Review: Giving The Devil His Due

Title: Giving The Devil His Due
Edited by Rebecca Brewer
Pages: 290
ISBN: 9781947041905
Publisher: Running Wild Press
Published: 1 September 2021
Genre: Short stories / Horror
Source: Review copy from publisher

What if a young girl had the power to stop her tyrannical father from battering her mother ever again? What if a student had a secret weapon to end sexual assault by her predatory professor permanently? What if a housewife had unusual means to get back at her controlling husband and walk away from her marriage alive?

In Giving the Devil His Due, The Pixel Project’s first charity anthology, sixteen acclaimed fantasy, science fiction, and horror authors take readers on an unforgettable journey to alternative worlds where men who abuse and murder women and girls meet their comeuppance in uncanny ways.

(Cover art by Emir Orucevic)

Stories are powerful things. They shape how we experience and view our world, shining light on monsters real and imagined and giving hope that those monster can be slain. Giving The Devil His Due is a short story anthology filled with unsettling, powerful and thought-provoking stories which deal with abuse in all its varied forms.

Stories included in the anthology:

• Hell on the Homefront Too • Stephen Graham Jones - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The Steering Wheel Club • Kaaron Warren - ⭐⭐⭐
• Sweet Justice • Kenesha Williams - ⭐⭐⭐
• The Moon Goddess’s Granddaughter • Lee Murray - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The Kindly Sea • Dana Cameron - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Just Us League • Angela Yuriko Smith - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• American Murder • Peter Tieryas - ⭐⭐
• As We Stand and Pray • Jason Sanford - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Finding Water to Catch Fire • Linda D. Addison - ⭐⭐⭐
• Escape from Pleasant Point • Leanna Renee Hieber - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Daughter of Echidna • Nicholas Kaufmann - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The Devil’s Pocket Change • Hillary Monahan - ⭐⭐⭐
• The Tawny Bitch • Nisi Shawl - ⭐⭐⭐
• Happy Birthday Baby • Kelley Armstrong - ⭐⭐⭐
• Devil’s Hollow • Errick Nunnally - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• The Little Thing • Christina Henry - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Giving The Devil His Due edited by Rebecca Brewer brings together stories from some of the top names in speculative fiction. The sixteen stories collected here hit hard and will give you a new perspective on the abuse and violence so many women worldwide have to endure on a daily basis.

"Too ashamed to show her the battleground of your body with its legacy of bruises, you went home." (p 43)

I enjoyed all the stories on offer here, but three stories really stood out to me. Hell on the Homefront Too by Stephen Graham Jones: Short, brutal and powerful. The perfect opening to the anthology which sets the scene for all the stories to come.
The Moon Goddess’s Granddaughter by Lee Murray: A slower, more melancholy story about the loss of freedom and the struggle to recapture lost dreams and break the shackles of an abusive relationship. Memorable and touching in the extreme. 
The Little Thing by Christina Henry: Vengeance comes in the most unexpected of forms. A very, very satisfying ending to both the story and the anthology.

In an unjust world justice has many incarnations. Some more wrathful than others...

Giving the Devil His Due shines a powerful spotlight on a topic which is so often ignored and does so in a powerful, impactful way. If you are looking for some great stories while supporting a great cause then look no further. Highly recommended!

100% of the net proceeds from the sales of the anthology will go towards supporting The Pixel Project’s anti-violence against women programs, campaigns, and resources.

The Rating: 8/10 (Great!)