Hark! The Herald Angels Scream

By: Christopher Golden - editor, Joe R. Lansdale, Scott Smith, Michael Koryta, Sarah Pinborough, Seanan McGuire, Jonathan Maberry, Kelley Armstrong, Josh Malerman

Narrated by: Charles Constant, Teri Schnaubelt

Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's Summary

Eighteen stories of Christmas horror from best-selling, acclaimed authors, including Joe R. Lansdale, Scott Smith, Michael Koryta, Sarah Pinborough, Seanan McGuire, Jonathan Maberry, Kelley Armstrong, and Josh Malerman.  

That there is darkness at the heart of the Yuletide season should not surprise. Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is filled with scenes that are unsettling. Marley untying the bandage that holds his jaws together. The hideous children - Want and Ignorance - beneath the robe of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. The heavy ledgers Marley drags by his chains. In the finest versions of this story, the best parts are the terrifying parts.

Best-selling author and editor Christopher Golden shares his love for Christmas horror stories with this anthology of all-new short fiction from some of the most talented and original writers of horror today.

©2018 Daring Greatly Corporation (P)2018 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Some good, some clunkers. Some fun, none scary.

I used a credit on this book because I enjoy horror anthologies, and wanted something Christmas-themed. I wouldn't say I regret it, but it wasn't all I'd hoped it would be, given the list of authors involved. Some of the stories were good, don't get me wrong, but none great, and a few were just dead weight (and not the good, horror story kind). None struck me as scary, which isn't necessarily a requirement for horror, especially to this jaded reader, but it's sure a bonus. Even a moment of discomfort, or suspicion of my surroundings, is a huge draw for me. All that said, the first and last stories were my favorites, and helped boost the book's rating for me.

The Christmas theme was barely present in the vast majority of stories. Most felt like any other horror story, but the author threw in a small reference to Christmas just to fit the anthology. "Oh, by the way, all this happens at Christmas, and maybe it was snowing too." Not a huge sin, but left me wanting for the real Christmas horror feel I was craving. If the Christmas aspect is a major draw for you, this is maybe not the best choice.

The narrator was one of the better aspects of the audiobook. Even the more lackluster stories were somewhat bolstered by his performance. There were those few he just couldn't save, but through no fault of his own. So have no fear that the narrator will ruin otherwise good stories.

Overall, I'd say that this isn't a terrible choice if you're really in the mood for a Christmas horror anthology, as long as you temper your expectations. Don't expect to be blown away, or smothered in Christmas atmosphere, but don't worry about being completely left out in the cold, either.

A fun, mixed bag of holiday themed horrors

Fun, with several excellent stories hidden in its pages. While not all the stories are winners, several stand out, and might even be worth a re-listen.

Nothing really special

This book is overall not really worth it, pretty standard bland stories that aren't all that scary. There are three stories I enjoyed because I felt like they got across what they wanted to the first one, the seventh one and the last one. The first one is the only one that gave me chills, but the last one was really engaging, while the seventh is one you need to check out for yourself.

Not what I was hoping for

I got this book because Jonathan mayberry did a story in it but unfortunately his story was probably the worst one ( The only thing I've ever read that was by him that wasn't awesome)but none of them were very good

3 Stars is being generous

I give it 2.5 stars. The last story was really the only one I liked. The rest were just kind of boring.

Merry Christmas

this was a great compilation of short stories everyone should read to bring out their Christmas cheer.