Night Shadows: Queer Horror
4 journalers for this copy...
I pre-ordered this softcover gay-horror anthology as soon as I heard about it; it includes tales by a variety of authors (including BookCrossing's own N8an!).
It's a good collection, and I enjoyed all the stories, though I do have some favorites:
Carsen Taite's "The Zealous Advocate" features an attorney who's very zealous indeed when it comes to defending her clients; nicely twisted, this one. (Also, lots of fun to keep in mind when watching "Perry Mason" re-runs!)
J. M. Redmann's "The Price" looks at the concept of damnation, and sacrifice, and love - and it's a very dark look indeed.
Vince A. Liaguno's "Matinee" is a quiet, gentle little story about a horror-movie fan who never seems able to make friends - for long; this one sneaks up on the reader very neatly.
Steve Berman's "Capturing Jove Lunge" gives a nod to musclebound-hero cover-art and movie posters - and perhaps a bit of an homage to Lovecraft's "Pickman's Model" as well.
Carol Rosenfeld's "A Letter to My Brother" is one of the more light-hearted entries in the book, a fluttery account of a rather ditzy-sounding gal's conversion to vampirism. [There's even an outright reference to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes!]
"Filth," by 'Nathan Burgoine (aka BCer n8an), is a harrowing tale of a young gay man whose ultra-conservative father takes extreme measures to try to purge him of his "filthy" urges - and this triggers an unexpected backlash that I found grimly satisfying.
"Saint Louis 1990" by Jewelle Gomez features a vampire who fears that her lover might be the target of vengeance by an older vampire. [This one has a more upbeat look at the not-pure-evil vampires and their relationships with friends and lovers over time.]
Greg Herren's "Crazy in the Night" is a classic "haunting" story, with those little notes of "something is wrong here" that make ordinary household sounds seem terrifying.
I have to make special mention of Victoria A. Brownworth's "Ordinary Mayhem," which treats with extreme versions of real-world atrocities. I can't say I enjoyed this story, but the way it follows its protagonist through her own reactions to these horrific crimes is powerful.
It's a good collection, and I enjoyed all the stories, though I do have some favorites:
Carsen Taite's "The Zealous Advocate" features an attorney who's very zealous indeed when it comes to defending her clients; nicely twisted, this one. (Also, lots of fun to keep in mind when watching "Perry Mason" re-runs!)
J. M. Redmann's "The Price" looks at the concept of damnation, and sacrifice, and love - and it's a very dark look indeed.
Vince A. Liaguno's "Matinee" is a quiet, gentle little story about a horror-movie fan who never seems able to make friends - for long; this one sneaks up on the reader very neatly.
Steve Berman's "Capturing Jove Lunge" gives a nod to musclebound-hero cover-art and movie posters - and perhaps a bit of an homage to Lovecraft's "Pickman's Model" as well.
Carol Rosenfeld's "A Letter to My Brother" is one of the more light-hearted entries in the book, a fluttery account of a rather ditzy-sounding gal's conversion to vampirism. [There's even an outright reference to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes!]
"Filth," by 'Nathan Burgoine (aka BCer n8an), is a harrowing tale of a young gay man whose ultra-conservative father takes extreme measures to try to purge him of his "filthy" urges - and this triggers an unexpected backlash that I found grimly satisfying.
"Saint Louis 1990" by Jewelle Gomez features a vampire who fears that her lover might be the target of vengeance by an older vampire. [This one has a more upbeat look at the not-pure-evil vampires and their relationships with friends and lovers over time.]
Greg Herren's "Crazy in the Night" is a classic "haunting" story, with those little notes of "something is wrong here" that make ordinary household sounds seem terrifying.
I have to make special mention of Victoria A. Brownworth's "Ordinary Mayhem," which treats with extreme versions of real-world atrocities. I can't say I enjoyed this story, but the way it follows its protagonist through her own reactions to these horrific crimes is powerful.
I'm adding this to the Vampire bookbox, which will be on its way to its next stop soon. Hope someone enjoys it! [Only some of the stories feature vampires, but they're good ones, and the whole collection is well worth reading.]
*** Released as part of the 2013 TICK TOCK release challenge, for "night". ***
*** Released as part of the 2013 Halloween Spooktacular release challenge, for "shadows". ***
*** Released as part of the 2013 TICK TOCK release challenge, for "night". ***
*** Released as part of the 2013 Halloween Spooktacular release challenge, for "shadows". ***
Got in the vampire bookbox. Thanks!
I loved this collection of creepy tales. Oe of my only two quibbles were that it focused nearly entirely on Gay and Lesbian characters. Since it was advertised as "queer" I was hoping for some diversity in gender as well as sexual orientation. We has some side characters who were trans, but little else. The other is that the stories tended to be clumped, with multiple tales with similar elements placed together. I think this does the authors a disservice, forcing closer comparisons than if they were intermingled with different stories. It also gives the reader a chance to burn-out on these elements ("Another haunted house?") which they might not otherwise.
Rape and sexual assault happen throughout the book, so readers who find those triggering or too upsetting may want to proceed with caution.
My favorites were:
"Saint Louis 1990" by Jewwll Gomez, which had great characters who bounced off each other very well considering the small number of pages for events to happen in.
"Blackout" by Jeffrey Ricker is one of the few haunted house tales I've read that was actually suspenseful and made my spine crawl.
"The Zealous Advocate" by Carsen Taite is a great example of non-supernatural horror and the POV made it particularly effective.
"The Price" by J.M. Redman was effectively horrifying, with characters you can't decide whether to root for or against.
"Ordinary Mayhem" by Victoria A. Brownworth is the last tale, and IMO the most creepy. It was the first horror story I've read in a long time that succeeded in churning my stomach and made me consider setting the book down because of the intensity of the too-realistic atrocities.
Rape and sexual assault happen throughout the book, so readers who find those triggering or too upsetting may want to proceed with caution.
My favorites were:
"Saint Louis 1990" by Jewwll Gomez, which had great characters who bounced off each other very well considering the small number of pages for events to happen in.
"Blackout" by Jeffrey Ricker is one of the few haunted house tales I've read that was actually suspenseful and made my spine crawl.
"The Zealous Advocate" by Carsen Taite is a great example of non-supernatural horror and the POV made it particularly effective.
"The Price" by J.M. Redman was effectively horrifying, with characters you can't decide whether to root for or against.
"Ordinary Mayhem" by Victoria A. Brownworth is the last tale, and IMO the most creepy. It was the first horror story I've read in a long time that succeeded in churning my stomach and made me consider setting the book down because of the intensity of the too-realistic atrocities.
This book is headed for adventures in the LGBTQ+ Bookbox
Received as part of the LGBTQ+ bookbox.
Journal Entry 7 by 
haahaahaa98
at Algiers, 40 Brattle Street, Harvard Sq. in Cambridge, Massachusetts USA on Tuesday, October 14, 2014
haahaahaa98 at Algiers, 40 Brattle Street, Harvard Sq. in Cambridge, Massachusetts USA on Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Released 9 yrs ago (10/14/2014 UTC) at Algiers, 40 Brattle Street, Harvard Sq. in Cambridge, Massachusetts USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
Bookcrossing meeting, Boston, local chapter. Part of the LGBTQ+ bookbox that is making its way around the country / world.
A diverse collection of horror stories. The last story, "ordinary mayhem" was much longer than the other and not sure why. Also the sexual orientation of the characters was very incidental to the story lines. A very good read.
