Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology
Shane Hawk
A bold, clever, and sublimely sinister collection that dares to ask the question: “Are you ready to be un-settled?” Featuring stories by: Norris Black • Amber Blaeser-Wardzala • Phoenix Boudreau • Cherie Dimaline • Carson Faust • Kelli Jo Ford • Kate Hart • Shane Hawk • Brandon Hobson • Darcie Little Badger • Conley Lyons • Nick Medina • Tiffany Morris • Tommy Orange • Mona Susan Power • Marcie R. Rendon • Waubgeshig Rice • Rebecca Roanhorse • Andrea L. Rogers • Morgan Talty • D.H. Trujillo • Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. • Richard Van Camp • David Heska Wanbli Weiden • Royce Young Wolf • Mathilda Zeller Many Indigenous people believe that one should never whistle at night. This belief takes many forms: for instance, Native Hawaiians believe it summons the Hukai’po, the spirits of ancient warriors, and Native Mexicans say it calls Lechuza, a witch that can transform into an owl. But what all these legends hold in common is the certainty that whistling at night can cause evil spirits to appear—and even follow you home. These wholly original and shiver-inducing tales introduce readers to ghosts, curses, hauntings, monstrous creatures, complex family legacies, desperate deeds, and chilling acts of revenge. Introduced and contextualized by bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones, these stories are a celebration of Indigenous peoples’ survival and imagination, and a glorious reveling in all the things an ill-advised whistle might summon.
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0**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.**
Actual rating: 3.5
Editors Shane Hawk and Theodore C Van Alst Jr compile 26 tales of dark Indigenous fiction in their anthology, Never Whistle at Night. Some of the stories lean toward horror or more spooky where all of the stories have a darker tone and content. Some stories do feature gore or other sensitive content, and readers should consider that this is a collection intended for adult audiences.
As with all anthologies, the stories tend to come as a mixed bag. I will say that none of the stories here fell below 3 star rating individually for me, but likewise none exceeded 4 star. Highlight stories for me includes the stories by: Conley Lyons, Richard Van Camp, Mona Susan Power, Morgan Talty, Carson Faust, and Darcie Little Badger. I was especially pleased with this turnout as most of my favored stories came from new-to-me authors and I will have to delve deeper into their other works.
Hawk and Van Alst did a lovely job balancing the different types of dark fiction between a more social inclined horror to supernatural to gore and all over in between. I was also grateful to have representation from a wide variety of Native contributors both in Tribal affiliation and in "big name" versus less well known writers.
I would absolutely recommend this book to horror or dark literary readers who enjoy these sorts of stories or who hope to be introduced to more Indigenous writers this upcoming spooky season.
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