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A review by bbyghoulreads
Howls from the Dark Ages: An Anthology of Medieval Horror by P.L. McMillan, Solomon Forse
3.0
ARC Review:
I enjoyed this collection. As with any anthology, there were certain stories I enjoyed more than others and these will of course be different for every reader. The stories I enjoyed most were:
In Every Drop by Lindsey Ragsdale
Lady of Leer Castle by Christopher O’Halloran
Schizzare by Bridget D. Brave
White Owl by Stevie Edwards
The Lai of the Danse Macabre by Jessica Peter
These were the ones which stood out for me but, if I had to choose, I would say The Lai of the Danse Macabre was my favourite. I think putting this lyrical/poetic story at the end helped to bring my journey through the museum to a close. The museum setting was a really great idea and brings the stories together cohesively in a fun and immersive way.
Although there were some very engaging stories, I did find some quite difficult to get through. I admittedly don’t have much experience with medieval horror as a genre, however I think my struggle came from the repetition of themes in some of the stories. I really enjoyed when ‘the curator’ led us towards the more unique stories vs the larger number of religious/crusader themed ones.
That said, the majority of these stories only took me around 15 minutes to read. Personally I think this is perfect for an anthology as it meant that I was able to read a story or two during my lunch breaks at work and it didn’t take me too long to read the stories I found less engaging. Reading this as a digital copy also meant that the built in dictionary feature came in very useful for a quick check on words or phrases I wasn’t familiar with!
Overall, I liked this book and will look out for more from HOWL Society Press, perhaps with a slightly different focus.
(ARC received via NetGalley)
I enjoyed this collection. As with any anthology, there were certain stories I enjoyed more than others and these will of course be different for every reader. The stories I enjoyed most were:
In Every Drop by Lindsey Ragsdale
Lady of Leer Castle by Christopher O’Halloran
Schizzare by Bridget D. Brave
White Owl by Stevie Edwards
The Lai of the Danse Macabre by Jessica Peter
These were the ones which stood out for me but, if I had to choose, I would say The Lai of the Danse Macabre was my favourite. I think putting this lyrical/poetic story at the end helped to bring my journey through the museum to a close. The museum setting was a really great idea and brings the stories together cohesively in a fun and immersive way.
Although there were some very engaging stories, I did find some quite difficult to get through. I admittedly don’t have much experience with medieval horror as a genre, however I think my struggle came from the repetition of themes in some of the stories. I really enjoyed when ‘the curator’ led us towards the more unique stories vs the larger number of religious/crusader themed ones.
That said, the majority of these stories only took me around 15 minutes to read. Personally I think this is perfect for an anthology as it meant that I was able to read a story or two during my lunch breaks at work and it didn’t take me too long to read the stories I found less engaging. Reading this as a digital copy also meant that the built in dictionary feature came in very useful for a quick check on words or phrases I wasn’t familiar with!
Overall, I liked this book and will look out for more from HOWL Society Press, perhaps with a slightly different focus.
(ARC received via NetGalley)