• Anoka

  • A Collection of Indigenous Horror
  • By: Shane Hawk
  • Narrated by: Kyle Bullock
  • Length: 2 hrs and 16 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (47 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Anoka  By  cover art

Anoka

By: Shane Hawk
Narrated by: Kyle Bullock
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $6.95

Buy for $6.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Welcome to Anoka, Minnesota, a small city just outside of the Twin Cities dubbed “The Halloween Capital of the World” since 1937. Here before you lie several tales involving bone collectors, pagan witches, werewolves, skeletal bison, and cloned children. It is up to you to decipher between fact and fiction as the author has woven historical facts into his narratives.

With his debut horror collection, Cheyenne & Arapaho author Shane Hawk explores themes of family, grief, loneliness, and identity through the lens of indigenous life.

©2020 Shane Hawk (P)2020 Shane Hawk

What listeners say about Anoka

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    26
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    9
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    20
  • 4 Stars
    15
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    21
  • 4 Stars
    11
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Listener received this title free

Intriguing Subgenre of Horror

Anoka contains four short stories and two flash fiction pieces loosely centered around the real-world city of Anoka Minnesota, the self-proclaimed “Halloween Capital of the World.” Like the author, I have family connections to Minnesota. My maternal grandparents lived in the Twin Cities and I spent my summers in the wilds of northern Minnesota, so I connected to the setting of Anoka right away. I appreciated the insight into the author’s thought process in choosing Anoka, as well as his thoughts on writing indigenous horror.

Review:
This is my first experience with indigenous horror. The narration by Kyle Bullock is fantastic and the production values are top-notch. The stories of Anoka share similar themes: loss, addiction, alienation, and the particular pain only those close to us can cause.

“Imitate” and “Transfigured” were my personal favorites of the collection. Imitate has everything I love; a slow-building tension, weird intrusions into everyday life, a troubled protagonist trying to grapple with dark forces they can barely comprehend. The emotional core of Imitate was powerful and it lingered in my mind for the rest of the day after reading it.

I appreciated the plot seed and structure of Transfigured. The author manages to give the audience something many of us want (a good werewolf story) with a new and interesting slant. Like Imitate, this piece showcases Hawk’s ability to slowly ramp up the dark oddities, tensions, and violence until it explodes on the page.

You will love this audiobook if you love indigenous horror, horror with well-grounded characters, and horror that hits you like an emotional gut punch.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Listener received this title free

A fantastic debut!!

Anoka is a collection of stories that feature a near perfect blending of horror and social commentary. Hawk doesn’t write like a debut author. His beautiful writing style and descriptive language don’t let a single word to go waste. The stories are suspenseful and some leave you guessing until the last sentence. They are unique and the topics vary in theme making it a fun read. I enjoyed the audiobook so much I purchased a paperback copy for my shelf halfway through. Hawk is a writer you’re going to want to keep an eye on. I see him becoming a big name in the horror community and I look forward to seeing what his future has in store.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Creepy and thought provoking

First time reading Shane’s work, though I’m not sure if this is his first published work. I found the collection to be very strong as a whole.

Standouts to me were Soilborne, which really set the tone with its sinister vibe in a few short minutes; and Imitate, a fairly straight forward slice of dread that plays out like a great episode of The Outer Limits.

Orange was an interesting combo of angry prose and stream-of-consciousness. I really enjoyed the wild left hook from Transfigured, and its final moment that had me questioning if it was a giant call-back.

The narration by Kyle Bullock was terrific, but there were a few audio quirks and clips that shook me out of it. Probably more a fault of equipment than narrator.

Overall, a memorable collection. Worth the price of admission (I suggest buying it outright and saving tokens for longer works), and I look forward to seeing what Shane does next.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Listener received this title free

Amazing debut collection!

All killer, no filler -- this short little volume packs a punch. I kept trying to delay listening to more because I didn't want it to end. Check it out if you like old-school horrors done with a modern approach and seen through a very unique lens. Looking forward to reading/listening to more from this author in the future.

The production quality is also great, and the strong narration lends the stories an even more authentic feel.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good

I feel like the narrator took a while to hit his stride but his evil laugh is amazing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

For Lovers of Dark Stories!

Shane Hawk does a masterful job of weaving folklore with real-life issues. From alcoholism and depression to body dysmorphia and anxiety, Hawk brings to life dark tales of magical realism by using his life’s secrets and experiences. This book is a quick read and you won’t want to put it down. Definitely a must-have if you enjoy dark stories.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Orange

My favorite story in the book was Orange. I never saw the ending coming! I so rarely get moments like that.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A Native King!

Not bad for a debut! The reader was adequate. The recording quality could have been MUCH better, Kyle Bullock’s affect was too samey thru out. This short book would ha benefited from more of a variety of readers, as most anthologies do, unless the single reader of the collected tales has exceptional breadth of tone- or has a single tone that can carry all the stories. As for the stories themselves? The stamp of Stephen King is evident, but not in a bad or slavish way. More like an influence-Shane alludes to the real life horror of missing native women & girls, he doesn’t go near that disturbing, difficult material. I suspect there is a terrifying story that Shane has inside him to write. Anoka is a great concept- all tales revolving around a single small Minnesota town. I’d like to revisit some other neighborhoods. In time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

iam not a horror story type person

to woke for me and knowing his dad all my life but not knowing Shane and his background I think he will become a very good story teller if he stays away from letting politics influence his writings

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
Listener received this title free

Anoka

I enjoyed this book.The stories were very interesting,fun,scarey but all enjoyable. Kyle Bullock was a fine narraotr.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.' 

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!