| Title | : | Forgotten Ones: Drabbles of Myth and Legend |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1777041031 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781777041038 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 271 |
| Publication | : | First published April 2, 2020 |
Delve into the darkness that came before and witness over 100 short drabbles resurrect the ancient world in 100 words or less.
Featuring award-winning horror and fiction authors from around the world, we dare you to remember the fear of the unknown and to dive headfirst into the beyond.
Within these pages the old gods have awoken and with them, chaos will reign again.
Forgotten Ones: Drabbles of Myth and Legend Reviews
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As an avid reader, I am fortunate to belong to several Advanced Reader Groups allowing me to indulge in upcoming book releases in exchange for honest reviews. Here is my opinion of Eerie River Publishing’s upcoming publication, “Forgotten Ones: Drabbles of Myth and Legend”.
Ninety-five best-selling and upcoming authors from around the world feature in this collection of over two hundred horrifying drabbles – 100-word stories.
Of all the drabble anthologies I have read, this is the absolute best. Every story is unique, thought-provoking, and complete. The authors who write these stories have honed their skills to exacting perfection. Every single word carries tremendous weight to weave an engaging, twisted tale with unexpected endings.
Some legendary characters you’ll run across in these never-before-told stories include but are not limited to Minotaur, Shiva, Hades, Cerberus, Poseidon, Amphitrite, Prometheus, Loqi, and Amarok.
You will discover monsters aren’t always under-the-bed, imaginary friends can be dangerous, blood sacrifices require blood, contracts for the exchange of souls should be read thoroughly, doppelgangers are unwanted, never trust a skinless man and horse, beware of cucumber-lovers with large appetites…
If you are a fan of all things dark and terrifying, especially when they pertain to old myths and legends, you will thoroughly enjoy this book. I did! I loved it so much, I started and finished it in bed.
Be warned! It took me three hours to fall asleep after reading! Enjoy! -
This collection of drabbles is dark and definitely in the horror genre. You won't find a peaceful encounter or a jovial game within these pages.
Every story is unique and well thought out. I would absolutely recommend to any reader that loves a good myth and also loves horror. -
Drabbles are unique tool in that a writer must make a coherent, complete story with only one hundred words. Luckily in this anthology, the authors have succeeded in crafting fascinating tales.
There's something for everyone. Myths and legends get their time in the sun here, such as Greek (Aphrodite A.D.), German (Nidstang), Japanese (Tsukumogami), even the Cthulhu Mythos (The Mountain). Like Ouija Boards? Go that! (Broken Board). How about Holiday Terror? Got you covered! (The Yule Cat). Demonic Conjuring? Yup that's here! (The Summoning).
You will not be disappointed! -
This was my first experience reading drabbles, and I must admit that I experienced some doubt when I first approached this collection, with each of its tales limited to only one hundred words. Having finished the book, I was surprised and pleased to find that the majority of these stories were not “limited” in any way by their brevity. Like a peek behind a dark curtain, or a sip of intoxicating poison, these drabbles of myth and legend can be consumed within seconds, provoking shock, horror, even melancholy—after-effects which linger in the reader’s mind long after the tale’s conclusion. I was delighted to find myself returning to this collection in order to fill in the little gaps of time throughout my day, while brewing tea or waiting in line at the store, moments so fleeting that it would be nearly impossible to immerse myself in a short story or novel of greater length.
I have rated this collection 4 out of 5 stars in an honest attempt to convey my lack of connection with some of the themes within, however, this is a result of my personal reading tastes and interests, not a reflection of the quality of writing. If you enjoy mythology, especially those gods and myths of the Greek, Roman, and Nordic variety, then you will love these drabbles, and I wholly encourage you to indulge! Likewise, if pagan rituals, blood sacrifice, witches and demons whet your appetite, you will not be disappointed. My interests lean more towards horror, and my familiarity with many of the aforementioned themes dampened my response to tales with more traditional subjects. There were also a few recurring subjects which, although the drabbles were spaced far enough apart to avoid the feeling of repetition, the collection may have benefitted from narrowing its inclusion to one tale per subject. However, there are drabbles which I believe are fully deserving of a five star rating, because they gave me a chill of fright or a shudder of revulsion, and because, of course, they are beautifully crafted. Those five-star drabbles and the last names of their authors are as follows: “Nidstang” by Ulven, “Lucy’s Friend” by Hunt, “Ia Iä Cthulhu Fhtagn!” by Tate, “The Nuckelavee” by Starling, “Offerings” by Rosenberger, “Bones” by Covo, and my personal favorites of the bunch, “The Wrong Neighborhood” by Rei and “Futakuchi-Onna” by Starling. -
I've read quite a few drabble collections in my day, and Forgotten Ones is one of the strongest. There are over two hundred entries in this anthology, many of which will haunt you for days (or even weeks) after you've read them. I really enjoyed how many of these drabbles made use of preexisting literary works. Another reviewer mentioned needing a pre-existing knowledge of mythology to make sense of some of these drabbles; however, I disagree. I still have no idea what a Nuckelavee is, but Drew Starling's 100 words told me all I needed to know. There are quite a few drabbles presented as monologues that directly address the reader, like Karen Heslop's "The Voices in Your Head Are Afraid" (which its beautifully chilling closing line) and Bryan Dyke's commanding "Cazador" amongst many others. I wish that more authors would experiment with form when writing drabbles; 100 words is the perfect excuse to twist works into instructions, advertisements, apologies and excuses, etc.
Forgotten Ones provides plenty of cosmic horror for those who'd like more eldritch abominations in their drabbles. Joshua E. Borgmann's "Chosen" offers some contemporary techno-Lovecraft, while Mark Anthony Smith's "The Miskatonic Madness" hints at a world seeped in meta-textual insanity. There are also a number of drabbles told from the POV of the antagonist, such as Regina Kenney's "Hunger" and Mark Anthony Smith's "Gravestone Anguish" (which pulls a clever little bait-and-switch), that are rewarding to read. I usually don't enjoy drabbles based on ancient mythology, but shout-out to Jess Rhodes' "Fermata" and "Metastatic" which made me think about some of these classic tales (Orpheus and Persephone) in a completely different way.
My favorite drabbles tend to be the ones that are the most wickedly light-hearted. Joel R. Hunt's "Lucy's Friend" feels like a lost episode of Doctor Who, while Drew Starling's "Futakuchi-Onna" will make you nostalgic for early 2000s J-horror films. (With all of the creepy long hair you could want!) Other winners include Jennifer Winters' cynical "My Fifteen Minutes" and K.B. Elijah's bittersweetly feminist "The Sword in the Stomach." Russell Smeaton's "The Boggart" hilariously escalates from 0 to 100 in 100 words, while "Binding Agreement" made me chuckle because who doesn't love AOL chain emails?
While there are so many brilliant drabbles contained in this anthology, no one quite compared to Tor-Anders Ulven for me. His drabbles consistently subvert expectations, whether it's spinning a potential antagonist into a lost love (like in "Draugr") or a friendly protagonist into something far more sinister (like in "Nøkken"). In just 100 words, Ulven crafts unreliable narrators full of history and depth, complicated characters that you can't help wanting to know more about. I highly recommend his drabbles, and I'm looking forward to reading more work by him in the future.
Highly recommend this anthology for anyone who wants to enjoy some bite-sized works of art during their daily commute.
NOTE: One more special shout-out! No one writes vengeful women quite like Galina Trefil. Her "A Distracting Gift" is the perfect savoureux for anyone who enjoyed her brilliant "The Rusalka of the Murashka" in First Love. -
This collection of 100-word drabbles is full of delightfully dark tales centered around mythologies bold old and new! Not only are the mythologies varied, but they're also diverse, with plenty of locations and creatures around the world each finding a home in this horror anthology, some of which I'd never even heard of. It's well worth my five star rating. My only complaint is that it ended!
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In “Forgotten Ones: Drabbles of Myth and Legend,” Eerie River Publishing brings together over 90 authors from around the world to present their 100 word takes on myths, ancient beliefs, and modern legends.
In the interest of full disclosure, I am one of the 90 authors, and I added two pieces to this fine anthology. However, since that amounts to only two pages from the 271, I didn’t think my participation should exclude my review of the other fine works in this interesting book. Of course, if you disagree, I quite understand.
This anthology invites quick bites of world-wide lore. In it, readers find ancient gods and grisly rituals. Some stories are light-hearted, while others offer a shudder. Many of these tales remind readers not to forget the old knowledge, lest they fall afoul of Forgotten Ones. With over two hundred drabbles in this collection, there are too many to discuss individually. However, I wanted to mention some that stood out to me.
“Hunger” by Regina Kenney, “Chosen” by Joshua E. Borgmann, “The Warning” by Callum Pearce, and “Mary had a Little Lamb” by Joel R. Hunt had much to say in their chilling voices. You’ve got to love the good dog in “Not Tonight” by Kimberly Rei. Drew Starling , Callum Pearce, and Tor-Anders Ulven had multiple good entries, and K.T. Tate presented an obvious admiration for H.P. Lovecraft’s Cosmic Horror. The holidays were represented, too, with a visit from The Yule Cat, Gryla and her Lads, and of course Krampus. I appreciated Galina Trefoil’s feminist “Not to be Underestimated.” “Demeter’s Anguish” by DeBickel was my favorite reimagining of a Greek myth, and Sarah Matthew’s “Sleep Tight” and Joel R. Hunt’s “Lucy’s Friend” turned childhood upside down, Melody Grace’s “Beaten to the Punch” delivered a chuckle.
In all, there’s much to admire when a writer can encapsulate a story using so few words. The joy of reading such a collection is admiring the writers who deliver so much using so little. It’s a great way to learn some new writers’ names and perhaps become acquainted with different myths and legends. Although the paperback is sizeable (271 pages), reading goes fast.
I do hope you’ll give “The Forgotten Ones” a read and enjoy some endangered knowledge - before it’s too late! -
Forgotten Ones is a collection of more than two hundred tales, stories of the old gods, fabulous creatures and a cornucopia of beings from myths and legends all over the world. Two hundred stories in a single book? Surely not, the book would be enormous! Ah, but these are not normal stories; they are drabbles. Each drabble consists of a mere one hundred words, challenging the author to tell their story whilst remaining the master of brevity.
Does it work? Not for me, I’m afraid. I don’t know whether it’s the format itself, or that stories within this collection just aren’t brilliant examples of it. By the way, if you’re trying to work out how long a hundred-word story would be, you’ve already read more than that in this review. The other problem is that quite a few of the stories require you to know the source material. The majority of the stories refer to gods and creatures from myth and legend, from every corner of the world. I’ve been obsessed with mythologies since a child, and because of that many of these tales made sense to me, but they may not to somebody without prior knowledge of the various pantheons.
There are some truly original ones that clicked, such as N.M. Brown’s Life Changes genuinely creepy cuckoo in the nest offering. Some are based on other works of fiction - K.T. Tate’s Ia Ia Cthulhu Fhtagn! requires the reader to have at least a vague understanding of Lovecraft’s Elder Gods. Some of the ‘real’ myth-based ones are self-explanatory, such as Drew Starling’s The Nuckelavee (Orcadian beastie similar to the Kelpie) and Tors-Anders Ulven’s Nøkken (Scandinavian water spirit who lures humans with music). Most of the others require a knowledge in mythology. Fred Williamson’s Broken Lyre was probably my favourite, based on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. If you don’t know the myth then you won’t understand the drabble, but it’s surprisingly emotive for a story of so few words.
Overall, it’s rather a specialist read. If mythology and folk tales appeal to you it’s worth a go to see if you can get on with the format, but otherwise it’s probably a bit niche for general consumption.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. -
For more reviews, check out my blog:
Craft-Cycle
I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Drabble collections are a great way to squeeze a little reading into your day. I love the ease of reading 100-word stories and there are some spectacular ones in this collection.
A nice variety of creepy stories that include Norse mythology, conjuring, kelpies, Greek mythology, sacrifices, and Lovecraftian themes, just to name a few. This is a great mix with a very interesting theme.
Some of my favorites were Noa Covo's "Of Love, Of Ichor", "Bones", and "Icarus and the Minotaur". I really enjoyed her writing style. I also especially enjoyed Jess Rhodes "Metastatic",
Galina Trefil's "Not To Be Underestimated",
Kimberly Rei's "The Wrong Neighborhood",
Kathleen Halecki's "The Final Journey",
Chris Hewitt's "Sins of the Father", and
Tor-Anders Ulven's "Draugr".
Great collection that will send a shiver down your spine while making you want to read "just one more". -
The concept of this collection is interesting. I've never read drabbles (100 word stories) before. While many of these felt like a complete story, others felt like opening paragraphs. Several left me wanting more as a result of just feeling like an opening. For me, I prefer full stories or at least far more than 100 words. However, it was a good way to get be exposed to a number of different authors and their writing styles.
Many of these that were written with complete endings, but there were also some that just left me wondering what it was about. I've read full stories that meet the same result of feeling complete or still lacking. Several of the stories were really captivating. -
Eerie River and the writers involved in this anthology know the power of the drabble, 100 word bursts of story that linger afterwards. The collection features a wide range of stories, drawing from various myths and legends. While som3 stories touch on the same subjects, there is enough variety that it rarely feels like you are reading the same thing over and over again. The stories I tended to like the most cane from K.T. Tate, Mark Anthony Smith, Kimberly Rei, and Matthew A. Clarke. Also, special mention to Tor-Anders Ulven, who brought fresh life to subjects I thought I had my fill of.
I don’t see too many drabble collections, especially not this well put together, so I encourage you to give this book a look! -
Up-front disclaimer: I am one of the contributing authors to Forgotten Ones and have a vested interest in promoting it...but also want to be honest so my reviews are taken seriously and will hopefully help readers make an informed decision.
It has taken a shamefully long time for me to get around to reading this book (so many books, so little time!), but when I did, I polished it off in two sittings. The short reads inside its pages make it easy to just...keep...reading...one more...page...
What you need to know about Forgotten Ones:
1. It has an awesome cover (but you probably already noticed that!)
2. It was published earlier in 2020 by the fantastic Eerie River Publishing, who always create top-notch books
3. It is filled with hundreds of drabbles (100 word stories) about ancient myths, legends, gods and creatures, all within the genre of horror...and there's not many happy endings here!
4. There's a great mix of cultures and eras, and the publishers have done a good job to avoid over-saturation of particular themes.
5. If you're watching closely, you may spot a couple of my drabbles mixed in there: an Irish hellhound, the true story of King Arthur, and an Aztec sacrifice that doesn't quite have the desired effect...
I'd like to offer a shout-out to my favourite stories:
-'Iä Iä Cthulhu fhtagn!' by K.T. Tate, for a great twist and the horrifying implication that it brings...
-'Leviathan' by Henry Herz, for the best rhyming drabble I've read in a while.
-'The Hand of Glory' by Willem V. Much, for cramming a whole world into only 100 words, and making me desperate to read the full-length novel version.
-'Under the Chapel' and 'The Summoning' by Joel R. Hunt, for the twists: my favourite drabbles are those which end in a different position to how they start, and these two tales were grimly shocking and satisfying.
-'The Ritual of Amon' by Michael D. Nadeau, for an intriguing ending and a story that had me hooked.
A great book to keep by your bed to read whenever you have a spare moment or two! -
Received a free ARC from BookSirens in exchange for my honest opinion.
This was an interesting compilation. I don't think I'd come across the concept of drabbles before (100 word stories), and it kind of made me think of a text version of those "Adventure Time" anthology episodes where an alien tells a few short stories sharing a common theme. (I went online to look this up, and sure enough, those were called graybles, which are short videos sharing a common theme, so it's basically the same idea).
It was interesting to see how these stories use real-world myth and folklore from Asia, Europe, the Americas and Africa, but there's also a bunch of Lovecraftian inspired drabbles in there.
It was an interesting and quick read, and with over 200 different stories there's bound to be something you'll like regardless of your actual tastes in horror and dark fantasy.
The version I read had some editing issues, like one of the stories having to do with Hades gifting his wife Persephone the puppy Cerberus was included twice at different points of the book. It also has a "Foreward" instead of a "Foreword," and though I know the former is an Old English word, it's not related to the concept of a foreword in a book, unless there's some wordplay here I'm missing, so maybe it's a spelling mistake?
Other than that, I enjoyed it a lot. -
Excellent Collection But Not For The Faint of Heart
I am new to Drabbles and I had my doubts when first approaching this collection, but I was not disappointed. It is amazing how quickly the Authors of these 100-word stories can get into your mind! I love mythology and lore and the places this book took me... I have given it a 5 star for the delight. I loved “Sleep Tight” by Sarah Mathews and thought how it would terrify a child. My personal taste runs to well cadenced verse and I especially enjoyed “The Dullahan” by Drew Starling also. “The Revenge of Loqi” by Jim Bates stayed with me as I read on. There are so many well written stories though, it is hard to choose a favorite.
I would highly recommend this book especially to those who like variety in their reading. The stories will take you along a gamut of emotion from page to page, and when you are through... some of them... you will read again! -
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I thought the concept of this collection was really interesting, as I'd never heard of a collection of drabbles (100 word stories) before. It may not be the best format for me as there were so many of these that I was sucked into and left wanting more. For me I'm not sure if I can be satisfied with only 100 words. Still it was a great way to get acquainted with a number of different authors and their writing styles.
There were so many of these that were written beautiful and had a great punchline, but there were also some that just didn't do it for me, which is something you can see with any collection. Still, I did enjoy the stories but I'm not sure if drabbles are something I'm going to read a lot in the future as I feel like I will always want more in some way. -
This is the first collection of drabbles I have ever read. The vast majority are perfectly unsettling and thought provoking. The stories are all based on myths and legends. There are a number from different cultures that fell a bit flat with me because I wasn't familiar with the references, but there were more than enough in this collection that worked for me. Anyone with even a passing knowledge of mythology can find something in here to enjoy.
I will say that a collection of drabbles is hard to read straight through, but it is excellent for casual reading on the go or when you just want a little chill added to your day. -
*Disclaimer: I was offered a free eCopy for an honest review*
Drabbles are fun. They’re perfect reading for when you’re tired and just want to read a few pages. Having said that, I struggled to put ‘Forgotten Ones’ down. “Just one more Drabble”, I’d tell myself, then continue to read until my eyelids drooped as I enjoyed almost all of them. Drabbles ranging from Norse gods to Eldritch nightmares and everything in between. One of the best Drabble anthologies I’ve read. Definitely worth your time. -
A dark horrific journey into the worlds of forgotten gods, beasts and demons. Bite sized stories that vary in myth and history from all over the world. This is such a delicious collection. I felt as though I was highlighting every page. The talent encased in these page is incredible. I can’t wait to see more from the authors within and from Eerie River Publishing. Definitely one to look out for.
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Great collection of stories. Some were amazing, though there were quite a few that I just didn't get... I love the drabbles in general; it takes talent to tell a story in only 100 words. Well worth the read, but would have been cooler to have the book in sections, keeping all of the Hades stories together, all of the Poseidon stories together, etc.
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I'd never heard of drabbles until just recently when I learned about this anthology, and this was a fun introduction. Some of my favourites included Chris Bannor's Ignorance, T.J. Lea's The Devil's Footprints, and David A.F. Brown's Beware the Kelpie.
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I was surprised at times with some of the short entries, but not enough to affect my opinion of this. I actually enjoyed reading it.
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This was actually really good! First I have ever read of really short stories. I enjoyed this. I received this as an ARC and choose to give an honest review.
