A spectacular dive into Chinese horror, each short story in Sinophagia is accompanied by editor notes from curator Xueting C. Ni, which provide valuable cultural and societal context, adding extra dimensions and perspectives to the already chilling tales. As with any anthology, some stories will resonate more with different readers, but they are all unique in their own way. This book took me some time to finish, as I am more accustomed to novels and sometimes struggle with shorter formats, but it was a treat from start to finish.

I dove into "Sinophagia" with some enthusiasm, eager and curious to learn how the Chinese people understand horror and what kind of tales are popular there. The book is obviously a work of passion and dedication: the editor has put a lot of work and even her heart into gathering the best Chinese horror authors out there (at least among those who responded to her invitation or agreed to collaborate with her - apparently, horror fiction is not big in China). However, I soon found myself bored by the stories. First of all, they're all tied to regional lore, local myths, and past legends, even those taking place in urban centers. Those that try to create an "urban legend" feel, end up carrying so much detailed folklore, the narrative immediately drags and the lore becomes the kind of baggage which ruins a good story. Second, most of the stories are far too long and take their time to make a point: this is typical of Chinese horror (according to the editor), but it's difficult for a non-Chinese audience to appreciate a slow burn without any kind of payback. Third, the tales themselves rely too much on childhood terrors and simplistic folk horror: they mostly originate in their authors' experiencing the dread of fairy tales or, again, local lore when young. To wit, it proved impossible for me to relate under these terms. It was like reading an encyclopedia, an anthology of stories curated for students who want to write a paper, rather than genuine horror lovers who read to be astonished, shocked, and creeped out.

Thematic troubles aside, the writing was quite unattractive. All the stories read like young adult dark fantasy rather than contemporary, adult horror. The prose is too descriptive (in some stories solely descriptive), there's no atmosphere, and when it's necessary to convey emotions, the writing gets too flowery. The dialogue sounded totally unnatural. It was impossible for me to relate to any of the characters. Perhaps an American co-editor on board would have given to the editor some pointers about the state of modern horror; perhaps the stories would not have ended up sounding so much like teenage fan fiction.

I give the book 1 star for the gorgeous cover, another for the superb editing, and a third for the editor's true love of the genre.

I do not know much about Chinese horror. So, when I saw this cover which is amazing by the way I knew I needed to give it a shot. The editor did a wonderful job explaining why stories were picked and giving some background information of Chinese horror. I didnt love all the stories but the ones that I enjoyed really stuck with me. I especially liked. The Girl in the Rain and Forbidden Rooms were both great, well written stories that kept me really engaged. Despite not liking all of the stories and not finding them all that creepy I really appreciated reading stories told differently than they would be here in the U.S. thank you so much for allowing me to read! I definitely have some friends who would absolutely enjoy reading these stories! 3.5 stars!

The only downside of reading this phenomenally written (and fantastically translated) collection is that now I know of a bunch more authors whose works I can't read until they're also translated! The editor/translator did a great job of balancing cultural context and explanation of history/customs while retaining the terms and cultural references that were often significant, if not integral, to the story's complexity and lasting unease. A couple of the stories unlocked new fears that will stick with me, so that's always fun.

This anthology is great for any horror fan, especially those who love non-Western and Asian horror.

For anyone unfamiliar with Asian horror, you are missing out on so much!

Asian horror stories are often founded in legend, set in supernatural environments, filled with ghosts (that can be extremely malicious), and invariably contain some psychological examination of humanity.

You will also find a propensity to focus on suffering... so don't expect to find the anthology full of easy-to-read stories, but instead expect to be dragged through humanity's darkness, exposed by the elements of horror.

Just as any nationality has its complexities, so too do the Chinese people. You will see the fear of the past mixed openly with the fear of the modern, and this dichotomy of fearing both the past and the future leaves much potential for the horror writer to play with!

Even with a set of strong stories, what sets this anthology aside from any other is the context that's shared in both regards to the Chinese horror genre and the journey of each story contained within the anthology.

Finally, if you're coming to this anthology as a Western reader, I urge you to cast any biased views or stereotypes aside and to read with an open mind and heart.

One of my favourite stories from the anthology is 'Night Climb', but there are many great stories to choose from!


I received an advance reader copy for free, and I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

Sinophagia is an anthology of Chinese horror, with many of the works shown finding their way to an English-speaking audience for the first time.

As a lover of horror books and someone always looking to diversify his bookshelf I was excited when I first heard of this book, and even more excited when I got to read it ahead of publication.

First I have to compliment the editor of this anthology, Xueting C. Ni, whose insight into the stories I found absolutely indispensable. As someone who, quite frankly, has absolutely no clue of anything relating to Chinese culture and history, her commentary at the end of each story greatly helped me place them within the right context and understand them better.

The stories were mostly of a quieter, eerie sort, though also filled with lots of interesting monsters and folklore, as well as some focus on contemporary social issues.

Unfortunately I don’t think this type of horror was quite right for me, so I didn’t enjoy some of the stories as much as I think is possible to enjoy them, because there wasn’t one story here I would say felt “unnecessary” or bad, I just wasn’t the right audience.

One story that really stuck with me (which I then proceeded to tell to literally anyone that would listen) is called “Forbidden Rooms”, and even if you don’t typically love horror I would heavily recommend reading at least that one and then, if you liked it, giving some more of this book a chance, because I do think there is at least something here for everyone.

Averaging out my ratings for each individual story came out at 4 stars but the history and contextualization provided by the translator's notes bumps this collection as a whole to 5 stars. I enjoyed this immensely and I'm glad I took my time reading it, only focusing on a couple of stories a day.

Xueting Christine Ni set out to compile short story collection that could showcase the breadth and diversity of modern Chinese horror writing and in my opinion, she has succeeded admirably. There are stories here that touch on ghosts, cryptids, domestic violence, murder, suicide, urban legends, Saw-like imprisonment, abandoned tombs, clones, and unintentional curses. What sets this apart from other short story collections I've read this year, is the translator's efforts to expand on not just how each author fits into the modern Chinese horror scene - letting the intended foreign audience get a gauge on who is the sitting Stephen King-figure of Chinese horror and who is an up-and-coming newbie - but also how certain tropes are seen in Chinese culture. The relationship between the living and the dead in Chinese society really plays a role in how these ghost stories are constructed and learning about that enhanced my enjoyment of them. More than that, it has given me a framework to explore more Chinese horror stories, by these same authors and others, while having a deeper understanding of the genre. To me, that means Xueting has achieved what she set out to do with this collection.

I don't often buy physical copies of eARCs I've already read, but if I can get my hands on a copy here in South Africa, this is one I will definitely purchase for my shelves. I could definitely see myself rereading some of these stories.

Premetto che l'horror orientale, per quello che ne ho letto e visto (giapponese e coreano finora) non mi fa né caldo né freddo, ho trovato abbastanza medi i racconti (con alcune ottime punte, come The Yin Yang Pot, Ti'Naang, Huangcun, e soprattutto il terribile The Death of Nala) ma interessantissime l'introduzione e le note di commento che la curatrice inserisce alla fine di ognuno, contestualizzando il racconto all'interno della cultura, geografia, mitologia e società cinesi, con le infinite sfaccettature regionali che un Paese così sterminato presenta.
Una lettura interessante, che vale la pena prendere in mano anche solo per esplorare (in tutti i sensi) un genere e una nazione.

Sinophagia is a well curated celebration of Chinese Horror. While not every story landed for me, the project as a whole is intriguing, and Xueting Christine Ni put some absolutely fantastic work into the editing of this collection.

Ni's editor introduction really sets the tone for how she approached collecting submissions for this, and talks a little bit about the state of Horror as a genre in Chinese literary circles at this moment. It was interesting backstory that I loved learning about - which is part of the reason we pick up anthologies like this, right? To expose ourselves to other cultures and trends we normally don't read. Ni also does her best to include a list of content warnings for each story, AND she has a brief write up reflecting on each story after you've read it. The editorial care in this collection is just fantastic.

What about the stories themselves? Well, like with any short story anthology or collection out there, some stories are going to work for you, and some are not. Sinophagia is no exception there. Some of the stories were duds, some were great, and many were simply okay. I wish I had liked more stories more enthusiastically, but I have to remember that I'm reading these through two filters: these are all translated, and I'm not personally familiar with the cultural factors that inform this type of horror (despite Ni's great introduction).

Sinophagia is still a great short story collection to get your hands on if you want to expand and explore in your horror reading.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Rebellion for the eARC to review. Sinophagia will be released on September 24th - just in time for spooky season!

3.5 Stars

Thank you to Solaris and NetGalley for my digital review copy.

I really enjoyed this collection!

It's a wide array of horror, covering all basis, that will appeal to anyone who likes horror!

Some of the tales in here are incredibly long and as with all anthologies, there were some stories I prefered more than others.

The type of horror in this is very different from Western horror and I really enjoyed being able to read about another country's relationship with horror. I loved the editor's note at the beginning (that helped to highlight how different this would be form the horror that I am used to, but also brought to my attention how difficult it was for the editor to get good quality, diverse horror as a lot of the submissions were misogynistic.) I also really loved the inclusions of the editor's notes at the end of each tale as they helped to explain about why the stories fit under the horror genre, as well as give extra context that I lacked.

The translations were great and really athmospheric.

I am very glad I gave this translated horror anthology a go!

I was gifted this eARC by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

This is my first anthology or horror stories that are of Chinese culture, and it won't be my last. These stories were excellent!

.Not only just stories about unseen beings, this anthology also includes “horror” stories that brought forth the struggles, plight and the bizarre climate in current China,

I know about the Chinese culture of one child policy causing the many kidnappings of young women from the city but, all the others like expensive cemetery lands in Beijing causing wealthy people to buy apartment complexes to keep their loved one’s ashes, I have never heard of.
I don't really have a favorite because they all were so weird but wonderful!
Will totally recommend!!!

There were a handful I didn’t like at all, but more than half that I did. There were a good few stories that have really stuck with me. I took my time reading this to allow each story to sink in and it was worth it.

LOVE that this had content warnings for each story at the start. That must have taken ages to do but I really appreciated it.

I deffo think this could have been separated into two books because some of the stories were really long and made this collection drag.

Here are my individual ratings for each story:

The Girl in the Rain 4/5
This was great story and was well told. There were parts of it toward the end that were a bit too tell and not show and I think it would have worked better to leave some things open to the readers interpretation.

The Waking Dream 3/5
I liked the point this was making but I found the world building was lacking a bit which meant the point was a bit blurry.

Immortal Beauty 2/5
I didn’t really vibe with this one. I liked the editorial notes, but the story itself was lacking for me.

Those Who Walk at Night, Walk With Ghosts 2/5
This one was too long. It had the right vibes but there was too much happening outside of the main point and I found it distracting.

The Yin Yang Pot 5/5
I will surely never forget this story. Chuan honestly gets what he deserves…but it doesn’t make it any less horrifying lol

The Shaxiao 2/5
It had some interesting ideas but it wasn’t memorable imo

Have You Heard of ‘Ancient Glory’? 2/5
This was ok but again I don’t think I’ll remember it

Records of Xiangxi 1/5
I truly did not care about this story 🥴 it was far too long!

The Ghost Wedding 2/5
I thought I’d enjoy this one more than I did. It was ok.

Night Climb 4/5
Short and sweet (or bitter!)
Could have done with a little bit more suspense, but overall a really good vignette.

Forbidden Rooms 4/5
This earned its length! It wasn’t boring for a second and I was compelled to stay awake to keep reading. It really made its point and I’ll think about it for a long while!

Ti’naang 4/5
Dammit I knew where this was going and it still hit hard. A LOT to explore here around mother x daughter relationships, women’s agency (or lack thereof) over their bodies and familial sacrifice.

Huangcun 4/5
Another solid story. I liked the layers in this and there was a lot left open to interpretation which also liked!

The Death of Nala 4/5
Oh :(
This could have used some more depth but overall it delivered.

Major kudos to Xueting Christine Ni, the editor and translator of Sinophagia: A Celebration of Chinese Horror for a stellar job of compiling an amazing anthology of Chinese horror and tales of the supernatural. This collection is a labor of love, and Ni starts the book with an introduction of how she started the monumental task of reaching out to Chinese authors because she wanted to bring these tales of horror to light, as the genre is often neglected even in Chinese culture. Unfortunately, she also notes that many of the submission she received were heavily misogynistic, so I actually appreciate the feminist works in this book even more. She not only wanted to showcase acclaimed Chinese authors but also support new and budding authors too.

Translation is an underrated art, and Ni does a beautiful job of maintaining a composed and descriptive writing style throughout the anthology and showcasing the original author’s work. I usually have a little trouble with anthology works because of the drastic change in tone, style, and writing talent between different authors and stories, but here is a great example of how having the same translator can really make the work cohesive.

Each story really resonated with me in an impactful and different way, and I had to pause in between some of them to recollect my thoughts - much in the same way as after watching an episode of Black Mirror. This compilation is very well curated and each story includes a wonderfully written editor’s note on the story’s background. My personal favorites were The Yin Yang Pot (as I’m partial to any story about love and food), Ti’Naang, and Forbidden Rooms.

These stories are much more complex than the scary stories most of us grew up with. Some tales illustrate the changes between ancient and modern China and provide background and commentary on mental health issues, geographical conflicts, feminism, parental-child conflicts, and the societal effects of long working hours and sweeping political decisions like the one-child policy. On the horror side, there are tales of psychological thrillers, survival horror, ghostly beings, supernatural beasts, and elements of the Chinese Gothic genre.

I’m not someone who usually seeks out scary stories (or actively avoids them), but this book caught my attention because of the introduction to a different culture’s interpretation of the horror genre. I think Ni did a fine job of celebrating Chinese horror stories and makes me look forward to the future of horror, feminist works, AANHPI stories, and translated literature.

Thank you to NetGalley and Solaris for providing an ARC for review.

Unfortunately, none of these stories clicked with me. The introduction was very interesting and I believe I reviewed a science fiction anthology from the same editor which if I remember was very good and I called for more multi-cultured anthologies in the publishing world. Although this was not to my tastes, as much to the editors disappointed, no story stuck with me, no story scared me, thrilled me or had any effect on me, I still believe we need more translated fiction. We need new ideas, new cultures etc in the publishing world. And I have no doubt this editor will impress me with their next anthology.

4.5/5 rounded up.

eARC gifted by publisher and NetGalley in exchange for honest review.

This is an excellent anthology of horrorstories from the Chinese culture. Not only just stories about unseen beings, this anthology also includes “horror” stories that brought forth the struggles, plight and the bizarre climate in current China, for eg one child policy causing the many kidnappings of young women from the city as brides, expensive cemetery lands in Beijing causing wealthy people to buy apartment complexes to keep their loved one’s ashes, etc etc

And my favourite stories among all is the “red-white Hotpot”!!
I can never see my favourite Mala ying yang hotpot the same ever again 😂 such a bizarre but wonderful folklore.

I am reading this during the 7th lunar month. 😂
Will totally recommend!!!

From the book, “[n]obody [in China] wants to publish horror.” I could speculate on why that might be, but because I’m hoping to somehow slide into heaven I will not. I did learn some things here, for example, “the most common term for Horror as a whole is kongbu wenxhe, the same kongbu that is used for Terrorism.” Therefore, to say that horror has a bit of an identity problem in China is understating by a hundredfold.

“The Chinese view of Horror has always struck [the editor] as being unique where nearly every horror myth [she] has come across in the West is a cautionary tale, China has a long tradition of journal and documentational style writing, referred to as the “zhiguai” or tales of the strange, that mixes history with legends and hearsay. Much of that style is seen here in the book.

Given that there’s not much history nor much output of horror in China it’s not surprising that the stories included here are the most innovative or riveting, but as a huge fan of the genre, I love seeing what is being done in other countries and want to support those writers who are working in the genre. Plus, some of the stories are quite interesting from a historical perspective and I will be curious to see how the genre develops as time goes by. Writers in China definitely have a unique perspective on the world today.

The editor discussed that she had a digging time getting contributors for the volume, especially women, and God bless her for the lengths she went to to find them. There’s a fair amount of misogyny in some of the stories…equality between the sexes has far to go in China.

I was unsurprised that I had not heard of any of the authors included in the anthology. Cai Jun is, apparently, probably the best known writer of horror in China and he has a story here. My favorite story was “Forbidden Rooms” by Zhou Haohui, but several were good. I would encourage serious horror lovers to take a look at this, just to support the work being done, and so that we see more books like this.

I loved this book. Foreign horror is amazing and eye opening. It is interesting to see what is considered horror from various authors perspectives!