DARK SCREAMS: VOLUME NINE was a ton of fun! I was most especially impressed with the last entry TORN by Lee Thomas.

I'm not even going to get into what TORN was about because I think it should be related exactly as the author intended. I will say that even though this is a longer story than I usually care for in an anthology, it kept me riveted, it was original and I LOVED it!

THE DEAD YEARS by Taylor Grant was another original entry and this one had a science fiction bent to it that I enjoyed. I would love to see this idea expanded to a full length novel.

SUMMER OF 07 by Stewart O'Nan. A super short story that reminded me of Ted Bundy.

THE BLACKOUT by Jonathan Moore was an unsettling tale mostly set at the morgue.

INVITATION TO THE GAME by Kelly Armstrong. This was another tale that had a science fiction bent to it, in my view. It's about a corporation that controls, (or attempts to control?) all aspects of its employees lives. When they send you an invitation, it is unwise to decline.

Lastly, there was a story from Peter Straub: VARIATIONS ON A THEME FROM SEINFELD. I admit that the reason I requested an ARC of this book was due to Straub. I have such love for him and for Seinfeld, for that matter, but this story didn't do much for me.

Overall, I had fun with this volume, (most especially the story TORN!), and I recommend it to dark fiction and science fiction lovers everywhere!

*Thanks to NetGalley and to Hydra for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This is it!*

Hydra and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Dark Screams: Volume Nine. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Dark Screams: Volume Nine is one of my favorites in the series, as the offerings in this book are both scary and complement each other well. My favorite short story is Invitation to the Game, as it is about one woman's loss of control of her own life. I was also a big fan of The Blackout, for its elements of horror and surprise. Put the words morgue and missing body in a story and it is guaranteed to be scary.

Summer of '77 was my least favorite in Dark Screams: Volume Nine because the author did not take the idea far enough. It was too short and was the least scary of the book, although it did have the potential to provoke maximum horror. I was also not a fan of Variations on a theme from Seinfeld, as it was a story devoid of enough substance to peak my interest.

Finally, both The Dead Years and Torn were equally spooky and scary, with enough mystery and thrilling moments to keep me interested. I liked the unexpected aspects of both stories and thought they were good additions to the book. Readers who like horror short stories will like the Dark Screams series overall and Volume Nine in particular.

I love this series, another strong entry. There is somehing for everyone. My favorite: The Invitation. Awesome anthology of short stories. I look foward to the next installment. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

My favorite story is the book's closer, "Torn" by Lee Thomas. A hunt for a missing girl turns into all-out warfare then gets worse from there when the assailants learn the lore about them isn't true.

I also enjoyed "Invitation to the Game" by Kelley Armstrong about a company that won't take no for an answer when they offer a promotion, and "The Blackout" by Jonathan Moore that tells the tale of a missing body from the morgue that takes a supernatural turn.

I liked all the stories save "Variations on a Theme From Seinfeld" by Peter Straub. It wasn't horrible, but I didn't connect with it at all.

But it's rare to like all stories in an anthology , and Dark Screams: Volume Nine hits way more than it misses for me. Definitely check this one out if you like horror stories.

This is such a great collection of stories. I highly recommend

3.5/5 stars

Dark Screams: Volume Nine is an anthology with six horror stories. This is not a genre that I normally read. But Kelley Armstrong is one of my favorite authors. So I knew that I wanted to read her story included in this anthology.

The six stories in this horror anthology are:

1)INVITATION TO THE GAME by Kelley Armstrong
2)SUMMER OF ’77 by Stewart O’Nan
3)THE DEAD YEARS by Taylor Grant
4)THE BLACKOUT by Jonathan Moore
5)VARIATIONS ON A THEME FROM SEINFELD by Peter Straub
6)TORN by Lee Thomas

My reviews of each story:

INVITATION TO THE GAME by Kelley Armstrong:This was such a great story. It features Vivienne, who comes home from work and gets "the invitation". Vivienne's employer was so creepy and disturbing. They send an invitation to join their executive. The invitation is to the Game. But none of the employees know what the game is. This story was easy to follow, interesting, and I could not put it down. This story was very original and well written.

SUMMER OF ’77 by Stewart O’Nan: This story was very short. It was about a guy with a cast and what he did to some people. It was short, creepy, but not very easy to follow.

THE DEAD YEARS by Taylor Grant:This one was very easy to follow. His girlfriend Emma Grace disappeared 15 years ago. Now he sees a woman 15 years later who looks exactly like her. Is it her? This story started off very strong for me. I loved the beginning. However, I found the premise very disturbing. And I wanted more from the ending.

THE BLACKOUT by Jonathan Moore: This one was enjoyable. Detective Nakahara investigates a body that disappears from the morgue. This one was easy to follow. But the ending was too abrupt.

VARIATIONS ON A THEME FROM SEINFELD by Peter Straub:Since he was little Clyde has noticed that he could not see his reflection in the mirror. This story was very short. But I found it very confusing.

TORN by Lee Thomas:This story takes up the last half of the book. The story begins with a child, Maggie disappearing. Sheriff Cranston has to figure out who or what is involved. This story was easy to follow. But it was super long compared to all of the other stories in this anthology. This story was chilling and well written. But it definitely dragged for me in places. I loved the beginning. But then the story took a turn that I didn't like as much. Also this story was the goriest and had some crude language. The end was absolutely heart-breaking.


Overall, this anthology had some good stories. My favorites were The Invitation and The Blackout.

Provided by Net Galley for an honest review. This was a weaker addition to the series with only one story that really out shined them all for me and that was The Dead Years by Taylor Grant. I wish was longer than it was, it started off interesting and took a dark turn and then, got even darker. Great story, strong and tense throughout and nice surprises. The other one I had read previously, and that was Torn.

The longest of the additions to this volume and fairly predictable horror yarn with a "werewolf" theme. A Sheriff following leads on a child abduction comes face to face with a man like beast that is in the process of devouring one of his deputies. The story then goes awry from there. Some good thrills but the big payoff fell flat for me.

I hear ten is the final volume, I really think at this point the series could have been five excellent volumes, maybe six, the rest merely filler.

Another mixed bag of screams from Chizmar, Freeman and Hydra. Starting at the end:

Lee Thomas is the winner, winner and for my money is worth the cost of the book. There are so many layers to this story and not all is what it seems. It's a 5 star plus story.

Kelley Armstrong's story was strong and a fine read. Made me wonder...

Sandwiched between these two were a couple of fine stories by Grant and Moore. On the other hand, O'Nan's story was ok, and Straub's sucked.

I received my copy from the publisher. It was an excellent night's read.

Can appearances be deceiving? Can they be deadly? How? "That is the theme of the stories in this anthology.the short stories are written. They kept my attention even when someone was knocking at the door. They left, I kept reading. My favorite story was "Torn." I have enjoyed this series very much. I hope they continue this series.

A good collection of scary stories. Very entertaining collection that I enjoyed reading.

This is a collection of short stories by a variety of authors and I didn’t like it.

It felt like they were forced out of the authors and I just don’t like them. Normally I am a fan of dark stories, but these just don’t sit well with me.

Maybe if you LOVE dark horror stories, you might like this.

Invitation to the game was a good read and not exactly predictable. I could see the general direction it was going but I was still surprised. An overall fun read with a good twist. The summer of ’77 wasn’t good in any way. It didn’t work for me at all. Not the plot or the characters, not that there was much of a chance to know them. I’m glad it was very short. The Dead Years was a very good story, heartbreaking and horrifying in equal measure. I was completely engrossed in the story it was over too soon.. The Blackout was a cool story but wasn’t a smooth read for me. It seemed to jump from scene to scene. Variations on a Theme from Seinfeld was just too weird, I had a hard time following this one.

I liked them all.

Invitation to the game was my #1 with the evil corporation/government theme is my favorite.

The Torn was a total creep out and one of the longer pieces. It really twisted me.

Dark Screams: volume nine serves up another six slabs of horror goodness with stories from Kelley Armstrong, Stewart O’Nan, Taylor Grant, Jonathan Moore, Peter Straub and a novella from Lee Thomas.

As far as the series goes it's a bit of a mixed bag, with Grant's The Dead Years and Thomas' Torn the real highlights. Both are excellently crafted chillers that make this well worth a go. The first is a dark, twist-filled story of a man who meets a woman that looks identical to his childhood love that disappeared years ago, and the second a pacey Assault on Precinct 13 style action/horror with werewolves.

Unfortunately the others don't quite deliver the same goods but Armstrong's Invitation to the Game and Moore's The Blackout both warrant a look.

Never less, The Dark Screams series remains one of the best anthology series for short, sharp tales of the macabre at with a cover price of just $4.99 is well worth the investment.

Thank you so much for this reading. I love this novels especially the one who dit Peter Straub. It's difficult to talk about a book of short novels from different authors but I really enjoy my reading. Wonderful!

I love these collections of creepy, demented stories. Each volume seems to improve on the last. Volume 9 features six horror stories:

Invitation to the party - Kelly Armstrong. Vivienne comes home from work one day and finds an invitation waiting for her. Not just any invite.... The Invitation. An announcement from her employer that she is being promoted to an executive job. But first, she will have to play The Game. This story puts a new spin on the horrors of the corporate world. Great story!

Summer of '07 - Stewart Nan. A Bundy-like predator has fun at the beach. He won't hurt you. Really. A short, but very creepy tale.

The Dead Years - Taylor Grant. Emma Grace has been dead for 15 years. Until her former boyfriend meets her at an art auction. Could it be Emma? Or just her face? Chilling story of the horrors of finding a long lost love.

The Blackout - Jonathan Moore. The police are called to the hospital morgue. A body is missing, but evidence at the scene seems all wrong. Great story! My favorite in this collection!

Variations on a theme from Seinfeld - Peter Straub. Clyde knows when his reflection gets lost that all he needs to do is go through the mirror and fetch it. Sometimes finding his way back is a bit difficult. A bit trope-y, but a good story.

Torn - Lee Thomas. 11-year old Maggie Mayflower leaves her house to go to the park with a friend. She never comes home. Turns out, the person who kidnapped her really is a monster. Great scary story. A bit long....but so enjoyable that I didn't mind the length.

All in all, a varied, creepy and enjoyable horror collection. I can't wait til the next volume comes out! I'm never disappointed.

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Random House - Hydra via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

Another great iteration of the Dark Screams anthologies. This lot has a great mix of stories, and all were rather dark and disturbing. I loved it!

Kelley Armstrong's Invitation to the Game: Vivienne gets an invitation to play a game, and it's an offer she can not - and will not - refuse.

Summer of ‘77 by Stewart O’Nan is short, but effective. All I could think the whole time was that this was very Bundy-esque.

The Dead Years by Taylor Grant makes you rethink scientific breakthroughs - and wish the scientists would consider them as well. That story definitely did not end where I thought it would.

Jonathan Moore's The Blackout was also full of loads of twists and turns.

Torn by Lee Thomas was so very dark. Weird werewolf like creatures come to a small town...but why? It was good, but extremely bleak.

Variations on a Theme from Seinfeld by Peter Straub was the only one that I was just meh about. But I am not a big Straub fan either.

All in all, another great anthology from Freeman and Chizmar!

This book is perfect for chill seekers! Hair raising, goose bump bringing tales that are suspenseful and fun to read. I especially enjoyed that this book was a collection of short stories, great for college aged book club sessions! We read a different story for each session and were able to discuss and have fun with these creepy tales!

This is the kind of book you want to read that is that creepy kind of horror. It won’t scare you but will stay with you and keep you thinking about long after the pages have turned. Wonderful authors! Would highly recommend!

This anthology consist of a collection of horror stories. These stories are from six well known authors. The stories were good but not scary. The writing was phenomenal and the story lines were well written. My favorite story was The Dead Years by Taylor Grant while my least favorite story was Variations on a Theme from Seinfeld by Peter Straub. The last story was half the novel which I though was weird but it was good so it was worth it, just not used to having a story be so long. Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing House for this advanced reading copy.

Invitation to the Game by Kelley Armstrong - 4/5 Stars
Vivienne is offered a chance to become an executive at the company she works for. Although this is considered an honor she's not sure she wants it. But will her company just let her walk away or do in mind? I loved the idea of company's game I just wish I knew how they did it. Not a scary story but definitely a thriller.

Summer of '77 by Stewart O'Nan - 4/5 Stars
This is a super short story (maybe 10 pages) that follows an unnamed character as he enjoys his summer. Initially when I started reading this story I wasn't sure what was dark and twisted about the story but then I caught on. I'm glad Stewart O'Nan didn't go into graphic details as I hate stories with a lot of violence and gore. Overall quite a good story.

The Dead Years by Taylor Grant - 5/5 Stars
The main character is still in love with his high school sweetheart even after she left him years ago. He decides to find her (Emma Grace) but things quickly derail as he finds a woman who looks like her but doesn't act like her? Is this woman Margot as she claims or is she actually Emma in disguise. This story was amazing with great characters, an interesting plot and a twisted ending. I liked reading about the main character's descent into anger and violence.

Blackout by Jonathan Moore - 4/5 Stars
Detective Nakahara and Lieutenant Silva are tasked with solving the case of a missing body. Rachel Ako died when she was hit by a car, only her body disappears from the morgue. Things are not as they appear as more bodies turn up. The story was good but the plot wasn't shocking. I knew what was going to happen except the very end regarding Nakahara. Well worth the read.

Variations on a Theme from Seinfeld by Peter Straub - 3/5 Stars
The best way to describe this story would be its about a doppelganger who wants a new life. I found this story hard to follow and a tad bit boring. I also don't understand how the title relates to the story.

Torn by lee Thomas - 3/5 Stars
The story follows a detective in a small town who is forced to face a situation way out of his league. An abduction leads to a murder which leads to something supernatural. The story was okay but it dragged on in parts. I really liked the secret the main character was harboring, even though numerous hints were given I never did figure out what/who it was. This story contained the most gore out of all stories in this anthology.