Customer Reviews

Whispers in the Night: Dark Dreams III

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I read DD I and II and gave them both 5 stars. Solid,vivid, lurid horror and well crafted. But I think this volume had some threads in various stories, including the ones the Urban review listed that were subtly teasing on the reader. That is not to say that many stories in the DD I and II didn't contain amazing symbolism and allegories but this one had them spread across more stories. I disagree with the Urban reviewer's assessment of some of these stores not "belonging" in this volume. Particularly Robert Fleming and Christopher Chambers. Both writers are major published authors and veterans, and have been among several others who have been backbones of the past collections. Fleming's "Wasp" fits the footprint of what this collection apsires to be, and frankly I don't know why the reviewer would shade Chamber's "Mr. Bones" unless there is bias against his symbolism in this ghost story/devil pulling the strings story of a 19th Century minstrel show and a modern rapper and the negative aspects of hip hop culture. Given the publishing dates Chambers wrote this well before the debate fueled by the Imus event and other important debates on hip hop. I also know this because I have good fortune of inhabiting the coffee shop in suburban DC where he and other authors write. As for the Middle Passage and horror stories, read the combination of Jules Verne and Charles Johnson in Chambers's "Leviathan" in DD II)! When laid against such mediocre, even offense stories in past DD volumes by Zane and the like, I am glad for stories by Chambers, Fleming, Giles, etc.

I hope there is a 4th installment with the present cast of writers and thoughtful newbiesand I hear of fruther collaborations in the works: Massey and others, Tananarive Due and Blair Underwood, Due and others with Walter Mosley and Chambers. However, I still see DD as the first work of this sort and the standard to measure by, and I hope Massey continues to enthrall us. I think it is timely that blakc writers take up the mantle started by Edgar Alan Poe long ago and set down their own path, slnging off the baggage.

I give this one 3.5 stars. It kept me reading but that was because the stories were short and I kept hoping that one (or two) would jump out at me. I'll give my rating of each story (the "star" rating) and let you choose from there.

Summer: 3 stars
Scab: 4.5 stars
And Death Rode With Him: 3 stars
Are You My Daddy?: 3.5 stars
To Get Bread and Butter: 3 stars
My Sister's Keeper: 3 stars
The Wasp: 3 stars
Hell Is For Children: 4 stars
Flight: 2.5 stars
Hadley Shimmerhorn: American Icon: 3 stars
Nurse's Requiem: 4.5 stars (mainly because of the ending...wonderful!)
Wet Pain: 3.5 stars
The Taken: 4 stars ( I would LOVE to see this one as a full-fledged novel)
Mr. Bones: 2 stars
Rip Crew: 3.5 stars
Power and Purpose: 3.5 stars (this one was interesting)
The Love of a Zombie is Everything: 4.5 stars
Ghostwriter: 4.5 stars (the man does it again)

Whispers In The Night is third in the Dark Dreams series featuring nineteen speculative short fiction stories from veteran and upcoming authors. Massey has done a credible job assembling a variety of stories that offer differing themes and varying degrees of horror which may also appeal to some suspense/mystery fans. He anchors the anthology with the traditional `old fashioned' ghost story opening with Tananarive Due transporting the reader to Florida just in time for the emergence of the swamp demons (Summer) and closes with his self-authored tale about visiting the cemetery to remedy writer's block (Ghostwriter) .

Massey fills the anthology with stories that have political or socially-conscious themes such as slave reparations (The Taken), drug use in the

inner-city (My Sister's Keeper), spousal (The Wasp) and child abuse (Hell Is For Children). Humor is sprinkled in the mix when a "special" boy looks for a father (Are You My Daddy?) and love is in the air when a zombie claims her soul mate (The Love of a Zombie Is Everlasting) . Spirituality is at the forefront when a man's faith in God is challenged by a demon (Nurse's Requiem), false and true prophets clash (Power and Purpose), and the aftereffects of internalized intra-race discrimination manifest themselves on an unsuspecting office worker (Scab).

Although I found most stories engaging, there were three tales that I thought were notable:

And Death Rode with Him by Anthony Beal - Paradise Pub, a gritty bar in the middle of a desert, has a television that only gets channel 66 and seemingly "permanent" patrons who routinely drown their sorrows in a powerful yet strange elixir.

WET PAIN by Terence Taylor - a very touching tale that reveals misery does indeed love company in a twist on how unconquered racism of yesteryear festers and destroys friendship, family, and community amid the atrocities of Hurricane Katrina.

Mr. Bones by Christopher Chambers - a timely tale that is appropriate in the wake of the Michael Richards/Don Imus controversies. It examines the tortured souls of minstrel show performers who "sold out" their own people with disastrous results only to find themselves reincarnated in a hellish cycle of torment as modern day rapper/hip hop artists.

While some stories appealed to me more than others, I found that this collection challenges the imagination and gets high marks for creativity. I think Massey was extremely successful in his attempt to showcase old and new talent in horror and speculative fiction. I will be on the look out for independent work from these writers as well as Dark Dreams IV.

Reviewed by Phyllis
APOOO BookClub
Nubian Circle Book Club

I've read many horror stories and I must say these stories really and truly got to me! Especially being that I could relate more closely to the stories from an african american point of view! I don't know which was my favorite and I wouldn't even try to say which was my favorite they were all that good and CREEPY!

A must read for the horror genre readers! Enjoy!

received the product really fast and very impressed. would order again from the seller

I did not enjoy most of the stories. A couple of the stories I began to read, but stopped, because I could not get into the story. A few of the stories I did see where they fit into the overall theme of the book. Some of the stories were okay. I just wasn't particularly fond of my of the stories. I guess that just life. Huh? I gave up readin the book around the 200th page.

However, Bread and Butter I give a five star. This short story annoyed me and made me laugh - excellent writing and story telling. The book wasn't bad, it isn't the best of the series for me. It is all a matter of opinion. I just didn't particularly care for most of the stories. I was particularly disappointed in Tananarive's story. I am a huge Tananarive fan. I just did not get it.

Another decent story, I can't recall the name of it right now, anyway it was about a dude who was desperate for a woman. He resorted to finding his women via strip clubs. I thought that was a pretty good story. There was some profanity that I did not appreciate, and I would not buy it. I want pay to have a woman referred to as a "bitch." I give this story a 3.75.

Lastly, the story I reasonably liked was the one with the brother who was tormented about his dark skinned and strong West African features as a kid and the scars lived with him in his adult years. I give this story a 4. I found this story fascinating.

I bought this book after a few years b/c I couldn't hold out any longer I wanted to see what the next installment offered. Man did I waste my money. The stories were not as engaging and I felt as if the tone of this book was a lot different from previous entries. I tried but couldn't engage myself with any of the stories.

DARK DREAMS III: WHISPERS IN THE NIGHT
Edited by Brandon Massey
Dafina Books
Trade paper, $14.00


In 2004, when Brandon Massey brought together the best of the best of the African American horror/fantasy writing community to create the Dark Dreams anthology series it contained wholly refreshing and exciting takes on the common horrors of man, told from a distinctively African American point of view. It was, in some ways, a wakeup call for the vast majority of horror readers (and even some editors) that there was a whole section of writers out there being neglected in the ever-widening scape of horror and dark fantasy.
And now we've hit number three in the anthology series and I must say I miss the halcyon days of the first two collections. WHISPERS IN THE NIGHT is a fine collection, but in no way does it match the superior quality of past offerings.
To be sure, there are some spikes on the radar.
Lexi Davis' `Are You My Daddy?' is just plain laugh out loud funny as this baby-daddy finds himself father to a kid that just won't take `no' for an answer.
Maurice Broaddus (one of my fav writers, period) gives a bone chilling existential slap to the face with `Nurse's Requiem'.
Randy Walker's `To Get Bread and Butter' may be the finest example in writing of what true madness is and how simple it is to cross that thin line between being picky and O.C.D.
And, of course, Massey's own story, `Ghostwriter' is good stuff. It's written with passion and élan.
But the other stories are just `okay'.
And that's the main problem for me. I wanted this to be better than okay. They should be better than okay. They shouldn't read like trunk stories, without focus or thematic approach. This anthology series has proven itself to be a powerful voice for African American writers in general- not just African American horror and dark fantasy writers. The vein is still full and ripe and it needs to be tapped for something more than mediocrity. These stories, each and every one of them, should be the best of the best, and should blow other anthologies out of the water. It should, in short, give Stephen Jones and run for his money for each and every one of the genre related anthology awards.
Perhaps the problem is that many of the writers had nothing significant to say about modern horror. There are several attempts at urban horror, but nothing that stands out and tries to redefine the sub-genre. There are stories of love and dysfunctional relationships, but this is all too self centered and provides no gestalt for the passive reader. No one tried to cleave the genre boundaries asunder. And in this uncertain horror day and age, as writers, white, black, polka dotted- whatever- we need to swing as broad a sword as we can to redefine the literary niche we've been assigned. If any one anthology series has a chance to do it, I think Massey's Dark Dreams could do so. But he's got to make his contributors dig deeper for that kind of power.
This wasn't deep enough for me.




--Nickolas Cook

This is the third installment of the Dark Dreams anthology series and so far, the best of the lot. Though previous entries were very good, none of them consistently delivered like this one. Oddly enough, the current book is the one with the least amount of promotion. So I thought I'd add my two cents.

I recommend Whispers In The Night on the basis of the following stories:

SCAB by Wrath James White. This story was my first introduction to White and what an introduction! Very powerful short story about where insecurity and negative self image can lead. A young man is so totally convinced he is ugly and unlovable until he perceives genuine romantic interest as ridicule and responds in the most barbaric of ways. One of the best stories in the installment.

AND DEATH RODE WITH HIM by Anthony Beal. This story deals with hell and the inability to escape it. Not as good as Scab, but a nice story nonetheless.

ARE YOU MY DADDY by Lexi Davis. This was another one of my favorites in the anthology. Once again, I never heard of Lexi Davis before this. But on the basis of her work here, I'll make an effort to purchase her future works. Davis somehow manages to combine humor and horror and turn it into a rollicking good time! This story had me literally laughing out loud! Its hysterical! So good, in fact, I was depressed when it was over. This was the first short story I read where I was disappointed it was a short story...I wanted it to go on for several more pages. If you need one reason to buy this book, this story is it!

TO GET BREAD AND BUTTER by Randy Walker. Good story -- about equal to AND DEATH RODE WITH HIM.

DREAM GIRL by Dameon Edwards -- slightly better than TO GET BREAD AND BUTTER. Actually, this would've been a much better tale if it had some sort of closure to it.

MY SISTER'S KEEPER by Chesya Burke. This was a powerful story. A sister is lost to crack addiction and her family must write her off for their own well-being. It's heartrending...remarkably potent for a short story. This is a perfect example of how to write about a depressing topic without needlessly alienating the reader. Its another favorite.

THE WASP by Robert Fleming. With all due respect to the author, I didn't care for this tale too much. Fleming's literary skills are exceptional. But the story itself bordered on sadism. A little too twisted for me. Besides being a man, the resolution left me feeling uncomfortable...

HELL IS FOR CHILDREN by Rickey Windell George. Same as above. Too depressing. Aren't black people down enough already???? Read Chesya Burke.

FLIGHT by Lawana James-Holland. Great tale. It seems a little out of place in a horror anthology though. It reads more like heroic fiction. This is the antidote to anyone put off by REH's prejudicial Solomon Kane stories. Love to see James-Holland turn this into a recurring character...

MR. BONES by Christopher Chambers. Loved this story. It reminded me of the indignities minstrel performers like Bert Williams had to endure. It really touched a nerve. If this story doesn't inspire you to conduct yourself with class and dignity, there's no hope for you. Should be required reading...another favorite.

POWER AND PURPOSE by L.R. Giles. This story is too good to be ignored. Karyn has a premonition of a popular minister's assassination. She does everything in her power to keep it from coming to pass. Karyn should be a recurring character. Giles only gets better with time. I liked his story in the previous anthology and this one is far better than that one!

GHOSTWRITER by Brandon Massey is a nice sentimental story...that adds closure to this volume. Not his best work, but it'll do...

So the stories I highly recommend reading are Scab, Are you my Daddy? My Sister's Keeper, Flight, Mr. Bones and Power and Purpose! The other stories are fine. But these more than compensate for the price of the book.

Top Stories:
* Summer
* And Death Rode with Him (The best in the book!)
* Dream Girl
* My Sister's Keeper
* Hell is for Children
* Hadley Shimmerhorn:American Icon(Good,clean,zombie fun!)
* The Love of a Zombie is Everlasting(Fits nicely as a 'part 2' to Hadley)
* Ghostwriter

Overall, the rest of the stories in the novel were ok, but there are some that seem out of place & not worth finishing. This is a wonderful series and I hope it continues to improve with each installment.