A review by caitpoytress
Black Feathers: Dark Avian Tales by Livia Llewellyn, A.C. Wise, Ellen Datlow, Alison Littlewood, Stephen Graham Jones, Priya Sharma, M. John Harrison, Joyce Carol Oates, Pat Cadigan, Sandra Kasturi, Seanan McGuire, Usman T. Malik, Richard Bowes, Mike O'Driscoll, Jeffrey Ford, Nicholas Royle

4.0

I originally rated this book 3 stars until I started writing down my favorite stories and realized how many there were. I think my biggest mistake in the beginning was trying to read all of them in just one or two sittings. I love short stories, but very rarely can I read them that way (although [b:Everything That Rises Must Converge: Stories|218659|Everything That Rises Must Converge Stories|Flannery O'Connor|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1412859621s/218659.jpg|963076], [b:Willful Creatures|46205|Willful Creatures|Aimee Bender|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388432128s/46205.jpg|2386], and [b:How to Breathe Underwater|47975|How to Breathe Underwater|Julie Orringer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388201592s/47975.jpg|867141] are 3 that come to mind where I did just that). I loved the avian theme in this collection, but it did make some of the stories feel similar, even if just for the constant naming of groups of birds and bird terms. Once I started reading one or two per night, I enjoyed them much more for their sometimes creepy, sometimes haunting, often clever individuality.
My favorites:

The Mathematical Inevitability of Corvids - Seanan McGuire

Something About Birds - Paul Tremblay

Great Blue Heron - Joyce Carol Oates

The Murmurations of Vienna Von Drome - Jeffrey Ford

Blythe's Secret - Mike O'Driscoll

Pigeon From Hell - Stephen Graham Jones

The Secret of Flight - A.C. Wise

*Thanks again to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review