Never Whistle at Night

Although there are a lot of good stories in the collection, there are a number of boring ones that made it hard for me to finish, but I pushed through.

I enjoyed the stories that focused on creatures and folklore tales. I also enjoyed the stories that dealt with racism. I was pleased to see Cherie Dimaline in this collection. Her story was one of my favorites out of the collection.

All of the authors brought their A game when it comes to writing. Pacing is excellent, styles are cohesive. I would recommend people to read this collection because every story is written by an Indigenous author, which you don't see often in horror.

Anthologies are always a bit uneven but despite some extremely disparate interpretations of the theme almost all the stories hit their mark. 

I picked up this book because I've seen it in multiple bookshops and the cover art is beautiful. I checked Goodreads and the reviews seemed generally positive so I figured why not?

The first story (Kushtuka) was alright. It didn't really feel that scary to me at all, something about the pacing (rushed) and the plainly good or evil characters didn't work at all for me. That being said, this story invoked Indian mythology in an interesting way, so I figured I'd keep going.

The second story (White Hills) was awful. I don't even know what it was trying to get at really, and it felt like there was no real message there at all. Just sorta violence for the sake of violence. Similar to the first story, the characters were cartoonishly evil or naive. No nuance really.

The third story (something about teeth) was what made me DNF. Unlike the more interesting first one, this one runs way too long and has numerous uncomfortable scenes that don't add much at all to the narrative. There's a gay theme that I didn't understand, which felt like a distraction from the narrative rather than a well-thought addition. Again this story wasn't scary, it was just sort of uncomfortable and weird.

After batting less than 1/3, I gave up. Maybe I'll read individual stories that other reviewers here liked, but I'm not convinced I'll like them much either.

This book was good. It’s as simple as that. I read another horror anthology last year by BIPOC authors but found the stories to not be that horror focused and was worried this would be a repeat. I am so happy I read this! I enjoyed most of the stories but the ones I genuinely enjoyed and kept thinking about was:

• Kushtuka by Mathilda Zeller
• White Hills by Rebecca Roanhorse
• Tick Talk by Cherie Dimaline
• Snakes Are Born in the Dark by D. H. Trujillo
• Before I Go by Norris Black
• Behind Colin’s Eyes by Shane Hawk
• Scariest. Story. Ever. by Richard Van Camp
• The Longest Street in the World by Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.
• The Prepper by Morgan Talty
• Sundays by David Heska Wanbli Weiden
• Collections by Amber Blaeser-Wardzala
• Limbs by Waubgeshig Rice

This is not to say the rest are not worth reading. There are some great standouts in this collection that made me search for and place holds on these authors other books. Mostly from the stories above but also from other stories in the book. Other authors I look at were Marcie R. Rendon, Nick Medina, Tiffany Morris, and Mona Susan Power.

Most of the stories are actually horror focused but there are a few that focus more on the trauma of Indigenous people which in a way is a horror story. If you have already read this then you will notice that most of the stories, I liked above have a little body horror in it but that is not what makes them so good. There is an atmosphere to these stories that just embodies dark and dangerous.

I would recommend this book to others, and it will definitely be a re-read for me.

4.5 Stars!
Some stories weren't for me but such a fun read! A lot of people were upset by how modern the stories are! But I loved that part!

Some of these stories were so much I felt like I was going to throw up from stress. The scariest things are not the mythical creatures, but the real ones walking on two feet.

Listened through the first nine stories. Harrowing.

Great anthology. Even the weakest stories still landed extremely solid, and the strongest were a hook to the jaw. Wow!

Solid collection. Lots of hits, an equal amount of misses.

I picked up this book because of the title and premise. Never whistle at night is also a Javanese belief (superstition?) and I've always loved stories from indigenous populations.

That being said, here is a list of my faves from this anthology in no particular order:
- White Hills by Rebecca Roanhorse (sooo insidious)
- Quantum by Nick Medina (highly disturbing)
- Behind Colin's Eyes by Shane Hawk (made me have a physical reaction while reading (but some of the dialogue is cringe))
- Scariest Story Ever by Richard Van Camp (wholesome)
- The Longest Street in the World by Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. (kinda funny in that dry way)
- Uncle Robert Rides the Lightning by Kate Hart (this one definitely being my FAVE)

Never Whistle at Night makes up for it's lack of scares with a great selection of stories from it's authors.

Anthologies are so unbelievably hard to rate. Some of these were amazing standouts and some I downright hated (one I even had to skip through). I still feel it's worth the read though.

This anthology was interesting to see what the different takes on “dark fiction” were. Some were straightforward horror stories, some were noir type stories of people being awful to each other, and others were kind of a mix. I found the first and last few stories to be the strongest, with some weaker ones dragging on for a bit in the middle. There's something for everyone, except maybe the faint of heart.

Favourites: Capgras by Tommy Orange and The Longest Street in the World by Theodore C. van Alst Jr.

A mixed bag. Some of the stories were meh, but the good ones were very, very good. Great writing, beautiful twists, powerful and memorable dilemmas.

Horror stories often involve supernatural elements. I tend to find those silly, and prefer the ones exploring plain old human nature. This collection includes both kinds of stories, and to my surprise, of the ones I loved, there was a tie (four-four) between supernatural and non.

Almost all hits, just a few stories that wound up “eh.” Not a frequent reader of horror, but this was really accessible

(Read 28/10/23) I don't even particularly care for Halloween but I do enjoy using it as an excuse to read some horror stories. I loved Tommy Orange's first novel and got this as soon as I saw his name in the line-up: worth it. A really strong collection, with lots of different variants on the horrific, be it rooted in reality or otherwise. So many writers here I'll be looking to read more of.

The only real gripe I had was that tonal shifts between stories could be jarring. This was particularly noticeable between stories 19 and 20, going from a story that was deeply spiritual and evocative to one that was firmly rooted in the worst of reality from the first page, opening with a flashback to child molestation. It's sudden and sickening which, yes, is the point, but I couldn't help but feel that more could have been done to ensure a more smooth transition between stories and subject matter.

1. Kushtuka by Mathilda Zelder - 3/5
2. White Hills by Rebecca Roanhorse - 4.5/5
3. Navajos Don't Wear Elk Teeth by Conley Lyons - 4/5
4. Wingless by Marcie R. Rendon - 3.5/5
5. Quantum by Nick Medina - 4.5/5
6. Hunger by Phoenix Boudreau - 3/5
7. Tick Talk by Cherie Dimaline - 3/5
8. The Ones Who Killed Us by Brandon Hobson - 4/5
9. Snakes are Born in the Dark by D.H. Trujillo - 3.5/5
10. Before I Go by Norris Black - 4/5
11. Night in the Chrysalis by Tiffany Morris - 3/5
12. Behind Colin's Eyes by Shane Hawk - 3.5/5
13. Heart-Shaped Clock by Kelli Jo Ford - 3/5
14. Scariest. Story. Ever. by Richard Van Camp 4.5/5
15. Human Eaters by Royce K. Young Wolf - 4.5/5
16. The Longest Street in the World by Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. - 4/5
17. Dead Owls by Mona Susan Power - 3/5
18. The Prepper by Morgan Talty - 4.5/5
19. Uncle Robert Rides the Lightning by Kate Hart - 5/5
20. Sundays by David Heska Wanbli Weiden - 3/5
21. Eulogy for a Brother, Resurrected by Carson Faust - 4/5
22. Night Moves by Andrea L. Rogers - 4/5
23. Capgras by Tommy Orange - 4.5/5
24. The Scientist's Horror Story by Darcie Little Badger - 3.5/5
25. Collections by Amber Blaeser-Wardzala - 4/5
26. Limbs by Waubgeshig Rice - 5/5

Overall a great collection!

Rating: 2.8 leaves out of 5-Cover: 5/5-Story: 2/5Genre: Horror, Fantasy, Mythology-Horror: 2/5-Fantasy: 2/5-Mythology: 3/5Type: EbookWorth?: MehHated Disliked Meh It Was Okay Liked LovedWant to thank Netgalley and publishers for giving me the chance to read this book.I am going to have to stop doing anthologies because I don't think it is right for the stories who did good to have to suffer for the ones who sucked. Sadly, they do. I stopped reading at the 65% mark. I just couldn't do it anymore. Some were giving what it was supposed to and others just wanted to write what they were hurt about the most and it did everything a damn diservice. I will tell you the stories worth reading this book for (and I am sorry about the other stories I just didn't have the heart to read because I couldn't take any more crap.)1. Kushtuka2. Tick Talk3. Before I Go (this one is my all time FAV)4. Night in the Chrysalis5. Behind Colin's Eyes6. Human EatersThese 6 are the only reason why I am giving this book a 3.

Right off the bat, I gotta say, I LOVED this book. Going into it, I was a little worried that some of the stories might blend together or have too similar plots since that's been the case in a few other anthologies I've read. I should have had more faith because all of these were super unique and handled the horror elements in such different ways.

I can't think of a single story in here I didn't like. There were stories in this book that made it hard for me to sleep, some because they stuck in my head and others because I stayed up all night reading. It's hard for me to pick just one favorite so here are the ones I especially enjoyed:

Kushtuka by Mathilda Zeller
Najajos Don't Wear Elk Teeth by Conley Lyons
Wingless by Marcie R. Rendon
Hunger by Pheonix Boudreau
Tick Talk by Cherie Dimaline
Uncle Robert Rides the Lightning by Kate Hart
The Scientist's Horror Story by Darcie Little Badger
Limbs by Waubgeshig Rice

Thank you NetGallery for the ARC review.

With this anthology featuring contributions by Cherie Dimaline, Darcie Little Badger, Tommy Orange, Rebecca Roanhorse, Morgan Talty and Waubgeshig Rice I couldn't help but have expectations that were absolutely sky high and still this collection managed to thoroughly impress me as well as introduce me to new (to me) literary voices to be excited about.

As you would expect from a multi-author anthology, Never Whistle at Night is a mixed bag of styles and approaches, but every story comes across a fully intentional in its structure and message, nothing seems half-baked even when the ending is abrupt. Each story demands that you sit with it and take your time to engage with it, which made for a surprisingly lengthy reading experience (at least it did so for me).

If you enjoy stories you have to sit with for a moment and stories without a clear ending, you'll find a lot to like here. There's some bizarre fiction and body horror elements in there too, a couple of the stories go into really, really, dark territory so don't let the beautiful cover fool you into thinking this is a mild collection.

Thank you to Penguin Random House and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this title ahead of its release date.