“What scares you?” So begins Maberry’s introduction to this anthology of poetry and short stories by 22 authors, all members of the Horror Writers Association.
To answer this question, the anthology addresses a wide range of fears. Almost every story features a female protagonist, and Brenna Yovanoff’s “The Doomsday Glass,” Rachel Tafoya’s “The Invisible Girl,” and Kendare Blake’s “Chlorine-Damaged Hair, and Other Pool Hazards” speak to current fears about the vulnerability of young women and the sometimes-horrific repercussions of body shaming in a patriarchal society. For readers seeking more traditional ghost stories with a hint of melancholy, Rachel Caine’s “Corazón Oscuro,” Ilsa J. Bick’s “Bearwalker,” and Josh Malerman’s “Danny”—a few highlights of the anthology—employ restless, malevolent spirits. And for old-school horror fans, Steve Rasnic’s “The Boyfriend” and Christopher Golden’s “What Happens When the Heart Just Stops” contain nightmarish monsters, both literal and figurative, while R.L. Stine’s “The Old Radio” and Tim Waggoner’s “The Whisper-Whisper Men” are reminiscent of Twilight Zone episodes. The relevancy and scope of the themes presented are noteworthy and give the anthology broad appeal. However, the relative lack of diversity among main characters is both discouraging and outdated, depressingly representative of the current state of horror writing.
Not every story is good, or even scary, but the ones that are scary good will haunt readers long after closing the book, and at a whopping 498 pages, most readers will surely find something grisly to enjoy. (Anthology/horror. 13 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5070-6
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 14, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
Did you like this book?
A slightly abridged graphic version of the classic that will drive off all but the artist’s most inveterate fans.
Admirers of the original should be warned away by veteran horror artist Bernie Wrightson’s introductory comments about Grimly’s “wonderfully sly stylization” and the “twinkle” in his artistic eye. Most general readers will founder on the ensuing floods of tiny faux handwritten script that fill the opening 10 pages of stage-setting correspondence (other lengthy letters throughout are presented in similarly hard-to-read typefaces). The few who reach Victor Frankenstein’s narrative will find it—lightly pruned and, in places, translated into sequences of largely wordless panels—in blocks of varied length interspersed amid sheaves of cramped illustrations with, overall, a sickly, greenish-yellow cast. The latter feature spidery, often skeletal figures that barrel over rough landscapes in rococo, steampunk-style vehicles when not assuming melodramatic poses. Though the rarely seen monster is a properly hard-to-resolve jumble of massive rage and lank hair, Dr. Frankenstein looks like a decayed Lyle Lovett with high cheekbones and an errant, outsized quiff. His doomed bride, Elizabeth, sports a white lock à la Elsa Lanchester, and decorative grotesqueries range from arrangements of bones and skull-faced flowers to bunnies and clownish caricatures.
Grimly plainly worked hard, but, as the title indicates, the result serves his own artistic vision more than Mary Shelley’s. (Graphic classic. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-186297-7
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 3, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2013
Did you like this book?
This hefty sequel to Six of Crows (2015) brings high-tension conclusions to the many intertwined intrigues of Ketterdam.
It's time for revenge—has been ever since old-before-his-time crook Kaz and his friends were double-crossed by the merchant princes of Ketterdam, an early-industrial Amsterdam-like fantasy city filled to the brim with crime and corruption. Disabled, infuriated, and perpetually scheming Kaz, the light-skinned teen mastermind, coordinates the efforts to rescue Inej. Though Kaz is loath to admit weakness, Inej is his, for he can't bear any harm come to the knife-wielding, brown-skinned Suli acrobat. Their team is rounded out by Wylan, a light-skinned chemist and musician whose merchant father tried to have him murdered and who can't read due to a print disability; Wylan's brown-skinned biracial boyfriend, Jesper, a flirtatious gambler with ADHD; Nina, the pale brunette Grisha witch and recovering addict from Russia-like Ravka; Matthias, Nina's national enemy and great love, a big, white, blond drüskelle warrior from the cold northern lands; and Kuwei, the rescued Shu boy everyone wants to kidnap. Can these kids rescue everyone who needs rescuing in Ketterdam's vile political swamp? This is dark and violent—one notable scene features a parade of teens armed with revolvers, rifles, pistols, explosives, and flash bombs—but gut-wrenchingly genuine. Astonishingly, Bardugo keeps all these balls in the air over the 500-plus pages of narrative.
How can such a hefty tome be un-put-down-able excitement from beginning to end? (glossary) (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-62779-213-4
Page Count: 560
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016
Did you like this book?
© Copyright 2021 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
