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Book Review: Black Feathers: Dark Avian Tales: An Anthology edited by Ellen Datlow

Black Feathers: Dark Avian Tales: An Anthology edited by Ellen Datlow

Pegasus Books, 2017

ISBN: 9781861773216

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition

This anthology of avian-themed fiction, edited by Ellen Datlow, presents a fantastic collection of short stories by some of the best authors in the horror genre. Each story features, as the anthology title indicates, birds that act as agents of death, sentinels, communicators, and more. The authors present the darkness the bird realm can represent, and present unique philosophical questions and uncomfortable answers in this collection.

Datlow has collected some of the best writers for this anthology. Authors include Sandra Kasturi, Nicholas Royle, Seanan McGuire, Paul Tremblay, Joyce Carol Oates, Richard Bowes, Alison Littlewood, Jeffrey Ford, Mike O’Driscoll, Usman T. Malik, Stephen Graham Jones, A.C. Wise, M. John Harrison, Pat Cadigan, Livia Llewellyn, and Priya Sharma.

There is not a single story in this anthology that does not linger with the reader. A struggling academic studying owls gets too close to his research subjects, much to his wife’s concern, and ending in a deadly discovery. What happens to him will change his family forever. A young girl obsessively counts the types of birds she sees throughout the day, and interprets the numbers to mean certain things will happen. She’s never wrong. A grieving widow begins to relate to the herons on her property, who help her deal with the death of her husband. The birds seemingly take care of her problems and provide her with a new sense of freedom. Rogue birds are being investigated by an occult group for helping humans cheat death. A twin returns home after her father’s death, reconnects with her sister, and finds out the terrible truth about herself after the funeral. These tales are only a fraction of what this collection offers to the reader.

While there is very little in the way of gore, there are definitely psychological horrors that the reader will encounter. Sometimes these can be more terrifying than any amount of blood and guts.

Datlow has won multiple Hugo, Locus, and Shirley Jackson awards and has received several lifetime achievement awards, including the Bram Stoker Award. She is adept at anthology selection, and I promise you won’t be disappointed with this collection. Highly recommended

Contains: brief sex, abuse, psychological terror

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker


Posted on April 14, 2017 by , Reply

Book Review: Relics by Tim Lebbon

Relics by Tim Lebbon
Titan Books,  March 2017
ISBN-13: 978-1785650307
Available: Pre-order, paperback and Kindle edition

Tim Lebbon is no stranger to penning genre-twisting tales. He has written the apocalyptic novels Silence, Coldbrook, and The Nature of Balance, and the more fantastic Fallen and Echo City. Now he has hit 2017 hard, with the first book of what promises to be a breathtaking trilogy. Equal parts thriller, horror, and fantasy, Relics showcases Lebbon’s skill at world building. A dark market exists in this world, a place where items that harken back to “The Time”, can be bought and sold.  The market is hidden from most of humanity, but those who do know of it seek to collect these artifacts, at all costs.

Angela Gough lives a quiet existence, a happy one, with her lover, Vince. When he disappears, she fears the mundane: a new lover, an accident, or even murder. What she discovers is almost beyond her comprehension; another world exists, and she needs to become a part of it to have any chance of retrieving him alive.  On her journey, she discovers unlikely allies: some are human, others are not. Figuring out who is deadly and who she can trust is a challenge, with everyone promising to be a savior to her lover, even while pursuing their own dark agendas. With her partners in adventuring, she begins a journey into the darkness. There, she discovers creatures hidden both in the shadows and right under our noses; some wish for peace, while others seek our destruction.  What Angela finds shatters her view of reality; in her quest to find her lover,  a new world that might spell disaster for humankind, is converging with ours.

In Relics, Tim Lebbon has created yet another wonderful world for readers to lose themselves in, one that will likely remind of both Gaiman and Barker, yet speeds along with the thriller pace of a James Rollins or John Connelly novel.  Lebbon’s writing, as always, seduces his readers, inviting them into his imagination, where they find themselves immersed in a fantastic, horrific roller coaster ride that ends too soon. Luckily, there will be two additional books to allow us back into this world, and complete the journey begun here.

Highly recommended. If you weren’t a fan of Tim Lebbon before, this will likely be the novel to change your mind.

Reviewed by David Simms


Posted on March 4, 2017 by , Reply

Book Review: Alabaster Shadows by Matt Gardner and Rashad Doucet

Alabaster Shadows by Matt Gardner and Rashad Doucet

Oni Press, 2016

ISBN: 9781620102640

Available: Paperback,  Kindle edition, comiXology

 

In this all-ages graphic novel, the Normandy family moves to a new neighborhood. The children, older brother Carter and little sister Polly, are nervous and excited about their new place. Upon arriving, they are welcomed by Mr. Randolph and Miss Crowe, his receptionist. Miss Crowe, who is clearly unenthusiastic about children, is also the head of the Community Council. Mr. Randolph, who seems to know there is something odd about the neighborhood, pointedly asks Carter and Polly to let him know if they see anything strange.

Carter is the first one to notice something out of place: a mysterious leak in the basement. The leak is walled up by the Community Council in his absence,  but Carter, returning before the mortar has fully dried, pulls a few bricks out of the wall to discover a giant water droplet hovering in the air: a portal to another world.

Carter is joined by Polly and a group of neighborhood kids on his journey to discover what is going on in his crazy neighborhood, Harley is the Mulder for the group; her brother Warren, is a devoted skeptic; and Dudley is a shy boy who sits at the back of the classroom, where he draws a mythical creature on his desk that he claims lives under his bed. Together, they solve problems through the dreamscape, decipher an ancient language with the help of a mysterious ring, and face shadowy monsters along the way.

The story has numerous Lovecraftian elements to it, which made it very enjoyable for me. The fact that it’s a great story for multiple age and reading levels is a bonus. I’ve been hunting for horror-themed graphic novels in particular for my youngest nephews, and this one fits the bill perfectly. The artwork is bright and colorful, without being garish, and the monsters are pretty great. This book also offers some needed diversity in graphic novels as Carter and Polly’s parents are a biracial couple.

Polly quickly became my favorite character when she faced one of these monsters after earning a separate detention from her brother’s, but I’ll leave that for you to find out what happens. I’m looking forward very much to the next book.

Highly recommended

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker


Posted on December 18, 2016 by , Reply
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