The stated goal of the editor is to remind readers that horror has range. This collection had a few great stories, but was a bit hit and miss throughout. I did discover some new names to watch, though.

The Attentionist by Caroline Kepnes
Very well written, but not my kind if story. Stalker story, w victim blaming. 2/5

A Life in Nightmares by Ramsey Campbell
Confusing story. Not scary. 1/5

Papa Eye by Priya Sharma
Well written and poignant. Not scary. 2/5

Volcano by Livia Llewellyn
Another story that I just didnt connect with. Very good writing and mood. 2/5

All the Things He Called Memories by Stephen Graham Jones
Bo and Marcy are stuck home on lockdown during the pandemic when work-from-home gets out of hand and awakens childhood demons. Solid story. 3/5

Trinity River’s Blues by Chesya Burke
Trinity River longs to have the talent to be a great musician. Trinity River also has the power to see and communicate with the dead. What price would she pay for the talent she desires? Very good possession story, about so much more. 4/5

The Familiar’s Assistant by Alma Katsu
A vampire story. Short read. Well written. I enjoyed this one. 3.5/5

Swim In The Blood of a Curious Dream by John FD Taff
Great story, almost reads like a play. A mothers love for her child from beyond the grave may not be malevolent, but it is certainly scary! 4/5

The Sanguintalist by Gemma Files
A world-building story of a forensic necromancer for hire investigating a killing. I found the story to be somewhat confusing. 2/5

Mrs. Addison’s Nest by Josh Malerman
Four friends are in pursuit of, and linked to Mrs Addison, a malevolent creature from their childhood. They are disoriented and cannot trust reality, and seem to time shift throughout. Well written. 3.5/5

Challawa by Usman T Malik
A woman and her husband travel to India for different reasons, but while there learn more about the grief and pain from a lost child and an extramarital affair. Great story, pacing, language, and menace all on point! 5/5

Enough for Hunger and Enough for Hate by John Langan
Great story. I don’t want to say to much to spoil anything. 5/5

Thank you to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dark Stars was my first anthology horror book experience. This book gives a wide range of just how large the umbrella of horror can be. From the terrible horror humans can inflict to the monsters you're warned will get you if you misbehave, Dark Stars has an amazing array of stories from some of the best writing in the genre today. For myself, I found a few of the stories stood out more than the others but as a whole this was a fantastic book. It has put some authors I had previously been unfamiliar with on my radar (which is fantastic because I always want more horror reads in my life!)

Definitely a great pickup not just if you're a fan of the genre. It would also be a great starting point if you're interested in getting into horror too. The medium of short story horror is a great one; one I prefer to be honest. There's a feeling that lingers after you finish one that resonates with you long after you've finished and Dark Stars has many of those.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

A solid collection of original novellas and horror stories.

Although many of the authors featured within creep right up to the edge of "so stylized I can barely tell what's happening" literary horror, almost every story hits its marks in the end. Those with patience for page-plus long paragraphs (or people like me, who speed read through those parts) will find a lot to like in Livia Llewellyn's "Volcano" or John Langan's closing tale "Enough For Hunger And Enough For Hate." Other contributions are a bit more straightforward, like the folk horror in "Challawa" or the editor's own story about an unsettling rest stop, but the majority are in the John Langan/Stephen Graham Jones mold. Even the spooky rest stop story kind of starts out there.

My personal favorite, "The Attentionist," the striking opening story by Caroline Kepnes, delicately threads the slice of life character work of literary horror with actual dread. You know something bad is going to happen, it's just a question of what. And when it comes, it's certainly anything expected.

It's rare to find an anthology that I can recommend someone read all the way through. Despite a few pretentious speed bumps, Dark Stars is now on that list.

The first story in this collection of horror tales wasn’t very good, and the next couple were average. I almost DNF’d it, but I’m very glad I didn’t. There were many fantastic stories, with the best saved for last. I feel like putting the weakest stories in the beginning was a tragic mistake.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

I generally like anthologies because they're easy to read in short bursts, and then before I know it, the book is over. It makes for a fast and enjoyable reading experience.
Each story feels very different from one another -- some I liked way more than others. Honestly, there were one or two stories that felt a bit too cerebral for me, or maybe I was just too tired while reading it (I am taking care of a newborn at the moment). I had to read through 'A Life in Nightmares' twice.

This collection is not for the faint of heart however. One story involves a man literally putting his body through a sewing machine! Other stories include more well-known horror devices like vampires, wendigos, and cannibalism.

I'm rating this one as a 3.5 collectively. Some stories were creepy and fantastic while others left me bored and scratching my head.

Some great story and some that were just okay. That's anthologies, baby!

My favorites:
All the Things He Called Memories by Stephen Graham Jones
Mrs. Addison's Nest by Josh Malerman
The Attentionist by Caroline Kepnes

If a collection of short horror stories is up your alley, then so will be this book. This book includes 12 short horror stories, with some well-known and well-loved authors. This will surely keep you entertained and will not disappoint. I love saving books like these for work day and short travels, so I can read an entire story in a sitting, and this was definitely a great addition to my short readings.

Dark Stars features what is probably the strongest assembly of horror authors ever collected in a single volume. The focus of the theme for the anthology is somewhat diffuse, however, delving into the realms of dreams, altered perception and transcendental experience, which results in some less accessible contributions. One thing you can count on is original material. Every story is legitimately scary and inventive; every author gets a chance to shine.

There's only one truly great story in Dark Stars, despite the impeccable choice of contributors, and it's from John Langan. The elements associated with the theme are right in his wheelhouse, so he delivers best. Other standouts include Alma Katsu, Josh Malerman and Stephen Graham Jones, but if you're interested in this collection, you probably expected as much.

Like any good anthology, there's a lot of variety here in terms of style and presentation, not to mention content of the stories. That means that it's unlikely that they'll all strike the right chord for the reader, but chances are most of them will. This is must-read for horror fans and for anyone who wants to get a sense of the best writing in the genre.

Thank you to Macmillan-Tor and NetGalley for the ARC.

“Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light; I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.” - Sarah Williams

freaky and weird. this book was very strange. I think it was an okay book. I've read others similar to this that I liked more.

Like any anthology, there are stories here that are better than others, but when taken as a whole, this is a solid anthology showcasing the diverse and eclectic ways this new renaissance of horror we’re experiencing right now can be presented. Kudos to Nightfire for being such a varied collection of authors together in their first anthology. If this is what we’ve got to look forward to with future anthologies from them as well, we’re in for solid, if not terrifying, reading experiences.

I discovered my copy of Kirby McCauley’s seminal Dark Forces anthology on a sagging shelf in the Salvation Army one town over. This particular Salvation Army had been a treasure trove of horror fiction for me—I found my first Lovecraft and Bentley Little here—but this find was especially lucky. DARK FORCES in a gothic Sans-serif font. A behemoth dressed in Halloween-style orange and black. I didn’t know who Kirby McCauley was, but I certainly recognized the names on the cover once I’d picked it up. Bradbury. Bloch. A Short Novel by Stephen King! This was an incredible purchase, and this was a book that I spent a large majority of a summer break reading.
Dark Stars, edited by John F.D. Taff and being published by Tor Nightfire in March 2022, is a tribute and a necessary sequel to the essential Dark Forces. The two books somehow feel in tandem with one another, even with the many decades that separate them. As stated by Taff in the introduction, they even share a common goal. It’s about bringing horror to a wider audience, and that goal is absolutely met throughout 368 pages. Dark Stars features thirteen novelettes from horror’s best and brightest. These stories span time periods and various subgenres, giving us a whirlwind tour of short horror fiction.
After a socially-distanced foreword by genre stalwart Josh Malerman, the anthology kicks off with Caroline Kepnes’ The Attentionist. This is a story filled with youthful longing, about an outsider looking in. It helps that Maeve (the story’s lead) is witty and sharp as shears. It stands to reason that the author of the ‘You’ trilogy would create such a compelling viewpoint. Caroline's incredible descriptions and wandering tone serve as a signpost for the themes throughout this book.
Ramsay Campbell’s (represented in A Life in Nightmares) unconventional imagery is bone-chilling. Papa Eye by Priya Sharma is a fascinating story of want, of the need to fit into something larger than ourselves. It’s an intimate piece that drowns us in cosmic dread. The next two stories (Volcano by Livia Llewellyn and All the Things He Called Memories by Stephen Graham Jones) use their distinct voices and ideas to shock and dismay. These stories are perfectly placed beside each other (bravo Mr. Taff) and flow together seamlessly.
These first five novellas are just the start. The rest of the anthology makes good on the editor’s stated goal. With Dark Stars, we journey from the fascinatingly classic (Alma Katsu’s vampire send-up The Familiar’s Assistant and Chesya Burke’s jazzy specters in Trinity River’s Blues) to the biting new (Mrs. Addison’s Nest by Josh Malerman and the trapped lore of Usman T. Malik’s Challawa).
I have to imagine that a budding horror writer will find this book on a shelf someday and fall in love. This book is a view into diverse worlds and important themes. There are world builders here, and these stories would last you an entire summer if you give them the time they deserve.

A collection of short horror stories by some well known authors. I’m a total scaredy cat but went into this with the idea of ‘they’re shorter stories, just a little bit to not really sink you under’ some of them were great! But others I just couldn’t really get through the plot, too much back and forth and not knowing what is or not real.

Dark Stars: New Tales of Darkest Horror is a tribute to the classic Dark Forces anthology edited by Kirby McCauley, released back in 1980 and showcasing such talents as Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, and Robert Bloch (among notable others). This collection does its predecessor proud, delivering a diverse mix of dark tales from some truly great writers, ranging from subtle psychological terror to grim, visceral horror. Overall, a stand-out selection of stories but, as in all anthologies, your mileage may vary. My favorites included The Attentionist by Caroline Kepnes, a deeply unsettling tale about the illusory narrative a young woman crafts under pressure from a relentless stalker, Ramsay Campell’s A Life in Nightmares, a hallucinatory journey through our protagonist’s fractured memories and nightmarish present, Josh Malerman’s Mrs. Addison’s Nest that sees four friends confront the demonic teacher who made their high school years a living hell, and Usman T. Malik’s Challawa with its echoes of Dan Simmons’ Song of Kali and The Wicker Man. If you enjoy curling up to some good horror fiction, this is the book for you.

This was my last read of 2021 and a great one to end the year with! I've been looking forward to this collection since it was first teased (back around when Nightfire announced their initial line-up).

I do have to admit that I didn't fully understand all of the stories. However, I'm eight months pregnant and struggling with some serious brain fog + exhaustion, so it's entirely possible that sans those factors, more of the stories would have made sense to my brain. (Experimental styles, in particular, aren't processing particularly well for me at the moment.) The ones I did wrap my head around, though, lived up to the "new tales of darkest horror" tagline and really lingered! I will be thinking about them for a long time. They were the kind of fascinating, grotesque, horrifying stories that you almost want to turn away from but can't.

Makes me want to reread this collection once the baby brain fog has lifted! Overall, this anthology had an unsettling vibe and wasn't afraid to take risks. I found, in particular, lingering power in the stories by John F.D. Taff (who is also the editor) and Alma Katsu.

Thank you Tor Nightfire for the chance to read an early copy of Dark Stars via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

A great horror collection from some present day masters of the genre. Some of the highlights for me were Ramsey Campbell's "A Life in Nightmares," Stephen Graham Jones' "All the Things He Called Memories," and Alma Katsu's "The Familiar's Assistant." The selection's really show the variety within the horror genre, and the introduction, afterward, and story notes give some noteworthy insights. A good anthology for showcasing the current state of horror fiction.

"Dark Stars" is a diverse collection of stories that run the gamut between quiet, creeping dread and heart-in-mouth terror; a wonderful assortment of authors are represented here and not a single story feels same-samey against the others. We have vampires, we have ghosts, we have cosmic horror, we have pandemic mental instability!

As with all anthologies, I enjoyed some stories more than others, and this is one of those titles that seems to stack all its best work in the second half rather than the first. My favorite tale in this is absolutely Stephen Graham Jones's take on how the COVID pandemic erodes the work/play boundaries; it was creepy, the characters were both charming and frightening, and it utterly hooked me. I also enjoyed Alma Katsu's desperate and frightening vampire story, and Gemma Files is always an amazing writer.

Dark Stars edited by John FD Taff was received directly from the publisher and I chose to review it. With the big name horror authors in this anthology, I honestly expected great things. I am not sure if my tastes have failed to evolve or if modern horror is just not "all that" anymore, but I found most of these somewhat short stories really slow and not that horrific. What happened to blood, guts, gore and "scariness" in horror stories that I grew up with?

3 Stars

Dark Stars is a fantastic horror anthology for any fan of fear. I guarantee you that anybody who reads this will find at least one story that is knock-your-socks-off horrifying, and one that you think is borderline heartwarming. I think that's what makes a good anthology. Every story fits into the horror genre, but all together they form such a wonderful sampling of all different sorts of horror. You've got body horror, psychological horror, slashers, the unknown and the //unknown//, and more.

Although I loved it, my partner absolutely hated that while I was reading this book I was jumpy as hell. One night after the lights were out, he accidentally brushed against my foot and I screamed and threw my kindle at him.

I found this collection of stories similar to other collections I have read. There are some very, very good stories as well as some that I am sorry I wasted my time reading them. So having to give a rating in relation to the whole book I give the book a three-star review.

An excellent collection featuring some of the most important voices in contemporary horror including two of my favourite authors-- Stephen Graham Jones and Alma Katsu.

The featured authors delight with tales from all corners of the genre, from gore and cannibalism to mysticism, ghosts and mythology. What I appreciated most was the mix of cultures and countries represented. Papa Eye by Priya Sharma was a rich read and I will be seeking out more from this writer.

I would recommend for fans of horror, but also to those looking for literary fiction with a dark side. Many of the stories offer a contemplative look at suffering and fear that goes beyond the expected boundaries of the genre.

Arc provided courtesy of NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Tor Nightfire.