Danielle Ackley-McPhail

Poe requires no introduction. At this point, I feel, neither does steampunk - top-hats with goggles and Victorian steam-powered automatons are either your thing or they're not. A Cast of Crows takes the very natural evolution of putting the two things together. Poe's range of themes- from horror to mystery to lovelorn, are both seminal and perfect jumping-off points for innumerable steampunk adventures.

This fun little collection is very true to it's name - it has quite a cast of crows, and show more ravens (clockwork and otherwise). Indeed if one had never heard of E.A. Poe they might think corvids were the actual connective tissue. But baring the feathers, the authors featured each riff off, and pay homage to, the old Virginian's themes and imagery. None are straight retellings of a Poe tale, which is actually quite refreshing. A knowledgeable reader may notice the occasional raven alighting on a bust - and frankly a couple more than are really necessary croak "Nevermore" - but in general the connection is thematic. There are plenty of mysterious murders, live burials, and ominous costume parties. These just happen to occur on airships or in automaton workshops. And while there are no golden bugs, there is a ship called The Goldbug that a Union spy/were-raven has to divert from the Confederates. Even Edgar Allen Crow comes of as charming in one story. I giggled. The stories have diverse casts of POV characters, and for the most part acknowledge, where appropriate, the imperialist and colonizer underpinnings of the late 19th/early 20th Century settings.

I was not familiar with the contributors prior, but it seems many of them already have a pedigree of steampunk stories. This has been a neglected area in my reading, but after a collection of solid little adventures like this, I may be picking up a pair of goggles in the near future. show less

DON"T JUDGE THIS BOOK BY IT'S COVER! Yes, it has some truly unfortunate cover art, but I promise the book is great.

I had the chance to read this as an early reviewer copy and just loved it! Space based military science fiction with strong female leads have been my favorite genre for most of my life, so I am very picky them. Daire's Devils was delightfully written with great character development and so many plot twists that "just one chapter more" turned into an all nighter.

My only show more complaint is that since I finished reading this a couple of days, I can't get into my next book because I keep thinking about this one! I hope that Danielle Ackley-McPhail will continue this story, I can't wait see what scrapes these characters get into next! show less

I received a copy of this ebook as part of Library Thing Early Reviewers.

This is not an exhaustive encyclopaedia of cryptids (and it never claims to be), but it is an excellent, thoughtfully curated compendium that understands exactly what makes cryptids compelling: folklore, ambiguity, regional variation, and just enough structure to make the chaos legible.

Each entry is cleanly organised—origin, description, life cycle, history, known variations, and alternate names—making the book feel show more genuinely useful as a reference while still being a pleasure to browse. The alphabetical organisation works well, and the scope strikes a nice balance between familiar favourites (yes, Mothman is here) and lesser-known entities that sent me straight down several enjoyable rabbit holes.

The illustrations deserve special mention. J.W. Harp’s artwork is colourful, stylised, and instantly distinctive—almost coloured-pencil in texture—and manages to be atmospheric without tipping into outright horror (I find some even downright cute). There are lots of monsters, but nothing so frightening that I’d hesitate to hand this to one of the cryptid-obsessed nibblings (mine are all under 10). At the same time, the level of detail and care clearly respects adult readers who enjoy folklore and speculative zoology.

My only real quibble—and it’s a librarian-brained one—is that I desperately wanted an index at the back cross-listing alternate names and regional variants. The cryptids themselves are alphabetised, but if you know a creature by a different name, a reference index would make this an even stronger resource. This is very much a “would make it perfect” complaint, not a deal-breaker.

Overall, this is a fun, accessible, and genuinely well-made collection that I didn’t expect to want physically—but now absolutely do. Whether you’re a casual cryptid enjoyer, a folklore nerd, or just someone who likes beautifully illustrated reference books, this one earns its place on the shelf. show less

N.B. I received this title via LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program in exchange for my honest review.

I'll readily admit I live under a rock, and it wasn't until I encountered this collection that I learned StokerCon exists. The only way I can surely atone is to attend next year's event, my interest piqued almost entirely by this excellent anthology.

Nothing truly compares to being at a convention proper, but the StokerCon 2025 Souvenir Anthology comes pretty close. There's a certain flair show more in the presentation (thanks in no small part to Danielle Ackley-McPhail's tight editing) that makes the author interviews, awards, and essays pop off the page. The excerpts, prose, and poetry contained within were well-chosen and well-place. There's something for just about every type of horror fan, from gross-out splatterpunk fare to more poignant, suspenseful tales that either give your brain something to chew on or leave you wondering "What the f*ck?"

But what really struck me was the writing advice. Reading (and again, with the editing it came across to me more like hearing) the interviews with Waggoner, Triana, Nevill, et al and getting an insight into their process taught me more about the craft than any rando writing blog ever could.

You really can't go wrong - this book has it all. Highly recommended for anyone who reads or writes horror, whether they've just gotten their toes wet or are already wading knee-deep in blood and gore. show less