Scan barcode
caracabe's reviews
88 reviews
Choking Back the Devil by Donna Lynch
dark
medium-paced
4.0
Supernatural horror and everyday horror, psychological horror and body horror, horrors suffered and horrors committed, all effectively depicted. The range here is impressive.
Go Gator and Muddy the Water by Zora Neale Hurston
3.0
Seems voluminously padded with biography, introductions, and notes. But some good writing by Hurston is included.
Sleeping Murder: Miss Marple's Last Case by Agatha Christie
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Not Christie’s A game, but her B game is still quite good. And Miss Marple kind of (only kind of) takes a stand against slut shaming.
Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology by Shane Hawk, Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.
4.0
This is billed as a “dark fiction anthology,” and that’s apt. Not every story is horror fiction, but they all contain darkness. Of the horror stories, not all are supernatural horror. All are worth reading.
Soft Places by Betty Rocksteady
4.0
A hybrid prose/graphic novella. The transitions between the two formats is integral to the telling, not a gimmick. The story itself blends cosmic and very personal horror.
The Book of Queer Saints by Mae Murray, Eric Raglin, Perry Ruhland, LC von Hessen, James Bennett, George Daniel Lea, Nikki R. Leigh, Joe Koch, K.S. Walker, Hailey Piper, Briar Ripley Page, Joshua R. Pangborn, Eric LaRocca, Belle Tolls
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
To quote from the foreword by Sam Richard: “This book is full of queer representation that is messy and ugly and uncomfortable and painful. It’s a book full of queer characters who are cruel and conflicted and complex and interesting. Yes, queer joy, but also: queer rage, queer hostility, queer panic, queer madness, queer violence, queer horror.”
It’s an anthology, so of course I connected with some stories more than others, but all are well-written, imaginative, and (like all the best monster stories) ruthlessly human.
It’s an anthology, so of course I connected with some stories more than others, but all are well-written, imaginative, and (like all the best monster stories) ruthlessly human.