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A review by rorikae
Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror by Jordan Peele, John Joseph Adams
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
'Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror' edited by Jordan Peele is an intriguing collection of horror short fiction written by a great collection of Black authors. The stories vary greatly though most have some type of speculative edge. The stories cover a range of topics from body horror and addiction to racism and being complicit in systems of power. I found that the level of horror in each varied greatly though all of the stories were well written.
A few personal favorites from the collection include:
- Reckless Eyeballing by N.K. Jemisin about the impact of our misdeeds and body horror
- Eye & Tooth by Rebecca Roanhorse about a set of sibling monster hunters
- Invasion of the Baby Snatchers by Lesley Nneka Arimah which looks at a government agency set up to determine why an alien species is trying to imitate humans
- Lasirèn by Erin E. Adams about sisters and predatory mermaids
- The Rider by Tananarive Due which looks at racism and nature fighting back against its destruction
- Flicker by L.D. Lewis about what happens when everyone loses their sight for short intervals of time
- The Most Strongest Obeah Woman of the World by Nalo Hopkinson about possession and trying to save oneself from a monster
- Your Happy Place by Terence Taylor about the prison system and slave labor in a capitalist society
- Hide & Seek by P. Djèlí Clark about addiction and siblings that have to protect themselves from their own family
An overall great collection that's great when looking for short stories that are a little bit more haunting. I discovered some new authors that I'm interested in reading more from and also experienced some great new stories from a few of my favorite authors.
A few personal favorites from the collection include:
- Reckless Eyeballing by N.K. Jemisin about the impact of our misdeeds and body horror
- Eye & Tooth by Rebecca Roanhorse about a set of sibling monster hunters
- Invasion of the Baby Snatchers by Lesley Nneka Arimah which looks at a government agency set up to determine why an alien species is trying to imitate humans
- Lasirèn by Erin E. Adams about sisters and predatory mermaids
- The Rider by Tananarive Due which looks at racism and nature fighting back against its destruction
- Flicker by L.D. Lewis about what happens when everyone loses their sight for short intervals of time
- The Most Strongest Obeah Woman of the World by Nalo Hopkinson about possession and trying to save oneself from a monster
- Your Happy Place by Terence Taylor about the prison system and slave labor in a capitalist society
- Hide & Seek by P. Djèlí Clark about addiction and siblings that have to protect themselves from their own family
An overall great collection that's great when looking for short stories that are a little bit more haunting. I discovered some new authors that I'm interested in reading more from and also experienced some great new stories from a few of my favorite authors.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death, Drug use, Grief, Hate crime, Gaslighting, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Addiction, Blood, Bullying, Murder, Body horror, and Confinement
Moderate: Death of parent