A hit man who kills with coincidence... A detective caught in a war between two worlds... A man whose terrible appetites hide an even darker secret...
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Oct 26, 2011
Steve
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I have to admit, I had some reservations over Ellen Datlow’s Supernatural Noir. Oh, I definitely wanted to read it since it contained stories by a number of writers I admire. But the whole thrust of the collection – Supernatural Noir – reminded me a bit of Datlow’s previous effort, Lovecraft Unbound, which contained a number of great stories, along with about a 100 pages of filler. In that effort, Datlow set out to have a collection of Lovecraft stories that were not, on surface a More...
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Jul 15, 2011
Kathryn
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Supernatural Noir is a fusion of genres which many readers may be inclined to pick apart and overanalyze. Many of the stories were barely noir, just the tiniest sliver of atmosphere present, and many of the supernatural elements did not mesh well with that atmosphere. I can not recommend this book to fans of detective noir fiction. I can recommend it to fans of horror and urban fantasy, which I am. Still, no matter your specific genre tastes, there are at least a few stories for everyone here.
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Oct 20, 2011
Sara
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I picked up this collection of short stories with the idea I would read a few and then do a quick review. The concept is a little lost on me. Noir is a genre that often includes the Mafia and private detectives. It's not a genre I read (with some exceptions). But I didn't think about that when I selected this book from NetGalley. I love horror and supernatural and that was all I saw.
This book was an odd collection. The reason I say the concept is lost on me is that I didn't get the reason More...
This book was an odd collection. The reason I say the concept is lost on me is that I didn't get the reason More...
Sep 21, 2011
Karen
rated it: 
Some good stories in this collection--Datlow is a career anthologist and she can put 'em together. There is a little bit of Usual Suspects syndrome, and a few stories that aren't so much Noir as just Dark, but I'm not a genre purist, so. Standouts for me included Nick Mamatas's The Dreamer of The Day, and Paul Tremblay's The Getaway. Brian Evenson's The Absent Eye is also (as usual for Evenson) creepy, atmospheric, and impeccable in tone, but I thought the resolution was a little bland. Joe
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Aug 01, 2011
Pandem
rated it:
My experience with short story collection leaves me with one general rule of thumb about them: in any given collection, most stories will be just okay, a few will be standouts, a few will be bad or worse. Supernatural Noir falls right into line with that rule.
While none of the stories are outright terrible, most are just fair to middling. There are some standouts, however; Melanie Tem's "Little Shit," Joe Lansdale's "Dead Sister," Tom Picirilli's "But For Sca More...
While none of the stories are outright terrible, most are just fair to middling. There are some standouts, however; Melanie Tem's "Little Shit," Joe Lansdale's "Dead Sister," Tom Picirilli's "But For Sca More...
Jun 27, 2011
Chris
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NOTE: This review was first published at The King of Elfland's 2nd Cousin on June 22nd, 2011. If you enjoy it, check out what else is there!
First, let me start by saying that I love noir fiction and film. Give me a good hard-boiled detective story, and I’ll lap it up – typically not looking for much beyond entertainment. I also love dark fantasy and horror, and so the thought of blending them in a new anthology fittingly titled Supernatural Noir sounded great to me. Throw in one of t More...
First, let me start by saying that I love noir fiction and film. Give me a good hard-boiled detective story, and I’ll lap it up – typically not looking for much beyond entertainment. I also love dark fantasy and horror, and so the thought of blending them in a new anthology fittingly titled Supernatural Noir sounded great to me. Throw in one of t More...
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Jun 29, 2011
Cecelia
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I’ve been acclimating to the darker side of fantasy. I still don’t want to give myself nightmares, so I tend to take that type of thing in small bites. Luckily for me, Dark Horse just released an anthology of short stories – edited by the one and only Ellen Datlow – called Supernatural Noir, and the entries are brief enough to fit my specifications. The combination of traditional film noir elements with the supernatural also made for interesting (and sometimes disturbing) reading.
It wo More...
It wo More...
Jun 14, 2011
Karissa
rated it:
I got an eGalley of this book through NetGalley(dot)com. This is an anthology of stories that focus on the dark, dirty, and supernatural parts of human society. Definitely a collection for adults as there is a lot of swearing, violence, and sex in these.
Highlights for me were The Dingus by Gregory Frost (I loved the dark atmosphere in this story and really enjoyed the ironic ending), Little Shit by Melanie Tem (loved how the plot was spun out and again great irony), The Last Triangle More...
Highlights for me were The Dingus by Gregory Frost (I loved the dark atmosphere in this story and really enjoyed the ironic ending), Little Shit by Melanie Tem (loved how the plot was spun out and again great irony), The Last Triangle More...
Jun 08, 2011
Chibineko
rated it:
It doesn't matter how you like your supernatural tales. Modern, retro, a touch of gothic... there's a little bit of everything in this collection of short stories. Just don't be surprised when you end up going back over some of the stories just to figure out everything, though.
Dark Horse has really outdone itself with this book. Like I said above, you'll find a lot to like in this collection. You'll find some stories that you'll just go batty over, others that you won't be able to pe More...
Dark Horse has really outdone itself with this book. Like I said above, you'll find a lot to like in this collection. You'll find some stories that you'll just go batty over, others that you won't be able to pe More...
Sep 22, 2011
Eric
rated it: 
This is actually a better book than a 2 star rating might suggest. My biggest issue was preconcieved notions.
I'm not sure exactly what I expected from supernatural noir. I haven't ever had a big desire to get into mystery / detective type stories so my thoughts on noir before this were nebulous at best. Visions of supernatural noir summon thoughts of films like "Cast A Deadly Spell" or "Big Trouble In Little China" for me. After reading this series of short storie More...
I'm not sure exactly what I expected from supernatural noir. I haven't ever had a big desire to get into mystery / detective type stories so my thoughts on noir before this were nebulous at best. Visions of supernatural noir summon thoughts of films like "Cast A Deadly Spell" or "Big Trouble In Little China" for me. After reading this series of short storie More...
Oct 10, 2011
Donna
rated it:
I've got a short line-up of anthologies lately. First and foremost, the formatting on this digital galley was absolutely atrocious. To the point where I couldn't even read it on my eReader, atrocious. There were a few pages a story section that I could read but then the pages would double up and snap to microscopic print that I couldn't enlarge. I tried reading it but I ended up giving myself a migraine. So I ended up tethered to a computer to read this one and had the stories been bad, I would
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Jun 21, 2011
Sharon
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Supernatural Noir is a collection of short stories collected and edited by Ellen Datlow that will be published June 22 2011.The collection is a great group of stories that combine the noir flavor with events and people with of paranormal persuasion. Stories include tales of love, frightening lawn gnomes, magical artifacts, a hit man killing with coincidence, horrible appetites hiding worse secrets, and a detective stuck between two worlds. All of the tales were dark, with magic and irony playing
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Jul 13, 2011
Gef
rated it:
The ARC of this anthology came at the perfect time, as my reading tastes this spring and summer have been tuned to the noir and dark fantasy genres. So, to see a slew of authors each offer up short stories with a blending of elements from both genres, with Ellen Datlow expertly compiling the stories together, well ... let's just say this might have been the perfect summer read for me this year.
Now, being an anthology, this book offers up a mixed bag, even if does seem like the theme More...
Now, being an anthology, this book offers up a mixed bag, even if does seem like the theme More...
Jan 30, 2012
Paul
rated it:
How can you combine two kickass genres and not get something doubly kickass? By not ensuring that all stories are supernatural and/or noir. There are cases where the inclusion of a story seems to stem from a ticking publication deadline. Some of the stories are beautifully written, imaginative, eerie, and perfectly executed. And some are abysmal. Skip the stories that bore you after the first page and consume the rest like jewels caked in mud, if you were one to eat jewels in the first place. Th
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Nov 08, 2011
M
rated it:
Published by Dark Horse comics, this anthology rolls the twisted world of the supernatural up with the gritty realm of noir for a criminally eerie set of tales. A monstrous construction called the Dingus, the child-like social worker dubbed Little Shit, a magical animal skin, and a teenage cutter all find fear and sympathy within these pages. I could have done without the PI schtick found in Dead Sister and a few other tales, and easily could skip the unnecessary erotica found in The Maltese Uni
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Jun 07, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
Meh.
It's not bad, but it's not great either. It might be worth picking up just for the Caitlin Kiernan story. The rest, well, it'll depend on how you like your short stories. Personally, I like them to feel self-contained and complete (Peter Beagle is brilliant at this, but alas, he's not in this anthology). Too many of the stories feel like they lack a proper end.
Some of the writers take the noir in the title more seriously than others, but in the end you have a bunch of na More...
It's not bad, but it's not great either. It might be worth picking up just for the Caitlin Kiernan story. The rest, well, it'll depend on how you like your short stories. Personally, I like them to feel self-contained and complete (Peter Beagle is brilliant at this, but alas, he's not in this anthology). Too many of the stories feel like they lack a proper end.
Some of the writers take the noir in the title more seriously than others, but in the end you have a bunch of na More...
Jan 20, 2012
Leslie
rated it:
Read the full review at Working for the Mandroid
All the stories had elements of classic noir, whether it was the weathered detective, the hot broad that never signals good things ahead, or just the hopeless feeling that comes within a dark world. A lot of the stories involved mobsters or criminals or prostitutes. Sex, both hetero- and homosexual (though only of the female persuasion), was a key element in most of the stories to the point of causing me discomfort as a reader in certai More...
All the stories had elements of classic noir, whether it was the weathered detective, the hot broad that never signals good things ahead, or just the hopeless feeling that comes within a dark world. A lot of the stories involved mobsters or criminals or prostitutes. Sex, both hetero- and homosexual (though only of the female persuasion), was a key element in most of the stories to the point of causing me discomfort as a reader in certai More...
Oct 25, 2011
Katya
rated it:
Perhaps I just expected too much from this book. Ellen Datlow is a master at pulling together incredible anthologies, and I've followed her from collection to collection and have generally been quite pleased with her gatherings. The title alone - Supernatural Noir - hinted at just the type of urban fantasy that I adore - dark and gritty, with a heavy dash of mystery and a generous sprinkling of magic.
Unfortunately, for me, the elements of noir and supernatural did not marry well in More...
Unfortunately, for me, the elements of noir and supernatural did not marry well in More...
Jul 16, 2011
Audrey
rated it:
Tales of crime, misdeeds, sex, and drugs abound in this dark anthology. There are plenty of standard detective and mafia stories for those who enjoy standard noir fiction, but there are also tales that are a looser fit for the theme of supernatural noir. Some tales are heavier on the supernatural than the noir, some the other way around. Either way, there is a broad range of stories presented here.
Some highlights of the anthology for me include Brian Evenson’s “The Absent Eye,” a More...
Some highlights of the anthology for me include Brian Evenson’s “The Absent Eye,” a More...
Jul 05, 2011
PopcornReads
rated it:
The Supernatural Noir anthology contains 16 original dark fantasy stories edited by Hugo and Bram Stoker award winner Ellen Datlow. Datlow says in her introduction that she asked the writers to provide her with “harder-than-nails stories of the supernatural with at least a few of the trademarks of noir.” To read the rest of my review, go to http://popcornreads.com/?p=1029
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Dec 15, 2011
David
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This is an outstanding anthology put together by the indefatigable Ellen Datlow. Several of the stories deserve to reappear in Best of anthologies at the end of the year.
http://opionator.wordpress.com/2011/12/1...
http://opionator.wordpress.com/2011/12/1...
Aug 10, 2011
"Any Horror advocate would like this anthology and anyone who is not would like it as well. " Read more of Sara D's review on NRR
http://www.nocturnereads.com/Supernatura...
http://www.nocturnereads.com/Supernatura...
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Aug 19, 2011
Susan
rated it:
Ms. Datlow is one of the best editors and anthologists in the business and her selections are always solid, and often inspired. Very good anthology, but no particular story was outstanding for me in this one.
Sep 13, 2011
Erin
rated it:
Some utterly terrific stories in this collection, and some that started out strong but took awkward turns or ends. However, more than worth the read for any SFF anthology lover.
Jan 15, 2012
Omgosh, I won another giveaway! \o/ This one was from anthonycardno.com.
Feb 19, 2012
