Matt
Wonderland by Zoje Stage is an atmospheric story combining survival and wilderness with psychological and supernatural horror. Orla, a recently retired dancer, moved from NYC to a small house upstate with her family. The change from the city to the North Country is challenging for both the expected, and some frighteningly unexpected reasons. The publisher describes this book as “if Shirley Jackson wrote The Shining,” which is a considerable stretch, but nevertheless like those masterworks before it Stage has composed a chilling story that traps characters and readers alike in haunted frozen isolation as questions of identity, self, and spirit are explored. The book has several unsettling scenes and a lot of interesting ideas, but somehow both the pacing and terror were lacking for me. Perhaps Stage also tried to tackle too many different ideas and themes in this book too? Although I enjoyed the book, I do think it could have been a bit shorter and faster paced in some sections. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Forest by Lisa Quigley is a great new horror novel examining sacrifice, motherhood, and safety. Edgewood is a special town where nothing bad ever seems to happen. But when things start to go wrong, Faye discovers that safety may have a price. Quigley has written a novel reminiscent of Jackson's The Lottery and Tyron's Harvest Home, but focused in a powerful new direction and told through the lens of a young mother. The characters and quandaries proposed by the novel were highly compelling and heart-wrenching. The structure of alternating timelines (a trope I often find exhausting) was employed to great effect in this novel as each chapter seemed to spur me on to read the next. For all I loved about this book I did find my suspension of disbelief strained at times. Additionally I noticed a fair number of typos throughout the book. For these reasons I'm inclined to rate this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Cabin at the End of the World is the third book I've read by Paul Tremblay. One of the things I admire about Tremblay is his ability to write books in very different sub-genres (and even different genres) and still allow his voice and his unique style and prospective to shine through. Cabin is the most esoteric of the three of his books I've read (the other two being A Head Full of Ghosts and Survivor Song). Wen, the adopted daughter of a gay couple, is playing outside the family's rented cabin when a stranger approaches. Things quickly become very bizarre as the novel combines elements of cult and locked door horror to tell a story about the (maybe) end of the world. Like A Head Full of Ghosts this book is filled with nuance and possibility, as well as heavy allusions to Christianity. I do think Tremblay may leave more up to reader interpretation in this one, which some readers will love and others will hate. For me, I often crave resolution and clarity, but I was also able to appreciate the power of denying the fulfillment that desire, especially in the context of this particular story. I found myself thinking, this book would make a really interesting play. I don't know if Tremblay has any interest in writing a stage adaptation, but I think this would be a tense, weird, thought provoking THRILL RIDE in a 90-minutes-without-an-intermission format for live theatre. Could also be an interesting movie. At any rate, back to the novel, I rate this ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Ultimately I wanted a little bit more explanation or resolution, but I still enjoyed it overall.
Near the Bone by Christina Henry is harrowing novel of survival, fear, and fight. Part wilderness/survival horror, part creature feature, and part crime, this book has a lot going on. Mattie lives in a cabin on a mountain with her husband William. One day they discover some disturbing animal remains and the mysterious creature responsible. Yet this creature quickly proves not to be the only monster in this story. There were some really scary parts in this book, and I found the protagonist's story to be very emotionally impactful. There were so many times when I was angry and sad. Other parts of the book were genuinely suspenseful. Unfortunately there were other instances when the plot felt a little too unfocused and events and information seemed like Diabolus ex Machina. In my opinion there wasn't enough focus on some elements of the plot, especially the monster, throughout the book. Henry choose to leave a lot about the monster mysterious, and while this can sometimes be an effective means of triggering fear, in this case I kind of just found it vague. I'm tempted to say this could have been a short story or a novella, but I do think the more suspenseful sections were well done. Overall I rate this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Changeling by Victor LaValle is an awesome work of dark fantasy. Fairytale and myth with chilling and profoundly disturbing scenes dark enough to appeal to horror fans, this book has it all. It's hard for me to give a synopsis without spoiling this book, and since someone spoiled one of the major reveals of this book for me I think it's better to simply omit the synopsis, that's what Goodreads is for. I'm just going to say that this is a magical story that follows a Black family in NYC while incorporating various elements of fairytale and myth, especially that of the changeling. LaValle hits on a lot of very deep ideas about family, tradition, culture, generational trauma, and love. Throughout much of the book LaValle proved to be a masterful storyteller. There were a few loose ends I didn't totally understand, and it could be argued that the novel is too long, but overall I really enjoyed it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Halldark Holidays, edited by Gabino Iglesias, is a fun anthology of holiday horror. I started watching Hallmark movies a year or two ago with my Mom. She likes them (okay, maybe sometimes I do too), but I always shake my head at how predictable and formulaic they all seem. Halldark Holidays is an anthology that takes the familiar tropes, themes, and images of Hallmark movies and twists them into horror stories. I love the premise of this book and found several stories to be really outstanding! I throughly enjoyed The Morbs by Greg Sisco, A Winterland Surprise by Kathryn E. McGee, A Total Super Miracle on 34th Street by Mackenzie Kiera, Holiday Traditions by Cina Pelayo, Mother and Child by Todd Robinson, and the introduction to the anthology by Gabino Iglesias. Some of the other stories were enjoyable too, though a few seemed underdeveloped. I also disagreed with the point of view that seemed to be expressed in one or two of these tales, though I suppose provoking that kind of response in me is an artistic achievement in and of itself. Overall this collection is a mixed (Santa) bag in terms of quality. The themes and tropes common to many of these stories, like the Hallmark movies they parody, get a bit repetitive after awhile. Still, this is a really fun anthology for horror fans familiar with Hallmark movies, and is a great read for the holiday season. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Goddess of Filth by V. Castro is a creative take on a possession story that flips the script on the genre. Lourdes and her friends have a séance for fun, but much to their surprise something answers when they call out. Goddess of Filth uses familiar tropes found in previous possession stories and inverts them into a story about Chicana empowerment. I loved seeing the representation of a culture and experiences not seen often enough in horror literature. It has violence, sex, the supernatural, and more! The book deals with culture, gender, and sexuality as major themes, and in some ways it was fairly critical of Christianity. As a result some readers may find this book a bit unpleasant, but perhaps sometimes feeling discomfort can be a good thing and lead consideration of challenging topics? I found many aspects of this book to be highly compelling. With that said, in some ways this novella seemed underdeveloped. The prose sometimes seemed stilted, oddly formal and simplistic, and various elements of the narrative just didn't work for me. I didn't get a strong sense of all the characters, and thus the arc of some of the characters seemed disjointed while others were utterly forgettable. Although I really enjoyed the concept of this book, I found it's execution to be disappointing. Overall I rate this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dark Across the Bay by Ania Ahlborn is a white knuckle thrill ride sure to delight readers. The book opens on the owners of a vacation home returning to their island property to a grisly surprise. Pretty much the rest of the book is the story of how that scene came to be. I have not read Cape Fear, the book the publisher's description compares this book to, but my initial impression is that Dark Across the Bay is a twisty thriller with enough dark imagery to satisfy Ahlborn's horror fans. I was really interested in the four members of the Parrish family and longed to unravel the secrets Ahlborn hinted at throughout the book. I will say that I think she may have laid the cards on the table a bit too soon, and I kind of saw the conclusion coming, but I nevertheless found this a really enjoyable read. I would recommend this book to horror fans, as well as readers of thrillers, which I think is probably the best classification for this book. At the time of writing this review Dark Across the Bay is only available in a limited signed and numbered edition hardback (and possibly lettered edition) from Earthling Publications. Naturally it's also sold out and can only be purchased on the secondary market. HOWEVER, an ebook edition will be published tomorrow, December 7th, 2021. I'm so glad this book is getting a digital wide release, because I think this is a story that will be enjoyed by a large audience. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Black Friday by Todd Keisling is a fun zombie story in a retail setting. Imagine Grady Hendrix's Horrorstor meets The Walking Dead. This novelette has humor, action, and a cast of interesting characters who proceed through a well-paced plot. While the tropes and philosophical bent of story didn't seem groundbreaking, this was nevertheless a fun quick book to read at the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling is a sci-fi psychological horror novel. Gyer is a spelunker, going down in a cave in a high tech suit hoping to earn enough to get a ticket off-world. The book has lots of twists and surprises. It has a few unsettling sections. Unfortunately I don't have many other good things to say about it. I felt like this book was too long and too repetitive, and therefore kind of boring. The characters kind of just did the same things over and over, with minor differences. Things picked up a bit toward the end, but I found one character (and there were basically only two) pretty unlikable and therefore struggled with how the book ended. I picked this up thinking it was going to be sci-fi horror, and it is, but it's really more psychological in my opinion. Sadly I wouldn't really recommend this one, unless you're super into caves or something. ⭐️⭐️✨
White Trash Warlock by David R. Slayton is an awesome urban fantasy novel. Adam's Sister-in-Law is in trouble when a mysterious spirit appears over Denver, bringing him from Oklahoma to Colorado to try and save the day. Featuring a queer protagonist, this was a delightfully fun story exploring family, relationships, and plenty of magic. Perfect for fans of Kevin Hearne's The Iron Druid Chronicles. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Imago Sequence and Other Stories is the first collection I've read by Laird Barron, and overall I enjoyed these tales of cosmic horror. In these pages Barron tells rich literary stories loaded with ancient gods and cosmic terror. Some of these stories are very dark, even by the standards of someone who has read dozens of horror books this year. Some of these stories contain elements that could be considered sacrilegious or even blasphemous. Some characters in these stories use language or express attitudes that are not “politically correct.” Barron's stories find the darkness, both within humanity and imagined in the universe around us, and pose it to the reader to see, contemplate, wrestle, and perhaps cower before. There is no denying the quality of Barron's prose, it is excellent, but the content and themes did seem a bit repetitive between a few of the stories in this collection. My favorite entry in the collection was the title story, and I also particularly enjoyed Old Virginia, Hallucigenia, Parallax, and The Royal Zoo is Closed. I listened to this book on Audible (it's in the Plus Catalogue as of posting this review) and it's read by one if my favorite narrators, Ray Porter. Despite Porter's consistent brilliance, I will acknowledge that this is a book that required my full attention to follow. I chalk that up to Barron's prose, which is more literary than my standard audiobook fare. I might not recommend this book to a casual reader or someone new to the genre, but I think fans of H.P. Lovecraft, John Langan, and Philip Fracassi would probably really enjoy this collection. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 stars)
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro is a beautiful and bittersweet story about an Artificial Friend named Klara, and her life with a human family. The book explores many themes such as faith and hope, prejudice, love and friendship, grief, and mortality. The book is a bit dystopian, but like Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go information is revealed slowly throughout the character and relationship focused narrative. I would have loved to have known more about the dysfunctional world Klara lived in, and some of the other characters, but ultimately that wasn't really the point. Overall this was a really lovely read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Loop by Jeremy Robert Johnson is a YA Sci-Fi Horror novel. A few kids start acting weird and dying, and then things escalate. Sitting at an intersection between technology and invasion, The Loop is about so many things: young love, feeling like an outsider (and being made to feel that way), tech, and more. Although I was super into a lot of the ideas in the book, this read a bit more YA than most of the books I read. Something about the plot and the pacing just didn't develop in a way I found totally satisfying. Despite this, overall it was a fun read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Anoka by Shane Hawk is a wonderful debut collection of Indigenous horror. This is a short volume, but each story really packs a punch. There are a lot of ideas contained in these few pages, and I think Shane Hawk is an author to watch. I was fascinated by elements that seemed to reoccur throughout the stories. More than most collections I've read, the stories of Anoka seemed to belong together, to exist in the same world (literally the town of Anoka, MN) and be pointing toward truths and experiences flowing from one story to another, even if there wasn't narrative ligament connecting the plots. I enjoyed all the stories but my favorites were Soilbourne, Transfigured, and Dead America. Those who enjoy both visual reading and listening should be advised that the Kindle edition and Audible edition have the stories in a different order. Apart from that editorial oddity I didn't find much to criticize about this work, except perhaps in wanting more. More words, more stories, and more books from Shane Hawk. I look forward to reading future horror stories from Hawk, and recommend Anoka. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5 stars).
I read Subcutanean by Aaron A. Reed with the HOWL Society book club, and I'm so glad I did. This is, perhaps, the ultimate book club book. This book is many things: queer, sci-fi, horror, and above all it is unique. You see, every version of Subcutanean is unique. Throughout the book there are numerous places where the text can read one of many ways, and every seed (version) of the book is different than every other seed. Variations ranged from very minor differences in syntax or word choice, to significant differences impacting character development, backstory and world building, and plot. So it was an amazing incredible delight to read this book with a large group of people online and compare notes. I listened to the seed on Spotify (Seed 01893) while following along in my print edition (Seed 42707). I noticed a lot of differences, many minor but some a bit more significant, between the two, but when discussing the book with others the variants really multiplied. It was a lot of fun to see how this story about love, college, and a weird house could differ from seed to seed. In every version the overall story was basically the same, but that didn't make comparing notes any less exciting. I've vaguely hinted at some of the details of the plot, and I don't want to spoil the book (in as much as that's possible) but I'll just say that the many unique versions of the book that exist reflect one of the key ideas of the plot. Beyond that I think readers who have enjoyed 14 and The Fold by Peter Clines, The Between by Ryan Leslie, and/or The Hike by Drew Magary will enjoy this book. Although I really loved the concept of the book and how it's uniquely created for each reader, I will say that there were some elements of the plot and characters that seemed a bit muddy to me. I don't know if that's because I was trying to follow two different seeds, or if it's because there are so many possible variants in the text that some details just didn't get too clearly nailed down. Narratively I might rate this book 3.5-4 stars, but factoring in the amazing uniqueness of this work, it's an easy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5 stars).There are some static seeds available. So if you listen to the version on Spotify or order from Amazon, for example, that will be the same seed as everyone else who gets it from that source. If you want your own unique seed you can order it from the publisher/author directly as an ebook or in print.
#subcutanean #bookstagram #bookreview #aaronareed #queerhorror #scifihorror
A Fun Short Story Collection
Lucy A. Snyder's Halloween Season is a fun collection of short stories, many of which are set on or around Halloween. The Halloween season means many different things to different people, and this collection provides a nice assortment of tricks and treats which I found mostly delightful. I particularly enjoyed the multiple tales of cosmic horror found in this collection, some with direct allusions to Lovecraft's Mythos. The writing was solid, even if the pacing felt a bit off in a couple of stories or I found myself wanting more from a few. Two of the stories were R-rated, and there were a couple of stories that didn't feel like they really fit into a collection titled Halloween Season, including two about Christmas. Overall I think the general settings and horror elements present throughout most of these works make the book a great choice for spooky season. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 stars).
I received a free eARC of Pearl by Josh Malerman from Del Ray via NetGalley. I was very excited to read this book, originally published in a limited release under the title ON THIS, THE DAY OF THE PIG, in its new wide release. Unfortunately I did not enjoy this title as much as I hoped to. In Pearl, the title character (a pig) has telepathic abilities and influences people to do things. Terrible things. I struggled to connect with the premise. While the book did contain some interesting and unsettling scenes, fundamentally I just don't find pigs to be that scary and had trouble buying into a pig that “sat on its ass” (a FREQUENT description of Pearl's abnormal behavior) as a creepy villain or monster. Frankly if I had not received this book as an eARC I might have DNF'd it. I'm kind of glad I didn't because I do think the book picked up a bit as it went, but I think this is far from Malerman's best. ⭐️⭐️
When Things Get Dark edited by Ellen Datlow is a magnificent anthology of short fiction inspired by Shirley Jackson. While a reader does not necessarily need to be familiar with Jackson to appreciate these stories, I do think that readers who have read her will get more out of this collection. Like Jackson's works, many of these stories are loaded with mystery, ambiguity, and the appearance of the supernatural. Most are superbly written. This is one of the strongest horror anthologies I've read. I was going to list my favorite stories, but honestly it's almost all of them. The final two - Tiptoe by Laird Barron and Skinder's Veil by Kelly Link - were particularly great! This is an excellent short story anthology. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Fisherman by John Langan is an excellent cosmic horror novel exploring themes of grief and change through the dark mysterious unknown. Told in sections set in the early 2000s and sections centuries earlier, The Fisherman is a great story blending the fantastic with the mundane, perhaps commenting that the horrors of seeming ordinary life are no less horrible than sea monsters, wizards, or strange cities beside stranger seas. My biggest critique of the book is that the alternation between past and the book's present is, in my opinion, an overused structure in the genre, and the way Langan employed it (through preferable to this reader over other examples) made the middle section feel a bit long. I think Part 3 felt a bit detached from Part 1 because of the length of Part 2, but nevertheless I found The Fisherman to be a compelling novel. This is an excellent read for fans of Lovecraft, Chambers, etc. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Far From Home edited by Samantha Kolesnik is an anthology of adventure horror. I previously read Worst Laid Plans, an anthology of vacation horror from the same editor, which I found largely unimpressive albeit with a few stand outs. This anthology is largely the same, although it might be a bit stronger as a whole. After averaging my ratings for all the stories I came to 3.4. Stories ranged from mediocre to good, with a few approaching what I might consider excellence. This is a light, easy, and (despite my criticism) fun reading which immerses the reader in many different locations. My favorite stories in the collection are: Crepuscular by Hailey Piper, The Thing at the Top of the Mountain by Vaughn A. Jackson, The Apostle by Mitch Sebourn, Hell of a Ride by Villimey Mist, and Those Who Wander by A.K. Dennis. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The October Country by Ray Bradbury is an excellent collection of short stories ranging from weird to creepy to even a bit beautiful. I haven't read Bradbury since high school and I'm so glad I decided to pick this book up this October. It's a wonderful volume for spooky season, especially for readers who might want stories that seem to fit Halloween but aren't all hardcore horror. Bradbury's introduction is one of the best I've read and the stories were pretty much all 3 stars and up, with lots of fours and some fives. Some of my favorite tales from this collection included The Dwarf, The Crowd, The Scythe, The Man Upstairs, and Homecoming. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Turn of the Shrew by Henry James is a highly atmospheric gothic horror story, though at times it's difficult, maddening, and wordy. James published this tale in 1898 and I think it's critical to keep in mind that the language reflects the era, as well as the cultural norms present in the book. Listening to this book proved more challenging than Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House (my previous listen) both in terms of understanding the prose and in terms of empathizing with the protagonist. A governess comes to Bly to care for two young children. She begins seeing strange figures in the house. Are they ghosts of departed household staff, or is she nuts? A worthy question, albeit perhaps one that could have been explored in a short story rather than a novella. Apart from the complexity of the beautiful prose, I was challenged by the way the governess idolized the children. To a 21st century reader the way in which she viewed the children seems at best naive and at worst creepy. Perhaps this was James' intention? At any rate I found it somewhat difficult to fully empathize with her at various points throughout the book. Many moments were unsettling and atmospheric, even if I didn't totally understand the protagonist, or the way the book ended for that matter. I also highly recommend the audio version read by Emma Thompson with music added. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dead Things by Stephen Blackmoore is a fun dark urban fantasy novel that provides an excellent beginning to a series. Eric Carter is a necromancer on the run, but when tragedy brings him home he becomes embroiled in a complicated plot of magic, mystery, and more. Filled with wit and sarcasm and a healthy dose of the macabre, this book will be a delight to fans of urban fantasy, dark fantasy, and even horror. It reminded me a bit Kevin Hearne's The Iron Druid Chronicles. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️