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A review by not_another_ana
Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology by Shane Hawk, Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher
A collection of short horror stories by indigenous writers that touch on a great variety of fears with a fresh and different perspective. Horror is a very wide definition here, I think everyone will find something they like whether gore or ghost stories, and both supernatural and very real life dread. I enjoyed the mix of folklore and tradition with the modern world but, as it happen with almost all anthologies, this was very much a mixed grab bag. Some of the stories were a bit too long for a collection like this and some of them, while good, were upstaged by far more polished tales and writers.
There were a couple of clear standouts for me like White Hills by Rebecca Roanhorse, a story that managed to touch on a myriad of issues (like racism, eugenics, privilege and poverty) with subtlety, and in a very short amount of pages, showing her experience and mastery of the craft. D.H. Trujillo's Snakes Are Born in the Dark is another interesting one that is a bit cheeky, funny, and has the right amount of gore to tie it all together. I found Dead Owls by Mona Susan Power to be a heartwarming bittersweet ghost story and Amber Blaeser-Wardzala's Collections a chilling portrayal of power dynamics. Generally, I think no one will be disappointed by what they find in this collection.
A collection of short horror stories by indigenous writers that touch on a great variety of fears with a fresh and different perspective. Horror is a very wide definition here, I think everyone will find something they like whether gore or ghost stories, and both supernatural and very real life dread. I enjoyed the mix of folklore and tradition with the modern world but, as it happen with almost all anthologies, this was very much a mixed grab bag. Some of the stories were a bit too long for a collection like this and some of them, while good, were upstaged by far more polished tales and writers.
There were a couple of clear standouts for me like White Hills by Rebecca Roanhorse, a story that managed to touch on a myriad of issues (like racism, eugenics, privilege and poverty) with subtlety, and in a very short amount of pages, showing her experience and mastery of the craft. D.H. Trujillo's Snakes Are Born in the Dark is another interesting one that is a bit cheeky, funny, and has the right amount of gore to tie it all together. I found Dead Owls by Mona Susan Power to be a heartwarming bittersweet ghost story and Amber Blaeser-Wardzala's Collections a chilling portrayal of power dynamics. Generally, I think no one will be disappointed by what they find in this collection.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Blood, Murder, Body horror, and Violence