Supernatural Noir

by Ellen Datlow (Editor)

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... Dark Horse once again teams up with Hugo and Bram Stoker award-winning editor Ellen Datlow (Lovecraft Unbound) to bring you this masterful marriage of the darkness without and the darkness within. Supernatural Noir is an anthology of original tales of the dark fantastic from twenty modern masters of suspense, including Brian Evenson, Joe R. Lansdale, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Nick Mamatas, Gregory Frost, and Jeffrey Ford.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Anthologies, Fantasy, Noir, Fiction, Mystery

336 pages, Paperback

First published June 21, 2011

About the author

Ellen Datlow has been editing science fiction, fantasy, and horror short fiction for forty years as fiction editor of OMNI Magazine and editor of Event Horizon and SCIFICTION. She currently acquires short stories and novellas for Tor.com. In addition, she has edited about one hundred science fiction, fantasy, and horror anthologies, including the annual The Best Horror of the Year series, The Doll Collection, Mad Hatters and March Hares, The Devil and the Deep: Horror Stories of the Sea, Echoes: The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories, Edited By, and Final Cuts: New Tales of Hollywood Horror and Other Spectacles.
She's won multiple World Fantasy Awards, Locus Awards, Hugo Awards, Bram Stoker Awards, International Horror Guild Awards, Shirley Jackson Awards, and the 2012 Il Posto Nero Black Spot Award for Excellence as Best Foreign Editor. Datlow was named recipient of the 2007 Karl Edward Wagner Award, given at the British Fantasy Convention for "outstanding contribution to the genre," was honored with the Life Achievement Award by the Horror Writers Association, in acknowledgment of superior achievement over an entire career, and honored with the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award at the 2014 World Fantasy Convention.

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 at least, identifiably Lovecraftian. No pastiches please. A nice goal, I suppose, but the strongest stories in that collection were the ones touched base with various Lovecraftian tropes. And then there was the boring and bad. A backfire.

With Supernatural Noir, I could foresee a similar scenario playing out: A narrowly focused anthology, and not enough good material. Well, I was wrong. Most of the writing here is very strong, and the idea of Noir is elastic enough – without editorial boundaries – to allow the writers to rock. Only on two occasions could I find stories that I didn’t consider Noir. Elizabeth Bear’s “The Romance,” and “The Absent Eye,” by Brian Evanson, but I’ll touch on those stories below.

One brief comment on Noir and Horror (which may be more accurate than “Supernatural”), I think they are indeed kissing cousins of a sort. Both rely often on atmosphere, the idea of the labyrinth, and losers (well, the last is more specific and necessary for Noir). One thing I had in mind as I started reading this was Otto Penzler’s comment regarding Noir (from a recent anthology he did with James Ellroy). Penzler said (and I’m paraphrasing here), that Noir is not Detective Fiction, and he did not think that Chandler was necessarily a writer of Noir. That’s a controversial statement, but I see his point. No White Knights. What Penzler also said, and that scored with me, is that Noir is basically about Losers. Well, Datlow’s collection has quite a collection of those, and atmosphere to burn. A few comments on the stories (*Means worth reading again):

“The Dingus,” by Gregory Frost. My first encounter with Frost, and it’s a good one. It’s a period piece (1940s?) set in New York (I think). It’s about an ex-boxer, taxi driver, who stumbles into gangsters, revenge, and a witch from the old country. It’s pure pulp – and I loved it.

“The Getaway,” by Paul Tremblay. I’ve been hearing good things about Tremblay, and after reading this, I can see why. A robbery gone bad, memories, fate, and a blurring reality. Great atmosphere.

“Mortal Bait,” by Richard Bowes. Something about elves and detectives. I couldn’t get into it.

“Little Shit,” by Melanie Tem. Very gritty story about a midget (?) who can push people with her mind (I think), who is also in college (a prodigy is seems). Oh, and she helps cops capture pedophiles. I’m still not sure what I think of this story. The voice is compelling, but I didn’t like the ending. I may need to re-read this one. There’s certainly enough good here to make me want to. I wonder if this story would have worked better as a longer piece?

*“Ditch Witch,” by Lucius Shepard. A couple of hookers (one male, one female) on the run, with a stolen car, stolen money, and a bag of coke. They stop at a secluded hotel in the Pacific Northwest, and encounter evil Nazi elves. One of my favorites stories in the collection. A wild mix of hallucination, Noir, and Horror. Outstanding.

“The Last Triangle,” by Jeffery Ford. A loser hooked on drugs, is befriended by an old lady on the eve of a magician war. I really liked this one up until the end, which I wasn’t crazy about. But the loser here is a great character, and there’s some darkly funny moments.

*“The Carrion Gods in Their Heavens,” by Laird Barron. I think Barron is one of the greatest writers of Horror today, and I wasn’t disappointed here. An abused woman and her lover flee to a bad house in the woods. There’s a lot going on here, one of which is Barron moving Noir out of its comfort zone – an urban environment with its mean streets, into an even meaner zone, the Wilderness. My only bitch here is that I think this could have been a longer piece (a novella – a form that Barron is an expert in). But it’s totally nasty, totally dark. One of the best stories in the collection.

“The Romance,” by Elizabeth Bear. Bear can clearly write, but I didn’t like this story. It’s about a haunted merry-go-round, a birthday party, and pot brownies. Does that sound like Noir? It isn’t.

“Dead Sister,” Joe Lansdale. Set in 1958, it’s about a detective who is asked by some beautiful woman to check into the desecration of her dead sister’s grave. Lansdale is a great writer of pulp, but he phoned this one in. Button pushing pure and simple. There’s some good freaky moments, but the whole time you’re reading it, you know he’s done better.

*“Comfortable in Her Skin” by Lee Thomas. Good God! Imagine a “Sopranos” episode scripted by Clive Barker in his Books of Blood days. But I doubt HBO would ever of aired this episode. One of the best stories in the collection, but it’s as dark as it gets.

*“But for Scars,” by Tom Piccirilli. If there is such a thing as Supernatural Noir, Piccirilli would be viewed as one of the founding fathers, since he’s mixing it with these genres for some time now. Very pulpy, and very good story about murder, motorcycle gangs, and mental illness. You can’t help but think of the “Sons of Anarchy” while reading this. If that show was indeed an inspiration for this story, it’s way better, and more original, than the overly ballyhooed SOA effort/homage by Stephen King and Joe Hill from a couple of years ago.

*“The Blisters on My Heart,” by Nate Southard. I’m not sure I got the whole blisters/heart thing, but that may have been due to distracted reading on my part. That said, I liked the mean economy of this story. A jealous lover, a demonic rival, and a lap dancing beauty in the middle. Pulp the way it should be.

*”The Absent Eye,” by Brian Evenson. Evenson is one of the most interesting writers in speculative fiction today. I went through the trouble of saying up above that this was not, to my mind, Noir. It’s Horror, it’s Literature, and it’s good. A boy suffers a childhood accident, losing an eye. Unfortunately, it opens up a strange universe of pain and dark wonder. I’ll say no more.

“The Maltese Unicorn” by Caitlan Kiernan. Kiernan is one the very best writers of dark fiction out there. I think her recent Red Tree is a Horror classic. However, here I wasn’t won over. It’s a period piece, set in the 1930s. Kiernan’s great at doing the historical stuff, but I thought this story was too long, and tried to do too much. The cracking wise by various characters always seemed to go on an exchange too long. All of that aside, there’s some good stuff. When you find out what the unicorn really is, you can’t help but laugh at the outrageousness of it. An OK story from a great writer.

“Dreamer of the Day,” by Nick Mamatas. Good story about a woman who wants her husband dead. A good balance of the two genres. The Dreamer will creep you out.

*“In Paris, In the Mouth of Kronos” by John Langan. Langan is one of the most versatile writers of dark fiction today. I’ve not always been on board with his efforts, but I can clearly see he’s got a full quiver of literary arrows to fire. Here he totally surprised me. It’s kind of like Robert Ludlum writing a Cthulhu Mythos story – but it’s considerably better than that. Beyond the story itself (which is about ex-soldiers trying to kidnap a former “associate”), Langan has some things to say about torture, Iraq, and the price for entering such darkness. One of the best stories in the collection.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

Many big name authors added to this collection. I am eager to look into further works of more than a few of the authors included in this collection but they are not the big names which first caught my eye.

At the top of my list, I loved Little Shit by Melanie Tem and The Carrion Gods in Their Heaven by Laird Barron. Little Shit was a deeply disturbing story, horror with an undercover and talented character. I have never read anything quite like it. If I were to describe the story, it would probably throw readers off, besides not being very believable. To do what Tem did in such a short story is quite amazing.

The Carrion Gods in Their Heaven was another straight up horror story, with hardly a glimmer of noir, and I loved it, more so than Tem's. This story felt like a classic, along the lines of Algernon Blackwood and other greats who connected with their readers through a love and fear of nature. It scared the bejeezus out of me and I am extremely excited to read more by the author.

Brian Evenson's The Absent Eye was interesting and completely unique compared to the other stories but it rather felt like an introduction. I would love the story to be turned into a full length novel or collection of stories but sadly this one left me hanging without much of an ending. Evenson is one of my favorite authors and it pains me to say anything except glowing compliments.

I did not fall in love with The Romance by Elizabeth Bear, The Maltese Unicorn by Caitlin R. Kiernan, or Dead Sister by Joe R. Lansdale. These are more of the big name authors people would tend to buy the anthology for. Each of the stories were well-written but they fell flat with me. I barely remember Bear's story. My notes only say "loved the character and idea but not the execution." Kiernan's story was too much in every possible way, too fantastical mainly, and I felt zero connection to the character. Lansdale's story was fun but a little too predictable.

Comfortable in Her Skin by Lee Thomas was dry until a very memorable and queasy ending. But For Scars by Tom Piccirilli was very good, one of the better stories. I also enjoyed Ditch Witch by Lucius Shepard. His story possessed that perfect atmosphere I love and it truly creeped me out. I have a problem with doll-sized creatures.

The rest of the stories were all very good and might interest other readers yet none of them were what I consider memorable enough to mention, bad enough to comment on, or good enough to make me want to read more by their authors. I feel that 4 stars is pushing it slightly but the stories I loved, I really, really loved. Recommended for fans of horrific (not noir) short fiction.

[Megan Baxter · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some very good stories in this anthology, and a number of only so-so ones. I said that to my husband, and he replied, "so, it's an anthology?" Fair enough. More of the problem, if it's a particular problem, is that many of these stories are not very noir. Supernatural, sure. But a few fall down on the noir front. They lack that cynical edge of noir, even a few that manage to include detectives. It's not always a bad thing - one of my favourite stories in the collection isn't in the least a noir story. It's just a really good ghost story.

Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.

In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another one I forgot to rate!

A few plonkers, one or two which didn't even feel 'noirish' OR supernatural, but saved by a few that hit the mark bang on.

[Heidi Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good solid collection; not a clunker in the bunch. Not all were new to me, but several stories really opened up with another read, particularly Barron's "The Carrion Gods in Their Heaven" and Langan's "In Paris, In the Mouth of Kronos." (Their literary friendship spins pure gold.) Elizabeth Bear's "The Romance" and Lee Thomas's "Comfortable in Her Own Skin" were first-time treats. If you enjoy your dangerous dames and cucumber-cool hitmen with hints of blood, decay and unwholesome magic, Datlow's collection will not fail to please.

[Shadowdenizen · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting mix of stories, and just up my alley.
But I'd been spoiled already by the similar-but-superior Weird Noir.

[Paula Cappa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories here are by award-winning authors and more weird stories than anything else. "Supernatural noir" is certainly a weird bending of genres. Not as thrilling as I hoped but well written and suspenseful. The best story is Brian Evenson's The Absent Eye. One thing I have to say was a huge disappointment was how the formatting was designed for Kindle ebook. The Table of Contents titles did NOT have a link to the stories so you have to click every single page to get to a story or author you'd like to read, or begin reading every story in the order dictated by the editor. And for this reason, I'm giving it only three stars because the ebook design is so faulty. A short story anthology in ebook format MUST have links on the titles!

[Chris King Elfland's 2nd Cousin · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 the best editors working in the business today – Ellen Datlow – and I am definitely there. Having read a digital review copy, I can say that Dark Horse’s Supernatural Noir delivers as advertised, even if it may lean closer to dark fantasy than I would have liked.

With Datlow’s editorial pedigree, this should come as no surprise. On my shelves at home, I have over fifteen anthologies edited by Datlow (often with excellent collaborators like Terri Windling). I admit, I’m a bit of a fan. Historically, her anthologies have demonstrated a particularly consistent ability to showcase top-flight authors and stories, and to assemble them into collections unified along whatever dimension is relevant to a particular book. The table of contents for Supernatural Noir is no different in this regards.

The authors read like a “who’s who” of dark fantasy (more so than noir): Gregory Frost, Melanie Tem, Paul G. Tremblay, Laird Barron, Jeffrey Ford, Joe R. Lansdale. Sixteen authors contributed original short stories for the anthology, and all of them come from a dark fantasy / supernatural / horror background in their writing. This is not a complaint, but it should be an indicative fact: the authors selected for this book skew by experience towards the “supernatural” part of the anthology’s title, so it should not be surprising that their stories lean in that direction. If you are looking for horror stories written by hard-boiled mystery writers, you won’t find them here. Instead, this collection offers dark fantasists’ spins on the hard-boiled crime story. Which – I would argue – is just as fun, although it means the noir elements might get a little de-emphasized in some places.

A large number of stories (either explicitly or plausibly/implicitly) are set in the time period from the late ’40s to the late ’70s. Considering noir's roots in the late ’40′s and ’50′s, this makes sense to me: the square-jawed hero (or stalwart heroine – more on this in a sec) in a worn trenchcoat is emblematic of the post-War period. But the difference in tone between the stories set in this post-War period and the stories set in a contemporary (or vaguely futuristic) setting is striking. The stories set closer to WWII – like Richard Bowes' “Mortal Bait”, or Joe R. Lansdale’s “Dead Sister” – tend to employ a greater number of noir tropes. The later a story is set, the less prevalent noir's emblematic elements become. What does this say about modern society and the evergreen qualities of noir as a sub-genre? Is noir possible in a world with mobile information and instant access? Judging by the excellent contributions from Melanie Tem (“Little Shit”) and Nick Mamatas (“Dreamer of the Day”), the tropes of traditional noir fiction need to be adjusted and updated to operate in our modern reality: the tropes that worked in the days of vacuum tube televisions may not work any longer.

The second stand-out was the number of female and queer heroes featured. In many ways, this is representative of noir's original values: it should be only natural for a genre typified by a frank treatment of violence and sex to grow beyond the “haunted square-jawed hetero male detective” trope. The variety of heroes employed in these stories was encouraging, although at times it stretched some bounds of credulity. For example, while I thought Caitlin R. Kiernan's story “The Maltese Unicorn” was great fun, I was haunted by an inability to completely buy its heroine in 1935 New York.

Coming to it looking for fantastical noir, the anthology will be reasonably satisfying. If you come to it looking for noir-ish dark fantasy, I suspect you will be more satisfied. All of the stories here are competently executed. Some including Jeffrey Ford’s “The Last Triangle” and Elizabeth Bear‘s “The Romance” (which snuck up on me delightfully) will stay with me for a long time. Others, like Laird Barron’s “The Carrion Gods in Their Heaven” just didn’t suit my own tastes, although I recognize their quality. Only two stories (Joe R. Lansdale’s “Dead Sister” and Richard Bowes' “Mortal Bait”) didn’t work for me for critical reasons: in both cases, they featured characters/voices that did not stand out, and plot structures that I found predictable. Interestingly, both were among the stories that adhered most closely to traditional noir structures. I believe their weaknesses highlight the single greatest challenge in modern noir: crafting a hero and voice that is distinctive and interesting. Most of the stories in this anthology – even those that did not particularly appeal to me – manage to get it right.

If I have one complaint to register, it’s a relatively minor (and inordinately geeky) one. I really enjoyed reading this anthology for its entertainment value. But I would have loved to see one or two critical essays discussing noir and its long relationship with the fantastic (and the Gothic). While I would have loved to see that, I freely admit to being a the kind of dork who likes reading literary analysis.

I recommend Supernatural Noir for fans of hard-boiled detective fiction who want to dabble in the fantastic, or for fans of dark fantasy/horror who want a touch of hard-boiled crime. And that recommendation really says it all: Supernatural Noir delivers as advertised.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

part of the problem with noir fiction is the need to describe/tell all the tropes, and the text spent doing it, whereas film can just show it and keep to the plot… i don't think Noir and Supernatural are a good pairing at all... the authors here are mostly horror-ish writers, and so most of them overdo the noir tropes, or drastically under-do them... and most of the not-noir bits aren't all that great either... but there are some standouts, so this wasn't a total mess... Datlow does collections well enough, but after 7439 books of them i think she's running out of conceptual ideas... so, the ratings, etc.

The Dingus — Gregory Frost - 7/10 - just the right amount of noir tropes; great monster.
The Getaway — Paul G. Tremblay - 3/10 - not noir-ish or scary-ish.
Mortal Bait — Richard Bowes - 7/10 - excellent noir atmospherics, lots of fab details; supernatual element was so-so.
Little Shit — Melanie Tem - 5/10 - non-existent noir; creepy and unsettling beastie bits.
Ditch Witch — Lucius Shepard - 1/10 - just not sure why this one made the cut…
The Last Triangle — Jeffrey Ford - 6/10 - kinda not really noir; supernatural thing was typical Ford fabulousness.
The Carrion Gods in Their Heaven — Laird Barron - 7/10 - not so noir-y, but crazy good on the other bits.
The Romance — Elizabeth Bear - 5/10 - tenuous hold on noir, but the ghostly aspect was quite creepy.
Dead Sister — Joe R. Lansdale - 4/10 - typical Lansdale fare, and me not being a fan of his detective works… well, you get it.
Comfortable in Her Skin — Lee Thomas - 8/10 - works the noir side grandly, the Other side is a whole lotta nasty. LOVED it!
But for Scars — Tom Piccirilli - 4/10 - never clicked for me, but probably a decent story here…
The Blisters on My Heart — Nate Southard - 4/10 - not awful, just kinda so-so writing.
The Absent Eye — Brian Evenson - 4/10 - not really noir to me, but touches on the horror side quite nicely
The Maltese Unicorn — Caitlín R. Kiernan - 5/10 - twisty noir, twisted Cthulhu-ish element; well-mixed.
Dreamer of the Day — Nick Mamatas - 3/10 - kinda not enough AND too much going on for such a short story…
In Paris, in the Mouth of Kronos — John Langan - 7/10 - not really noir, but definitely terrifying. it's Langan after all...

[Lynne Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of horror, noir, Occult, urban fantasy, and supernatural detective short stories. All are solidly written, and most fans of these genres will find something that pleases them. I had two favorites: Mortal Bait by Richard Bowes, and In Paris, in the Mouth of Kronos by John Langan. The first story is set in New York City’s Greenwich Village in the early 1950s and concerns a psychic detective who only handles supernatural cases. This is more old school noir with an otherworldly twist, and features a protagonist I really could get behind. The second story is set in modern times, and leans more on horror, as two ex-military people, convicted of engaging in torture in the Middle East, are hired as private contractors for a job that appears deceptively easy. They find that a world of Ancient Greece still lives, and thrives, among us. Terrifying!

Overall, I didn’t find it an outstanding collection, but there are no clunkers here.

[Nicholas Kaufmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another exemplary anthology from Ellen Datlow, this time with a theme that's right up my alley. The intersection of crime stories and the supernatural is fertile ground, one that's reaped well by the authors assembled here. There isn't a weak story in the bunch (such uniform excellence is a trait I've come to expect from Datlow anthologies), but of course that makes choosing standouts to mention in this review very difficult. Suffice it to say that the authors I expected great things from -- Paul Tremblay, Laird Barron, Lucius Shepard, Tom Piccirilli, John Langan, Lee Thomas -- all deliver, and many of the authors whose work I was less familiar with -- Melanie Tem, Brian Evenson, Richard Bowes -- left me greatly impressed. There are no shortage of novels that blend crime or detective stories with fantasy and horror -- hell, I've written a few of them myself -- but if you're curious to explore this evolving subgenre, I can't think of a better place to start.

[John Defrog: global citizen, local gadfly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Someone flagged this 2011 collection to me at some point, and I was interested – partly because I do like the noir and the supernatural genres, so why not an anthology mashup, and partly because I remember that the better anthologies I came across when I was younger were edited by Ellen Datlow. So I figured this was worth a try, despite only being familiar with two of the writers here (Joe R. Lansdale and Caitlin R. Kiernan).

As the title suggests, the stories here are mainly noir tales with a supernatural angle, though it’s worth mentioning upfront that Datlow casts a pretty wide net when it comes to what counts as noir – which is fine, as noir has always been more than just hardboiled PIs and femme fatales cracking wise and whatnot – basically anything involving losers, low-lifes and crime. And here you have a lot of that – an ex-boxer trying to find out who (or what) killed his friend and a room full of gangsters, a detective hired to find out who is desecrating his client’s sister’s grave every night, a couple on the lam check into a weird hotel, etc.

However, many of these are really just straight horror or urban fantasy, even when allowing for the expanded criteria for what counts as noir, so in my opinion the title is a little misleading. Which may be my problem, and that’s fair, but the other thing is that, as straight horror/urban fantasy, most of the stories here didn’t work for me – apparently there’s only so much gruesome violence or drug/sex abuse I can stand these days. Which, again, is my problem. I’m just saying, a few of these stories are quite good, but most aren’t my cup of tea. Fans of horror/urban fantasy may dig it – and maybe noir fans, depending on how they define the genre.

[Alan Baxter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Datlow anthologies are always great and this is no exception. Not all the stories worked for me, but so many did. Really great stuff.

[D · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 have dropped it like a bad habit. Not only did this take me longer to read but, as I said, I was tied to a computer to read it and since I don't have a laptop, it was a major inconvenience. But I kept reading it because I really liked what I was reading.

So putting the formatting issue aside, I really did like these stories. Trust. For how put out I was reading SUPERNATURAL NOIR, I would have stopped REALLY quickly if I didn't like it. Even if I somewhat liked it, I would have stopped because the format was an issue. But I didn't. I kept reading. Had I had this book in a normal print version, I would have flown through it, I liked it that much.

And now I'm back to reviewing an anthology of stories; an issue for me as I stated in my review of FEAR last week. Well, with SUPERNATURAL NOIR, each story was distinct enough to showcase the uniqueness of each author but at the same time all of their themes blended together seamlessly, each complementing the last as the book went on. Datlow did an amazing job of compiling such similar yet vastly different stories into one book.

What you have to understand with noir is that it's a bit over the top. Normally it's not really my thing but seeing as this was of the supernatural variety, I wanted to see what it was all about. And I really liked it. Yes, some of the stories read a bit like DICK TRACEY meets SUPERNATURAL but all of the stories had personality and I certainly can't deny them that. They stood out against the rest of the "normal" supernatural stories out there because of that noir effect, and I think it made them all the better.

My favorites were 'The Getaway' by Paul G. Tremblay (about a guy driving with a semi-prostitute that ends up at an inn, stalked by wooden gnomes), 'Comfortable in Her Skin' by Lee Thomas (about two women escaping battered pasts only to be sucked into a whole new world thanks to a wayward wolf hide) and 'The Maltese Unicorn' by Caitlin R. Kiernan (about a post-WWII female detective working for the wrong side trying to make a run for a crazy whore house owner). There's just this overwhelming grit to all of them that will leave you a little uncomfortable when you're done. I like it when my stories do that. It means they've actually moved me.

I wouldn't say the stories are inherently scary but there is some level of horror aspect to all of them (although the one with the gnomes was pretty freaky). The noir is more underlying, existing more in the personalities of the characters than in the overall story itself so if you're not big on it, you'll still probably get a kick out of them anyway as they're not dripping in it. But they definitely should be read for the supernatural aspect. They're different kinds of horror stories, playing into all manner of horror, not just your standard spooks. For that I can greatly appreciate what SUPERNATURAL NOIR has to offer, as would any genuine horror fan. It's a deviation from all of the other regular horror out there and will certainly leave a lasting impression even after you close the cover.

[Gef · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 narrows the borders in which the authors can play. The truth is that noir fiction can be pretty damned diverse, and throwing in a supernatural bent only offers more freedom. It boils down to tone, I suppose. In any case, an anthologist like Ellen Datlow is about as reliable as they get when it comes to getting the best from the best.

Right off the bat I was charmed by a gritty heist story by Paul Tremblay called "The Getaway." A getaway driver speeds his cohorts out of town after a botched robbery, only to find the leader of the pack isn't in the car anymore. He's just disappeared, and the rest start to wonder just what the guy they robbed might have had to do with it. This was had a good deal of tension and a cool bit of paranoia.

A great little tale of the wayward soul seeking redemption came from Jeffrey Ford's "The Last Triangle." A washed-out addict winds up at the end of his rope and going through a rough bit of rehab in an old woman's house. But she doesn't throw him out, and instead recruits him into helping her investigate a mystery involving some rune-like symbols graffitied around town. The dichotomy of the two characters felt familiar, but the magical flavoring and Ford's way of moving the story along made it feel unique. Quite liked this one.

After that came Laird Barron's "The Carrion Gods in Their Heaven." Young women hiding out in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, hiding out from the law and the men in their lives, are swept up in a local legend and an animal hide with some powers that imbue through whoever wears it. A damned strange story with an ending that really packed a punch. It wound up being one of my favorites from the bunch.

A bit of a quirky one came from Joe Lansdale's "Dead Sister," which had a fella hired by an alluring woman to find out who is digging up her sister's grave each night. I found this one creepy as heck, but with an odd bit of humor to it that kept the rather macabre subject matter from being too gruesome.

Those are just a few samples of what you can expect from the anthology. Sufficed to say that I didn't really find any of them to be a disappointment, and I was really happy to finally get a chance to sample the works of some authors I've not read from yet, but have heard tons of praise for. It's just about as good as I could ask for from a themed anthology and I hope there is second volume sometime down the road. I suspect Supernatural Noir could be a wellspring of stories if this batch is any indication.

[GD · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this in a bargain bin at a big international bookstore on a whim, and man it was pretty badass. I mainly bought it for the Laird Barron story because he's the coolest thing since Prince's motorcycle in Purple Rain, and I thoroughly enjoyed almost every story. I've read a few other people's reviews of this book, and agree with a couple that the weakest story was the one by Elizabeth Bear, about a haunted merry go round. I like the story and I like her style, it just didn't go with the rest of the book.

Overall, these stories pretty much hold to what they're supposed to be, horror stories wrapped up in old school crime stories. Some more crime, some more horror, most of them just a fucking ton of fun. Caitlin Kiernan is again emo as usual. Man, she seems like an angry chick. It was my first time to read anything by Nick Mamatas and I immediately bought his new book Nickronomicon to get some more stuff by him. Awesome story. The mack daddy of the collection is John Langan's "In Paris, In the Mouth of Cronos," the final story. I read one of his collections and really loved it, the dude comes across as kind of like, "I'm just a guy, telling this kind of long story, about some people, you know..." and without you realizing it, he starts to build up to some freaky shit. He has a really effortless way of doing things, and by the time this story finishes, you're completely freaked the fuck out, glowing evil occult symbols (one of which is conspicuously shared with Laird Barron) and an immortal evil Greek god disguised as a man eating people at the end of a hallway in a hotel, aaaaaahhhggggg!!!!!!!

Pretty awesome book. Ellen Datlow has regained some ground after Lovecraft Unbound.

[Stefanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am only giving this anthology 2.5 stars because out of 16 stories, I only enjoyed 4 of them. I found that the stories which were good were really good and the ones that were bad were either really bad or just mediocre. Some of these stories, I think, had trouble mixing the noir and supernatural elements. That is, some stories were more noir than supernatural and vice versa. Or there were some stories (ie "Little Shit" by Melanie Tem) which had barely any connection at all with the two genres. The stories that are good are totally worth it, but since there are only a few, I wouldn't recommend this anthology. I expected a lot more.

Here are the good ones in my opinion:
"The Getaway" by Paul G Tremblay
"The Last Triangle" by Jeffrey Ford
"But For Scars" by Tom Piccirilli
"The Absent Eye" by Bryan Evenson

[Lord Humungus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this one a while back, ironically right around when the quintessential supernatural noir True Detective Season 1 came out, but somehow only got around to reviewing this now.

I love noir movies and books, and combining noir-like elements with the supernatural and horror...what's not to like? Not every story in this collection is a winner but overall this was a wonderful read with some memorable dark tales.

Highly recommended.

[PopcornReads - MkNoah · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Tim Pendry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anthologies of contemporary genre fiction can often disappoint but this one manages to keep its head above water with a high standard of story telling. There are slight misfires in one or two tales when 'creative writing' takes over but much less than in many similar volumes.

The McGuffin is the notion that the noir genre can be paired with the supernatural (which here tends to mean the horror genre with an occasional nod to the ghost story). This is not the first and will not be the last time the two genres have been mashed up.

Popular books tend to play the game for smiles if not for laughs as if authors do not have the confidence to take either genre wholly seriously but the stories in this anthology play a straight bat. Only Caitlin Kiernan goes for well crafted satire of both genres and she carries it off.

What I found 'sociologically' interesting (the anthology appeared in 2011) was the almost general choice (when not satirising) of writers choosing the hard boiled end of noir, diving deep into the criminal class rather than going for the tragic existential hero tradition of Chandler.

As story after story ploughed this furrow and knowing that the bulk of these writers were middle class in education and probably aspiration, the impression is given of a thoroughly bourgeois combination of fear and envy of the irresponsible deplorables.

It just cannot be an accident that so many writers in a fairly closed world of struggling creative story tellers interpret noir in terms of the lumpenproletariat in a way that creates fear and uncertainty for themselves - and the supernatural as a tale of visceral existential horror.

In another time and place, noir would be interpreted as the tragic hero with integrity in command of himself shunting feelings aside to do right. Supernatural would mean not horror but the equally tragic and perhaps wistful ghost tale. Not in early twenty first century America.

As to the stories themselves, there are sixteen and you get your money's worth. The anthologist has worked hard to get both quantity and quality and they range from the above average potboiler to the excellent with the balance of them being good rather than average.

Some are very good - 'The Last Triangle' by Jeffrey Ford is up there with the best of Lovecraft, Laird Barron's 'The Carrion Gods in Their Heaven' packs a punch with a werewolf story and'Comfortable in her Skin' by Lee Thomas manages to be both genuinely disturbing and erotic.

'The Absent Eye' by Brian Evenson is a high quality weird tale in its own right but there is nothing truly bad in this volume, bar very rare attempts to be more experimental and literary than the genres require. I think most people will get something, often a real thrill, out of most of the stories.

[Jiří Pavlovský · Rating 3 out of 5]

Čtenářský deník 2018/95
Supernatural Noir
Přečtený další sborník. Tentokrát je ale věnovaný mixu fantastiky a noiru. A jelikož mám noir radši než čistokrevné fantasy, tak ho hodnotím i o něco výše. Pokud jsem o sborníku Kniha mečů psal, že je to v jedné hladině, ani prudké pády, ani prudké vzestupy, tak Supernatural Noir je právě ten typ sborníku, kde sice nejsou vyloženě špatné povídky, ale mezi klasickými variacemi na detektivní téma se občas objeví něco, co mě vyloženě nadchlo. Do téhle kategorie patří hned druhá povídka, Gateway, od Paula G. Tremblaye, popisující únik po jedné nezdařené loupeži. Jednoduchá ale intenzivní. Melanie Tem má v Little Shit spíš zajímavý nápad - „trpaslici“ pracující v dětském převleku na lovu pedofilů. Ale není tam moc nadpřirozena ani noiru a vyznění je dost slabé. Je tu i Lucius Shepard, který přináší Ditch Witch, spíš průměrný příběh o nebezpečí dřevěných elfů… a Laird Barron, jehož povídka The Carrion Gods in their Heaven, vyšla i ve sborníku Ta nádherná věc… a byla tam jedna z těch nudnějších. Tady taky. Zase nahoru to jde povídkou Elizabeth Bearové The Romance – o dětské párty pro dospělé a magickém kolotoči. Sama povídka je dost jednoduchá (a opět – vůbec ne noir), ale má atmosféru, dobré dialogy, a dobré prolínání minulých a současných událostí. Prostě lepší koncepce než příběh. Pak je tu Lansdale, Dead Sister, kvůli kterému jsem si to vlastně koupil. Ano, je vidět, že tu povídku vyhřeznul za jedno odpoledne, že se s tím zase tak moc nebabral, ale i tak je to zábavné, plné hlášek a nekrofílie. Lee Thomas přináší Comfortable in her Skin, příběh pomsty a trochu specifických uchvatitelů těl. To je povídka z čeledi solidních, po čemž přichází další intenzivnější záležitost, příběh But for Scars od Toma Piccirilliho, o tom, co všechno se skrývá pod postelí. Od toho jsem i kdysi četl nějakou kriminálku a rozhodně ho ještě zkusím. A další jednoduchá, ale atmosférická záležitost je Absent Eye od Briana Evensona, příběh vydloubnutého oka a co všechno je jím možné vidět. Nemůže chybět ani komiksová scenáristka Caitlín R. Kiernanová s feministickou verzí Maltézského sokola – The Maltese Unicorn, ve kterém se hledá prastarý robertek vyřezaný z rohu jednorožce. Dobrý nápad, povídka spíš průměr a moc dlouhá.
Celkem šestnáct povídek, z toho tři autoři mi uvízli v paměti (Tremblay, Piccirilli, Evanson) a rozhodně si od nich chci ještě něco přečíst. Což považuju za slušné skóre.

[Kirstin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The classic nature of the noir genre is inherently a male - driven vehicle, one that is fueled by a misguided saviour complex parading as chivalry. The jaunty, sarcastic detective meets a beautiful, damaged female that only he can help, while simultaneously taming and seducing her of course.
I'm not a huge fan, needless to say.
I am however a great lover of the gothic subgenre, and adore some dark supernatural activity. The stories in this collection carry a pretty wide range, and only a few of them would cleanly fit into the classic incarnation of the noir. All of them find some kind of supernatural tone, and surprisingly, there is a decent amount of inclusivity/diversity within the characters present, but very unfortunately, out of the sixteen pieces in this collection, only three are penned by female authors.
Definitely not the strongest anthology collection I've ever come across, but at least a handful were worth experiencing.

[The Reading Ruru (Kerry) · Rating 4 out of 5]

7.5/10
Paul Duncan wrote “Noir Fiction is used to describe any work, usually involving crime - that is notably dark, brooding, cynical, complex, and pessimistic. The world of noir is thick with criminality and betrayal"
As a fan of original noir books and film (despite the female abuse and racism) I could describe a number of today's fictional books that have those features and not consider them "noir", but putting that aside I would personally class about approx 30 of the stories within this anthology as true noir fiction. (but that's MY opinion).
If this was a book of the supernatural crime without the "noir" I'd have may given this at least 4 stars. There are some intriguing and disturbing stories within - a couple went beyond my comfort zone but that's OK - that's what makes reading 👍

[Horror DNA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tales of the supernatural and those of noir share many of the same traits. Both often feature a down-on-his-luck protagonist with many things working against him. Both showcase the darker side of the world. And both often leave the main character in a situation that's often worse than where he started. So with all these similarities, why not put the two genres together? That's just what Dark Horse set out to do with this collection of short stories. Although they're primarily a comic book publisher, this book consists solely of the written word with no art aside from the creepy bird on the cover.

You can read James' full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.

[Karissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 by Jeffrey Ford (excellent mystery tinged with magic, will definitely be picking up some of Ford's books to read), and The Romance by Elizabeth Bear (loved how creative this one was and loved the haunted carousel),

The stories are mostly mysteries with a tinge of supernatural to them. All of the stories have a very dark and dirty tone to them. All of them are interesting; as with any anthology some were just outstanding and some so-so.

If you are interested in the darker grittier side of investigative urban fantasy then this is the anthology for you. You can check out brief synopsis and comments for each individual story below.

- The Dingus by Gregory Frost (5/5 stars)
Very well written story about a taxi cab driver who decides to investigate a strange mass-murder. Very dark and atmospheric. I love the ironic ending. Definitely makes me want to check out some of Frost's books.

- The Getaway by Paul G. Tremblay (3/5 stars)
About a group of guys who rob a place and start to disappear during the getaway. It was okay. The sentences are short and kind of fractured, so it wasn't the smoothest sounding story. There was some irony, but just a hint of supernatural.

- Mortal Bait by Richard Bowes (4/5 stars)
About a veteran detective who is hired to solve a case that ends up being more about an ongoing war between elves and fairie than anything else. Very much a hard-boiled detective story with a little urban fantasy thrown in. The writing style is pretty good and the story had some good twists but it was a little confusing; seems like a complicated world that didn't fit in a short story well.

- Little Shit by Melanie Tem (4.5/5 stars)
About a woman with some strange attributes who uses them to catch pedophiles. This was actually a really great story; very well done and suspenseful. I enjoyed the author's writing style and how she spun out such an ironic plot.

- Ditch Witch by Lucius Shepard (4/5 stars)
A story about a man who picks up a girl who might be a witch; then they get attacked by killer elves. Yep, it was a strange story and a bit confusing too. It was still entertaining and a good read. The writing style was easy to read.

- The Last Triangle by Jeffry Ford (5/5 stars)
A drug user finds himself fighting withdrawal on an old woman's stoop. She finds him in the morning and takes care of him; in exchange he hunts down strange symbols for her. This was a great mystery tinged with magic. I loved the writing style and the story. I will definitely be picking up something from Ford in the future.

- The Carrion Gods in Their Heaven by Laird Barron (4/5 stars)
About a couple of young women who stumble into a fur hide that literally changes who they are. This is a dark story and is somewhat ironic. I enjoyed the writing style and the story.

- The Romance by Elizabeth Bear (5/5 stars)
Very well done story about a haunted carousel and a murder. Very creepy but also very creative and engaging. I really enjoyed this story!

- Dead Sister by Joe R. Lansdale (4/5 stars)
A detective is hired by a woman to find out what is digging up her sister's grave every night. This story had a lot of action, some humor, and was very engaging. I enjoyed it.

- Comfortable in Her Skin by Lee Thomas (4/5 stars)
A well written and interesting, if incredibly creepy and somewhat gross, story. About a woman scorned and how she uses some icons to get revenge.

- But For Scars by Tom Piccirilli (3/5 stars)
A story about a girl who escapes from an asylum, stumbles into some guy's house, and kills herself. The guy tries to track down the man who murdered her parents. To be honest I didn't really understand what happened at the end of the story; it was kind of confusing.

- The Blisters on My Heart by Nate Southhard (3/5 stars)
About a guy who tries to defend his hooker girlfriend from a man who is purely evil. Okay story.

- The Absent Eye by Brian Evenson (4/5 stars)
About a child/man who looses an eye and can see creatures wrapped around everyone with his missing eye. Creepy but creative and well-written. I enjoyed it.

- The Maltese Unicorn by Caitlin R. Kiernan (4/5 stars)
Engaging story about a strange artifact made from a unicorn that allows people to feel innocence. The protagonist gets unknowlingly drawn into a plot to steal it from its rightful owner. Creative story and interesting characters; a little bit vague at points.

- Dreamer of the Day by Nick Mamatas (3/5 stars)
About a woman who visits the Dreamer of the Day to have him kill her cheating husband; only she gets more than she bargained for. I didn't enjoy the writing style very much; there was minimal punctution which made it a bit hard to read. The story was very ironic though.

- In Paris, In the Mouth of Kronos by John Langan (3/5 stars)
Story about two ex-Army people who are hired to perform a job that looks simple. It ends up being much more dangerous than expected. It was well-written, but the story goes back and forth between the current story and a story about torturing people in Iraq and I didn't enjoy it all that much. I did like how Greek mythology was tied into the story.

[Querus Abuttu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Welcome Reader,

Please join me as I travel on a journey through the anthology titled, "Supernatural Noir." My review will be in stages as I read through the shorts. I'll try not to include any spoilers, but share my impressions instead. If I fail, my apologies in advance. I'm not supernatural. Just a humble reader, consumer of horror and avid writer.

This anthology starts out with an "Introduction" by the editor, Ellen Datlow. I enjoyed her description of "Noir Fiction." She paints it as, "...notably dark, brooding, cynical, complex, and pessimistic." Datlow describes Noir Fiction as "...thick with criminality and rife with betrayal," and states she feels there are only a scant number of Supernatural Noir stories. The editor highlights her love for dark edgy tales which contributed to her desire to edit this book.

As I started reading the first story, "The Dingus," by Gregory Frost, what hit me dead on was that this should not have been the starting story of the anthology. It was a fairly enjoyable read, but not the page turner that should have set the tone for the book. Frost's story was rather slow paced at the beginning and picked up toward the end, and there were places where 'passive voice' made the prose too cumbersome. The last paragraph of page 15 took me right out of the story with several "had" and "had been" phraseology in the text. This error (I call it an error) occurred in other places as well, and I noted an overuse of the pronoun "he" on pages 27 and 28. Aside from that, I thought Frost's story was solid and creative. I loved his monster creation, which you simply must read to appreciate. Still, this story would have been better presented in the middle of the book, and would have read better if it were just a bit cleaner.

Paul Tremblay's "The Getaway," was the second read in this anthology. I admit up front that I'm not a fan of stories written in present tense, and there's a ton of narration in these pages that make it a stiff piece to read. The main character visualizes and reminisces quite a bit, and then finally on pages 35 to 38 we get to some dialogue, but it's an overly verbose argument as to whether or not one of the other characters is actually in the trunk of a car during a getaway. I found myself skimming through the story, through what seemed like nothing but a perpetual state of confusion among characters, and when I finished the tale I felt as if I'd gone on a wild car ride that ended up at a dead end. I guess I expected more, and perhaps it's there and I missed it, but after reading this story three times I can't really say I found anything intriguing about it.

I took a gulp and another chance at reading the third story in this book titled "Mortal Bait," by Richard Bowes. It takes the Private Investigator route in this piece, and at this point I'm trying to remember how many stories I've read that have P.I.'s as a main character. But I easily know the number. Way too many. Passive voice creeps into this story on the first page. It's about as subtle as a 2 ton brick dropped on a gallon of jello, and again I found myself skimming. By page 50 I was more than a little disappointed. I expected a description of hours old coffee to be something other than "old and tired." Day old coffee could be 'blatantly bitter, festering like the anger of a woman waiting for her cheating husband to come home late from work again.' But "old and tired coffee?" And this piece included elves and fairies in it, which (to me) didn't fit the definition of 'Supernatural Noir.' With all of the writers out there who probably submitted to this anthology, I expected something much more "noiry."

A couple of writers I really respect told me this anthology was very good, but by the time I finished the third piece I began doubting their judgement. "Mortal Bait" didn't hook me, and could have seriously benefited from a shave and a haircut.

While reading, I began to wonder if this anthology suffered from a pressing deadline. Passive voice and excessive pronouns in the stories made the work in this book seem like a mish-mashed compilation of rushed prose. Maybe my standards are too high, or maybe because I spent $19.99 on this bound copy I expected my money's worth. But by this point, I wished I'd just borrowed a used copy from someone instead.

Only because my previously mentioned writer friends stated an approval for this anthology, did I choose to press on to the fourth story in the group titled, "Little Shit," by Melanie Tem. FINALLY, here was a story worth reading! Definitely a tale worth my $19.99! This piece of work should have been the first story in the group. It started out at a fairly rapid pace and it kept me reading...not skimming...but actually reading. Pedophilia, psychosocial schemes and themes, borderline entrapment entangled in mind-reading webs...these ideas hit the pages with an intense wave that grabbed me as a real 'noir' story. Tem's pages gave me guilty pleasure and made me want to rip out the first 72 pages of the anthology in order to give it a proper start. Her work is a gem among ordinary stones, and it was a wonderful read. Because of her brilliance, I decided to keep this book instead of tossing it into my recycling, and I will brave reading more. What will I think of the rest? Stay tuned and I'll let you know. I'm not ready to give up on this anthology, yet...

[Tripp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ellen Datlow is a national treasure. Thanks to her, so many great voices in horror/weird fiction get much greater visibility. This volume is backed a bit into a corner as the stories must provide live both in the crime and horror worlds. Not all work, and some are weak. However, there are big stars like the now grand old man Laird Barron, the terribly creepy Brian Evenson and my personal favorite John Langan.

[Roy Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and overall well written short story noir with supernatural themes.
Since it is an anthology there is a mix of quality and strict adherence to "noir", but it was overall enjoyable to me.
I read the anthology because it included a story by Elizabeth Bear (The Romance) and I really enjoy her writing. Her story was well written and interesting but a little less noir than some of the stories.

[Kat Skarbek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Supernatural noir is not a genre I’ve come across before so I was very open and curious. The anthology has some great stories and some good stories - I particularly enjoyed the first story - but there are a few that left me feeling a bit meh. Still, it’s a good introduction to the genre and I didn’t feel like I’d wasted my time reading it.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really solid Datlow collection. The Carrion God in Their Heaven by Laird Barron is probably the best story, along with The Getaway by Paul Tremblay, Ditch Weed by Lucius Shepard, and Little Shit by Melanie Tem, though the last one isn't exactly horror.