Classic Monsters Unleashed

The Unleashed Series, Book 1

De: various, James Aquilone - editor

Narrado por: Joe Hempel, Paul Woodson, Tim Campbell, Emily Lawrence, P. J. Ochlan, Christopher Salazar, Cindy Kay, Cary Hite

2023 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award Winner for Best Classic Horror Fiction

2023 Aurealis Award for Best Horror Short Story for Geneve Flynn’s “They Call Me Mother”

Stories of famous monsters in a new horror anthology featuring Joe R. Lansdale, F. Paul Wilson, Jonathan Maberry, Ramsey Campbell, and many others.

Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, the Bride of Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dr. Moreau, the Headless Horseman, the Invisible Man, the Phantom of the Opera, the Wicked Witch of the West—they’re all here, in this collection of horror short stories that reimagine, subvert, and pay homage to our favorite monsters and creatures.

Written by the biggest names in the genre, including Joe R. Lansdale, F. Paul Wilson, Jonathan Maberry, Ramsey Campbell, Lisa Morton, Owl Goingback, Richard Christian Matheson, Seanan McGuire, Maurice Broaddus, Dacre Stoker, Linda D. Addison, Alessandro Manzetti, Tim Waggoner, John Palisano, Mercedes M. Yardley, Lucy A. Snyder, Gary A. Braunbeck, Rena Mason, and Monique Snyman.

©2022 by Black Spot Books. All stories copyright © by their respective authors (P)2022 by Blackstone Publishing

Old Monsters, New Life

Excellent work here. In spite of some ridiculous negative reviews that have somehow slipped past the review guidelines..this is “must listen” Audible content.

Mostly Hits, a Few Misses.

If you like monsters from classic movies and books, including some really, legitimately interesting and fun reimaginings that stay true to the spirit of the originals, you’ll love 87% of this collection. There are a couple of stumbles, but who cares. Well worth a credit!

A Bloody Good Time

It’s a rare thing to feel like a book you’ve found was written almost exclusively for you. It’s not of course, but after discovering an anthology book about the classic monsters that features a foreword by Kim Newman (my favorite author) and a story by Seanan McGuire, I could be forgiven for thinking my nerdy prayers had been answered.
I’ve been a classic monsters fan since I was 10 years old. What started as a tedious 4th grade book report on The Phantom Of The Opera by Gaston Leroux quickly became a lifelong love affair with the “Gods and Monsters” of classic cinema and literature. Dracula, Erik the Phantom, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, all held a special place in my villain-loving heart. If there was a movie about them I saw it and if there was a book about them I read it. From the Universal Studios catalogue to the Hammer Horror series, my appetite for these characters was (and still is) insatiable. There’s an undeniable charm and alluring danger about these characters that continues to grab our collective imaginations. To get new and interesting interpretations of these “monsters” is always such a treat.
Like all anthology books some stories work better than others. Some might’ve benefited from another edit or a little more character development, but on the whole this is a very fun read. To a one the authors are clearly writing from a place of love and respect for these characters and they give them the consideration they deserve. The authors capture the dangerous charm and captivating fiendishness of these horror icons beautifully and are clearly having a fun time doing and saying something new with them. That morbid joy very quickly becomes contagious and the stories carry you away on a tide of bloody good fun. Horror junkies and monster movie geeks (my people) will probably get the most out of this book but it’s honestly such a fun read that I’d recommend it to anyone. This was a book that made me feel like a kid again in the best way possible.

If you enjoyed Classic Monsters Unleashed and are looking for something similar check out Kim Newman’s Anno Dracula series (or anything by Kim Newman really), Theodora Goss’s Athena Club series, or Neil Gaiman’s A Study In Emerald.

Classic Monsters Unleashed

The title pretty much says it all. This is a volume of short stories revolving around classic Monsters of literature and film. There are a few diversions away from the more well known creatures, but the mood and sentiment are essentially the same. It's quite a mix when you look at it. Everything from mad scientists to mummies, to vampires, and even the Blob. Don't imagine that the good guys always win here as in most of the older creature features. These are dark little tales that fit better as episodes of Hammers House Of Horror than an episode of Svengoolie. If you are looking for dark tales, this will suit you well. If you want something lighter, you may want to look elsewhere.

Something borrowed, something new

Thirty shorts, most clocking in around a half hour, labeled by title and author, but not narrator.
The assignment: deliver a short connected to a famous monster.
Revealing which monsters spoils the surprise in some of these, so I’ll simply say that most of these were excellent twists on old monsters. Half of these involved twists on Dracula or Frankenstein.

Pearl clutcher warnings, for those too frail to handle anything beyond white bread:
There’s an occasional F bomb, nude scene, or vaguely described coupling.
A handful of stories involve an FF romance(2), feminist twist on the monster genre,
or comment on man’s self-destructive nature.

1. Inferno by Alessandro Manzetti - 3 min - the feel of Dracula’s looming bite⭐️
2. Hollenlegion by Jonathan Mayberry - 36 min - Like Hell Boy meets Island of Dr. Moreau ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
3. They Call Me Mother by Geneve Flynn - 39 min - won’t spoil it; she aced the assignment ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4. Old Monsters Never Die by Tim Waggoner - 25 min - excellent variation on werewolves ⭐️⭐️⭐️
5. She-Creature from the Golden Cove by John Palisano - 39 min - ⭐️⭐️
6. Dreams by F. Paul Wilson - 29 min - ⭐️⭐️
7. Blood Hunt by Owl Goingback - 36 min - ⭐️⭐️
8. Mummy Calls by Simon Bestwick - 16 min - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
9. The Viscount and the Phantom by Lucy A. Snyder - 37 min - ⭐️⭐️
10. Modern Monsters by Monique Snuyman - 36 min - reality tv episode ⭐️⭐️

11. Beautiful Monster by JG Faherty - 37 min - is this a famous monster or … Twilight Zone twist?⭐️
12. The Nightbird by Michael Knost - 43 min - ⭐️⭐️
13. Give Me Your Hand by David Surface - 18 min - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
14. A Tale of Wickedness by Kelsea Yu - 16 min - ⭐️
15. Something Borrowed by Lindy Ryan - 9 min - ⭐️⭐️
16. Moonlight Serenade by Gaby Triana - 33 min -
17. Dead Lions by Richard Christian Matheson - 12 min -
18. Mai Don Izahn by Gary A. Braunbeck - 35 min - ⭐️
19. Hacking the Horseman’s Code by Lisa Morton - 38 min - ⭐️⭐️
20. The Invisible Man: The Fire this Time by Maurice Broaddus - 22 min - ⭐️⭐️

21. Diminished Seventh by Sean Eads and Joshua Viola - 26 min - ⭐️⭐️
22. You Can Have the Ground, My Love by Carlie St. George - 18 min - ⭐️⭐️
23. The Picture of Dorian’s Gray by Mercedes M. Yardley - 21 min - ⭐️
24. Make the Blood Go Where it Wants by Alessandro Manzetti - 21 min - which monster was this?
25. Da Noise, Da Funk, Da Blob by Linda D. Addison - 13 min - Blob’s a “classic” monster? Why not.⭐️⭐️
26. Rapt by Rena Mason - 37 min - An Asian, alien, mummy? Weird. Dug it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
27. ‘Can’ Doesn’t Mean ‘Should’ by Seanan McGuire - 14 min - huh? Was this … a screen rant about…?
28. Enter, the Dragon by Leverett Butts and Dacre Stoker - 46 min - “shut up, Vlad, I’ll handle this!” Hahahah⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
29. Someone to Blame by Ramsey Campbell - 21 min - ⭐️
30. God of the Razor by Joe R. Lansdale - 23 min - eh, more an ode to classic horror than monster

Great collection of writers and stories!

(4.0 Stars)

I thought this collection of short stories was very good. Most of the stories were entertaining and well written. The collection was mostly of stories inspired by classic movie monsters (Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, Wolfman, Creature, and various others). While there were some that really stood out as excellent, the collection as a whole was four stars. There were no "duds" in the bunch.

Most of the authors (and narrators) are familiar names in the literary world, so if you are new to Horror, this is a good jumping off point.

Great reimaginings!

I loved all these reimaginings! I get excited when I see classic stories get retold in ways I never thought. the narrations in this collection was well done and I got lost in them as I read the books while listening to it.

Open your mind and expand your imagination with these short stories and get caught up in the world of Classic Monsters with a modern day twist! Amazon lists this as book 1 so maybe we will get even more and better stories in a book 2!

Not a weak story in the bunch

This anthology is as much fun as watching a Universal monster movie. Some monsters (Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, etc.) are easy to spot. but there are a few of the more obscure denizens of the Universal world that are as much fun and as well done as “the usual cast of characters.” There really is not a weak story in the bunch. And while certain elements might have been reimagined, nothing is outlandish. It all works. Very well. Highly recommend.

The bulk was just ok…

The invisible man take on corporate America… I am a “POC” (hate that term) & I couldn’t finish it, it was so bad. So heavy handed & basically just garbage…
The rest of the stories were fine, whatever. Not a waste of time but I wouldn’t think fondly of anything…

It's kind of porny and occasionally a bit woke.

The stories are well written and thought out. They are interesting to listen to, but you can tell that some of the authors are pushing toward the woke side of things. Not offensively but to the detriment of the stories. Men are often negatively portrayed as weak and useless while women are most often strong and powerful.

I could ignore it until the invisible man story had a black man in the modern era being treated as if it were the era of Jim Crow. If a black man with a useful degree is being treated poorly and being called openly the diversity hire he can move to another employer, he hasn't been sold to that corporation. Lincoln did free the slaves after all.

In horror suspension of disbelief is very important. Setting up a situation that makes no sense in the real world distracts from the supernatural stuff I am supposed to believe.