City of Screams: Yes, This One Hollers Well
- Aaron Channel
- Nov 7, 2019
- 2 min read
Neil D’Silva, the repeated best-selling author, has decided to turn editor, under the watch of Half Baked Beans Publishing. Together, they present a new horror anthology: “City of Screams.” Set in modern-day, urban India, fifteen authors bring forward a collection of ghosts, ghouls, and all the other deadly things which are guaranteed to make a reader’s stomach twist before they retreat to the more-peaceful countryside.
One striking positive about this anthology is how well the stories compliment each other. There is an overall morbid sense of simpatico between them, giving the illusion that the authors had deliberately created the same demon-filled world before ever penning a single word. In actuality, this did not happen. Instead, D’Silva simply selected a fantastic group of horror veterans already known to the industry, while also giving a break to some others that are up-and-coming.
A second plus about “City of Screams” is that, not only does it start off running, it manages to keep up the pace until the very last sentence. Like a well-told joke, it then ends on a good note before the audience has become worn out. D’Silva was careful to not include too many stories, or make the stories’ word counts too long, which results in the end product seeming polished and truly professional-grade.
Critically, there was one particularly glaring typo, where an entire sentence was left highlighted in Tim Paxton’s story “Home”—an obvious throwback to the editing process. This possibly does not appear in the print version of the book, but it does still currently exist in the digital copy. The fact that the rest of the book is so very well-edited will make this one flaw stand out more.
Additionally, while many of the authors have wonderful openings for their tales, a few need to work more on creating a good hook to lure their readers in.
Overall, “City of Screams” is a thoroughly eerie, enjoyable, and easy read for horror fans. The numerous novelists within it will no doubt be finding many of their solo projects sought out on account of their four-thousand-word pieces therein contained.
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