A review by ceallaighsbooks
Taaqtumi: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories by Thomas Anguti Johnston, Cara Bryant, Gayle Kabloona, Ann R. Loverock, K.C. Carthew, Repo Kempt, Jay Bulckaert, Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley, Aviaq Johnston, Richard Van Camp, Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley

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

4.75

“Once in a while in Inuktitut class, an elder will tell us about a storm that fits itself in among the others. Once in a long time—years and decades in between—this blizzard comes back. It roams through our land, bringing something with it. The elders never tell us what it brings; ghosts or creatures or perhaps it is simply the shadow that I caught a glimpse of in that second. They just say to find shelter and to never be alone.” — from “Iqsinaqtutalik Piqtuq: The Haunted Blizzard,” by Aviaq Johnston

TITLE—Taaqtumi
EDITOR—Neil Christopher
PUBLISHED—2019
PUBLISHER—Inhabit Media

GENRE—short stories; horror, folk horror, speculative horror
SETTING—the Arctic
MAIN THEMES/SUBJECTS—winter, the Arctic, the “Dark Season”, indigenous spirituality & mythology, folklore & folk stories from the far north, supernatural monsters, revenge & cycles of violence, zombies, blizzards, environmentalism & the climate crisis, cannibalism, guilt, psychosis, trauma

WRITING STYLE—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️
CHARACTERS—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️
STORY/PLOT—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
PHILOSOPHY—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️

“"Taaqtumi" is an Inuktitut word that means "in the dark"—and these spine-tingling horror stories by Northern writers show just how dangerous darkness can be.” — from the back cover synopsis

My thoughts:
Whew! 😅 I really have no business reading horror stories or speculative horror fiction as I am way too much of a scaredy cat and so much of the worldbuilding went over my head in a couple of these stories but I can still say that I pretty much enjoyed this collection and very much appreciated it. I mean I read it in two evenings I literally could not put it down even if it scared me into literal panic attacks. 🤣

“Iqsinaqtutalik Piqtuq: The Haunted Blizzard,” by Aviaq Johnston
Subgenre: folk horror. This was a really good wintery folk horror story. A very, very strong opening to this collection.

“For some reason, elders and children know more than adults do, and I wonder why that is. They act like they know everything, as if everything has an explanation. At some point in their lives they forget the stories children are told, dismissing them as fairy tales and myths. They think that the scary women in the ice aren’t real, or that the little folk that you can only see at sunset are just imaginary, or that giants never roamed the earth. Just like all adults, my mother has forgotten all those things the elders had passed down.”

“The Door,” by Ann R. Loverock
Subgenre: folk horror; the consequences of the choices we make and how we make those choices even when we know what the consequences will be…

“Wheetago War II: Summoners,” by Richard Van Camp
Subgenre: “zombie”/apocalypse story; I hate zombie stories 😅, and this one was *really* scary, but I was obsessed with the narrative voice and the storytelling style of this story. Had some speculative vibes as well that I really liked. The deeper meaning was also really poignant. A really, really good story.

“Hell would be kinder than what we had to face. Earth ain’t ours anymore.”

“Revenge,” by Thomas Anguti Johnston
Subgenre: folk horror; TW: animal death, animal violence. I didn’t “get” this one but it felt unique and the writing was good.

“Lounge,” by Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley and Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley
Subgenre: speculative sci-fi horror. Intense and complex worldbuilding! I thought this was the best story in the collection. It was also done in an incredibly advanced speculative style, about half of which went over my head, but I could just *feel* that it was really good. Especially the deeper meaning which I only got a sense of but. Yeah. This is the one that really sticks out in my memory.

“Utiqtuq,” by Gayle Kabloona
Subgenre: another “zombie” story! Gah! 😂 But this one was also really good. *Really*, really scary though. 😅 It actually gave me a tiny panic attack. (TW: Cleithrophobia, & DM me for the other one cause it’s a spoiler, sorry 🙈)

“Sila,” by K.C. Carthew
Subgenre: folk horror; TW: Animal attack, animal violence, also cleithrophobia a little. This one was ALSO really really scary 🤣 and also had some animal violence that was a little triggering in it too.

“The Wildest Game,” by Jay Bulckaert
Subgenre: the psychopath. TW: really graphic cannibalism; like cannibalism isn’t usually a trigger for me but this story… changed that. 😅 Also the pacing of this one was 😚👌🏻. 

“Strays,” by Repo Kempt
Subgenre: madness, psychosis, also maybe a little folk horror-y? TW: really graphic dog death; Any kind of dog-related abuse or death, even if it’s way way off the page, is a *huge* trigger for me—probably my biggest one—and this story had some really, really graphic dog suffering, death/s in it but… it was still an amazing story? and I kinddd of loved it? I think it may have even been my second favorite story in the group! It also had that particular tone that I prefer in the horror stories I read.

I would recommend this book to readers looking for a very dark and disturbing collection of wintery horror stories to curl up with in the depths of the dark season… This book is best read with the lights *on* however… 😅😅

“Sure. Fuck. I could eat a bullet. Millions have. But I think of this as a game now. Something’s happening. Something bigger than all of us. Even them. It’s an awakening. I think if I make it, I’m gonna witness an answer to all our prayers. Are four horsemen gonna come racing across the sky? Are we gonna hear the trumpets over their screams? Or was the world always theirs? Have we been praying to the wrong God all this time?” — from “Wheetago War II: Summoners,” by Richard Van Camp

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

CW // graphic blood & gore, “zombies”, animal death & violence, cleithrophobia, super graphic cannibalism, serial killers, dogs in surgery, murder (Please feel free to DM me for more specifics!)

Further Reading—
  • HOW LONG TIL BLACK FUTURE MONTH, by NK Jemisin
  • OTHER TERRORS, edited by Vince Liaguno and Rena Mason—TBR
  • THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS, by Stephen Graham Jones—TBR
  • THE WOLF IN THE WHALE, by Jordanna Max Brodsky
  • GINGERBREAD, by Robert Dinsdale
  • The Golgotha Trilogy, by RS Belcher
Expand filter menu Content Warnings