Lilibet Bombshell's Reviews > Other Terrors: An Inclusive Anthology

Come one, come all, to witness a horror anthology where not a single protagonist is a straight, white male! Where the key word is right there in the title and it isn’t just lip service: INCLUSIVE. It was completely refreshing to read and was definitely the best anthology I’ve read so far this year by far.

Look: No anthology is perfect. You’re gonna have some stories you don’t fully understand, some that you feel are a little long, some you don’t feel fit the anthology’s theme, and some you’ll just find plain bad or boring. While not every story in this anthology hit it out of the ballpark, there were some standouts for me I made note of that I wanted to point out, and why.

“Other Fears” by Christina Sng is a poem at the very beginning of the anthology about domestic violence. It’s a very vulnerable piece… very raw. There’s a great sadness to the piece, a lot of self-blame and loathing, anger, burning rage, desperation, and utter hopelessness.

“Idiot Girls” by Jennifer McMahon is a suspenseful tale full of xenophobia, cultural stereotypes, trusting the wrong people, and being super careful when it comes to the people who essay they love you but only seem to want to keep you a secret.

“Night Shopper” by Michael H. Hanson is a absolutely brilliant satirical horror story about how those who are non-human might be more empathetic toward transgender persons and vice-versa when it comes to trying to fit into society when society doesn’t seem to want you around.

“Help, I’m a Cop” by Nathan Carson is a standout story about a life lived completely in the closet and how that poisons your entire person.

“Miss Infection USA” by Shanna Heath is a hoot of dark satirical genius that made me think of something like if Chuck Pahalnuik wrote a post-apocalyptic novel about “RuPaul’s Drag Race”. You better werk, girl!

“Black Screams, Yellow Stars” by Maxwell I. Gold both reminds us of horrifying deaths in the millions in the past, current terrifying deaths in the present, and inhuman prophetic visions of a possible future that seems more likely with each year that goes by. This story is profoundly sad and very grim.

“Invasive Species” by Ann Davila Cardinal is a weird but also relevant story about gentrification and cultural erasure.

“The Voices of the Nightingales” by M. E. Bronstein is a fantastic story about men and organized religion revising and rewriting women’s history when it doesn’t suit their needs and wants and those women finding a way to take their stories back.

(Also worth a mention is Stephen Graham Jones’ story “Tiddlywinks”).

Like I said, the whole anthology is a great read, but these are the stories that stood out the most to me. I recommend giving the whole thing a read.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for granting me access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review.