Ghost

It was often really over the top and there was one trope that I'm sick of in this kind of books (the stupidly evil other group of survivors) and it was pushed to its absurd conclusion.

Otherwise it's a fast paced surviving “the end of days” type story with a little copaganda thrown in the mix.

I tend to find the word evocative ridiculously overused when it comes to describing writing styles but in this particular case, I think it really is the most fitting word. Bacon has a unique and highly stylized literary voice and while it can be challenging to read it's also satisfying and if you let it her writing will leave you with strong feelings that will far outlast the time you will spend with her stories.

It's not full-on horror or full-on sci-fi though elements of both are present in the stories as well as strong fantasy elements, the term afro-irrealist really is the best way to describe the genre of this collection (when a book tells you what it is sometimes it really is best to believe it and this book really knows what it is). I'm telling you this because I want to reinforce that notion that you really have to let go of the expectations you might have about this book based on the genres it is listed under in order to let it be what it is and to let it impress you with it.

I almost didn't read this book because of the introduction but, ultimately, I decided I wasn't about to judge a book by an intro that wasn't even written by the author herself and I'm glad I resisted my knee jerk reaction to an intro that came across as very judgy. I'm adding this here in case someone who is about to make that mistake comes across my review, the stories aren't judgy and they really are new and unique the intro isn't just being boastful.

I received a review copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The first, I want to say, about 150 pages were great, engaging and sometimes really quite anxiogenic (the idea of walking between stories high towers of just stuff organized in categories and holding together in an unknowable way just feels so claustrophobic even for someone who doesn't struggle with claustrophobia). But after that, I felt that the story started to drag and I struggled to keep my attention on it. The reoccurring descriptions of the piles was probably mean to instill a sense of how oppressive the landscape had become but for me it became a type of filler.

At one point one of the characters thinks of their child's interaction with a social worker and the social worker says to the effect that the puzzle piece has been accepted as the symbol for autism. It hasn't been accepted as such by the autistic community, it's something that is being pushed by Autism Speaks a eugenicist organization that is known for speaking over actually autistic people and to further stigmatize autism. I am well aware that the character might think something while the author knows differently but it made me uncomfortable to see it without the caveat since the autistic community already struggles so much to have its voice heard. The autistic community's chosen symbol is the infinity symbol (sometimes in gold and sometimes in rainbow), in case anyone cares.

I received a free eARC of this book from ECW Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My original review has been edited because I realized that I had unintentionnally misrepresented the nature of the scene (also see the comments below my review for clarification of the situation by the author).

A story of aliens with a surplus of hubris (I jokingly described them as the Elon Musk of aliens, too much confidence and resources but lacking in actual skills or good plans, while discussing the novel and I'm sticking with that one) Bleeding Earth is a surprisingly intricate story that goes by at a feverish pace. Seriously you won't see time fly with this one.
My only issue with this book was that the characters interactions tended to be somewhat odd and stilted but overall, it's a really solid story.

I was told this was going to be funny, I wasn't prepared for a sweet and only a little toxic romance between a traumatized woman recovering from parental abuse who is barely coping with her toxic work environment and a slightly used purple adult toy possessed by the soul of a demonic serial killer, and since said serial killer dild is marginally less toxic than my ex well there's also a good for her revenge fantasy in there which culminates in a let's just say fusional conclusion.

There is an absolutely uncalled for amount of sex and violence in there and it's often gratuitously gross but if you have the particular sense of humor for it it's also ugly cackle inducing.

A fun little collection with a surprisingly good variety of both themes and tones considering that all stories center around a neighborhood. Some of the stories were almost cozy horror while others were really bleak, none were overly graphic, however.

I have to preface my review with the disclaimer that I am obviously not the target audience for this book (as evidenced by the fact that I have no idea who the authors listed as “perfect for the readers of” are even though a quick Google search tells me they are well established names).

It took me a while to really get into the story but once I started getting invested, I was pretty much hooked and it helped that the story never really started to drag its feet.

There's quite a bit of spice in this book but not so much that it tips into erotica (and for my sex repulsed peeps you can easily skim without missing anything important). The euphemisms used to describe the main character's genitalia were hilarious to me and I really struggled to take the take those parts seriously especially when he got to talking about “good pussy”.

While he likes to remind us that he, in fact, has a big schlong, both literally and proverbially, and that he is a 6' something bearded and fit god of a man the aforementioned main character isn't one of those untouchable badasses, he gets his ass handed to him a few times and gets hurt both physically and emotionally, he is still a human being.

The story is deceptively nuanced and intricate, and Silence is actually a pretty insightful guy and not just the goon he keeps saying he is. Repetition is used throughout the book to give it a sense of rhythm and I really enjoyed that.

I received an eARC of this book from Kensington Books, Dafina through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A sweet little collection of short zombie stories + one story of a pandemic without zombies but with a superhero.
Most of the stories center tragic characters, the ones that don't make it (or in one instance the only one to make it) so if you're looking for stories where it all goes to shit, you might just find this one to your liking.
There were also quite a few lines that had me cackling, so it's not all doom and gloom (or rather it is but with good humor).

Action packed with an interesting structure and an interesting ending, perfect if you need something short and to the point but not without some depth (there's a lot more story in there than you might expect given the small number of pages).
There were a couple of times where I found myself kind of lost and a thing or two I was iffy with but it all came together nicely in the end. Speaking of the end, I just loved it!

I have always had a soft spot for flawed characters but I think Borland is the character that made me realize it's not just the flawed hero I like it's especially the not a hero, just a mess of a guy who has the bad habit of surviving, it was nice to revisit him.

If you think a zombie adjacent story paired with something of a procedural action drama with a splash of bloody work politics featuring a fat, constantly in pain, alcoholic, grump who has been pulled from retirement for a main character sounds like a good time you'll probably like that one too.

The first story had a kind of tone that pacing that I really enjoyed, and I would have happily read a full-length book with just more little stories like it. A semi reluctant crossroad demon with a flair for the dramatic and an interesting dynamic with the “big man” tell me that doesn't sound like it would make for a fantastic serial! 5 stars.

The second story was interesting enough, I wasn't super fan of the dynamic between the characters and of the pacing but I liked that the whole thing with the coven wasn't drawn out. 4 stars.

The last story, I liked the general idea but honestly it was more of a romance than anything else and that's just not something I'm interested in. No rating.

A solid short story with a fresh concept.
I don't know what it is about Thompson's writing but it makes me greedy and somehow I ended up having a very uncommon (for me) issue with this novella, it was too short, I needed more. If you like a main character that isn't as self-aware as she think she is and messy relationships that collide with something even scarier than dating, you'll probably like this one too!

I don't normally read romance, actually I normally do my best to avoid romance, so I'm not really sure why I picked up this book. That being said, this is really a horror novel with a romance aspect to it, the romance isn't over the top and the story isn't just a pale excuse for the romance.
It features a main character who is learning to cope with trauma and who uses a mobility aid (cane) so if has that going for it too. It's pretty low spice (one scene) which I enjoyed.

Short and brutal home invasion story. It doesn't exactly pull punches, but it stops short of veering into the torture p*rn genre. If you like bleak and bloody stories you might just enjoy this one!

It took me a while to get going with this book but once I did, I pretty much read it in one sitting, and I did not see time fly. That first line might seem like a strange way to start a review for an history book, but this book is a lot more than pure history, but it is also well documented history (peep that bibliography) delivered in a way that is anything but dry.

I remember when I was in school and we were told that we should never research something that affects us personally because we might have blind spots, this book makes almost entirely the opposite point, I liked that. I feel like I have to point out that I thought there was a great deal of humanity in how the authors treat all of their subjects, even when the people they talk about are deeply unsympathetic.

I found it particularly interesting how the authors showed that there was always a capitalistic aim that superseded any actual moral imperative that might have been claimed by the people who created carceral institutions, not that I was surprised by it, I just really thought the way it was explained and documented was great.

I received an eARC of this book from The New Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was actual torture porn and I saw the ending coming from miles away. The idea was pretty nifty and the characters pretty compelling. If you like short torture heavy stories of misplaced anger and grief check it out.

I really enjoyed the story and found that the characters seemed very real and compelling. The way the scenery was described was perfect too, just enough that you get a clear sense of what the space looks like but not so verbose as to become droning.

I wasn't too keen on the pacing however, something about it made the book seem much longer than it actually was. I say that but I would have liked to get other characters' point of view or maybe just to spend more time with them so really take that part of my review with a grain of salt.

More of a 4.25 than a true 4.
I really enjoyed the recurring imagery in this book, there's just something about desolate churches and lakes that speaks to my soul. There is a decent enough variety of themes to the stories and it's overall a great collection with a satisfying amount of bleak.
Though each story stands well enough on its own, I found that the low buzz of dread that creeps in when I read them in rapid succession most effective.

This book is mostly characters and setting build up and there isn't too much meat to the story. That being said, there is a certain charm to the largely apathetic main character and it reads really easily, it's like a bag of chips it doesn't blow your mind but it's good in a way the keeps you reaching for more and before you know it you've reached the end and you could go for more still.

A collection of short stories that uses the supernatural to tell timeless tales of (mostly) mother-daughter relationships and how they often leave the deepest scars regardless of what horrors the world does to us and of intentions. It can be confronting at times but it's never dull.

The tone and style or the stories feel familiar, like revisiting classics but it also never comes across as tired or cliché. There's at least one story that I would place squarely in the sci-fi horror genre but there's also quite a few references to WWII (the story taking place on the Hindenburg was my personal favourite) so you really get to visit different settings in short bursts.

Feeling a bit ACAB today? There's a story for that too (maybe more than one depending how you read them)!

I received a digital review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The book opens with 2 amazing short stories, one of which contains a magnificently satisfying kill scene (if you know me you know I'm a sucker for a well executed kill scene).
The main story contains some of the most over the top scenes I have ever been given the opportunity to read. I really liked the way Sonnet introduced new characters only to off them shortly after, truly no one was safe. The ending was also pretty satisfying.
I enjoyed this book so much that I have already purchased my next Sonnet book!

A pretty good and action-packed zombie story. The book begins in one direction then takes a turn, I really enjoyed that subversion of expectations.

An interesting and nuanced account of the life of a little-known figure of the anti-slavery movement.

I particularly enjoyed that Blackett avoided going into conjectures to fill the blanks as there were lengths of Ward's life that were lost to history. The tone is a little dry at times but overall it's an easy to read account of a complex life.

Ward was seemingly a strong believer in what we would today call respectability politics, I can't help but wonder if he truly believed or if that was just the palatable and somewhat safer facade he could present, especially towards the end when for all his efforts he led a life of struggle. This biography goes to show that no movement is perfectly united in methods and ideas and that intestine squabbles are always going to be part of any social movements no matter how just and important they are. This book also reminds us, possibly entirely unintentionally, through its attention to depicting Ward in as realistic and unidealized way as possible that one does not have to be perfect to contribute to the advancement of a social movement, something I found quite refreshing.

4.5 rounded up.

I received an eARC of this book from Yale University Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had to sit with this one for a minute to figure out what I wanted to say about it.

It seems to me like the author wanted to make this a character driven haunting story but spent too much time with the child who ended up being quite secondary to the overall story. Also, we never get an explanation as to why the parents act with the 11 years old like she's 5 (picking her up like a toddler, swinging her in the air to put her to bed...) so I still don't know what's up with that kid? The unravelling of the haunting at the end came across as quite abrupt and a bit odd. All of that brings me to the conclusion that the story would have been better served by being either longer or shorter.

I received a digital review copy of this short story from the author in exchange for an honest review.

The idea behind this book was pretty good but the execution was really lackluster.

The parts that were in the car were decent enough, the claustrophobic aspect was interesting.

The fact that apparently it was more important to remind us that the woman was fat than of the fact that she was both dead and disemboweled was kind of tiresome especially since it was the only zombie whose physicality kept being brought up while also being the only female and therefore the one which needed the least amount of words to be differentiated from the male zombies which were for all intents and purposes pretty much entirely interchangeable since they were presumably not fat and as we all know nothing is scarier than fatness. There were times where it worked to play on the fact that it was a very big zombie but mostly it just came across as lazy writing.

The flashbacks were just kind of meh and, for me, didn't really add to the story only to the word count.