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Monday, April 12, 2021

Review: Howls From Hell

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Howls From Hell

by M. David Clarkson, Amanda Nevada DeMel, S.E. Denton, Justin Faull, Quinn Fern, Solomon Forse, Shane Hawk, B.O.B. Jenkin, Thea Maeve, P.L. McMillan, Christopher O'Halloran, Joe Radkins, Lindsey Ragsdale, Joseph Andre Thomas, Alex Wolfgang and J.W. Donley

A huge thank you to HOWL Society Press and Night Worms for this gifted book.


Publisher: HOWL Society Press
Publish Date: May 18, 2021
Paperback
304 Pages
Standalone
Genres: Horror, Short Stories

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 with spine-tingling stories from P.L. McMillan, J.W. Donley, Shane Hawk, Christopher O'Halloran, Alex Wolfgang, Amanda Nevada DeMel, Lindsey Ragsdale, Solomon Forse, Justin Faull, M. David Clarkson, B.O.B. Jenkin, S.E. Denton, Thea Maeve, Joseph Andre Thomas, Joe Radkins, and Quinn Fern.

My Review:

In my quest to continue to try new things, I decided to give short story collections/anthologies another go and what better way to go than with a collection titled HOWLS FROM HELL.  I typically stay away from these collections as it always ends the same - some I love, some I don't and so collectively, I end up almost always rating them down the middle.  While these can be a great sampling of new authors to consider, I am just that person who likes to read a full novel over the short story to determine that.  But that's just MY preference. 

Over the weekend, I opened this up and the first story just caught my attention.  Short it was and absolutely devious - I was just instantly transported back into my horror loving tingles and then kept runing page after page.  I'd devour 3 or 4 stories, then go about my business and then come back. I'd really like some more Casual Encounters 😉.  The stand outs for me were Junco Creek, It Gets In Your Eyes and Red And The Beast.  I also liked Possess and Serve but it also gave me the willies because having an officer take over a person's body to deescalate a situation sounds like about the last thing I'd ever want a cop to do.  **SHIVER**  I'll also be checking any and all bills I get out of an ATM due to A Fistful of Murder.

This collection was a lot of fun.  Maybe because it's been a while since I've truly immersed myself in a collection.  Maybe because these authors are so talented.  Maybe because this gloomy weather was just oh so suitable for these reads.  In any manner, I did find that like with all collections, I loved some, liked some and meh about some.  But instead of doing my usual down the middle rating, I'm giving it an extra star because YES.  If you are a fan of horror collections, grab a copy and run.  Try not to get a paper cut though - who knows what will happen if any blood gets on these page. 😈

★★★★



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