Member Reviews
This was such a fun horror anthology! I love how traditional horror tropes were turned on their heads. The stories were diverse and unique, perfect for a spooky season read
Great stories that kept me on the edge. A good anthology of short stories byt well known and new to me authors.
Liked it, Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
It´s a well-known fact that I don´t do horror, because (I am a big baby) and that I usually don´t like short stories, but this one really worked for me. It´s always hard to review anthologies because some of them were definitely five stars: ''Best Served Cold'' by H.E. Edgmon, “Docile Girls” by Chloe Gong and “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” by Tiffany D. Jackson, while others felt a bit flat.
Overall I did really enjoy this one, I love the twists these authors added to such classic tropes and I am now 100% sure H.E. Edgmon is one of my favorite authors.
If you are a fan of horror and you are looking for something different for your next thrill, I really recommend picking up this anthology!
Such an amazing short story collection!!
My favorites were:
Everything coming up roses
Break through our skin
Gray grove
The road to hell
Thank you to the publisher for the arc.
The White Guy Dies First is an interesting horror anthology in which, as the title states, the white guy dies first. It's an introspection of people of color in horror stories and how people of color have their own horror stories and relationships with horror that are not always known or comprehended outside of their culture.
Have been recommending often and will continue to do so. Great collection and a huge variety. I loved the mix of tropes and genres. I hope this collection is a regular series.
I am a sucker for an awesome cover!!!
This is a YA horror that features 13 stories but they all have the same theme which is the white guy is always the first victim. I freaking loved this book!
I loved the way this is written in short story format and it makes it feel like you are reading several short novellas and it is fast paced.
If you ask me this is a must read for anyone who loves horror! It is so interesting cannot wait to find more books by these authors.
Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.
A collection of short stories by well known ya authors. Pretty cool and interesting. Talked about a lot of subjects. Mixed horror with different subjects. Very unique.
Did this scare me every moment that I read the book? Yes. Did I love every minute of it because the authors in this anthology are the literal BEST???? Yes, yes I did.
This was a fantastic must read for any reader who loves a good scare & wants to see the white-washed norm for horror be flipped on its side. This was so well done! Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this ARC! :)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)
"The White Guy Dies First" is a refreshing take on horror with 13 stories by authors of color, finally putting us in the spotlight as survivors. The stories had me hooked, and I loved that it wasn’t just about scares but also about reclaiming space in a genre that usually sidelines people of color.
My top 3 stories:
"All Eyes On Me" by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
"Everything's Coming Up Roses" by Tiffany D. Jackson
"Heaven" by Adiba Jaigirdar
This is a perfect pick if you want horror with a powerful twist.
Reading in Between the Wines book review #107/130 for 2024:
Rating: 3 🍷🍷🍷
Book: The White Guy Dies First
Author: Terry J. Benton-Walker
Available now!!
Sipping thoughts: I don’t do horror because I am a scaredy cat, but this was not too bad. It was pretty creepy and spooky but not too horrific. There were some stories that were better than others, but they were all interesting. I really enjoyed the cultural aspects behind each of the stories.
Cheers and thank you to @TorPublishingGroup and @Netgalley for an advanced copy of @TheWhiteGuyDiesFirst.
#TheWhiteGuyDiesFirst #TerryJBentonWalker #TorPublishingGroup #NetGalley #ARC #advancedreader #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers #GeneralFictionAdult
This collection provides readers a wonderful opportunity to explore writing from a set a talented authors. Each story offers a different take on horror which makes it perfect long time fans as well as for those newly exploring the genre.
This collection of short horror stories by a nice lineup of authors, delivers horror in a unique way. The stories focus on various social issues, including the social injustices, racism and stereotypes, and gentrification. Overall, enjoyable and interesting
I got this book for free, in exchange for my honest opinion via NetGalley.
This YA horror anthology features a mixture of 13 stories with one similarity: they all feature a white guy as the first victim. These stories range from a series of diary entries from a girl who may or may not be a killer to a story of a cannibal.
Short stories can be a bit iffy. And with any short story collection, some tales resonates more than others, but overall it was a very enjoyable read. My favourite stories were: The Golden Dragon, Docile Girls, Everything's Coming Up Roses, Wasps and Hell Is Other Demons.
The stories span from genres like science fiction to fantasy. They are written by black, indigenous, and person of colour and include a number of queer authors as well. Overall this is strong collection of stories and a must read.
Thank you, Netgalley for allowing me to review! As always, my review is my own opinion and thoughts. This review will be shared to my Instagram @what_emm_reads shortly.
"The White Guy Dies First" is an anthology of horror stories that offers a diverse array of narratives. The writing is generally solid, with some stories standing out more than others. I appreciated the concept of the collection, but my main complaint is that I wished some stories had more depth and development. Overall, it’s an engaging read for horror fans.
This was so fun! I am such a fan of short story collections and this one stood out by having the stories be connected to one another. I will absolutely be recommending this one!
Really enjoyed this BIPOC horror anthology! I enjoyed some stories more than others but they were all good and I loved the messaging throughout.
Okay. One thing you need to know about me is this: I usually HATE horror stories -- and by "hate" I mean, they scare me to death and I couldn't read any, even to save my life.
But the second thing you need to know about me, too, is this: I pick my books based on their covers and titles only. And this book had a pretty cool title and cover.
So, there I was, now having a horror book to read. With all the things that scare me so much I cannot stand them: killer clowns, haunted houses, dead that come back to life...
And, despite everything, I absolutely LOVED this collection of scary stories.
All of the stories were so unique and atmospheric, with very different settings, characters, and reasons to kill. I loved it. I loved the diversity in this book, I loved how well-written the characters were despite them only appearing in one short story. And these managed to make me love the thrill of the horror stories that I usually cannot read.
I can't think of a single story from this collection that I didn't enjoy reading. Sure, they were scary -- because that's exactly the point of this type of stories --, and despite feeling uncomfortable from time to time, I still manage to love this book.
Now, have I become a horror story reader? Absolutely not. But would I be willing to read other (horror) stories by the authors who worked on this collection? Hell, yes.
I was quite excited for this anthology. In a genre that typically favors white, male writers, I loved seeing so many authors of color (and especially women of color) featured here. And while I enjoyed several of the individual stories, I found the anthology to be overall pretty forgettable. A lot of it felt horror-adjacent (more thriller or mystery than true horror), which made the book feel thematically uneven. I wish there had been more of a unifying theme or question. It felt like the only prompt the authors had to adhere to was "write a short story where the white guy dies first" (super interesting in theory but not quite as strong in practice).
Hands down, my favorite story in the anthology was "Everything's Coming Up Roses" by Tiffany D. Jackson; it was clever and funny, and it made me want to read more by this author!
Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced copy.
This was a fun one!
As always, I think there are some pros and cons with reading anthologies. Some of the genres aren't necessarily my favorite, and I always find myself drawn to some stories over others. That is the same with this one. That being said, I thought that every story was thoroughly entertaining, and I enjoyed that the white guy died first. Haha.
My top three stories were "The Golden Dragon", "Docile Girls", and "Road to Hell"!