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Dark Cheer: Cryptids Emerging - Volume Silver
For the lovers of things that go bump in the night Here be stories of South African grootslang and bayou grundylow, tales of elementals, jackelopes, and flying motels. Within you'll find tiny leviathans and rock whales, cambion and kelpie, a girl between time, and a man who saves a gun's life. These are stories of cryptids who sing or swim or save us, living side-by-side so often unseen ...and then seen. So very much seen. When we look.
- GenresShort Stories
404 pages, Hardcover
Published May 4, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 23, 2022
Improbable Press has knocked it out of the park again and earned five full stars from this cryptid. Thanks to editor Atlin Merrick for a review copy in addition to the gorgeous paperback I pre-ordered.
Part of the joy of these collections is the warm feeling of familiarity with many of the cryptids, paired with an excitement at the ones I end up pursuing down a Wikipedia rabbit hole. These stories have largely happy endings with optimistic if mysterious vibes, exactly what I'm looking for right now. I found this installment themed with more "the monster is more scared of you" and vulnerability tropes, and I loved it. As always it's tricky to lavish praise on the FORTY individual stories within this volume, but I'll do my best to highlight standouts.
This collection opens with a banger of a Frankenstein retelling, The Monster by Simon Kewin. It hit all the right notes for me in a retelling of that story - unreliable narration that tricks the reader in the best way, some spooky arctic atmosphere, and well-deserved sympathy for its titular being.
Chicken Monster Motel by Keyan Bowes was amazing, whimsical and hilarious. It was a fresh take on Howl's Moving Castle and Baba Yaga concepts, with a unique linguistic twist.
Old Friend by Jeffrey Davis was a scintillating fusion of Shintoist beliefs and film noir. I wasn't sure where it was going, but I loved it when we got there.
The Grundylow by Julie Ann Rees had impeccable sapphic, monsterfucky vibes, lined with the power of compassion and empathy.
What a story Love Song of the Wendigo by Brian Trent was. It was filled with unpredictability, unique Wendigo lore, and the ending was a wholly satisfying turn on its head.
I found The Development by Alison Akiko McBain a quiet, somber piece that really resonated in my heart. It's a tale speaking on what we often lose to "gain" progress in urban civilization and it stuck with me.
I'm not sure what was scarier in When Death Comes to Find You by Yvette Lisa Ndlovu, the new-to-me Grootslang creature or the horrific blood diamond industry its existence was expertly woven into.
One of my favorite lines comes in From the Ashes by Merinda Brayfield, a soothing tale about healing featuring a cryptid from my own neck of the woods: "Head hurt is still hurt". Two different species face the fallout of the Mt. St.Helens eruption together and find out they're not incompatible at all, in a touching piece about recovery and acceptance.
Grim Up North by Parker Foye was another favorite, a hilarious meetcute. There is nothing like meeting a tall, dark stranger on a dark, stormy night - except that stranger might portent your death.
I'm especially appreciative of the stories that were fun Bigfoot romps. We went along for the ride with Bigfoot in Road Trip by Carter Lappin, contemplated their civil rights in Original Activist by Frances Pauli, and stumbled through a riotous comedy of errors in Pics or it Didn't Happen by Elizabeth Walker.
I've only mentioned a quarter of the awesome stories in this collection here - I highly recommend picking up a copy this spring for a memorable escape from the mundane.
Part of the joy of these collections is the warm feeling of familiarity with many of the cryptids, paired with an excitement at the ones I end up pursuing down a Wikipedia rabbit hole. These stories have largely happy endings with optimistic if mysterious vibes, exactly what I'm looking for right now. I found this installment themed with more "the monster is more scared of you" and vulnerability tropes, and I loved it. As always it's tricky to lavish praise on the FORTY individual stories within this volume, but I'll do my best to highlight standouts.
This collection opens with a banger of a Frankenstein retelling, The Monster by Simon Kewin. It hit all the right notes for me in a retelling of that story - unreliable narration that tricks the reader in the best way, some spooky arctic atmosphere, and well-deserved sympathy for its titular being.
Chicken Monster Motel by Keyan Bowes was amazing, whimsical and hilarious. It was a fresh take on Howl's Moving Castle and Baba Yaga concepts, with a unique linguistic twist.
Old Friend by Jeffrey Davis was a scintillating fusion of Shintoist beliefs and film noir. I wasn't sure where it was going, but I loved it when we got there.
The Grundylow by Julie Ann Rees had impeccable sapphic, monsterfucky vibes, lined with the power of compassion and empathy.
What a story Love Song of the Wendigo by Brian Trent was. It was filled with unpredictability, unique Wendigo lore, and the ending was a wholly satisfying turn on its head.
I found The Development by Alison Akiko McBain a quiet, somber piece that really resonated in my heart. It's a tale speaking on what we often lose to "gain" progress in urban civilization and it stuck with me.
I'm not sure what was scarier in When Death Comes to Find You by Yvette Lisa Ndlovu, the new-to-me Grootslang creature or the horrific blood diamond industry its existence was expertly woven into.
One of my favorite lines comes in From the Ashes by Merinda Brayfield, a soothing tale about healing featuring a cryptid from my own neck of the woods: "Head hurt is still hurt". Two different species face the fallout of the Mt. St.Helens eruption together and find out they're not incompatible at all, in a touching piece about recovery and acceptance.
Grim Up North by Parker Foye was another favorite, a hilarious meetcute. There is nothing like meeting a tall, dark stranger on a dark, stormy night - except that stranger might portent your death.
I'm especially appreciative of the stories that were fun Bigfoot romps. We went along for the ride with Bigfoot in Road Trip by Carter Lappin, contemplated their civil rights in Original Activist by Frances Pauli, and stumbled through a riotous comedy of errors in Pics or it Didn't Happen by Elizabeth Walker.
I've only mentioned a quarter of the awesome stories in this collection here - I highly recommend picking up a copy this spring for a memorable escape from the mundane.
July 19, 2022
This second volume of cryptid stories is just as refreshing and delightful as the first (Dark Cheer: Cryptids Emerging - Volume Blue). The stories are funny, charming, thoughtful, and sometimes melancholy, but never really sad.
In its way, it’s a book full of love stories: love of the strange and love of the land; the love of friends and of soulmates; the love of darkness and the comfort that can be found there, as well as the love of uncanny bright things. Humans don't always emerge unscathed (but then, not all of them deserve to) but much more often, humans and cryptids connect in odd and thrilling ways; sometimes through kindness and acceptance, sometimes through sheer bloody-mindedness!
Diversity, otherness and found family are strong elements throughout, which means the approach to monster tales remains surprising cheerful even when dark, just like it says on the tin.
Particular favourites (among the many, many favourites) include The Monster, a marvellous take on Frankenstein's Monster discovering he may have a place in the modern world; Chicken Monster Motel where a young couple's dream of running a motel grows unexpected legs; the garrulous and demanding human/succubus Bradford in The Beauty in the Unexpected; the story of how the Jackalope came to be, the twist in Huffenpuff, all the hilariousy unanswered questions in Road Trip.
Please appreciate how hard I've worked to not just list every single story.
Kudos to editor, Atlin Merrick, too, not only for this selection of wonders, but for the care in crafting the story order, which guides the reader through a textured terrain in a perfect journey of styles, moods, themes and finales.
In its way, it’s a book full of love stories: love of the strange and love of the land; the love of friends and of soulmates; the love of darkness and the comfort that can be found there, as well as the love of uncanny bright things. Humans don't always emerge unscathed (but then, not all of them deserve to) but much more often, humans and cryptids connect in odd and thrilling ways; sometimes through kindness and acceptance, sometimes through sheer bloody-mindedness!
Diversity, otherness and found family are strong elements throughout, which means the approach to monster tales remains surprising cheerful even when dark, just like it says on the tin.
Particular favourites (among the many, many favourites) include The Monster, a marvellous take on Frankenstein's Monster discovering he may have a place in the modern world; Chicken Monster Motel where a young couple's dream of running a motel grows unexpected legs; the garrulous and demanding human/succubus Bradford in The Beauty in the Unexpected; the story of how the Jackalope came to be, the twist in Huffenpuff, all the hilariousy unanswered questions in Road Trip.
Please appreciate how hard I've worked to not just list every single story.
Kudos to editor, Atlin Merrick, too, not only for this selection of wonders, but for the care in crafting the story order, which guides the reader through a textured terrain in a perfect journey of styles, moods, themes and finales.
August 21, 2022
Review - Dark Cheer: Cryptids Emerging (Volume Silver)
I thoroughly enjoyed the previous anthology, Volume Blue, so I embarked on Dark Cheer: Cryptids Emerging (Volume Silver) with high expectations. I was not disappointed at all.
Volume Silver contains forty inventive and engaging tales from forty authors. There are aliens, visiting Earth for fun. There’s an unlucky photographer who eventually gets their priorities sorted. There’s the member of an Arctic research team who teaches a monster that he is human. And so very much more. But I’m not going to spoil forty stories for you - I want you to have the delight of reading this anthology for yourself.
Here is just a taster.
‘Nights Without Dreams’ by Tom Velterop starts with a creature in a cave. The author expertly immerses the reader in a fantasy world inhabited by this strange creature, Tipatap. This passage made me shiver:
His foot left the cave as the last breath blew out the last light in the valley. The moon bathed him, but its light would not linger on his skin. Tipatap crept down the mountain as silent and secret as a shadow.
Tipatap collects people’s dreams by night and uses them to power machines that entertain him for a while. He sees no harm in stealing the creative visions dreamt up by others - he’s lonely without his machines and must have dreams to make them keep him company. What happens when the villagers miss their dreams and go to Tipatap’s lair to break his machines? You’ll have to read it for yourself to find out.
‘The Grundylow’ by Julie Ann Rees starts with a rescue. The Grundylow, a version of Jenny Greenteeth, is stuck in a drying pond with her infant. She’s given a home in a bathtub and cared for until the rains come and refill the waterways. The story is in some places warm, and in others chilling. The author skilfully weaves together both versions of the Grundylow - victim and monster.
I stayed with her for most of the night. I told her my name was Gwen, she grimaced a smile and told me hers was Jilly. I remembered that name; it belonged to a missing child from years ago. I asked her how she’d got her name, and she said she didn’t know, but most mothers took the names of their victims to give to their children.
Is this a love story, or is Gwen falling under the Grundylow’s spell? I love that I’m not quite sure. Read it and come to your own conclusion.
‘When Death Comes to Find You’ by Yvette Lisa Ndlovu starts with a man searching for treasure - a diamond that will make him rich. But Takura can’t afford to pay a toll to the Grootslang - the guardian of the diamonds - so he is plagued by a chilling sound as he works.
He whistles to distract himself from the sound that won’t go away. It’s not the ceaseless digging that bothers him. It’s something else, something beneath the soil, as if a million people are trapped down there.
In this take on the mining of blood diamonds - where miners are indentured to a demon to grow diamonds - an alchemist is working on a way of producing diamonds ethically, and politicians are dealing with the problem of blood diamonds in their own way. Will Takura escape the Grootslang? You’ll have to find out for yourself.
You will find this book, and others, here:
https://improbablepress.com/products/...
I thoroughly enjoyed the previous anthology, Volume Blue, so I embarked on Dark Cheer: Cryptids Emerging (Volume Silver) with high expectations. I was not disappointed at all.
Volume Silver contains forty inventive and engaging tales from forty authors. There are aliens, visiting Earth for fun. There’s an unlucky photographer who eventually gets their priorities sorted. There’s the member of an Arctic research team who teaches a monster that he is human. And so very much more. But I’m not going to spoil forty stories for you - I want you to have the delight of reading this anthology for yourself.
Here is just a taster.
‘Nights Without Dreams’ by Tom Velterop starts with a creature in a cave. The author expertly immerses the reader in a fantasy world inhabited by this strange creature, Tipatap. This passage made me shiver:
His foot left the cave as the last breath blew out the last light in the valley. The moon bathed him, but its light would not linger on his skin. Tipatap crept down the mountain as silent and secret as a shadow.
Tipatap collects people’s dreams by night and uses them to power machines that entertain him for a while. He sees no harm in stealing the creative visions dreamt up by others - he’s lonely without his machines and must have dreams to make them keep him company. What happens when the villagers miss their dreams and go to Tipatap’s lair to break his machines? You’ll have to read it for yourself to find out.
‘The Grundylow’ by Julie Ann Rees starts with a rescue. The Grundylow, a version of Jenny Greenteeth, is stuck in a drying pond with her infant. She’s given a home in a bathtub and cared for until the rains come and refill the waterways. The story is in some places warm, and in others chilling. The author skilfully weaves together both versions of the Grundylow - victim and monster.
I stayed with her for most of the night. I told her my name was Gwen, she grimaced a smile and told me hers was Jilly. I remembered that name; it belonged to a missing child from years ago. I asked her how she’d got her name, and she said she didn’t know, but most mothers took the names of their victims to give to their children.
Is this a love story, or is Gwen falling under the Grundylow’s spell? I love that I’m not quite sure. Read it and come to your own conclusion.
‘When Death Comes to Find You’ by Yvette Lisa Ndlovu starts with a man searching for treasure - a diamond that will make him rich. But Takura can’t afford to pay a toll to the Grootslang - the guardian of the diamonds - so he is plagued by a chilling sound as he works.
He whistles to distract himself from the sound that won’t go away. It’s not the ceaseless digging that bothers him. It’s something else, something beneath the soil, as if a million people are trapped down there.
In this take on the mining of blood diamonds - where miners are indentured to a demon to grow diamonds - an alchemist is working on a way of producing diamonds ethically, and politicians are dealing with the problem of blood diamonds in their own way. Will Takura escape the Grootslang? You’ll have to find out for yourself.
You will find this book, and others, here:
https://improbablepress.com/products/...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 30, 2023
A story- packed anthology with 41 tales of cryptids and otherwise unusual creatures with themes of motherhood, love, and risk-taking. A diversity of experiences with BIPOC, neurodivergent, disabled, and LGBTQ+ characters.
Some stand out stories include:
A sublimely weird chicken monster motel (which is exactly what the story title suggests),
“Leviathan” offers an action-packed adventure when a guppy leviathan is called to act in a storm and inspires one woman to change her circumstances.
“Mysterious Travelers” lets a swamp sponge visit Disneyland in a hilarious story.
“Falling for her” drops Eleanor into the arms of a new selkie love.
Plus A great final story with a sentient cactus.
Some stand out stories include:
A sublimely weird chicken monster motel (which is exactly what the story title suggests),
“Leviathan” offers an action-packed adventure when a guppy leviathan is called to act in a storm and inspires one woman to change her circumstances.
“Mysterious Travelers” lets a swamp sponge visit Disneyland in a hilarious story.
“Falling for her” drops Eleanor into the arms of a new selkie love.
Plus A great final story with a sentient cactus.
January 22, 2023
I'm the editor of this book, of course I love it. But even if I wasn't, who couldn't adore a better ending for the creature of Frankenstein? A hotel that's not a chicken or a monster but is kind of both and that's a *good* thing?
Among the dozens of stories, there's one about a swamp jelly who just wants to visit Disneyland, a very small leviathan with life goals, and a story of the day the Grootslang rises and takes back what has always been hers.
In this anthology there's the gentle and the not-so, creatures from the dark and the light that emerge in Indian and the Ukraine, in lakes and high plains, here be cryptids who give and who very much take. What's not to absolutely love?
Among the dozens of stories, there's one about a swamp jelly who just wants to visit Disneyland, a very small leviathan with life goals, and a story of the day the Grootslang rises and takes back what has always been hers.
In this anthology there's the gentle and the not-so, creatures from the dark and the light that emerge in Indian and the Ukraine, in lakes and high plains, here be cryptids who give and who very much take. What's not to absolutely love?
August 16, 2022
Full disclosure: I am one of the authors in this volume.
That said, this was a fun read with talented authors to be part of. Sometimes creepy, sometimes humorous horror, this anthology will delight fantasy readers of cryptids.
That said, this was a fun read with talented authors to be part of. Sometimes creepy, sometimes humorous horror, this anthology will delight fantasy readers of cryptids.
June 11, 2022
Excellent collection of stories and a fine follow-up to Volume Blue. Congratulations to the editor and all writers on being part of such a wonderful anthology. Favourites include 'Grim Up North' and 'The Original Activist'
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews