What is it?
A collection of short horror stories.
Who’s the writer?
Loads of great wordsmiths. This a collection of 20 short stories (with a couple of poems) from a wide range of successful authors including Neil Gaiman, Charlie Jane Anders, M.R.Carey and Christina Henry.
What’s it about?
This is a fantastic collection of scary shorts covering a broad range of subject matter. Zombies, ghosts, curses and trolls. There really is a scare for everyone. The writers draw on a wide range of inspirations. Twisted traditional tales, inspired by Sleeping Beauty and Red Riding Hood, sit comfortably alongside more modern takes on terror.
For me, the two stand out stories are Wendy, Darling by Christopher Golden and The Merrie Dancers by Alison Littlewood. Golden’s take on Peter Pan offers a darkly novel and disturbing interpretation of an instantly recognisable classic. By contrast Littlewood’s tale draws on much older legends, planting them in a modern setting with no less a terrifying twist.
Is it any good?
As with any short story collect there’s likely to be some you’ll love, some you’ll hate and a couple that you’ll just be very meh about. Fortunately, this is a really well curated anthology, so I found way more of the loves than the mehs and maybe one than verged on an exceptionally mild dislike.
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