SYNOPSIS: Spacefaring researchers disturb an ancient horror. An enchanted object curses a grieving widow. A haunted reel torments a film student. A murder trial hinges on a chilling testimony.
In Howls From Hell, sixteen emerging horror writers pave the way for the future of the genre. Fans of dark and macabre fiction will savor this exhibition of all-original tales born from one of the fastest-growing horror communities in the world: HOWL Society. With a foreword by Grady Hendrix, this anthology unveils the horror writers of tomorrow. I got a copy of this anthology early in exchange for a review, and I'm SO glad I took them up on that. This book is fantastic (and illustrated!) and I've added several new names to my keep-an-eye-out list. ((I did join the HOWL Society discord not too long ago, but haven't really posted yet, because 80 million things to do + ADHD = what do you mean I haven't done anything except scroll Twitter today. Anyway, moving on)) I liked just about every story in here, but my particular standouts are She's Taken Away, Gooseberry Bramble, Red and the Beast, It Gets in Your Eyes, and Junco Creek. The intro is perfect. Look at this: "Horror is always about families, sometimes biological, as in V.C. Andrews, but mostly found. ... Every band of scrappy heroes standing down a zombie apocalypse, every group of parapsychologists investigating a haunted house, every motley gang of vampire hunters or creepy flock of vampires form a family." Thanks, Grady, now I'm all emotional. <3 Quotes/Lines (spoilers below!) A CASUAL ENCOUNTER -- 'Younger men want to call all the shots, and women of any age are much too wary, so I tend to stick to older guys.' Okay, serial killer or traditional monster? -- Question answered. EEEEEK THE PIGEON LIED -- 1) great title 2) the illustration for this one!!! -- I love the Hell/demons twist on the mob feel to this -- "I haven't looked forward to something so much since I convinced Jenny to write her damned book to kick off the anti-vaxxers! The Horsemen and I still get a kick out of the reemergence of smallpox." PFFFFFFT -- 'Definitely Wayworth's goons. A slight red glow escaped around the edges of their Ray-Bans. Hellhounds, not normal goons.' Nice. -- The manager just getting the hell out of Dodge is perfect. MANUFACTURED GOD -- Futuristic humans exploring ancient Egypt? *heart eyes* -- "Is this going to be on our exam?" Some things never change. -- Berry, you dumbass, do not poke at the probably-just-sleeping god -- 'A strong, undeniable desire to flee, to escape, consumed her. It overpowered the fantasies of promotions, of money, of talks, and travel to other colonies for lectures.' LISTEN TO IT -- "Leave him. He's dead weight now," hissed the student in her ear, and she both hated him and was thankful to him that he had made this decision for her.' Berry, you're an ass, and Gab, you're not much better (you do realize that him making the decision doesn't absolve you from going along with it?) RED PUNCH BUGGY -- THAT is a weird response to an accident. -- This guy is gonna pass out behind the wheel and kill somebody. -- 'I know bumper stickers say 'motorcycles are everywhere' but, rather than engendering sympathy, it makes them sound like cockroaches, an infestation in dire need of a pesticide holocaust.' ...um. You okay there, buddy? -- And the winner of 'creepiest workplace award' goes to... SHE'S TAKEN AWAY -- AE: "Maybe it's not a dysfunctional brain. Maybe she's finally revealed her true self. There could be a bunch of things she's done that we've yet to discover." JML: "Why are you smiling?" AE: "I didn't mean to. I don't know. Smiling, I guess, to keep the tears away?" If this guy had any sense at all he'd be backing away slowly (or very, very quickly) right now -- AE: "It was only me who saw it, though. Whenever we were at school or in front of our parents, she always acted normal. She only revealed that side of her to me. No one else." The doctor is 110% dumbass. ((also, even the *mention* of electroshock... I love the idea in this story that the set-in-stone 'we're helping these people by hurting them' mindset can keep people from seeing what's right in front of them)) SUSPENDED IN LIGHT -- 'Yet here she was, her own image displayed before her, on a film shot eighty years before her birth.' NOPE. Run please -- 'His eyes brightened until they were so blinding she had to turn away. When she finally looked again, beams of light projected from his sockets onto the wall behind her. He hummed like a machine, the sound spilling from his fully agape mouth.' Hello mental image I will never be able to unsee GOOSEBERRY BRAMBLE -- "Seems like no matter what I say, y'all got yer sights set on Mr. Ramblewood over there fer the deaths a them dozen children. But I might jest change yer minds, so listen close.' That is certainly one hell of a story setup. -- Aaaaaaand there goes my appetite forever. -- 'I was due fer a whuppin. But if y'all think she scolded me or spanked my bottom somethin' raw, then yer wrong. My grandmammy wrapped her slender arms round me an squeezed me tight- like if she let me go I might melt away.' God, his poor grandma. Realizing that he was gone and where he'd gone to and believing she'd never see him again... CLEMENT & SONS -- 'Vines clung to the veranda like a kraken engulfing a ship.' Love this line. -- 'She'd finally got her blank slate.' I'm hoping that her son is just grown and moved out, instead of something awful happening to him, too. -- 'Organizing bookshelves always brought her joy.' Same. <3 -- 'Framed photos of David and the boys' Okay, so more than just Michael. Still hoping they're okay. -- "Morning, my love." This is when it's time to RUN LIKE HELL thanks -- 'The closer Lydia floated toward him, the wider his smile grew, stretching to almost unnatural proportions.' nope nope nope -- That ENDING. augh POSSESS AND SERVE ((This one was not for me. I got through it and was a little unsure if it was a satire of the more toxic aspects of policing; if the main character was supposed to be a badass heroine when she struck me as fully "I'm not like OTHER girls"; and either way the relentless nastiness toward fat people left a bad taste in my mouth. Looking through other reviews of this book, I'm in the minority-- several people mention this as one of their favorites. To each their own, but here are my original notes)) -- I love the concept of this! As a story, anyway, in reality it'd be creepy as shit. -- 'What would it be like living this man's life?' ...I'm pretty sure you should've left by now. -- 'It wasn't professional, but it was harmless compared to the guys in the unit who she'd overheard bragging about the 'racks' they'd felt up when assuming control.' 1) yeah, eating something in someone else's body to avoid calories might seem harmless, but what if the guy you're in has an allergy? 2) WHAT THE FUCK on the entire rest of that sentence. They're assaulting people and you haven't told anyone? You just use it as an 'at least I'm not *this* bad' measurement? -- "Whatever you're doing tonight, blow it off. What can be so important on a Wednesday night that you can't go out to dinner with me?" ...Netflix. A nap. Reading tax forms. Watching paint dry. Go away, Mark. -- Yes, your friend Otto is much happier now that he's not-- gasp!-- *chunky*, and the four other women on your team are 'lovely people once you get past the buzz cuts'. Side-eyeing Sarah forever. -- 'The joke wasn't even that funny. But later, when she thought of it, she couldn't help but chuckle.' And now you're "but he's so *confident*, tee-hee!" over Mark? wtf -- 'That's not my dad.' Left a message to explain; smart kid. -- Ohhh shit. Yeah, that whole speech about being proud of your officers' conduct is looking a little off now, huh. -- 'It would be someone else's problem when she relinquished control.' Yeah, a fifteen year old's problem; please be *careful* -- 'and- her target- his brachial artery' what in the HELL, did you just potentially kill a citizen who called you for help?? I mean, given that I'm typing this while we're waiting for the Chauvin verdict... -- 'The fire alarm would boot them all from their rigs, but that meant admitting she couldn't handle the situation.' You can't! He's stronger and you don't want to risk a fight when you're the one who'll suffer the consequences, fine. He's a thief and a would-be rapist-- who gives a shit if someone thinks you couldn't 'handle it', get him *caught*. -- 'we need to do our due diligence by not assuming his guilt' 'a very serious charge you're leveling' 'you're too emotional' YEP, here they go. -- 'He was a good man. Without his glasses, without the baby fat, he was something else, too. The heart of her old friend, in a body that was taken care of.' I hate everyone in this story. Except Otto, but there's probably going to be a bait-and-switch and he's going to end up the rapist/thief, and then I can add him, too. -- So Otto flips about a million deadbolts and then puts the keys in his pocket. Nope. Nothing suspicious here. -- 'Every value meal I crammed into my gob was a treat that made me fatter, lazier, and more disgusting.' ....sigh -- Yep. There's the wallets. -- 'Something in her head told her to document the evidence and call for backup, but for once she wanted to resolve something on her own.' OH my god. Nobody knows where you are, the door is quadruple-locked...the 'something' is Common Goddamn Sense -- And naturally, Mark saves her. UGH -- 'Sarah breathed heavily for a moment before dropping her guard. "You're going to get a fat lip, pretty boy." "It won't look as bad as that goose egg growing on your forehead, Forrester." I'm just a girl, reading this banter, and reaching for an airsickness bag -- 'Otto ran at her in an injured loping gait, gun dropped. Forgotten. Anger wasn't expressed with bullets. Bullets flew on fear. Anger ripped and tore and strangled. Anger had claws.' Nice line. -- So no complaint from the woman Otto assaulted because they're getting paid off to keep quiet. And Sarah's going to 'get her story straight' and not talk about the groping, or anything that Otto did. Yay? DUPLICITOUS WINGS -- I'm glad you're not after the kids, but even though your brother sounds like a bit of a dick he didn't...do anything here? He inherited the house you wanted. And his wife definitely didn't have a part in that. -- "She has allowed her husband to dominate and control all he desires." THAT'S what the wife did?? Ma'am. I'm thinking there is a reason your dad didn't leave you the house. -- "I order you to stop! Listen to your master." I really hope the kids don't pay for her being this much of a dumbass. -- "I am evidence ... those poor children are evidence too." **facepalm** -- Alternate title: Why You Don't Get Drunk And Summon A Demon IT GETS IN YOUR EYES -- This is gonna traumatize me, isn't it. I can just tell from the title. -- "Have you been diagnosing yourself on Google?" Oh no, Marnie, bad plan. -- 'I'd never seen Candyman.' *le gasp* -- 'She got off the couch, saying something about buying yellow wallpaper for the bedroom.' *snerk* -- "There are circles of hell more comfortable than this." Ohhh dear. -- AHHHHHHH yep I was right I'm traumatized noooo RED AND THE BEAST -- Ooooh, Little Red Riding Hood themed horror story -- 'Red responded with her own roar, smaller but just as primal.' I love her. -- "Oh, come on, Beauty," an elder woman said. "Just look at him! A strong man. Your father isn't coming back. You'll need some protection." "Forget it! You're all useless!" Fairy tale mashup hell yesssss -- "Never had she beheld such a beautiful woman.' *Lesbian* fairy tale mashup???? -- "Nonsense. I think they're big enough to share." There's only one bed trope! This was written for me. -- The moving furniture is super-creepy in this and I approve. -- "Your father? ... Well, you'll have to crawl onto that serving platter to replace him." OH MY GOD THE INTRUDER -- 'Cars, trucks, motorbikes, and streetlights consolidate into a galactic communal mishmash of glowing rush-hour traffic.' I hope you're not currently driving. -- 'I shook my head violently--what the fuck am I doing?' I am asking the same question -- 'I speed clear, seeing tiny, grey, wiggling maggots erupting from its mouth like liquified television static spilling out of a screen.' 1) great imagery, 2) EW SPROUT -- 'When my right testicle popped, I think that's when I realized how serious the situation was.' We have a winner in the opening sentence contest. -- 'I hardly ate. Food bored me. The memory of her sustained me.' Sir? You okay there? -- 'The flower in her hair seemed to angle toward me as she turned, a cobra bobbing its head hypnotically.' Poison Ivy? -- "And now you have taken from us. Eaten from us." She smiled. "And now you cannot leave." Someone hadn't read his Persephone myth. Not that it would've helped him, really. Yikes JUNCO CREEK -- (have I mentioned how much I love these illustrations?) -- Ohhh, Leigh. :( -- I'm glad Ben agreed to come with her on this trip and listen; that's a tough situation for the kid to be in. -- I don't care if you're the owner of the cabin, sir, you're approaching a woman and her son alone in an isolated area and it's CREEPY -- Stalker owl! -- Mmmm, s'mores. Must run to store soon. -- "But I'm still your mother. I'm still here for you." "You're not really," he said. "Not how I need you to be." "How do you need me to be?" "Like you were." OW. -- "A bear?" "Yes, but don't worry. They rarely attack people." Yeah, no, I've seen The Edge. I'm *gone* -- Oh SHIT Ben, that is brave as hell -- Yeah, the car breaks down and the owner just happens to be there to drive you to the hospital. Flee A FISTFUL OF MURDER -- This scenario is creepy af -- I am not reading that paragraph NOPE poor fish -- Dude. Burn the goddamn money, *quick*
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A WORLD WITH A BLUER SUNMy reviews are set up a little like live-tweets: I write down lines I like/impressions as I read, and then transcribe. Reviews will contain spoilers, but I'll give a warning before they start. Archives
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