drakaina16's reviews
2124 reviews

Tales from the Lake Vol. 2 by Ramsey Campbell, Richard Chizmar, Jonathan Winn, Lisa Morton, Emma Audsley, R.J. Cavender, Jack Ketchum, Rena Mason, Aaron Dries, John Whalen, Jan Edwards, Jim Goforth, Tim Lebbon, Glen Johnson, Rocky Alexander, Raven Dane, Edward Lee, Vincenzo Bilof, Hal Bodner, Ben Eads

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This anthology is really good. There's no overarching theme, just really good literary horror stories. While not completely without gore, I found myself most drawn to the quieter stories in the collection. There's also one of the most unique vampire stories I've ever read. 4 stars

Lago de Los Perdidos by Jim Goforth ⭐⭐⭐.25
Out of the Woods by Ramsey Campbell ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Winter's Dollhouse by Rena Mason ⭐⭐⭐⭐.75
The God of Rain by Tim Lebbon ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
A Grand Perversion by Ben Eads ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Bone Wary by Jan Edwards ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
Photograph of You by Mark West ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
St. Thomas of El Paso by Lisa Morton ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
Forever Dark by Jonathan Wynn ⭐⭐⭐
Ripperscape by Vincenzo Bilof ⭐⭐⭐.25
Descending by John Whalen ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
Virtuoso by Hal Bodner ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Chalk Face by Raven Dane ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Like Disneyland by Rocky Alexander ⭐⭐⭐
Prime Cuts by Glen Johnson ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
The Lake is Life by Richard Chizmar ⭐⭐⭐⭐.75
Damned if You Do by Jack Ketchum ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The First Header by Edward Lee ⭐⭐.5
Love Amongst the Redback Spiders by Aaron Dries ⭐⭐⭐.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Blood of My Pen: A Collection of Dark Poetry Volume 1 by Amanda Ruzsa

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Thank you to the author for providing a review copy. 

Poetry is a deeply, deeply personal endeavor. There are pieces here that I definitely related to. High school age/young adult me would have resonated deeply with many of the poems here. 42 year old crotchety me enjoyed them less so, but definitely remembers being that woman. 3 stars

Video Nasties by Duncan Ralston

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

All in all, I had a lot of fun with Video Nasties. Other than the titular story, my favorite story was Mental. I would easily read a book expanding on the ideas in this story. There were a couple of stories I didn't care for, but the same could be said of any given collection. 4.25 stars

Cuttings ⭐⭐.5
Chompers ⭐⭐⭐.5
Mental ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
How to Kill a Celebrity ⭐⭐⭐⭐.75
Dead Men Walking ⭐⭐⭐.75
The Eye at the Door ⭐⭐
Bus Driver Man ⭐⭐⭐.25
In the Shadow of the Masters ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
My Protector ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Sanctuary ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
Do Not Shake or Rattle ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Stray ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
He is Risen ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Squirm ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sharp ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Video Nasties ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Rape

Taaqtumi: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories by Thomas Anguti Johnston, Cara Bryant, Gayle Kabloona, Ann R. Loverock, K.C. Carthew, Repo Kempt, Jay Bulckaert, Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley, Aviaq Johnston, Richard Van Camp, Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

What a cool anthology! I always love collections in which I can learn about other cultures - not only in day-to-day life, but in legends and folklore. The stories run the gamut from zombies and cryptids, to the supernatural and human monsters. 4.25 stars

Iqsinaqtutalik Piqtuq: The Haunted Blizzard by Aviaq Johnston ⭐⭐⭐.5
The Door by Ann R. Loverock ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Wheetago War II: Summoners by Richard Van Camp ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Revenge by Thomas Anguti Johnston ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Lounge by Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley & Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley ⭐⭐⭐
Utiqtuq by Gayle Kabloona ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 
Sila by K.C. Carthew ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
The Wildest Game by Jay Bulckaert ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Strays by Repo Kempt ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death

Chopping Mall: The Novelization by Joshua Millican

dark funny tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Thank you to BookSirens and Encyclopocalypse Publications for providing a review copy. 

I love this new version of Chopping Mall by Joshua Millican! Millican's movie novelizations are so, so good. He always manages to capture the spirit of the original movie, and definitely succeeds in doing so again with Chopping Mall. It's one of my favorite crappy little movies, and the novelization did it so much justice. 5 stars

A Comedy of Tragedies: An American Memoir for the Completely Dysfunctional by Steve “Uncle Creepy” Barton

dark informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

Thank you to BookSirens and Encyclopocalypse Publications for providing a review copy. 

Having been a horror movie fan since I was 3, of course I knew who Uncle Creepy is. What a life he's led. This book is chock full of stories about some of my horror idols. Steve Barton has been through a lot in his lifetime and I find his tenacity inspiring. This memoir is a love letter to horror and I quite enjoyed it. 4 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Try Not to Die: In Arcranium: An Interactive Adventure by Daemon Manx

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Thank you to the authors for providing a review copy. 

I had such a good time with Arcranium when it came out that I knew this book would a blast. The first time I read through a TNTD book, I play honestly and always go with my first instinct. I died a few times as I played through the story, but I ended up doing really well towards the end. The second time I play through, I purposely choose the wrong answers so I can see all them possible endings. There's a lot of creativity in the world of Arcranium, in both the story and the deaths within. 4.5 stars

Hotel Macabre Volume 1: Tales of Horror by Joe Mynhardt

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Thank you to Crystal Lake Publishing for providing a review copy. 

This anthology is chock full of flash fiction, short stories, dark poetry, and even a couple of comic strips. The wide variety makes my ADHA brain happy. Many of the names in the collection were familiar to me, but I also ended up finding a couple of new authors to check out. 4.5 stars

The Cage by Alessandro Manzetti ⭐⭐⭐.5
For Beth by Derek Odom ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Anatomy of a Killer by Wil Dalton ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
Scritch, Scritch, Scritch by A.K. McCarthy ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
Night of Fevers by John Claude Smith ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Room 636 by Bridgett Nelson ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Summer People by Tom Deady ⭐⭐⭐.25
Wendigo Hunter by Colleen Anderson ⭐⭐⭐.5
Chain Smoking at Bus Stops by Devin M. Anderson ⭐⭐⭐
The Birdcage by Michael Lawrence ⭐⭐⭐.25
The Empath by John Palisano ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Do Not Tempt Her with Apples by Diana Olney ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Lingering Taste of Your Last Supper by Matthew R. Davis⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
The Fear of Missing Out by Dylan Wells ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Day Tripper by John Meachen ⭐⭐⭐.75
This Was Not the End We Were Promised by Maxwell I. Gold ⭐⭐⭐ 
-in case the chloroform wears off by Jennifer Osborn ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Red Tent by Chris Phelon ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A Message from the Past, A Message from the Future by Jonathan Gensler ⭐⭐⭐.5
Burial Day by Stephanie M. Wytovich ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Saving Face by Sean Eads & Josh Viola ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Vultures by Naching T. Kassa ⭐⭐⭐
A Clown at Midnight by Mia Dalia ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Suspension by Brandon Wills ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Hello by Karen Bayly ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Philly's Little Boy by Linda D. Addison ⭐⭐⭐.25
Ashes in Wood by Jonathan Winn ⭐⭐⭐
A dramatic video reading of “Taking the Piss” by Jasper Bark ⭐⭐⭐⭐
All We Endure by Grant Longstaff ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
On a Swing by Patrick Malka ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
Hell Come Home by Amanda M. Blake ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Nothing Funny About a Clown After Midnight by Mark Allen Gunnells ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Growing Gardens by Nick Roberts & Chrissy Winters ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Unsolicited Advice from a Witch Who's Been There by Diana Olney ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Batsquatch Lives! by Larry Hinkle ⭐⭐⭐.5
All the Children are Inside by Jamal Hodge ⭐⭐⭐
Smile by Robin Brown ⭐⭐⭐.5
Goodbeak by Gregg Stewart ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
The Hug by Gary McMahon ⭐⭐⭐.5
The Dullahan’s Reckoning by Claire Davon ⭐⭐⭐.5
The Little Thief by Esteban Vargas ⭐⭐⭐.5
Check-In/Check-Out by Pixie Bruner ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Icelandic Folk Tales by Hjörleifur Helgi Stefánsson

dark funny informative fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

After reading a horror book with short stories based on Icelandic legends (What Protects Our Heritage and Other Aberrations by Villimey Mist), I was interested enough to try out a book of Icelandic folklore. The tales here are told with wit, but I found some of them quite boring. I think maybe I was looking for something a bit more creature heavy. 3.25 stars

Feeding Lucy by Mo Medusa

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Thank you to BookSirens for providing a review copy. 

First of all, can we take a moment to appreciate how gorgeously creepy this Christy Aldridge cover is? It is what immediately made me want to read the book, and luckily the book is as good as the cover. Feeding Lucy is an ice cold fever dream, seasoned with family secrets and queer themes. The writing is lush and atmospheric, drawing you into the tale. 4.75 stars