[Review] Dark Stars: New Tales of Darkest Horror
Edited by John F. D. Taff
Published by Nightfire
4 out of 5 Stars
The foreword written by Josh Mallerman does a great job describing the goal of this collection: to push horrors’ boundaries and prove that the genre is malleable (pun intended). Every single story accomplishes that goal in one way or another, they incorporate new elements, dynamics, and settings into the horror genre. Although I found all of them to be incredibly well written, I didn’t personally enjoy many of these stories. The style and structure of several of them were too confusing or vague for me, others had heavy fantasy elements or endings that I thought were unsatisfying. However, the quality of the writing combined with the fact that the four stories I did like were beyond incredible. I truly believe that this book is filled with gems and there’s something in it for everyone.
Papa Eye by Prya Sharma - I really enjoyed this story, it had a slower pace, the writing was clear and concise and overall it was pretty wholesome. It had a varied cast of characters, an intriguing setting (I mean… mysterious island, need I say more?), and a coherent and structured plot. This tale does lean more towards the fantastic. It reminded me of both older Gothic tales and “cozy mysteries” stories set in a seaside town. As weird as this may sound, I believe that ‘cozy horror’ is the best description of Sharma’s story.
All The Things He Called Memories by Stephen Graham Jones - One of the best stories I have ever read in my entire life. I don’t want to say much about it because I believe that going into this blind provides the best experience. Complex characters, great plot, perfect pace. It builds atmosphere, creates tension, and explores a trial that the majority of people faced during this pandemic: trying not to go insane whilst stuck inside and learning how to cope with the constant company of family/partners.
Mrs. Addison’s Nest by Josh Malerman - This story was clearly inspired by King’s IT. It concerns a group of (male) friends that have to face a very powerful monster in order to rescue another (female) friend. Although there is absolutely nothing wrong with taking inspiration from other stories, I don’t think it worked great this time (MILD SPOILERS AHEAD). In my opinion, what makes IT remarkable is the wonderful friendship between the children and that their individual personalities were likable. In Mrs. Addison’s Nest we have a group of 16-year-olds who are not all that interesting or likable by themselves, nor was their friendship remarkable. On top of this, something that bothered me is the jumping back and forth in time coupled with “illusion” sequences. This was completely a matter of personal taste. I prefer stories to follow a straight line and that marks clearly what is real (within the world of the story) and what is not. Overall, incredibly well written and had one of the best plots, but I would’ve enjoyed it a lot more had there been fewer “illusion” sequences or if they were, at least, a bit shorter.
Challawa by Usman T. Malik - Out of all the tales contained in this book, this was the most original (in my opinion). It was refreshing to read a story that is not culturally centered in the United States’ lore, seeing as other countries/cultures are often ignored in horror (and in media in general). This tale is set in India and the horrors faced by the protagonist are multifaceted and originate from different spheres in her life. I won’t go into detail in order to avoid spoilers, all I will say is that the ending was gut-punching and it was a huge surprise for me (in a good way). I HIGHLY recommend that you check the trigger warnings for this one at the bottom of this review.
Trigger Warnings: Murder, gas lighting, kidnapping, abusive relationships, miscarriage (specific to Challawa).
