Jim Rion reviewed Howls From the Dark Ages by Christopher Buehlman
Review of 'Howls From the Dark Ages' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
It is always a bit tricky to review an anthology, especially one by different authors. Some stories will inevitably work better than others, and of course our own personal preferences will influence how that works.
In this case, I'm basing my star score on the best stories, and trying not to let what I see as the worst stories influence me.
Taken as a whole, the anthology is an interesting idea. It collects stories from a seemingly arbitrary "Medieval" period in the dark fantasy/horror genres, which is a great idea both despite and because of the undefined nature of that period. Predictably, most of these are set in a vaguely "Medieval" Europe. I say "vaguely" because, for example, the first story--"The Crowing" by Caleb Stephens--is a dark fairy-tale-like set in a Europe that had been covered by literal fog for 1,000 years. That itself sends the whole concept of timelines …
It is always a bit tricky to review an anthology, especially one by different authors. Some stories will inevitably work better than others, and of course our own personal preferences will influence how that works.
In this case, I'm basing my star score on the best stories, and trying not to let what I see as the worst stories influence me.
Taken as a whole, the anthology is an interesting idea. It collects stories from a seemingly arbitrary "Medieval" period in the dark fantasy/horror genres, which is a great idea both despite and because of the undefined nature of that period. Predictably, most of these are set in a vaguely "Medieval" Europe. I say "vaguely" because, for example, the first story--"The Crowing" by Caleb Stephens--is a dark fairy-tale-like set in a Europe that had been covered by literal fog for 1,000 years. That itself sends the whole concept of timelines and history out the window.
There is also an admirable, if somewhat strained, attempt to move beyond the Western milieu with three stories set outside Europe. Two, "In Every Drop" by Lindsey Ragsdale and "The Forgotten Valley" by C.B. Jones, are set in the pre-modern Americas and "A Dowry for Your Hand" by Michelle Tang is set in China. The best of these is, by far, the last, primarily because it is just a good, creepy ghost story, while also engaging in the actual horror of the setting.
This is where this concept--horror set in pre-modern times--gets really great. They layer supernatural horrors over natural ones, and the medieval age had plenty of those. "Deus Vult" by Ethan Yoder is a prime example. In it, a knight returning from the Crusades brings the terrible sin of that time back, to find that there is no solace in returning home. "Palette" by J.L. Kiefer engages with the grotesque demands of feminine beauty, which went so far as to demand women literally poison themselves for beauty. The aforementioned "A Dowry for Your Hand" uses the form of traditional Chinese ghost stories (which are a genre in themselves throughout east Asia) to examine the pressures placed on women in that time and place, and the price of placing family honor over love.
Some other stories tended to just be "creepy stuff in a monastery." Some of those were a lot of fun, while others were kind of tedious.
But, overall, the best of these stories were very good, and the worst were not terrible, so the anthology is well worth a read!
Disclosure: this review was based on a free NetGalley copy.