Pride

Seven Deadly Sins #1

by Ben Thomas (Editor), D. Kershaw (Editor), Mike Adamson

Pride goeth before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.

Dark and twisted tales of corrupt selfishness.

The Retort by A.L. King
Driven to Death by A.R. Dean
Wing Woman by A.R. Johnston
The Perfect Model by Alexander Nachaj
The Fairest of Them All by Ali House
Peccata Patris by Andrew Anderson
Malcolm and Amelia by Angela Zimmerman
Homecoming by Annie Percik
The Hunt by Brianna Witte
Trip to Comeuppance by Catherine Kenwell
Blood Pride by Cindar Harrell
When the Wood Walked by Clint Foster
Honour's Pride by D. A. Smith
Bella's Mirror by D.J. Elton
The Ravencroft Reunion by Dannielle Viera
Pride Goeth Before the Fall by Dawn DeBraal
Stone Cold Beauty by Diane Arrelle
Everything Went White by Eddie D. Moore
Brick and Bone by Erica Schaef
Marinok by G. Allen Wilbanks
Pride Goeth by Gabriella Balcom
The Completist by Hari Navarro
Caleb's Claim by J.M. Meyer
Ageless by J.W. Garrett
The Vessel by Jacek Wilkos
Again by James Lipson
Roses are Red by Jason Holden
Knot for Fame by Jo Seysener
The Maidens Walk by Jodi Jensen
Chet and Floyd Play in God's Domain by Justin Hunter
Obstructive Gaze by K.L. Webber
Never Seen by Kelly Matsuura
At Odds by Luis Manuel Torres
God's Right Hand by Lyndsey Ellis-Holloway
King of the Hill by M. Sydnor Jr
The Tyrant of Syracuse by Mark Kodama
The Animated Dead by Matthew M. Montelione
The Pact by Maxine Churchman
Good Intentions by Michael Donoghue
Hubris in Retrograde by Mike Adamson
Defect by N.M. Brown
Picked Her Up Again by Neen Cohen
The Hole of Shame by Nerisha Kemraj
Filtering by Nicola Currie
Like and Subscribe by Raven Corinn Carluk
Supply Run by Rhiannon Bird
The Artist and the Magician by Robert Bagnall
At Legacy's End by Sandy Butchers
Jezebel by Stephanie Scissom
I'll See You On the Other Side by Stephen Herczeg
Nina Meets Auntie Dote by Sue Marie St. Lee
The Acquisition of Things by Terry Miller
Golden Boy by Trisha Ridinger McKee
Not Guilty by Wondra Vanian
Joy's Debut by Ximena Escobar
The Pride of the Dragon by Zoey Xolton

522 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 14, 2020

Reviews

[K.B.]

I was very excited to have finally got the chance to read Pride, the first of the sinful anthologies by Black Hare Press. I think I'll be forever regretful that I didn't get the chance to submit anything to this one (I discovered BHP too late), because it's a truly wonderful collection of stories, ranging from the dark to the slightly-less-dark-and-maybe-even-a-bit-hopeful.

While there's definite repeated themes throughout the book (vanity being one which features in a dozen or more stories), the tales are varied enough to hold your interest, and there were few stories that didn't impress me with either sheer writing talent, fantastic plot, or jaw-dropping twists. For anyone who doesn't know me, I love twists. Really, really love them.

I can't possibly pick one favourite, but here are some well-deserved personal shout-outs:
-Like and Subscribe by Raven Corinn Carluk for the inventiveness of the story and the chilling twist. With one word, "newly-made", my breath stopped. That hasn't happened to me in a long time.
-Good Intentions by Michael Donoghue for a fantastic tale that shows pride can accompany the best of intentions. I loved it.
-Ageless by J. W. Garrett for having all of the power as the other stories (if not more), in less words.
-King of the Hill by M Syndor Jr and Filtering by Nicola Currie for great all-rounder stories, the latter with such a powerful sense of karmic justice.

I was very impressed by the way many of the writers wrote for the theme in a subtle way, perhaps not even mentioning the word 'pride' at all, yet still conveying it as a key part of the story. The perfect example of "show, don't tell".

Great work to all. Congratulations to BHP on what is truly a beautiful book to hold, feel and smell. (I'm not weird: you're weird). I highly recommend picking up a copy to see what all the fuss is about...but be warned, there's six more to follow...

[Robert Bagnall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanted to really like this, not just because one of my tales is in here. Started brightly, with a few memorable stories, but too many stories followed a similar arc with little to surprise, far too much telling not showing, and could have done with a more thorough proofreading. For example, the last story had me scurrying to Google to check whether ‘sew’ is used for seeds in Australian English, which pulls you out of the narrative somewhat. A two and a half star review, rounded up for good intentions, and in recognition of quantity if not quality.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pride, the first Seven Deadly Sins anthology from Black Hare Press, is a collection of short stories around the theme of pride. I am one of the authors so I was interested to read the rest, and overall really enjoyed it. While there was inevitably some repetition of theme, the settings and plots were extremely varied. A fair few of the stories were disturbing or unsettling or downright creepy, but effectively so. The anthology started strong, dipped a bit in the middle and picked up again towards the end, though there were only one or two stories in the whole thing that I didn't think were quite up to standard. The thing that most impressed me was that the majority of protagonists were unlikeable, amoral, or downright reprehensible, but nearly all of the stories were compelling and had enough layers for the reader at least to understand the characters' motivations, even if we couldn't agree with them. Very well put together, and mostly very well written.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great mix of stories. Some had me gripped with anticipation to see the prideful characters get their comeuppance.