Miscreations: Gods, Monstrosities & Other Horrors by Doug Murano

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So this is what today’s pro-level horror looks like.

Miscreations: Gods, Monstrosities & Other Horrors is one of the best anthologies I have ever read, made extra special with the inclusion of beautifully crafted dark poems by Linda D. Addison, Christina Sng, and Stephanie M. Wytovich. Of Addison’s poem “One Day of Inside/Out,” I thought at the end that I kinda want this to happen, even if I for some reason turn out to be one of those “living things with useless hands and feet, / writhing […]”.

An anthology like this might lead one to believe there will be stories related to Frankenstein’s monster included, and there most certainly are, including the fantastic poem “A Benediction of Corpses” by Stephanie M. Wytovich and the short story “Frankenstein’s Daughter” by Theodora Goss that is so phenomenal, I immediately accept it as a direct sequel to Frankenstein.

But there are also tales about werewolves, Old Gods, aspects of a Toad God, ghosts, robots, and writers trying to meet deadlines, among many other miscreations. Some of my favorites include “Matryoshka” by Joanna Parypinski, “Operations Other Than War” by Nadia Bulkin, “You Are My Neighbor” by Max Booth III, “Imperfect Clay” by Lisa Morton, “My Knowing Glance” by Lucy A. Snyder, “The Making of Asylum Ophelia” by Mercedes M. Yardley… but, honestly, I might as well reproduce the table of contents here, because I love just about everything in this book, including the foreword by Alma Katsu.

I had a feeling about this book when it was first announced, and that feeling was confirmed while reading everything inside. Editors Doug Murano and Michael Bailey are already well known for previous well-received anthologies, but this is the first I have read, and I’m looking forward to reading more of their careful and thoughtful piecing together of master works by master writers.

What an incredible anthology this is! Don’t miss it. And thank you to Night Worms and the editors for making it available early. This is my thankful, honest, absolutely delighted review.

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