A wonderful collection filled with sci-fi, paranormal, noir and horror stories. Some are disturbing, clever, modern, futuristic and overall well written and interesting. It reminded me almost of watching old Twilight Zone episodes where there was a common feel and theme to all the episodes, but each one featured different storylines, characters and tones - I enjoyed some more than others, but overall this is a great collection for anyone looking for something easy to read during spooky season!

Thanks NetGalley, 25&Y Publishing, and Esker & Riddle Press for access to this great arc!

4/5 stars!

I love short story collections, and this one did not disappoint! Each story was rich in its own way, and original. I love short stories that leave me wanting more. Great collection!

Ten stories in all, and every single one is riveting! Not surprisingly, I couldn’t put this down. I highly recommend this book. #Hank_Schwaeble

Schwaeble is an original. Every story is immersive and legit. Dark, noir, lean, and mean. "Psychic Metrics" was my favorite. I really liked each story in this collection.
Highly recommended!
4.5 stars!!!.

This is a great short sci-fi horror collection where even the not so scary stories are still very interesting. This is my favorite kind of book and this one did not disappoint. I would definitely love to read more books written by Hanks Weible so if you love anthologies and short stories you love this book I certainly did. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

I'm a big fan of horror noir, and I adore short story collections, so this book was right in my wheelhouse. Some of the stories were just okay, a couple were spectacular. The novella was the highlight in here. Overall it's a good read and I would recommend it.

Quick, thrilling, and gripping short stories? Say no more! I have always been a fan of short stories. And I have always been a fan of horror and thriller novels. Mix in a hint of sci fi and futurism and Schwaeble gives us stories very reminiscent of The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror. Some stories were hard to follow (I am not super into fantasy and sci fi so that could be it), but I enjoyed all of them none the less. I loved the short Household; there was something sinister and creepy about it. I could read a full novella based on this one alone!

This was a DNF for me. I am admittedly not a short story person to begin with, but I’m trying to get more into them because I have been enjoying them lately. But I just couldn’t get through this. I got about halfway; I quit after finishing the titular story. A couple of the stories were okay/good, but nothing great. I felt guilty not finishing, but ultimately decided screw it: with so many books out there that you want to read and can’t find time for, don’t waste time on something you don’t like! I’ll also note that generally, this short story collection has pretty damn good reviews-just not for me.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for this arc. Unfortunately this book was not my cup of tea. Starting with the books introduction and the foreword sections which were boring. Then there is the second line of the first story talking about Chinamen. I get its a Noir book and set in the past, but I found it offensive.

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3.5/5

The stories here are mainly good but just not great. Many I found to be tedious and boring but at the same time they all kept my interest. The titular novella is the highlight of this collection.

Thank you for this opportunity!

If horror mixed with noir is your cup of tea, this is a good book for you to try out. This is a good, if inconsistent, collection from Hank Schwaeble featuring many different genres and ideas. Some work, some less so. My favorite was probably the haunted house story "Household" which does well in subverting expectation and delivering a different angle to the trope.

**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to 25&Y Publishing and Netgalley*

Schwaeble has a way to make something frightening and thought provoking, so the story scared you twice. The first story captures the Noir feeling perfectly. A couple of the other stories have logical disconnects for me, but they were still interesting reads.

Excellent Collection of Darker Scifi Stories. This collection does a great job of spanning a wide range of scifi types and styles, from noir/ hard-boiled detective chasing a mysterious object to concerns about the space race/ nuclear testing to AI to haunted houses to mind-bending psychological thriller, and several others to boot. While Schwaeble uses "dark fantasy" on the cover to describe what is here, to me "fantasy" is more swords/ sorcery level, and the closest you actually get to that in this collection is some stories having a touch of the paranormal to them. Otherwise this is solid scifi/ horror, and great for those "mood"/ "seasonal" readers looking for something a bit darker/ spookier in October. Also great for fans of the Twilight Zone and Hitchcockian suspense, as these stories are right there in that vein. Very much recommended.

This was a risky book for me to read since horror and fantasy are not what I normally gravitate to. Nonetheless, this had some good stories from an experience author. Horror fans will probably like this most.

i really appreciate the free ARC for review!!

This was a gripping collection of wonderful stories, some short, some long, ranging from thought-provoking to interesting to downright chilling. The title novella, "Moonless Nocturne," might be the best of the bunch, but they're all good, and several stand out. "Household" is a completely different take on a haunted house story. "Everything Not Forbidden" is the kind that sticks with you after you finish. "Zafari! (Unlimited)" offers a new type of zombie story that was both tense and fun and had me gasping and cheering and flipping pages. Truthfully, I liked them all, as every story was well-written and constructed with care. Moonless Nocturne is not just a great Halloween read, but a great read anytime.

A terrifying collection of horror at its core. This collection revisits the basics of horror but adds a modern twist. I lost sleep!

Hank Schwaeble’s collection of tales jump from era to era, location to location, and each one is atmospheric and full of ambiance.
The stories are quite long actually, some read more like novellas.
I’d have to say my favourites were the titular “Moonless Nocturne”, and “Zafari”
Add this one to your reading list, and check out Hank Schwaeble’s other collection, American Nocturne!

Culturally insensitive language in 2022 is not cute. The author uses terms such as “Chinaman” and “Orientals” to describe people right off the bat. I think you can do “noir” without being offensive. Very disappointed. .

The Foreword and the Introduction were very nicely written, and they both brought amazing points to think about.

When I got the short stories, I was face-to-face with an illustration. I wasn’t expecting it but it was a pleasant surprise.

I found myself slowly loosing interest as the first story went on. It was a mix of the writing and the story just not being for me. Though I will say that the story was very atmospheric and the characters were well written.

The stories were certainly ones that stuck with me, I find myself thinking of them once in a while after finishing them. Household is my favourite of them all.