A review by vanmeers
Howls from the Dark Ages: An Anthology of Medieval Horror by Solomon Forse, P.L. McMillan

4.25

Howls from the Dark Ages is my first time reading any sort of medieval story, let alone a medieval horror story, and while I normally stay away from this genre in other mediums, I was pleasantly surprised reading this. I originally picked it up because I knew Hailey Piper is one of the contributing authors, and as I’ve enjoyed other stories by her in the past, I wanted to also try this out, and I’m happy I did! Howls from the Dark Ages is full of intriguing, weird, and uncomfortable stories that feel diverse enough to keep you interested while reading through the different stories – there’s stories involving bestiality, queer love, murder, revenge, angels, and so forth, and it’s refreshing that each story gave the reader something new.  

Overall, I found most of the stories to be interesting, well written, and real page turners. They came together nicely with the narrator between stories ushering us, the readers, along to the next story. There were a few stories that I just didn’t find that interesting to read but I do think that’s the risk of anthologies of any sort – you will most likely always stumble on a story or two that just isn’t for you. However, most of the stories were a 3.5 star rating or above with my favourites being: 

• Angelus by Philippa Evans 
• Brother Cornelius by Peter Ong Cook 
• A Dowry for your Hand by Michelle Tang 
• White Owl by Stevie Edwards 
• A Dark Quadrivium by David Worn 

All in all, I felt each story contributed to the overall flow of the anthology and gave interesting and different perspectives on what medieval horror can be. It’s definitely worth reading! 

(I received a review copy from NetGalley)