A skull-faced girl in black slicing her way through an explosion of skeletons—I only needed to see the cover of this book to know that it would be exactly up my alley. Despite the fact that this debut novel was one of the most talked-about fantasy releases of 2019, it took me over a year to finally get my hands on a copy. I am, of course, talking about Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. But if you’re late to the bandwagon like I was, now is the perfect time to hop on—especially since the second book in the series, Harrow the Ninth, just came out this summer. Continue reading Gideon the Ninth Review—Haunted Necromancers
The Monster of Elendhaven Review
Even a monster can have a heart. Two monstrous men make an exquisite pair in Jennifer Giesbrecht’s dark fantasy debut The Monster of Elendhaven, which came out last year from Tor.com. Though I devoured this bite-sized novella in a single day, I have a feeling its lyrical prose and intricately constructed world will linger with me for some time to come. Continue reading The Monster of Elendhaven Review
The Year of the Witching Review
Witches lurk in the Darkwood … and they seem to be calling out to Immanuelle. A young woman struggling to be accepted by the Puritanical society she lives in discovers her true power in The Year of the Witching, a stunning debut fantasy novel by Alexis Henderson, which came out back in July. I know Halloween is well over, but it’s never too late in the year to pick up a good witchy book! Continue reading The Year of the Witching Review
Weird Fiction and the Gothic
One reason why the Gothic can be difficult to pin down as a genre is that over the years, it has spawned and overlapped with many different genres. I have touched briefly on the role that the Gothic played in the development of modern horror and explored in some depth how we can credit it as the foundation of the detective novel. Today, I want to explore one of the Gothic’s more nebulous offspring: weird fiction.
Review of Cursed Once More
How many curses can one woman handle? Clara Blackwood finds her happily-ever-after interrupted by yet another family curse in Cursed Once More by Amanda DeWees. I had reviewed the initial book in this duology, With This Curse, quite a few years ago and was very impressed with DeWees’s grasp of classic Gothic tropes. After hearing how much I loved the first book, the author was kind enough to send along the sequel. It had gotten buried in my TBR pile until now, but I was delighted to finally dive back into DeWees’s luscious Victorian Gothic world with Cursed Once More. Continue reading Review of Cursed Once More
Gothic Vocab: The Sublime
The “sublime” is a word you’ll hear tossed around a lot as you study Gothic literature, and even sometimes within the texts themselves. But what exactly does it mean? I’ll do my best to give a simple introduction to this rather complex term in this post, which will be the first in a series on important vocabulary words that will enhance your understanding of the Gothic.
Review of Women’s Weird, Volume 2
Last Halloween season, I reviewed a delightful collection called Women’s Weird, which sought to highlight female authors of Weird fiction in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This year, the same folks have brought out a second volume, giving us more stories from this under-appreciated area of literature. Women’s Weird 2: More Strange Stories by Women, 1891–1937, edited by Melissa Edmundson, comes out tomorrow, October 27. Continue reading Review of Women’s Weird, Volume 2
Review of The Midnight Bargain—Fantasy and Feminism
Would you risk everything for magic? Beatrice Clayborn faces this choice in C. L. Polk’s latest fantasy novel, The Midnight Bargain. Polk expertly explores themes of women’s rights and bodily autonomy by taking the tropes and atmosphere of a Regency romance and transporting them into an original fantasy world where the practice of magic is segregated by gender. The Midnight Bargain was released just last week, and you can find it in stores now. Continue reading Review of The Midnight Bargain—Fantasy and Feminism
Review of Castle of Horror Anthology Vol. 4: Women Running from Houses
If there’s one thing I’ve discovered from this blog, it’s that I love themed horror anthologies! Whether it’s one of Ellen Datlow’s preeminent collections, an indie press striving to highlight diverse voices, or a scholar dredging up forgotten classics, there’s something irresistible to me about many different authors coming together to bring their unique voices and interpretations to a shared subject. So you know my ears perked up when I heard about a new anthology coming out from the creator of the Castle of Horror podcast that would be inspired by the classic illustrations on the covers of pulpy Gothics from the ’60s and ’70s. Castle of Horror Anthology Volume 4: Women Running from Houses, edited by Jason Henderson, comes out tomorrow, October 13, just in time for Halloween season. Continue reading Review of Castle of Horror Anthology Vol. 4: Women Running from Houses
Ghostly Animals in Gothic Literature
It’s officially spooky season! Now that it’s October, everyone’s got ghosts and ghouls on the mind. Of course, most of my Halloween décor is up all year round, including this delightful art print of spectral kitties by Heather Franzen Rutten. Staring at it the other day got me thinking: Do animals have ghosts? There’s been plenty of philosophical and religious debate on the subject (often hinging on whether animals have souls), but if we turn to Gothic literature, the answer is a resounding “yes!” Below are a few of my favorite stories that feature spectral animals:
