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A review by tyler_j
Halloween Carnival, Volume 1 by Brian James Freeman, Kevin Lucia, Robert R. McCammon, John Little, Lisa Morton, Mark Allan Gunnells
3.25
STRANGE CANDY by Robert McCammon★★★★★(5/5)
My favorite out of the collection! Not scary so much as heart-breaking, both hopeful and sad. A short but powerful ghost story.
THE RAGE OF ACHILLES by Kevin Lucia★★★.5 (3.5/5)
TW: Death, Murder, Suicide
Slightly confusing, but mostly heart-wrenching and haunting, about the pain of loss so all consuming it never really ends. A very moving story. A man has a son with autism who he loves very much and will go to great lengths for. I can't speak on the autism. Might be a bit hard to read for some in regards to ableism for lack of knowing how to better put it (though I wish I could figure out how to better put it). I am disabled myself (not autistic though so again, can't speak there) and can see how it might be hard to read for some disabled people, but personally I found it very well done. Not an easy read but still a powerful one about loss and grief.
DEMON AIR by John R. Little★.5(1.5/5)
This made no sense to me. I have no idea how Halle being Aborigine had anything to do with finding courage. I liked the part about her wanting to find out more about her identity after finding out she was adopted, but it just didn't go anywhere. One minute it had just became Halloween, the pilots became demon things to introduce the Halloween theme, Halle being Aborigine, which she just found out, ment she had to be courageous and stand up to them (which just felt like a weak plot point that had so much potential), and then quickly the scene and the day is over and they are still flying above the ocean. Not sure how that works. It just felt like the story had so much potential but it was too short to be fleshed out at all and didn't make any sense.
LA HACIENDA DE LOS MUERTOS by Lisa Morton★★(2/5)
TW: Racism
A racist actor gets called to be in a movie in Mexico. He doesn't believe in tall tales but is about to find out how true Urban Legends can be. It's at a ranch that is legitimately haunted. It's not really scary though. The actor's racism is talked about again and again, never followed up on and suddenly it's resolved magically at the end. I liked the urban legend and there is a bit of twist to it that I really appreciated.
#MAKEHALLOWEENSCARYAGAIN by Mark Allan Gunnells★★★.75(3.75/5)
TW: Death, Murder, Homophobia
A horror author is annoyed that people have turned Halloween into something no longer scary. So he starts a hashtag #MakeHalloweenScaryAgain that flops and does not catch on...except with one twisted person that ends up being a serial killer seeking out this past Halloween greatness and using the hashtag as a calling card at the murder scenes. Action and suspense were through-out the entire story (also the longest one being about 1/2 the book) at least until the end. I did guess the ending but did enjoy the journey getting there.
Final Thoughts
Average = 3.15
It's an anthology and in my limited anthology experience they do always seem to have some stories I enjoy and some I don't. It's just what happens. I am glad I read this for the 3 out of 5 stories I enjoyed and would recommend checking it out if you're interested. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
My favorite out of the collection! Not scary so much as heart-breaking, both hopeful and sad. A short but powerful ghost story.
THE RAGE OF ACHILLES by Kevin Lucia★★★.5 (3.5/5)
TW: Death, Murder, Suicide
Slightly confusing, but mostly heart-wrenching and haunting, about the pain of loss so all consuming it never really ends. A very moving story. A man has a son with autism who he loves very much and will go to great lengths for. I can't speak on the autism. Might be a bit hard to read for some in regards to ableism for lack of knowing how to better put it (though I wish I could figure out how to better put it). I am disabled myself (not autistic though so again, can't speak there) and can see how it might be hard to read for some disabled people, but personally I found it very well done. Not an easy read but still a powerful one about loss and grief.
DEMON AIR by John R. Little★.5(1.5/5)
This made no sense to me. I have no idea how Halle being Aborigine had anything to do with finding courage. I liked the part about her wanting to find out more about her identity after finding out she was adopted, but it just didn't go anywhere. One minute it had just became Halloween, the pilots became demon things to introduce the Halloween theme, Halle being Aborigine, which she just found out, ment she had to be courageous and stand up to them (which just felt like a weak plot point that had so much potential), and then quickly the scene and the day is over and they are still flying above the ocean. Not sure how that works. It just felt like the story had so much potential but it was too short to be fleshed out at all and didn't make any sense.
LA HACIENDA DE LOS MUERTOS by Lisa Morton★★(2/5)
TW: Racism
A racist actor gets called to be in a movie in Mexico. He doesn't believe in tall tales but is about to find out how true Urban Legends can be. It's at a ranch that is legitimately haunted. It's not really scary though. The actor's racism is talked about again and again, never followed up on and suddenly it's resolved magically at the end. I liked the urban legend and there is a bit of twist to it that I really appreciated.
#MAKEHALLOWEENSCARYAGAIN by Mark Allan Gunnells★★★.75(3.75/5)
TW: Death, Murder, Homophobia
A horror author is annoyed that people have turned Halloween into something no longer scary. So he starts a hashtag #MakeHalloweenScaryAgain that flops and does not catch on...except with one twisted person that ends up being a serial killer seeking out this past Halloween greatness and using the hashtag as a calling card at the murder scenes. Action and suspense were through-out the entire story (also the longest one being about 1/2 the book) at least until the end. I did guess the ending but did enjoy the journey getting there.
Final Thoughts
Average = 3.15
It's an anthology and in my limited anthology experience they do always seem to have some stories I enjoy and some I don't. It's just what happens. I am glad I read this for the 3 out of 5 stories I enjoyed and would recommend checking it out if you're interested. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.