Anoka

A Collection of Indigenous Horror

By: Shane Hawk

Narrated by: Kyle Bullock

Welcome to Anoka, Minnesota, a small city just outside of the Twin Cities dubbed “The Halloween Capital of the World” since 1937. Here before you lie several tales involving bone collectors, pagan witches, werewolves, skeletal bison, and cloned children. It is up to you to decipher between fact and fiction as the author has woven historical facts into his narratives.

With his debut horror collection, Cheyenne & Arapaho author Shane Hawk explores themes of family, grief, loneliness, and identity through the lens of indigenous life.

©2020 Shane Hawk (P)2020 Shane Hawk

Good

I feel like the narrator took a while to hit his stride but his evil laugh is amazing.

Creepy and thought provoking

First time reading Shane’s work, though I’m not sure if this is his first published work. I found the collection to be very strong as a whole.

Standouts to me were Soilborne, which really set the tone with its sinister vibe in a few short minutes; and Imitate, a fairly straight forward slice of dread that plays out like a great episode of The Outer Limits.

Orange was an interesting combo of angry prose and stream-of-consciousness. I really enjoyed the wild left hook from Transfigured, and its final moment that had me questioning if it was a giant call-back.

The narration by Kyle Bullock was terrific, but there were a few audio quirks and clips that shook me out of it. Probably more a fault of equipment than narrator.

Overall, a memorable collection. Worth the price of admission (I suggest buying it outright and saving tokens for longer works), and I look forward to seeing what Shane does next.

Orange

My favorite story in the book was Orange. I never saw the ending coming! I so rarely get moments like that.

For Lovers of Dark Stories!

Shane Hawk does a masterful job of weaving folklore with real-life issues. From alcoholism and depression to body dysmorphia and anxiety, Hawk brings to life dark tales of magical realism by using his life’s secrets and experiences. This book is a quick read and you won’t want to put it down. Definitely a must-have if you enjoy dark stories.

Great writing, poor sound quality

The audio quality sounds like it wasn’t recorded professionally. I enjoy Shane Hawk’s writing, but I wasn’t thrilled with the narrator or the sound quality.