This has been, hands-down my favorite read this Spring.
Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, the Bride of Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dr. Moreau, the Headless Horseman, the Invisible Man, the Phantom of the Opera, and even the Wicked Witch of the West are all here. Reimagined and in new tales that are so reminiscent of the old monster movies I use to watch as a kid.
Every weekend I would look forward to "Creature Double Feature" so I could watch a classic B-movie, usually the Wolfman or Dracula...I loved those movies so much and it seemed like the telling of monster stories had gone the way of the Dodo. Everyone wants psychos, sociopaths, and serial killers. There are no such things as monsters except those wearing the face of men.
But those of my generation knew that monsters were still out there, waiting to suck your blood, bite you and make you change at the full moon, or trapped in a museum, wrapped in centuries of old cloth waiting for the time you would awaken.

So many writers I already loved contributed to this book, such as Jonathan Maberry, F. Paul Wilson. Joe R. Lansdale, Ramsey Campell, and Richard Christian Matheson. These alone would have made this book worth every penny. But I also found authors I was not as familiar with and probably would never have read such as Dacre Stoker, Lisa Morton, Owl Goingback, Gary A. Braunbeck, and so many others.

The tales are not just rehashing old legends but each has its own little twist that makes ir fresh and new. For example:
They Call me Mother is what happens after Jonathan Harker leaves Mina after Dracula changed her
.
Hollenlegion by Jonathan Maberry takes us back to The Island of Doctor Moreau, where things did not end as we first thought.

Dreams by F.Paul Wilson gives a new look and understanding of Frankenstein's creature.

Can doesn't Mean Should by Seanan McGuire looks at mad scientists from the other side of the coin where their so-called madness could have been our savior.

I could go on and on, but you need to read these to really appreciate them. Each is a gem and I can't say thank you enough to each author who brought back memories of the monsters of my childhood.


Thanks to @netgalley , Black Spot Books, Kim Newman, and all the authors who contributed here for the opportunity to read this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing the book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a lot of fun! I'm a huge classic horror fan (Universal and Hammer) and I really enjoyed reading these reinterpretations of some fan favorite classic monsters. Each story is well paced and a good length, so you're always moving on to something new. I would love to see some of these fleshed out into full length novels or even series. The potential is definitely there.

I was surprised to see this was a kickstarted project and hadn't been picked up by a major publisher. Clearly the editor is very passionate about bringing these stories to the audience that helped make it a reality. It would be great to see this with an official endorsement from Universal and other studios who own these properties, just to reach a wider audience if nothing else.

If you are a fan of the classics, definitely check out this collection of reimaginings and mini "sequels".

Really enjoyed this anthology. Many great stories, but many great authors. It would be hard to pick a favorite. #ClassicMonstersUnleashed #NetGalley

Classic Monster Unleashed is a horror anthology that takes the stories of classic monsters and reimagines them and turns them on their head while also paying homage to them. I loved this collection overall though I didn't want some of the stories to be longer but all of them had stratifying endings. Some of these stories make the monsters not all that monstrous but others take them to another level. Most of these takes were not one's I was expecting which I loved and I loved how many of the authors gave voice to characters that didn't have much agency in the original stories. I received an early copy though Netgalley but I plan of buying a physical copy as well.

This book is a new area for me. I never read any Horror books before. I rarely watch any Horror movie but still i wanted to read this book mainly because i am a Fantasy reader and i like classic fairytale like stories.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Since the stories inside this book are anthologies, of-course some stories were more enjoyable than others. The main reason could be i am a character based reader and Anthologies can't explore deep characters like a full novel does. I liked many illustrations throughout the book and they gave me an immersive reading feel. Of-course since its a horror book, i have to read it at night with all lights off.

In general, i really enjoyed this book and others can also enjoy this if they are not deeply analysing this book and if they are up for the ride rather than the philosophy and characters.

When @blackspotbooks reached out to me with the opportunity to read this book, I was hesitant at first.

The main reason being, if you know me at all, you'll know I'm a massive wimp, and I'm terrified of anything even remotely creepy.

However, I was really intrigued and decided to give it a go, and I regret nothing!

As with any anthology, there were some stories that stood out more than others to me, but overall, the quality of each story was really high.

I loved all the new interpretations of the monsters that even non horror fans like me know about. It was really interesting to see things from different points of view from what we're used to.

A few particular favourites of mine were:
The Picture of Dorianna Gray,
Hacking the Horseman's Code,
They Call Me Mother, and
Beautiful Monster.

This was a wonderful collection that even non horror fans can enjoy too.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I love the old classic horror stories, Dracula, Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the Headless Horseman, the Invisible Man, I loved them all.
So this Anthology was an easy choice for me, but as with a lot of anthology's, this was a mixed bag, some of the stories I loved, like Höllenlegion by Jonathan Maberry – This story is a sequel to H. G. Wells's The Island of Dr. Moreau, and
The Viscount and the Phantom by Lucy A. Snyder – A phantom of the Opera sequel.
While others like The Invisible Man: The Fire This Time by Maurice Broaddus, and The Picture of Doriana Gray by Mercedes M Yardley felt like they drifted too far from the feel of the original stories.
Overall, there is a lot to love about these stories, there are some sequel and spinoff stories, and some reimagined, with a variety of writing styles it means there is something for everyone.
I’d recommend this book to anyone who loves the classics or there modern counterparts.

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.*

Not too much surprising here; fewer vampires than would have been present a decade ago, more werewolves and Frankenstein’s monsters. Seanan McGuire contributes a mad scientist rant; also features Joe R. Lansdale, Jonathan Maberry, F. Paul Wilson, Ramsey Campbell, and others.

Like most anthologies, I liked some of the stories, some underwhelmed, and most were decent. While I enjoyed the theme of the anthology, nothing really blew me away. I did really enjoy the various illustrations though

A really solid anthology of horror fiction, bringing together newer authors alongside some classic ones. Some are pulpy fun while others push into a more character-driver literary territory. This is a great title to hand to someone wanting to explore new authors or get exposure to a variety in the genre.

Stories of famous monsters in a new horror anthology. Brilliant writing and more importantly, riveting reading.

5/5

I really loved this collection. Like, REALLY loved this collection. If you like horror, especially if you like classic horror (either movies or literature), this is definitely for you. Every story does something unique or interesting with the source material. The stories also benefit from the diversity of their authors; I especially appreciated the queer elements. I really love adaptations because I like to see what elements authors tease out or change or interpret, and all the authors did just a fantastic job.

That said, an encyclopedic knowledge of the source material isn't needed to enjoy the collection. For some, all I had was passing knowledge picked up through cultural osmosis. For example, I have never seen "The Blob" (I know, I know) yet "Da Noise, Da Funk, Da Blob" was one of my favorites. It makes me want to watch the movie at some point and then re-read the story, to see the choices made.

Of course, in some instances, I do wish I had been familiar with the source material first. For example, "The Invisible Man: The Fire This Time." I only have a passing knowledge of "The Invisible Man" and next to none about "The Fire Next Time" (both now on my to-read list). I still really loved the story, but I feel I couldn't appreciate it fully. That's not a knock against it, of course; it's given me some new things to read and return to it, and I am very excited to do so.

I cannot overstate how hard this collection goes. Every story absolutely oozed with love. I know what I am getting my mother for Christmas (no one tell her).

I enjoyed the majority of the tales,

There is a variety of types of stories in the collection; while many are directly based on or sequels to the classic tales, there are several re-imagined versions as well as some loosely inspired by stories. While I do think too many authors took the easy way out basing their stories on Dracula, Frankenstein and The Wolfman, there were a number of more adventurous takes on less popular/obvious fare like the Mummy, Jack the Ripper, the Phantom of the Opera and even the Wizard of Oz.

My two favorites were among the more audacious of the group: Höllenlegion by Jonathan Maberry is a sequel to H. G. Wells's The Island of Dr. Moreau, my favorite story by Wells, and this sequel was so excellent I would gladly have read a full novella of the story

Overall I had a fun time

Okay so as a lover of classic monster stories I jumped at the chance to read this and review it. There are some mega names attached to this anthology and while that makes it a great read, it was the little known authors that really stole the show for me. My only issue with this is that I didn’t always get sucked into some of the stories from the get go. With that said I do believe that this will be an enjoyable read for most lovers of the good old fashioned monsters we have grown to love and in some cases hate.

Review is for an ARC copy from NetGalley -- 2.5 stars, rounded down.

Super brief summary: An anthology collection of 30 short stories tied together by classic monsters.

Snack pairing: Classic drive-in movie nachos, extra napkins.

Pros:
•The few stories I liked were real gems. The ones that stuck out are "Mummy Calls," "The Picture of Doriana Gray," "Moonlight Serenade," and "Modern Monsters."
•If you love Dracula or Frankenstein, you're in for a treat (not a pro for me, but potential pros for others).

Cons:
•I didn't feel like the stories tied together very well. Sure, they all had something to do with classic monsters, but the tone, time period, themes, writing style, vibes were all so incredibly different. This might have worked if they were presented in an order that embraced that diversity, but the order had no introduction and seemed to be nonsensical.
•By not including introductions to the monsters, the audience has been narrowed down to only those very familiar with the intricacies of classic monster stories rather than horror fans as a whole. There were references I knew I wasn't getting even though I'm generally familiar with most of the monsters. This is targeted to that small niche of fans.

Overall, I would not recommend this to anyone that isn't a die hard classic monster fan.

As I have said before on more than one occasion, I am wary of anthologies - I worry about changes in quality and tonal whiplash between stories in themed multi-author collections. But this is one of the better ones I have sampled lately. A new-to-me story by Seanan McGuire is always a treat. Give this one a try! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Black Spot Books for allowing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When I saw this book, I knew I had to read it. I've always loved horror stories and I already knew some of the authors, because I read some of their books for my MA Thesis about Dracula. I knew I liked their writing style. Despite this, I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed reading this. Anthologies and short story collections tend to leave me with mixed feelings; I will love one story and dislike the other.

This anthology was different. Each story really managed to pull me in and I had a great time reading this. It contains a good variation of stories. Some popular monsters feature more than once in the book, such as Frankenstein's Monster and (my personal favourite) Dracula, but there was still enough variation to keep things interesting. You can clearly see the authors know how to write a good story and I will need to read more by them in the future.

I don't want to spoil the stories for anyone, so I won't go into more detail, but I will say that I highly recommend this to anyone who likes horror stories. I think this would also make a nice present, not only because the stories are so good, but also because the book has some stunning illustrations.

A solid collection of short stories inspired by classic Monsters. The blurb is what initially made me pick this read, the cover was a plus. Overall, I enjoyed most of the stories included in this anthology, although a few I was unable to get into. The stories are eerily creepy and I felt were well written. I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of monsters featured throughout. Overall I highly recommend this to any horror lover.

Overall this is a solid anthology. I enjoyed most of the stories but there were a few that were not my taste. Recommend for any horror reader.

There are a lot of stories in this one, however not many of them were intriguing enough to keep me entertained. Overall I give this a 2.5 star rating