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A review by abception
All These Sunken Souls by Circe Moskowitz
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Lights by Kalynn Bayron: A serial killer stalks a family.
The writing for this short story was impeccable, and it definitely did it's job in setting a creepy/unsettling atmosphere from the jump. 5/5 stars.
Be Not Afraid by Ashia Monet: An "angel" stumbles upon a church and begins performing miracles for the pastor.
The characterisation was amazing, and I loved how it played out - definitely could not predict where it was going, which made the payoff so good. 5/5 stars.
All My Best Friends Are Dead by Liselle Sambury: A group of friends summon a ghost during a sleepover.
This story played with an incredibly played out trope of the horror genre, but despite this I was definitely not clued in to what Sambury was doing until the very end. Amazing. 5/5 stars.
The Teeth Come Out at Night by Sami Ellis: A babysitter collects teeth.
I think this story's greatest achievement was in it's ability to set an atmosphere, most especially through it's descriptions and unsettling plot. 4/5 stars.
I Love Your Eyes by Joel Rochester: A couple celebrate their anniversary in a manor house.
Unfortunately, the way Rochester wrote this really did not do the plot any justice. I love a gothic story, especially ones with romantic horror at their core, but Rochester overwrote every element (especially dialogue) so that it all rang extremely hollow and I was never convinced of the core relationship, so I wasn't shocked by the end. It just came off corny. 2/5 stars.
The Consumption of Vienna Montrose by Joelle Wellington: A woman inherits a house.
A beautifully haunting, and slightly romantic, take on the haunted house - ultimately carried by Wellington's writing style, I'm definitely interested in seeing her other works. 5/5 stars.
The Landscape of Broken Things by Brent Lambert: A young man experiencing precognition visits his clairvoyant mother in the hospital where she is being "treated".
This story had a really cool idea, and the ending was very interesting, but I don't think a short story gave it enough time to be fleshed out as well as it could have - it's a lot of world-building to try and execute in a short story. 3/5 stars.
Mother, Daughter and the Devil by Donyae Coles: A daughter rids herself of a curse.
This was definitely my favourite story of the bunch (by a small margin, Be Not Afraid and Vienna Montrose were close contenders) - Coles manages to use every sentence of this story to really flesh out the feeling of the small cast of characters; by the time you reach the conclusion, it really feels like a cathartic resolution after getting to know the Mother, Daughter and the Devil. 5/5 stars.
Papa Pearlie by Ryan Douglass: A family celebrates their patriarch's 100th birthday.
Douglass's story is definitely carried by it's themes of generational trauma, and feeling stuck with your family - it's a very realistic tension and feeling, which sells itself well to the supernatural element Douglass brings in with the resolution. I definitely enjoyed the supernatural explanation wrought in towards the end, and the way the building tension and horror is left open-ended plays really well in this story. 4/5 stars.
No Harm Done by Circe Moskowitz: A young woman meets her twin and then there's an apocalypse.
This story was a little hard to really get invested in, primarily because it feels like there are quite a lot of skips and jumps in such a short time-frame, which makes it difficult for the necessary tension to be built, so the conclusion falls a little flat. However, I do definitely see the themes Moskowitz was building into her story and I feel she executed them well (unfortunately, at the expense of tension, or a strong defining plot). 3/5 stars.
Altogether, this anthology was thoroughly enjoyable with many 5 star stories that I'd definitely like to return to, so 5 stars overall.
The writing for this short story was impeccable, and it definitely did it's job in setting a creepy/unsettling atmosphere from the jump. 5/5 stars.
Be Not Afraid by Ashia Monet: An "angel" stumbles upon a church and begins performing miracles for the pastor.
The characterisation was amazing, and I loved how it played out - definitely could not predict where it was going, which made the payoff so good. 5/5 stars.
All My Best Friends Are Dead by Liselle Sambury: A group of friends summon a ghost during a sleepover.
This story played with an incredibly played out trope of the horror genre, but despite this I was definitely not clued in to what Sambury was doing until the very end. Amazing. 5/5 stars.
The Teeth Come Out at Night by Sami Ellis: A babysitter collects teeth.
I think this story's greatest achievement was in it's ability to set an atmosphere, most especially through it's descriptions and unsettling plot. 4/5 stars.
I Love Your Eyes by Joel Rochester: A couple celebrate their anniversary in a manor house.
Unfortunately, the way Rochester wrote this really did not do the plot any justice. I love a gothic story, especially ones with romantic horror at their core, but Rochester overwrote every element (especially dialogue) so that it all rang extremely hollow and I was never convinced of the core relationship, so I wasn't shocked by the end. It just came off corny. 2/5 stars.
The Consumption of Vienna Montrose by Joelle Wellington: A woman inherits a house.
A beautifully haunting, and slightly romantic, take on the haunted house - ultimately carried by Wellington's writing style, I'm definitely interested in seeing her other works. 5/5 stars.
The Landscape of Broken Things by Brent Lambert: A young man experiencing precognition visits his clairvoyant mother in the hospital where she is being "treated".
This story had a really cool idea, and the ending was very interesting, but I don't think a short story gave it enough time to be fleshed out as well as it could have - it's a lot of world-building to try and execute in a short story. 3/5 stars.
Mother, Daughter and the Devil by Donyae Coles: A daughter rids herself of a curse.
This was definitely my favourite story of the bunch (by a small margin, Be Not Afraid and Vienna Montrose were close contenders) - Coles manages to use every sentence of this story to really flesh out the feeling of the small cast of characters; by the time you reach the conclusion, it really feels like a cathartic resolution after getting to know the Mother, Daughter and the Devil. 5/5 stars.
Papa Pearlie by Ryan Douglass: A family celebrates their patriarch's 100th birthday.
Douglass's story is definitely carried by it's themes of generational trauma, and feeling stuck with your family - it's a very realistic tension and feeling, which sells itself well to the supernatural element Douglass brings in with the resolution. I definitely enjoyed the supernatural explanation wrought in towards the end, and the way the building tension and horror is left open-ended plays really well in this story. 4/5 stars.
No Harm Done by Circe Moskowitz: A young woman meets her twin and then there's an apocalypse.
This story was a little hard to really get invested in, primarily because it feels like there are quite a lot of skips and jumps in such a short time-frame, which makes it difficult for the necessary tension to be built, so the conclusion falls a little flat. However, I do definitely see the themes Moskowitz was building into her story and I feel she executed them well (unfortunately, at the expense of tension, or a strong defining plot). 3/5 stars.
Altogether, this anthology was thoroughly enjoyable with many 5 star stories that I'd definitely like to return to, so 5 stars overall.