“It feeds on the horrors we commit….” A malevolent, sentient house serves as the lively setting of Lacrimore, a debut Gothic novella by S. J. Costello. The book came out in 2020 and was a winner of the Independent Publishers Book Awards. Continue reading Review of Lacrimore—A Monstrous Mansion
Category: Horror
Review of Ring Shout—Making Monsters
White supremacy can make people into monsters. This is as true today as it was during the heyday of Jim Crow laws and burning crosses. P. Djèlí Clark literalizes this metaphor in his celebrated novella Ring Shout, which came out in 2020. Continue reading Review of Ring Shout—Making Monsters
Review of And Then I Woke Up—Existential Zombies
“…And then I woke up.” These are the words that nearly every reader dreads to hear at the end of a story, suggesting as they do that the characters and situations the reader has just gotten attached to have been nothing more than a dream. But how about at the start of the story? Malcolm Devlin’s latest horror novel, And Then I Woke Up, explores the struggles of characters who have just awakened from an imagined reality and must reckon with their new understanding of the world and the consequences of actions they committed while living under a lie. The book, which came out last month, is the most unique take on a zombie apocalypse I have ever read and has a particularly poignant message for our times. Continue reading Review of And Then I Woke Up—Existential Zombies
Review of Manhunt—Sex & Gender in the Apocalypse
Men are monsters. This sentiment is literalized to a terrifying degree in Gretchen Felker-Martin’s post-apocalyptic horror novel Manhunt, which came out just last week. This book is gruesomely violent and goes to a lot of dark places, so it won’t be for everyone. But it gives a unique take on a gendered apocalypse from a transgender perspective. Continue reading Review of Manhunt—Sex & Gender in the Apocalypse
Review of My Heart Is a Chainsaw
What if your life suddenly turned into a slasher movie? For most of us, that idea is fodder for our most terrifying nightmares, but Jade Daniels is thrilled by the prospect in Stephen Graham Jones’s My Heart Is a Chainsaw. From the moment I read The Only Good Indians just over a year ago, I knew that Stephen Graham Jones was one of the horror writers to be watching right now. Reading his latest novel has only confirmed that assessment. My Heart Is a Chainsaw came out in August of 2021 and is a brilliant self-aware homage to the horror genre. Continue reading Review of My Heart Is a Chainsaw
Review of Comfort Me with Apples
Catheryn Valente is known for drawing on fairy tales and retelling classic stories, such as in her Russian folklore-inspired novel Deathless. But her latest book takes quite a different approach, obscuring exactly which story it is retelling until the very end. Comfort Me with Apples, which came out just last week, is a bite-size horror novella that packs quite a punch for its small size. Continue reading Review of Comfort Me with Apples
Review of Nothing But Blackened Teeth
“It gets lonely down in the dirt….” Five young adults make the mistake of partying in a haunted, Heian-era manor in Cassandra Khaw’s hotly anticipated horror novella Nothing But Blackened Teeth. I had the pleasure of interviewing Khaw last month to get their thoughts on haunted houses and the horror genre. And then I devoured this bite-size novella in just a few sittings. If you’re looking for a horror story to eat like candy on Halloween, grab Nothing But Blackened Teeth when it comes out next Tuesday, October 19. Continue reading Review of Nothing But Blackened Teeth
Review of Deathless Divide–Mad Scientists and Monstrosity
When zombies take the East Coast, it’s time to strike out for the West. Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland, which came out early last year, is the sequel to Dread Nation, a captivating alternate history that imagines a world where the Civil War was derailed by the rise of the restless dead and young Black girls are trained in combat to fend off the oncoming hordes. If you enjoyed the first book, you don’t want to miss this thrilling conclusion to the duology. Continue reading Review of Deathless Divide–Mad Scientists and Monstrosity
Review of The Price of Meat–A Modern Penny Dreadful
In an alternate London, there is a pit of depravity at the heart of the city where no law can reach…. The Price of Meat by K.J. Charles is a horror novella loosely inspired by the story of Sweeney Todd. After reading Charles’s adventure-filled romance Spectred Isle, I knew I had to check out some of her darker work. And you can’t get much darker than a network of murderous cannibals in the bustling city of London…. Continue reading Review of The Price of Meat–A Modern Penny Dreadful
Review of Maplecroft–Lovecraft Meets Lizzie Borden
Take the story of Lizzie Borden and cross that with Lovecraft’s “The Shadow over Innsmouth”.… This is essentially the plot of Cherie Priest’s 2014 horror novel Maplecroft. This book has been on my to-read list for years now, and I finally got around to listening to the audiobook. If you love bold women swinging axes, casual queer representation, and eldritch beings emerging from the sea, you’ll want to pick this one up, too! Continue reading Review of Maplecroft–Lovecraft Meets Lizzie Borden