Mostly good short stories.

The most interesting stories were the ones set away from the European Dark Ages. The stories set in Asia and America were the most memorable because of that. ( )

**Review originally published in SCREAM Magazine**

Medieval literature has always had its fair share of fantastical horror, going all the way back to the monstrous Grendel in Beowulf and the beheading game in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Howls from the Dark Ages, the latest anthology from the HOWL Society, features eighteen stories of medieval horror. As proclaimed on the book jacket, all the staples of the genre are there: cursed castles, wild woodlands, haunted hamlets, and mysterious monasteries. There are several tales of monks: some dabble in otherworldly magic, others discover dangerous secrets in catacombs, a few find prophetic drawings and ingest glowing mushrooms, and one becomes obsessed with solving an unnatural codex. There are stories about knights battling strange creatures, bounty hunters seeking their fortune, and one about a woman whose face is falling apart. In short, there’s a nice mix of ideas with a little something for everyone.

I enjoyed a number of stories from the anthology, but these are a few of my favorites. “Deus Vult” is about a weary knight who comes across a strange town and the castle that overshadows it, and his quest inside will reveal untold horrors. It’s a dread-filled story that builds to a wonderfully bizarre climax. In “The Last Book of Sante Foy’s Miracles” a man recounts his experiences with the a murdered child turned maryred saint. It’s told in multiple parts and it’s fun to witness the twists in the narrative as they unfold. And finally, “The Mouth of Hell” is about a page who journeys into hell to save his master. Its mix of occult and uncanny is wonderfully Clive Barker-esque.

As with most anthologies, this one is a scattershot of hits and misses. While some of the stories worked for me, others felt lacking; not bad, just not worth writing home about. One oddity that stood out was the inclusion of stories that are clearly not composed in the correct setting. Stories like “In Every Drop” and “A Dowry for Your Hand,” set in ancient South America and China respectively, just feel wrong mixed in with stories clearly set in medieval Europe. I’m conflicted because they’re some of my favorites, but in a collection that calls itself “historical horror from the medieval period” they seem glaringly out of place.

Howls from the Dark Ages might be a mixed bag, but for lovers of medieval horror such as myself, it was still an enjoyable read. It has a nice variety of stories, it touches on various types of terror, and it introduced me to several emerging indie authors that I will definitely be reading more from! ( )

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Take a journey through a museum of horror and history. Explore a collection where every item has a terrifying tale to tell. A helmet speaks of a place that was hell on earth. A saint statue makes you question the difference between an angel and a demon. Every one of these eighteen exhibits is sure to leave you wondering what lurks in the dark.

The HOWL (Horror Obsessed Writing and Literature) Society’s debut anthology is as amazing as it is scary. I find in most short fiction anthologies there are one or two standout tales, while the rest are simply mediocre. However, in “Howls from the Dark Ages” there are no duds. Every story has merit and is a creepy joy to read through. For me, there was not a story worth skipping or skimming through.

I appreciated the museum-framing device found between stories. It made it feel like loosely connected stories sharing a theme, and instead of a whole piece. I also was thrilled to see that while the majority of the tales focused on Europe, there were other places represented. The Americas a few as did Asia. After all, they both existed during the so-called “dark ages.” The representation was a surprise, but definitely, an appreciated one.

Every story takes about twenty minutes to read through, making this book a rather quick read. Great for if you only have a short time to read or if you are looking to spend an evening with an awesome book. If this is their debut anthology, then I am excited to see where the HOWL Society goes next. ( )

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. ( )

Anthologies are often hit or miss for me. So often, I find the themes or short stories become repetitive--fast--or showcase only a few standouts among a host of stories that clearly don't live up to the standards set by those few among the many. As a result, I'm often reluctant to pick them up, and that might have been especially true here, where I knew a number of the authors and feared what I'd say if I didn't at least enjoy the collection as a whole. And yet...

I loved it. In fact, page for page, this is probably the best horror anthology--no, the best short story anthology, if not anthology period--that I've ever come across. (This is fudging things only slightly because there is one gorgeous poem in the collection.) On top of being full of original stories that carry the reader back to the middle ages to experience a wide brand of horrors, the writing in the anthology is unquestionably impressive. From story to story, page to page and image to image and character to character, the talent here shines forth from every story, whether coming from a well-known name or one with only a few publications on their resume.

Knowing how heavy such a setting as the dark ages can become, I wondered if the book would become too heavy, or too one-note. Simply put, I was wrong. There's such variety in this anthology that I feel sure there's something for everyone, and although I've got my favorites (because of course I do), I feel confident in believing that every story/poem here is deserving of being some reader's favorite, and I'm not sure when I've been able to say that for any anthology I've come across. There's also no doubt that this is a collection of horror--you won't find any quiet, shifty stories that don't quite fit the darkness you're hoping for. In fact, some may well leave you without an appetite or wondering if you'll ever sleep again.

But isn't that the lovely thing about horror collections? So, drink some coffee or some whiskey to keep you awake, and pull open this collection. Be ready to mark down some new horror names you'll want to follow, as well.

Absolutely recommended. ( )