Ancients by D. Kershaw

Ancients Reviews

• 
  David Green

  Always a fan of ancient civilizations, these drabbles are delightful and wonderfully horrific in equal measure.
• 
  Kelly

  *Disclaimer: I have 1 drabble in this collection and received a free contributors' copy
  
  The best of all the Dark Drabbles series! Well, it's my favorite in any case. I loved the diversity of cultures and the variety of story themes.
  
  A few stand out authors in this collection are : Holley Cornetto, Galina Trefil, Nerisha Kemraj, Chris Bannor, RA Goli, KB Elijah, Shawn Klimek and Umair Mirxa.
  
  But there are so many amazing 'drabblers' in this anthology, and I highly recommend checking out the other books in this series to discover new authors of your favorite SFF styles.
• 
  Vonnie Crist

  This is a collection of drabbles. What's a drabble? It's an exactly 100-word story. Each of these tiny tales is about an ancient culture, people, event, or practice. Lots of variety here.
• 
  K.B.

  *Upfront disclaimer - I am one of the contributing authors to Ancients*
  
  It's taken me a while to read this one - apologies, there's just so many books and so little time! - but as the last in the Dark Drabbles series (not including the upcoming special), I wanted to savour Ancients.
  
  Regrettably I didn't enjoy it as much as BHP's Love and Hate, which I previously reviewed as my favourite drabble anthologies to date. While Ancients had some enthralling subject matter and incredibly chilling content, I found that many of the bite-sized tales read more like a dramatic introduction to a documentary than a self-contained story. It was clear the authors had done their research on their particular ancient god/civilisation/culture, and I think that would have produced some fantastic short stories, but as drabbles they tended to fall short, as they merely outlined the myth or historical event without bringing that extra spark that was truly needed. The fall of Troy and the fate of Arachne is fascinating, but some of the drabbles spent their 100 words merely summarising such events. The better stories were the ones that put a modern twist on the tale or deviated from history to produce an unexpected result (there were even a couple of puns thrown in there for diversity!)
  
  My top ten favourite drabbles are as follows (in order of appearance):
  -That Petrifying Gaze by Stephen Herczeg, for a well-written story that misdirected the reader with its beginning and ended in four of the most chilling sentences EVER.
  -The Oracle by David Green, for a tale which felt far longer than 100 words - you have a gift for showing glimpses of a larger word. It also gave me a chuckle.
  -Forgotten by G. Allen Wilbanks, for a piece of pure vengeance that never fails to make the darker side of me grin, just a little.
  -The Kukeri by Kodi A. Dae, for an atmospheric drabble with an interesting twist, cleverly tucked into the last six words.
  -Patagonia by Ximena Escobar, for beautiful prose. "...the star-pricked firmament...an overwhelming monument of his privilege…I am the absolute, within the minimum..." Just freaking gorgeous!
  -A Stone-Cold Scam by Abi Marie Palmer, for a modern twist on the graverobber theme appearing throughout the book. Excellent karma in a well-written piece.
  -Burnt Offerings by S. O. Green, for immersing me into Scottish Highland culture, kicking and screaming...very loudly. Nicely done.
  -But This One Can Move by Nikki DeKeuster, for a drabble I thoroughly enjoyed. It had ancient beings, a twist, fantastic writing, developed personality in the unnamed MC, a full story...and a title that I have only just realised the meaning of (you have to read the drabble first, and then it makes sense). I can't rave about this one enough. This is how to do it!
  -Getting Blood into Stone by Frances Tate, for another story that I found incredibly well-written and extremely satisfying, yet also chilling. While Mayan sacrificial practices were a theme consistently explored in Ancients, this one was a stand-out.
  -Ancient Doesn't Mean Gone by Wondra Vanian, for a tale which ranges from deep and meaningful wisdom, to horror, to humour. Great work.
  
  If you like willing (and unwilling) sacrifices, vengeful (and avenged) gods, stupid (and stupider...seriously, none of them learned anything from Indiana Jones or The Mummy??) tomb raiders, try Ancients...a quick and gruesome read which is perfect for picking up in those minutes while you're waiting in queues or on hold.
• 
  R.A. Goli

  *Disclaimer: I have a drabble in this anthology*
  
  Another entertaining drabble anthology from BHP