Dark Dreams: A Collection of Horror and Suspense by Black Writers

Rating:
Summary: Got a night light?
Review:
Brandon Massey has pulled together a chilling collection of stories by an impressive group of authors in the anthology DARK DREAMS. While there were quite a few stories I enjoyed, some were particularly noteworthy. "Hair Story" by Joy Copeland had me thinking twice about what I did with the leftover hairs in my brushes and reminded me of an old wives tale I heard frequently in my childhood. "Resident Evil" by Zane highlighted her flexibility as an author and was just the right balance between erotica and horror. "If Walls Could Talk" by L.A. Banks really took the "woman scorned" saying to a whole new dimension. Authors known for their work in this genre such as Tananarive Due, Steven Barnes, Robert Fleming and Brandon Massey also showcased their skills. Finally, I have become a new fan of some of the writers I was not previously familiar with and look forward to reading more of their works in the future.

The good thing about this anthology is that there is something in it for everyone. While readers may not enjoy every story in this collection, they are sure to find one (or two or three) they will enjoy. I appreciate the diversity in the authors selected; well-known and lesser known writers are included in addition to authors that are traditionally pigeonholed into other genres. Readers looking for a change of pace with regard to reading will find this collection a refreshing one, that is, as long as they are willing to sleep with a night light.

Reviewed by Stacey Seay
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers


Rating:
Summary: Dark Dreams delivers
Review: Attention fans of horror and suspense! Brandon Massey has compiled an engaging collection of horror and suspense stories written by some of the best African American writers around. These tales are sure to tingle your spine and make you reconsider ignoring those things that go bump in the night.

Stand outs include Massey's own story, Granddad's Garage, The Track by L.R. Giles, If the Walls Could Talk by L.A. Banks and Danger Word by Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due.

The most disturbing story, by far, has to be Plaything by Terence Taylor. I can't say I enjoyed the story exactly, but it gave me the chills and left me wondering and that's what a well written tale should do.

Grab a copy of Dark Dreams for your collection and while you're at it, pick up Brandon Massey's Thunderland and Dark Corner, too. :-)

Rating:
Summary: The Perfect Title
Review: Dark Dreams was the perfect title for this book. I don't scare easily, but this book had me shaking in my boots. Some of the stories were really frightening and I learned early on, that this wasn't a book to read from right before bed. That for me, is what made it such a good read. I couldn't get with all of the stories, but I did like most of them. Enough to make me want to recommend it to other horror lovers.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Primer
Review: I can't say that I'm a big fan of the horror/suspense genre but this collection was too intriguing to pass up. Like science fiction, horror fiction isn't ordinarily a genre associated with black writers and readers. "Dark Dreams" is a very good primer for the curious. While I enjoyed many of the stories contained in this volume, some really good stories, like Joy Copeland's "Hair Story," suffered from unsatisfying endings while some others, like Zane's vampire landlord tale never get off the ground. The exceptions to this are "Danger Word" by Taranarive Due/Steven Barnes, "Red" by Rickey Windell George, and "Cum Onn, It'z Lovely Whether" by Anthony Beal. These stories, in my opinon, do not disappoint on any level. This is defintely one of those rare, strong anthologies & is worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: A Fan of Horror
Review: I really enjoyed reading Dark Dreams. I have recently become of fan of Brandon Massey's books and this book was recommended. The stories were scary and exciting at the same time. I felt like I was actually visiting these places or watching them like you would a movie. The stories have wonderful characters that you could connect with. I think there's a big future in African American Horror stories. We have so many stories to tell. I'm waiting to see what comes out next..

Rating:
Summary: 'The Power' by Linda Addison
Review: I was browsing around in Barnes & Noble one day and came across Dark Dreams among the new releases. I checked out the table of contents and was extremely pleased to find a story by my friend Linda Addison. Linda is a fine poet and brings the beauty of language to all her written works.

I went home and browsed for it on Amazon and found a second book to buy as a bundle with Dark Dreams called Dark Thirst that just happened to contain a novella by one Linda Addison. Of course, I immeidately bought them both.

'The Power' is a terrific story. It is beautifully written and it touched my soul.



Rating:
Summary: NOT EVEN CLOSE TO HORROR OR SUSPENSE!!!
Review: I was extremely dissappointed with this book because it was not at all what I had expected. From the title and summary it was supposed to be suspensful and scary. There were a few stories that I actually enjoyed but still these should not have been catergorized as horror. I found the stories to be more "twilight zonish". I expected an erotic read from Zane because thats all she can do but that was throughout the entire book with different authors. There is one story that is absolutely disgusting ! I mean we have reached new heights of
perverse and twisted thinking. This one story is about two men who purchase real life (new age robot) children for sexual pleasure. Straight Child [...] in writing. I don't even know how someone can think up such madness. I was so turned off I had to put the book down. I could only finish the book because I hate to start and not finish and because I love Tananarive Due and wanted to get to her story. I would not recommend this book at all. This was not Brandon Masseys best!!!!!


Rating:
Summary: Solid, scary
Review: I was impressed. I thought it was going to be more Tales From the Hood because the trend for African Americans is the ghetto fiction. I saw the erotic writer Zane's name on the cover and it worried me, until I looked at her story. It wasn't great but wasn't bad. Tananarive Due, LABanks, S. Barnes and Christopher Chambers never disappointed me before, and they don't here! The stories are solid as anything I've seen in mainstream horror from Clive Barker and S. King.

Rating:
Summary: You have my attention!
Review: I've been a fan of Brandon Massey since I read Thunderland and I love Tananarive Due so this was a no brainer for me once I saw their names on the cover. Although the tales are not extremely scary, you will find that they perk your ears up a little more when you're home alone.

The ones that stand out the most so far are If the Walls Could Talk by L.A. Banks, Danger Word by Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due and Plaything by Terence Taylor. And I would have to agree with one of the other readers, the Plaything really gave me a bad feeling as well as made me wonder with all the technology that we currently have....is this possible? Very SCARY!!!

Definitely a book to read!