In These Hallowed Halls: A Dark Academia Anthology

It is no secret that I adore the Dark Academia genre and this anthology is packed full of some of my favourite writers in the genre. These Hallowed Halls is delectable reading, especially perfect for the autumn season as nights grow colder and that chill starts to settle in your bones.As always, anthologies can be a mixed bag but I loved this one. I’m going to run through my favourite stories, but I genuinely felt like this was such a solid anthology. We kicked off with 1000 Ships by Kate Weinberg, which I really enjoyed. It was a slick, sickening look at power, manipulation and changing your odds. Unsurprisingly, I adored Olivie Blake’s story - Pythia. It was such a cool concept and the story took so many twists and turns. Blake packed a lot of characterisation and conceptual intrigue into a very short space.Similarly, The Hare and the Hound by Kelly Andrew was a story I really love. This was a dark and twisty tale of fate, revenge and rabbits. It proved to me that between this and The Whispering Dark, Andrew is an author I must keep my eye on. X House by J T Ellison was another one that threw me for a loop. It was highly enjoyable, thriving in its tight atmosphere and claustrophobic setting. The pacing was excellent, with a deliciously twisted ending.Four Funerals by David Bell was one that really struck me. It explores the aftermath of school shooting and survivor’s guilt. For me, it was affecting and moving. To no one’s surprise, Weekend at Bertie’s by M L Rio was one of my favourites. I loved the characterisation here so much and thought it was so well written. Finally, Phobos by Tori Bovalino was such a standout. Bovalino’s writing is darkly entrancing and this is a story I loved, with an excellent concept and great twists.These Hallowed Halls is perfect for all Dark Academia fans, with clearly established favourites of the genre and sparkling gems to discover.

I love dark academia books as they have a vibe like no other. They have a dark undertone of creepy and unsettling yet strangely cosy and comforting. It’s a genre that’s really come into its own in the past couple of years so I was super excited to see the release of this one!With a stunning collection of dark academia short tales from a range of epic authors, there’s bound to be a story in here to tickle your dark fantasies and interests.As with any book of short stories, I always find there are some that are enjoyed more than others. Some I really got into and enjoyed and others felt a bit harder to get through and engage with but it was an enjoyable book all in all. It’s hard to choose a favourite but I think Phobos was the one that topped it for me. That and the Professor of Ontology.Many of these stories were filled with intrigue and you never quite knew what was going to happen next or what twist the author would delight you with.They’re all fabulously written and expertly set the tone for the book. It’s a must for all lovers of this genre of book and definitely if you’re a fan of short stories.

In these Hallowed Halls is a collection of a dozen short stories from well known authors including Olivie Blake, M.L. Rio and Phoebe Wynne, which has been put together by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane. As with any anthology it was something of a mixed bad and I could not help but feel like some of the stories included in the collection had only the most tenuous of connections to the purported theme of Dark Academia.There were several stories I really enjoyed, but many more that did not make any lasting impression, which is a shame. Olivie Blake has been something of a hit or miss author for me, but her story Pythia was one of the more interesting and more innovative in the collection with its blend of horror and technology. In fact most of the stories I particularly liked had more of a horror theme, most notably Weekend at Berties by M.L. Rio with its nods to The Fall of the House of Usher by Poe, and The Professor of Ontography by Helen Grant which was deliciously creepy and mysterious. The standout of the collection for me however was The Hare and the Hound by Kelly Andrew which blends mythology, mystery and horror to wonderful and memorable effect and made me keen to seek out more from this author.Overall I would say most fans of the genre will find something to like, but may be disappointed by the overall collection.I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I was excited to read this anthology of Dark Academia short stories. I thought I knew what the genre entailed, but was interested to find some stories that seemed slightly tangential to my understanding.I enjoyed about half of them, however the rest fell short of the mark for my tastes and expectations. On the plus side, I’ve discovered some new-to-me authors that I can look out for in the future.My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own unbiased opinion.

This book is fantastic and has some of my favorite authors in it! Definitely a must read

The item didn’t arrive on Sat as indicated, but on Monday, but that is fine. Happy with the quality of this second hand book - very good - and the price overall (including shipping).

J'ai acheté ce livre pour faire un cadeau d'anniversaire. Il est arrivé très vite et très bien protégé.

I love dark academia and this really hit the spot for me. Some stories were greater than others, but ultimately I really enjoyed the entire book. It was also a great way to expose myself to some new authors I hadn't heard of before.

I’ve always been under the impression that I don’t care for dark academia. Not for me are old schoolyards or hunky professors (why are they always supposed to be massively alluring?). Then I heard someone refer to Dead Poets Society as dark academia. I love that movie. I then noticed that If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio falls firmly in the dark academia category. That book is phenomenal. So, I decided to revisit the idea of dark academia. This collection of stories seemed like the perfect way to do so without too much commitment: the fact that M.L. Rio contributed a story made it very tempting.While the stories themselves were surprisingly varied, with one veering almost into the science fiction genre, there were common themes throughout the anthology. Being that my experience with dark academia includes maybe three books total, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Assault, both physical and otherwise, made their appearances entirely too often. I avoid r**e in books, so this was a huge ‘ick’ factor for me. Yes, it can make for powerful writing, but, aside from the fact that I struggle with that content anyway, it often felt like an easy way to say that someone was a villain. It came across as lazy writing in a couple of places. It also led to a lot of skimming from me as I attempted to follow stories while also skipping upsetting content. Not the best part of my experiment with dark academia.On the other hand, some of the ideas were thought-provoking and certain stories stood out for some reason or another. “Pythia” by Olivie Blake was flat-out bizarre, but in an intriguing way. It is written as an interview with a psychologist. This psychologist was brought in to help with…a supercomputer. This supercomputer (called Delphi) is supposedly able to tell the future: at least that is what is believed. The psychologist is brought in to help with what seems to be Delphi’s anxiety. Yep. A computer with anxiety. It was odd, but points for thinking way outside the box.Another story, “Sabbatical” was at least inspired by “The Cask of Amontillado”, which I thought was interesting. It went its own way, of course, but the bones (ha!) were there. M.L. Rio’s addition, titled “Weekend at Bertie’s”, was incredibly well-written but I wanted more. The ending was abrupt and not in a powerful way. It felt more that the author began what was meant to be a full novel and decided to pivot and turn it into a short story. Or maybe I just like her writing enough that I wanted more than what was there. At any rate, I was interested yet ultimately felt a little letdown. That being said, if M.L. Rio ever decided to turn “Weekend at Bertie’s” into a novel, I would happily read it.Lastly, “Four Funerals” stood out for all the wrong reasons. It features a professor who decides to go to the funerals of multiple students who were the victims of a school shooting amid accusations that he could have prevented the situation yet didn’t. I am American and violence of this nature is all too common for me to feel okay reading a short story about survivor’s guilt. Doubly so because I couldn’t help but think of all the people who have experienced this sort of horror and were quite probably blindsided, finding this in a collection of short stories. It left a sour taste in my mouth (I can’t speak to the writing style or quality as I chose not to finish this entry). I doubt the author meant to be disrespectful and there are many stories and themes based around horrific acts, but it just really bothered me.About halfway through I started to wonder if perhaps I had made a mistake in attempting to read dark academia. There were common threads revolving around things that I avoid as much as humanly possible. That is my fault for not realizing just how big a part those things play in this type of fiction. Ultimately, I’ve gone back to my original opinion that this is a subgenre that is not for me. The majority of the tales in In These Hallowed Halls were well-crafted but I just didn’t enjoy them. So, why am I sharing this review? I truly think that, if dark academia is your jam, this is a strong collection. I’ll just be sure to avoid this subgenre in the future and we’ll all be happy.