too. One of my favourites.
Weekend at Bertie's by M.L. Rio - it's M.L. Rio so I already knew I'd love the writing, and it's an intriguing premise but ultimately it was just missing something for me. Still, definitely one of the best stories in this collection.
The Professor of Ontography by Helen Grant - well this one completely hit me out of nowhere. I read this at night, safe and sound in my bed, and it creeped me out so much I had to turn my lights on. Definitely more horror than anything else, but damn, this would have made such a good long novel. Would definitely read it.
Phobos by Tori Bolivano - predictable ending, but real dark academia vibes and very interesting characters. Honestly would have loved to read a novel version of this, but the short story works perfectly well.
Playing by Phoebe Wynne - couldn't really get into this one. It was a bit too obvious from the start for me, which made me not care about what was going to happen.
And that's it. My favourites were, in no particular order, Pythia, The Hare and the Hound and The Unknowable Pleasures, with The Professor of Ontography, Weekend at Bertie's and Phobos coming in at a close second. Everything else was meh at best, and very few of them I would actually consider dark academia. This was probably the moist disappointing aspect of this anthology - but at least some of the short stories within where still a joy to read. 3 stars overall.
Many thanks to Titan Books and Netgalley for the arc!
To give a very short overview:
1000 Ships by Kate Weinberg - apparently this was more or less just an ad for Weinbergs novel 'The Truants', of which this story was a prequel, a peak into the past of what I think is the protagonist of said book. While the subject matter was interesting, I didn't care about that protagonist at all and the whole thing felt pointless. Also wasn't really dark academia, I would say.
Pythia by Olivie Blake - I'm not sure I would call this dark academia either, but the premise was super intriguing and I really enjoyed this story. The fragmented narrative, with interview snippets woven into the story, was interesting to read and there was a really cool twist. One of my favourites.
Sabbatical by James Tate Hill - Honestly, I really really didn't like this. Disturbing portrayal of mental illness and generally just pointless, nothing even remotely dark academia about this.
The Hare and the Hound by Kelly Andrew - another one of my favourites. Magical realism-ish story about one pitiful guy's descent into basically madness because of a terrible thing in his past. Really good and atmospheric.
X-House by JT Ellison - intriguing concept, but I feel this really needed more pages to really work. It felt unfinished, which made the (admittedly predictable) twist ending feel kind of cheap.
The Ravages by Layne Fargo - a fun story about revenge on a cheating ex, which I really enjoyed reading, but will ultimately be forgotten quickly.
Four Funerals by David Bell - again, nothing dark academia about this but I was still intrigued because it deals with the aftermath of a school shooting and the guilt of a surviving teacher who blames himself. Definitely triggering. Didn't work as a short story for me but could have been an interesting book, I guess, though not one marketed as dark academia as well.
The Unknowable Pleasures by Susie Yang - the protagonist in this one is super unlikeable and her actions are deplorable, but I do feel like that was the point and it really pointed a mirror at the fetishization of LGBTQ relationships, especially mlm ones, and the obsession that goes along with it. If you've ever seen one of those haha fun tiktoks of a girl filming two guys that "would be a hot couple", yeah, this is a story about that kind of behaviour, though it also goes deeper than just that - in the end, it's about creating a fantasy to ignore the deep unsatisfaction of your own life. Absolutely brutal ending, too. One of my favourites.
Weekend at Bertie's by M.L. Rio - it's M.L. Rio so I already knew I'd love the writing, and it's an intriguing premise but ultimately it was just missing something for me. Still, definitely one of the best stories in this collection.
The Professor of Ontography by Helen Grant - well this one completely hit me out of nowhere. I read this at night, safe and sound in my bed, and it creeped me out so much I had to turn my lights on. Definitely more horror than anything else, but damn, this would have made such a good long novel. Would definitely read it.
Phobos by Tori Bolivano - predictable ending, but real dark academia vibes and very interesting characters. Honestly would have loved to read a novel version of this, but the short story works perfectly well.
Playing by Phoebe Wynne - couldn't really get into this one. It was a bit too obvious from the start for me, which made me not care about what was going to happen.
And that's it. My favourites were, in no particular order, Pythia, The Hare and the Hound and The Unknowable Pleasures, with The Professor of Ontography, Weekend at Bertie's and Phobos coming in at a close second. Everything else was meh at best, and very few of them I would actually consider dark academia. This was probably the moist disappointing aspect of this anthology - but at least some of the short stories within where still a joy to read. 3 stars overall.
Many thanks to Titan Books and Netgalley for the arc!