Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I guess it depends on your definition of horror, or whatever form of it is your favorite, that determines if a book meets and/or exceeds your expectations prior to reading it. In the case of Dark Dreams, the "horror" is often of the sexually explicit, shocking, gruesome kind.

One of the standout stories for me is "Danger Word" by husband and wife writers Stephen Barnes and Tananarive Due, about a world in which disease has zombie-fied most of the world, and how an elderly man struggles to keep his own grandson from harm after his parents fall victim to the same disease. It's gory in parts, but it also has emotional depth as it explores the love between grandfather and grandson. The other standout is "The Track" by L.R. Giles, in which an entire town falls victim to the mysterious powers of a race track. It's not only suspenseful, but a fun read as well.

The story that will leave the greatest impact on all its readers is "Plaything" by Terence Taylor. From the very first page this story caused a knot of discomfort in the pit of my stomach, the effects of which lasted for a while after I had finished the tale. It's a story of sex, children, rape, pedophilia, and questions where the moral line is drawn when we can create non-human, yet frighteningly realistic, substitutes on which to act out our most perverse fantasies. "Plaything" isn't for the faint of heart or the easily offended, and it just may leave you feeling a bit dirty afterwards. But the sometimes life is in fact dirty, and although some issues may have to be force-fed to us, like a sick child who must be held down to give him or her badly needed medicines, these are issues that are real and nasty, and yet shouldn't be ignored.

Massey is a refreshing new voice in the Horror field, and though for my usual tastes, many of these stories were just too explicit in its descriptions of sex and violence, the book is overall still a strong read. If you are a true lover of Horror, or any form of literature that pushes boundaries and digs deep into the muck and mire of the dark sides of the human condition to expose it to a broader world, then this book is a must read.

- Gregory Bernard Banks, author of "Phoenix Tales: Stories of Death & Life"

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.

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. :-)

I got this book because I was so impressed by the 2nd volume. I was NOT IMPRESSED with this one... AT ALL!! I really tried to like it because I want to support our Black authors but this collection was just... well... bad. There were only a few stories that caught and kept my attention and a few I even skipped!

Didn't do that with the 2nd volume! I don't know if this one was an experiment or what but it wasn't good at all. Not even close. I will get Volume 3 and I can only hope that it's in the same spirit as #2. Save your money on this one.

Brandon Massey is one of my favorite authors. I've actually had the pleasure of meeting him at a booksigning in Atlanta sponsored by Booking Matters. Mr. Massey admitted that he really enjoyed working on this project. I confessed and told him that I had to put the book down because I was literally having nitemares. This book really messed with my head.

There is no other way to say it-all of these writers are bananas! They are crazy. What normal mind creates stories like these? They were unpredictable, original and anything short of a psychological roller coaster. Now that my night mares have ceased, I am ready for Dark Dreams 2.

I always try to support Black writers. I'm from the generation where there were few and far between on mainstream stories and zilch (until a few years ago), on sci-fi, horror and suspense. In this particular book, though, some of the stories are good, while others leave you wondering why the author even bothered. I'm not a writer and could have come up with better story lines than some I've read here. But I'm not going to let that stop me from buying and supporting my African-American writers.

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!

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..

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!!!!!

I really love this book. As with most short story horror novels there were a few stories that weren't good, but the majority of the stories were awesome and thought provoking. For all you horror lovers this is a must read!