Dark Screams: Volume Three

I received this book via NetGalley to give an honest review.
When I read the title I expect real horror, frightening tales being told. This was very disappointing for me. The reason why is it didn't have anything like that within the stories.
The Collected Short stories of Freddie Prothero: I honestly don't know what to say about this story. I understood how the author wrote it but it just felt all over the place to where I just ended up skimming over it mostly. This is a diary of a young boy and it is just kind of like nonsense, I couldn't truly understand all what was being written.
Group of Thirty: I enjoyed the story and it wasn't scary but it was like whoa these folks are just plain crazy I liked the idea behind the story. You have an author who writes some murder stories and his so called fans are not who they say they are.
Nancy: I liked this one though I wished it was more in depth and longer so we could find out the full consequences of what happened. It made me think of a Goosebumps in a way which is a good thing. You have Nancy who has some weird things going on within her life. The new girl tries to befriend her as she is curious but as you know curiosity killed the cat will that happen here?
I Love You, Charlie Pearson this one was another one of those creepy stories that you just wonder where it could go. I really wish this one was longer as well, especially when it has something to do with bones being sucked on!!! How freaky does that sound. Charlie is a teenage boy who has a crush on this beautiful girl though she doesn't really pay him too much mind. He has it to where he wants her and will stop at nothing but will his plan backfire?
The last story The Lone and Level Sands Stretch Far Away um, I really didn't know what to make of this story. You have a marriage that is doing okay until Aidan comes into the picture. I didn't really understand the ending and it left me a bit confused as to the whole thing.
Because I only enjoyed three of these short stories I ended up giving this book a solid three wine glass rating.

I'm a huge Peter Straub fan but The Collected Short Stories of Freddie Prothero didn't grab me. Always love his writing, but this story missed the mark for me. After that, though, it was all gravy. Loved Jack Ketchum's Group of Thirty, a story of a writer who gets his mojo back in an unexpected encounter. I was not familar with Darynda Jones but after Nancy, I will keep my eyes open for her other work. A ghost story that had me from the first page and kept me turning pages until I was done. I Love You, Charlie Pearson by Jacqulyn Frank was a love story gone bad with a twist that I didn't see coming. The best was last - Brian Hodge's story with a long name and a plot that mixed parkour, philosophy, infidelity, and the inevitability of the post-apocalyptic world. Another fun collection, and I'll be picking up the next one soon

I received an advance reader copy (arc) of this book for the purpose of providing an honest review.

As I have mostly enjoyed the previous two installments of this anthology, I was truly looking forward to this, the third installment. With three (supposed) heavy hitters and two (to me) unknowns, this anthology certainly had great potential. Whether it lived up to that potential or not remained to be seen.

The brightest star was certainly The Lone One and Level Sands Stretch Far Away. At the complete opposite end of the spectrum was The Collected Short Stores of Freddie Prothero. I have never been a fan of Straub's writing and this story is a pretty darn good explanation as to why. Overall, I would consider this anthology a bit stronger than volume 2 buoyed mostly by Hodge's story and would rate it just over 4 stars.

This anthology includes these stories:

—The Collected Short Stories of Freddie Prothero, by Peter Straub. As I have read reviews of other works by Straub, one overwhelming opinion is that you will either love his work or hate it. I can honestly say that the only thing that I have read by Straub that I even remotely enjoyed was The Talisman and Black House. I just with that I could get back the time I invested in reading this short story. The idea was intriguing, but it shouldn't require so much effort to make heads or tails out of a story. As others have said, what's the use of a story that can't even be deciphered. 0.5 Stars

—Group of Thirty, by Jack Ketchum. I more often than not like Ketchum's writing. I have to be careful as it is usually brimming with violence and depravity that puts it on the borderline of what I can stomach. Not so with this story, which seems at least slightly autobiographical. While there was great tension and build-up at which Ketchum is an artist, the shocking turn was jarring without being bloody (much). 3.5 Stars

—Nancy, by by Darynda Jones. I wasn't familiar with Jones' work before this story but, based on this taste, am interested in seeking out more of her work. This was essentially an olde timey ghost story with a little murder mystery thrown in. It wouldn't have hurt my feelings if it had been longer. 3.5 Stars

—I Love You Charlie Pearson, by Jacquelyn Frank. Another author with whom I'm not familiar which, given how much I enjoyed this story, is a very bad thing. What appears to be your typical stalking and kidnapping story turns out to be nothing of the sort! The tables are turned and then some! 4.0 Stars

—The Lone One and Level Sands Stretch Far Away, by Brian Hodge. I have enjoyed what I have read by Hodge and I was surely not disappointed with this read. I felt that the atmospheric buildup was so in depth and involved that I surely must have been reading for dozens of pages. There was also a depth of character development, even for the peripheral characters, the belies this story's short length. Certainly a testament to the condition of our man-made world as it ages and decays around us. 4.5 Stars