I have recently gotten very into horror, so I was super excited to read this and find some new horror authors! This also featured a couple of my favorites like Caroline Kepnes and Stephen Graham Jones!
I enjoyed most of the stories. They were gripping and the twists were surprising. I especially liked the ones by Jonh F.D. Taff and the last story! I love the subtle horror, where it starts like a 'normal' book and the creep factors come in slow.
There was one story I just could not follow, even after re-reading it. Other than that, this was a great anthology and I look forward to reading more from these authors!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Dark Stars by John F D Taff is a horror short story anthology. The book has stories written by some of the famous authors. But, only a few stories are interesting and creates an atmosphere. All the others stories are just boring. I had many expectations while picking up this book. So, I downloaded it in audiobook as well as on Kindle. But, all of my hopes were shattered. Still I tried hard to finish the book and it became a real struggle for me.

The book deserves only 3 stars for the stories I liked. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an opportunity to read and review the book.

It is hard to rate this audiobook and it took me forever to finish it.

Some of the stories, were really good but gosh others were not as smooth as I would have liked. None of these really scared me, so if you need reassurances about that, these stories should be good for you.

I liked the narrators a lot. Some felt like they were newer to narrating, but it was not bad enough for me to be taken out of the story.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an audio-ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Dark Stars is a tribute to the longstanding tradition of horror short fiction, featuring 12 original stories from today's most noteworthy authors. This anthology serves as a contemporary homage to the 1980 classic horror anthology, Dark Forces, and aims to capture the current state of the horror genre. The collection offers a diverse range of stories that showcase the talent and diversity within the horror community. As a reader, I found the anthology to be an enjoyable read, with a mix of stories that appealed to my personal interests as a horror fan and others that challenged my expectations of the genre. Overall, I would recommend Dark Stars to horror fans seeking to discover new and diverse voices in the genre.

As an audiobook, the performances were well done and added an extra layer of enjoyment to the experience. While the audiobook may not have been revolutionary, it was a satisfying listen.

Note: this review was written by me but modified by the openAI chatbot to improve it.

Just like with any short story collection, there were stories that I liked and stories that fell a little flat. I will say that the opening story wasn't the strongest, which made it a little harder to be excited for the rest, but there are some real gems in here. I would read something edited by this person again.

“The phrase you learn in school is *fight or flight*. As if those are the only choices. As if we’re all so quick to throw a punch or make a run for it. Some of us are slow. We just need a minute to think.” (from The Attentionist by Caroline Kepnes)

I was going to rate all the short stories in this collection but there were really only two that I enjoyed — The Attentionist by Caroline Kepnes (which I adored and still think about) and The Familiar’s Assistant by Alma Katsu which was just good fun. Though there were stories throughout by a lot of my favorite horror authors, I found them... profoundly uninteresting. True bummer!!

This book was ok. I think there were 12 stories in this collection. Some were good and some were not. I would probably reread but in physical/ebook form. I didn't enjoy the audiobook form of it. I will give it 3 stars because I really enjoyed a couple of the stories, especially the SGJ one.

Thank you, Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this collection as a whole. There's such a wide variety of subgenres in horror and this collection touched on a few, it would be a great way to sample different subgenres.

Naturally there were some stories that stood out more than others; a couple notable favourites for me were The Attentionist by Caroline Kepnes, All the Things He Called Memories by Stephen Graham Jones and Challawa by Usman T. Malik.

This had some good short stories. Some were just ok. I did really enjoy the narrators and how they told each story. I just didn’t find many too scary or horr-ific.

But it was a was interesting gettting a few different stories to step into. I think the gems were at the back of the book tho. So they started out ok and then the stories got better as you went along.

Dark Stars is billed as "new horror" that was written during COVID 2020 lockdown. It features many authors who have already made a name for themselves in horror, such as Stephen Graham Jones and Josh Malerman.

Over all, there were some shining stars in this collection as well as some disappointing "fallen" stars, but there was not a single five-star in the mix. There were a couple new authors I have not read before who I definitely want to read more of. None of them were too "dark" and most I wouldn't even classify as horror, really. Honestly, most of the good ones were near the back so by the time I got to a really good one, I was so burnt out from reading that I was complaining about how bored I was. Not that the stories in the beginning are terrible, just not really very scary or creepy and so they weren't what I was hoping for when I got this book. See below for the official breakdown and thoughts on each one:

The Attentionist by Caroline Kepnes - 2 - not really scary but somewhat creepy. About a teen girl who has a crush on a coworker and one night he calls to ask her out, but it’s not as it seems. Felt like something was missing honestly.

A Life in Nightmares by Ramsey Campbell - 2 - trippy and disjointed, still not really sure what was going on and I listened twice. I can only assume it was meant to be alien invasion through the eyes of dementia, possibly? I might like this one better as a short film, really not much happens at all until about midway through the story.

Papa Eye - 2 - a private doctor is invited to an isolated island where there are secrets. Interesting concept at the end but it dragggeeedd to get there. Could have been a good several pages shorter and would have been a 3.

Volcano - 3 - beautifully phrased, cosmic horror, a girl takes a job remodeling dorm rooms but something hidden is waiting there

All the Things He Called Memories - 4 - Creepy COVID isolation story asking: "do you know who you are locked in with?" I'm not surprised the Stephen Graham Jones story was the first in this collection to actually pull me in and keep me interested.

Trinity River’s Blues - 4 - a young girl who can see the dead is haunted by a darker entity that takes the shape of a famous jazz musician. A take on root magic with clear cultural influences. If you enjoyed Eddie Munson shredding guitar in the Upside Down on Stranger Things, you might like this one.

The Familiar’s Assistant - 3 - an addict desperately seeks out a local vampire. I liked the setting focusing on the homeless and transient populations, but I’m not a big vampire person.

Swim in the Blood of a Curious Dream - 4 - Ghostly custody battle. I can't say much more other than that but it was fun and had that isolated truck-stop vibe that I read a lot of during the lockdown.

The Sanguintalist - 3 - A detective assistant who uses a special magic to solve crimes works on a case that is close to home. We need more trans main characters in horror, especially people of color! The twist was so good but it was slow getting there. Kind of like Lucifer or iZombie, if you like that.

Mrs. Addison’s Nest - 4 - Like A Life in Nightmares, this one also flips back and forth which can get confusing, but it has a little bit more going on to give you a sense of grounding as you read. This one is about evil teachers and a group of kids who take on the witchy librarian at their school. I love "group of teens getting themselves in a mess" tropes, and this one was a wild ride.

Challawa - 4 - A young woman tours India, exploring a local legend of white greed and revenge. If you liked Midsommar, you will probably like this. I enjoyed the social commentary as well as all the character's backstory.

Enough for Hunger and Enough for Hate - 4 - A young woman confronts the man she thinks murdered her brother over a love triangle. I don't really feel like this needed to be a (SPOILER) Wendigo but I liked the atmosphere and visuals of the story. It was kind of like a murder mystery with some horror built in.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

This horror anthology was unique in it wasn’t the monsters of the flesh but the more haunting monsters of the mind. I don’t want to go into to much detail of the stories as I feel they are best to be read knowing as little as possible, but these artistic horror stories remind me of art house horror. The stories explore humanity and it’s horror more than ghost and monsters. I really enjoyed most of these stories there were a few that fell a little flat for me so on average I am giving this a 4. I did listen to the audiobook for this one also and enjoyed the narrators they kept the stories engaging and truly creepy for some of the tales. I would like to thank the publishers and Netgalley for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

I really enjoyed majority of these stories! There were a few that fell really flat for me, but for the most part this collection left me unsettled and spooked out. I'm looking forward to checking out more written by the authors that I haven't heard of before this anthology.

No duds here.
In my eyes this anthology achieves exactly what it sets out to do, Bring a wider spectrum of horror to the audience.
(My personal favorite is John Langan’s ‘Enough for hunger and enough for hate’.)

This was such a great collection of horror stories! Featuring some authors I've read from before and others I hadn't but will definitely be checking out in future, the anthology is an homage to 80's horror and is really well collated by John Taff. My personal favourite stories were those by Stephen Graham Jones; a creepy lock down tale about how being trapped in with our loved ones can be murder; Gemma Files; a dark fantastical tale about magical competitors; and Priya Sharma; a poignant tale about recovering from loss...and immortality! I thought that having multiple narrators for the audiobook worked really well as it made each story individual and memorable. As always with an anthology, there were some stories that didn't quite work for me, but my overall impression is that this was a really enjoyable and genuinely creepy collection that I would definitely recommend and I have found some new to me authors to add to my ever growing TBR.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

TW: Stalking, bullying, family drama, slut shaming, mental abuse, loss of baby, loss of parents, abortion, rape,


*****SPOILERS*****
About the book: Dark Stars is a tribute to horror’s long-standing short fiction legacy, featuring 11 terrifying novelettes from today’s most noteworthy authors, edited by Bram Stoker Award-nominee John F.D. Taff, with an introduction by bestselling author Josh Malerman (Bird Box).Created in the tradition of the 1980 horror classic anthology Dark Forces edited by Kirby McCauley, this collection features all original novelettes showcasing the top talent in the horror field today, with a committed line-up of stories from both established names and up-and-coming voices. Dark Stars is not themed, allowing each author to write their very best horror story, unhampered by the need to conform to any unifying tropes.The committed contributors to Dark Stars are:John F.D. Taff (Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of The End in All Beginnings and The Fearing).Josh Malerman (Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of Bird Box).Priya Sharma (World Fantasy Award-winning author of All the Fabulous Beasts).Stephen Graham Jones (Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Mapping the Interior and The Only Good Indians).Alma Katsu (Bram Stoker Award finalist and Locus Award-winning author of The Hunger).Usman T. Malik (Bram Stoker Award-winning and Nebula Award-nominated author).Caroline Kepnes (New York Times bestselling author of You and Hidden Bodies).Chesya Burke (over 100+ published short stories in horror & dark fantasy).Livia Llewellyn (multi-Shirley Jackson Award-nominated author).Gemma Files (Shirley Jackson Award-winning author of Experimental Film).John Langan (Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Fisherman).Ramsey Campbell (Multiple World Fantasy and Bram Stoker Award-winning author).
Release Date: March 22nd, 2022
Genre: Horror
Pages: 368
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 3.5

What I Liked:
• I love horror anthologies
• Some of the great writers of this generation
• Love that they can write any kind of horror story without a theme

What I Didn't Like:
• Some stories the points were lost
• Lot of rambling on

Overall Thoughts: I enjoyed the foreword from Josh Malerman. I thought it was a great start to the short stories in front of us.

The Attentionist (Caroline Kepnes - I found this interesting 1/4th of the way into it and then it switched gears and became so over the top confusing and weird. I'd say there were pages in which I was truly confused. We meet Reg and Maeve; two sisters that are completely different. Reg resigns that her whole world is sitting by the phone answering every call that comes come, hoping for a boy crush to sweep her away. Maeve on the other hand is fine to just exist and if her crush, Tony from work calls or doesn't call she is fine with that. One day "Tony" calls and Reg answers the phone flirting with him and tells him where Maeve is swimming at. Maeve returns home and much to her chagrin Reg starts to yell at her because she's upset that she didn't being home Tony and his friends. Soon after Maeve is being tormented with daily phone calls from some one pretending to be Tony. He calls and tells her he is going to eat her thighs and she's a fat gross pig. This goes on and on until one day Reg calls her downstairs and tells her that they caught the man that has been harassing her. His name is Carl and he's been doing this to girls all over town. One day we find out that Reg knew that Maeve was lying about who was calling and was listening in on the phone calls. Overall Reg is a horrible sister who chose to encourage the abuse her sister was going through while getting revenge on her for not bringing home Tony that one time. The ending fell flat for me. Maeve waits twenty years to get back at Reg by cooking a pig instead of a turkey for Thanksgiving. That's it? Well okay then! ⭐⭐2.0

A Life in Nightmares (Ramsey Campbell) - Talk about gibberish! I honestly was lost in so many moments that the author leads you off course with a short story dealing with a man whom dreams while awake. Whenever life is serious he slips into a dream like state replacing bad things with odd moments. You never know what's real or fake and a lie or truth.
⭐⭐⭐ 2.5

Papa Eye (Priya Sharma) - We meet Ravi a doctor. He comes to an island named Papa Eye. There's a part in the beginning where he comes to Little Isle and is met by Hector. Ravi makes a comment about the place being beautiful but then says he means it more as a comment than a question. Why would that format of a sentence ever be a question? We bounce around between timelines of when he was arriving to the island and when he is coming to terms with no emotions during his divorce. He is the new doctor on the island is in charge of taking care of Kate. Kate is dying of cancer and losing her mind a little every day. I liked this story a lot. We find out the town doesn't age at a normal rate. Ravi has been offered the opportunity to stay on the island. ⭐⭐⭐⭐4.5

Valcano (Livia Llewellyn) - A story about a woman kicked out of her sewing job on campus for making her own dress on the clock. She's an alcoholic and very self destructive. After being fired she goes in search of a job and manages to stumble upon one sewing curtains with another student. This story was creepy. There's a room where the sewing machines are and the atmosphere here is off the charts. Something lives in the darkness beyond the fan, into a dark dark room. They're warned not to enter but as was pointed out by her being rebellious, she never listens. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐5.0

All the Things Called Memories (Stephen Graham Jones) - I haven't been a fan of Stephen Graham Jones books at all but this one... Wow. Creepy. This story about is about a husband and wife who are in quarantine together during covid. The wife Macey is doing a study on her husband for fear when she unlocks something supernatural from him that's he's buried since elementary school. I seriously had to turn the lights on to read this one. So creepy! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐5.0

Final Thoughts: This collection of stories is a serious time commitment. I felt like I've been reading for months and haven't gotten anywhere, so just be prepared to put some time into these stories. Each book is around an hour to 45 minutes to finish. I'm not a person that can sit down and read story after story as though they are a story, so trying to get through these stories took some effort on my part. I'm DNFing this book. It just feels like it's never going to end. I found it so long-winded. Some of the stories are good but it's like an hour between each story and it's putting me in such a reading slump. I found myself dreading this book, which sucks for the stories I didn't get to. I was just bored.

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

This series of short stories is definitely something that I experienced for the first time! Whilst it wasn't my favourite book I enjoyed most of the stories. I had an opportunity to listed to the audio version of the book.
Few of them got me confused and I had to re-listened them, however some of them I really enjoyed!

Few of my favourites were definitely The Attentionist by Caroline Kepnes, Papa Eye by Pryia Sharma and Trinity's River Blues by Chesya Burke.

Overall is a solid 3/5 for me, definitely worth reading if you're a fan of any of the authors included in this collection!

DNF. I listened to the first four (short) stories, and I realized this was not for me. Maybe it gets better. But for now, this is a DNF for me. I will not publish this review anywhere else as I gave up too soon.

Thanks to Recorded Books for the ALC and this opportunity! This is a voluntary review and all opinions are my own.

I should’ve loved this but for whatever reason I just couldn’t. It was one of those that I’d pick up and I put down. Quit frankly I only finished it because I got it from net gallery.

These stories were okay - some stood out above others, but some fell super flat. I don't know that any really classify as true horror, more on the creepy side.

Decent for those who are starting out in horror, looking for something that won't scare them senseless, but dipping their toes into the water a bit.