Book Info
Name of Book : Dark Stars
Author : John F D Taff
Publisher : Tor Nightfire
Publication Date : 10 May, 2022
No. of Pages : 368
Format : Netgalley DRC
Why did I choose the book ?
Dark Stars by John F D Taff was available on Netgalley and who rejects a horror short story anthology.
Where to get the book ?
Dark Stars by John F D Taff is available on Amazon :
Author Introduction
John F.D. Taff is a multi-Bram Stoker Award short-listed dark fiction author with more than 30 years experience, and more than 100 short stories and seven novels in print.
He has appeared in Cemetery Dance, Eldritch Tales, Unnerving, Deathrealm, Big Pulp and One Buck Horror, as well as anthologies such as Hot Blood: Seeds of Fear, Hot Blood: Fear the Fever, Shock Rock II, Lullabies for Suffering, Gutted: Beautiful Horror Stories, Behold!, Shadows Over Main Street 2, Horror Library V, Best of Horror Library, Dark Visions Vol. 1, Ominous Realities, Death's Realm, I Can Taste the Blood and Savage Beasts. His work will appear soon in The Seven Deadliest and I Can Hear the Shadows.
His novels include The Bell Witch, Kill-Off and the serialized apocalyptic epic The Fearing. Thunderstorm Books and Grey Matter Press will release a one-volume version of The Fearing in 2021, in limited edition hardcover, soft cover and digital. Short fiction collections include Little Deaths: The Definitive Collection and Little Black Spots, both published by Grey Matter Press.
Taff's novella collection, The End in All Beginnings, was called one of the best novella collections by Jack Ketchum and was a Stoker Award Finalist. His short "A Winter's Tale" was also a Stoker Finalist.
Blurb
Created as an homage to the 1980 classic horror anthology, Dark Forces, edited by Kirby McCauley, this collection contains 12 original novelettes showcasing today’s top horror talent. Dark Stars features all-new stories from award-winning authors and up-and-coming voices like Stephen Graham Jones, Priya Sharma, Usman T. Malik, Caroline Kepnes, and Alma Katsu, with seasoned author John F.D. Taff at the helm. An afterword from original Dark Forces contributor Ramsey Campbell is a poignant finale to this bone-chilling collection.
Within this book, you’ll find tales of dead men walking, an insidious secret summer fling, an island harboring unspeakable power, and a dark hallway that beckons. You’ll encounter terrible monsters - both human and supernatural - and be forever changed. The stories in Dark Stars run the gamut from traditional to modern, from dark fantasy to neo-noir, from explorations of beloved horror tropes to the unknown - possibly unknowable - threats.
It’s all in here because it’s all out there, now, in horror.
My Opinion
Dark Stars by John F D Taff is a horror short story anthology. The book has stories written by some of the famous authors. But, only a few stories are interesting and creates an atmosphere. All the others stories are just boring. I had many expectations while picking up this book. So, I downloaded it in audiobook as well as on Kindle. But, all of my hopes were shattered. Still I tried hard to finish the book and it became a real struggle for me.
The book deserves only 3 stars for the stories I liked. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an opportunity to read and review the book.
Ratings
- Recommendation ------------------ ⭐⭐⭐
- Climax ------------------------------ ⭐⭐⭐
- Plot ---------------------------------- ⭐⭐⭐
- Characters -------------------------- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Writing Style ---------------------- ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Cover ------------------------------- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
1 Comments
I agree with majority of blog here. I have heard about the book so much whenever I searched of this category. Although it wasn't as interesting as I expected it to be. Or probably because I've read few more great novellas from Horror genre. Thankfully, I read it via an ebook and saved me some bucks!
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