Just a fantastic anthology of stories. Usually in a themed collection like this, there’s a few stories I don’t really enjoy, but in this case, each entry was fantastic!

Some of the stories were so morbid and horrifying, but all of them were shocking! Definitely a lot of apocalyptic and dystopian tales which I loved. I’d have to say my favourite story was “Crickets”.

It was unique to format this as a series of case files for the HBI trainees! Having the authors and editors and what not with their agent picture and credentials was fun.

Thank you to NetGalley, the editor and authors and HOWL Society Press for a copy!

Howls From the Wreckage is a collection of short stories based on disasters. Tsunamis are used a couple of times; as is a dust bowl family who gets a surprise in the high winds; disappearances that have strange outcomes. AI spiders, ewwww. There are rats, and strange disgusting objects fall from the sky. I believe there is something everyone would like, and some that will not be as popular. I think I will remember more than one, for some very different reasons. I will not taint your opinion with which they are.
The stories were very well-written. Each author gave their characters flaws, where under stress, they were magnified to scary levels. Whether it be fear, revenge, jealousy or just a hidden level of crazy.

As with all short story collections, you’re going to get a variety of those you consider good and bad. This is no different. They are said to be horror, but most of them don’t feel like they are truly horror. if I had to classify them, I’d say they lean more toward sci fi. As easy as it has become to compare, many of them feel as if they’d be on an episode of Black Mirror. With that being said, it is a bit horrific, but definitely not close to extreme horror, or gore. I did quite like a few of the stories/themes, and even though they aren’t the best written, it was still an entertaining collection as a whole.

It is a collection of horror stories. Some stories are based on inner fears while some are twisted and weird. Some stories are unpredictable while some stories felt like there was something disconnecting in them. Some stories were of courage and bravery. While some stories were about family and husband and wife grudges. Some stories has a promising beginning and some stories had an impactful ending. Each author has done a great job by crafting such an intriguing and imaginative stories. Some of my favourites are You shall return, Heavy rain, Fleshies, & A thing of habit.

Thank you Netgalley, authors and publisher.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

There was a decent number of stories in this anthology that felt more science fiction less than horror. I’m not saying that it is a bad thing but if you are looking for a pure horror anthology, I would look elsewhere. My two favorite stories were Don’t Play in the Closet by David Worn and Crickets by Solomon Forse. If you are a fan of survival science fiction, you might like this better than I did. I want to thank Netgalley for the ARC. 3 out of 5 stars.

ARC received via Netgalley

Howls From the Wreckage bills itself as an anthology of disaster horror, but in all honesty this feels a little bit of a misnomer. As with most such anthologies, there is a range of quality on offer here. But without wanting to be too critical, many feel like the leftover scripts from Black Mirror, addressing themes such as human/tech interactions, how tech amplifies our human attributes such that they become out of our control.

But the paranoia feels surface level. I didn't ever really feel engaged throughout the reading of this book. The horror was a little too contrived; the disaster either cliched or sometimes largely absent.

It's hard to recommend this release in all honesty.

This is an incredibly indifferent collection of not-horror. Many of the stories are more focused on surviving trauma, which is no criticism, but none contain any tension or can create any sense of dread.

Some hits, some misses, as it often is with anthologies. I liked the theme of disasters and appreciated getting to know so many different voices.

What seemed like a good concept for a short story collection ended up only having one or two shorts that held my interest and wasn't really enough for me to recommend the book as a whole.