Chlorophobia: An Eco-Horror Anthology: Edited By A.R. Ward
Reviewed By Ksenia Murray
Chlorophobia: An Eco-Horror Anthology by Ghost orchid press is to die for – literally! It is honestly one of my favorite anthologies that I have ever read and that’s saying something coming from a person who reads multiple a year. This anthology houses short stories and poems that regard nature turning against humans in any way imaginable. From polyps that take human slaves and a dinner salad that turns you into a salad, you never know what you’re going to get. Each story is completely different from the last. That held my attention for longer as a lot of anthologies blend together after a while.
My top 3 favorite stories are: Farm-to-Table by Sonora Taylor, a story of a bad date getting even worse after eating a salad. What I most enjoyed about this story was its voice. It mixed horror and humor and I typically don’t enjoy that but I enjoyed this story. Turning the Earth by Samuel Best is a story about a young girl using the plants in her backyard to get revenge on her abusive father. What I liked about this one was the set-up to the end. It had the hairs on the back of my neck standing up the entire time! And the last but certainly not least is The Uytoroi by Zé Burns. That story is about white ghoulish looking polyps that erupt onto a beach and take human slaves to do their bidding. What I loved about that story is how unique it was. I don’t think I’ve ever read a story like that before.
Now I won’t say this is a bad thing at all but this anthology includes horror poems. To be honest I do not typically enjoy poems in my leisure time so I was quite surprised when I stumbled upon them with this anthology. I must say that every poem was enjoyable and I didn’t feel like skipping them at all! I might have found a new love for horror poems because of this anthology.
The only critique I have for this anthology is that even though every story is unique, a few of them are predictable and I could figure out what was going to happen before it happened. I know some people enjoy feeling smart and knowing things but I like to be surprised. Or if I am right that the ending does it in a way that’s brand new to me.
All in all, this is a wonderful anthology and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves reading anthologies or loves horror stories about nature.
Chlorophobia
A group of explorers stumble upon a new species of plant in the depths of the rainforest.
A novel virus drives humankind to flee the Earth.
A killer fog rolls in off the sea, decimating everything in its path.
Eco-horror is one of the hottest and most relevant subgenres around in 2021, and inside this anthology you’ll find punchy, eye-catching flash fiction and poetry by no fewer than fifty talented authors.
Plants, animals, weather phenomena… It’s time for Mother Nature to fight back.
You can buy Chlorophobia from Amazon UK & Amazon US
Ksenia Murray
Ksenia Murray hails from Oklahoma but moves around constantly. Shes currently writing another novel after having published The Cave and Compendium of Creatures. You can find Ksenia tucked away from the madness of the world with her husband, Chris, and her two pets Cricket and Citrus.
You can follow Ksenia on Twitter @kseniamurray
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