SLEWFOOT/Brom (The Child Thief, Krampus) Release Date: September 2021 General Genre: Adult Horror, Dark Fantasy, Occult & Supernatural, Historical FictiSLEWFOOT/Brom (The Child Thief, Krampus) Release Date: September 2021 General Genre: Adult Horror, Dark Fantasy, Occult & Supernatural, Historical Fiction Subgenre/Themes: Puritanical, religious community, arranged marriage, witch hunt/trials, sorcery/witchcraft, The devil, myths & legends, folklore, fantasy Writing Style: Intricately Plotted, Lyrical, Dark Fairytale, Multiple POV
What You Need to Know: A recently widowed woman named Abitha wants to do right by her husband's memory and maintain the family's farm in his place but she is persecuted by her brother-in-law and the townspeople in the hopes of running her off the land so they could take it back; her rightful inheritance. At the same time, something devilish is afoot on Abitha's land. A dark entity has woken up from a deep slumber and his quest to learn his true identity and Abitha's quest to hold on to what is rightfully hers, intersect in such a way that one could help the other.
My Reading Experience: This was my first time reading a book by author/artist Brom. Fearing puritanical forces of oppression out of control, Abitha turns to Slewfoot, the Devil who is being reborn in the dark recesses of a nearby forest. Horror fans thirsty for horror centering on witches will find this dark, historical tale exactly what they have desired. You can see from my reading updates as I progressed through this novel that the intensity of this story flourishes. I feel like the genre is extremely LIGHT when it comes to prolific novels about witches, the occult, and dark magic. This book is a profound establishment for this sub-genre. I will forever and ever recommend it as the gold standard. There were scenes that reminded me so much of the Salem Witch Trials; accusations flying around, Christian women behaving like vicious schoolyard bullies, and men using falsehoods about the reputations of women to control their behavior or assets. It's so frustrating. There were several chapters where I wanted to scream at the pages. You know that burning feeling you get when you're reading about something horribly unjust? That. (TW: A cat dies in this) The chapters centered on The Devil (he is given many names, primarily "Samson") are some of my favorites. I loved all the folklore and fairytale quality. I read an ARC from NetGalley which didn't include any artwork so I bought the hardcover version for my library. It's a must-have for any horror fan.
Final Recommendation: If you enjoy historical fiction set in 1666, stories inspired by the Salem Witch Trials, Puritanical Society, Strong female protagonists, Devilry, Vengence, Justice, and just pure, unadulterated Folk Horror, this is for you...for us!
Comps: The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson, Wytches by Sam Snyder, the film, The Witch directed by Robert Eggers, The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Merged review:
SLEWFOOT/Brom (The Child Thief, Krampus) Release Date: September 2021 General Genre: Adult Horror, Dark Fantasy, Occult & Supernatural, Historical Fiction Subgenre/Themes: Puritanical, religious community, arranged marriage, witch hunt/trials, sorcery/witchcraft, The devil, myths & legends, folklore, fantasy Writing Style: Intricately Plotted, Lyrical, Dark Fairytale, Multiple POV
What You Need to Know: A recently widowed woman named Abitha wants to do right by her husband's memory and maintain the family's farm in his place but she is persecuted by her brother-in-law and the townspeople in the hopes of running her off the land so they could take it back; her rightful inheritance. At the same time, something devilish is afoot on Abitha's land. A dark entity has woken up from a deep slumber and his quest to learn his true identity and Abitha's quest to hold on to what is rightfully hers, intersect in such a way that one could help the other.
My Reading Experience: This was my first time reading a book by author/artist Brom. Fearing puritanical forces of oppression out of control, Abitha turns to Slewfoot, the Devil who is being reborn in the dark recesses of a nearby forest. Horror fans thirsty for horror centering on witches will find this dark, historical tale exactly what they have desired. You can see from my reading updates as I progressed through this novel that the intensity of this story flourishes. I feel like the genre is extremely LIGHT when it comes to prolific novels about witches, the occult, and dark magic. This book is a profound establishment for this sub-genre. I will forever and ever recommend it as the gold standard. There were scenes that reminded me so much of the Salem Witch Trials; accusations flying around, Christian women behaving like vicious schoolyard bullies, and men using falsehoods about the reputations of women to control their behavior or assets. It's so frustrating. There were several chapters where I wanted to scream at the pages. You know that burning feeling you get when you're reading about something horribly unjust? That. (TW: A cat dies in this) The chapters centered on The Devil (he is given many names, primarily "Samson") are some of my favorites. I loved all the folklore and fairytale quality. I read an ARC from NetGalley which didn't include any artwork so I bought the hardcover version for my library. It's a must-have for any horror fan.
Final Recommendation: If you enjoy historical fiction set in 1666, stories inspired by the Salem Witch Trials, Puritanical Society, Strong female protagonists, Devilry, Vengence, Justice, and just pure, unadulterated Folk Horror, this is for you...for us!
Comps: The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson, Wytches by Sam Snyder, the film, The Witch directed by Robert Eggers, The Crucible by Arthur Miller...more
What an incredible resource! I pitched an article to tor nightfire so I can properly highlight this incredible guide written by horror fiction treasurWhat an incredible resource! I pitched an article to tor nightfire so I can properly highlight this incredible guide written by horror fiction treasure: Becky Spratford. If you love horror or you are looking to learn more about the genre before you dip your toe into it, you must follow Becky on Twitter and visit her blog often: http://raforall.blogspot.com...more
Review originally published at Tor Nightfire: https://tornightfire.com/moon-lake-is... Moon Lake by Joe Lansdale is this year’s summer read. I hesitate Review originally published at Tor Nightfire: https://tornightfire.com/moon-lake-is... Moon Lake by Joe Lansdale is this year’s summer read. I hesitate to mention that I burned through several chapters in my backyard hammock because it sounds cliche, but I really did and it was magical.
Lansdale’s storytelling voice feels like coming home and sleeping in your own bed. It’s welcoming, comfortable, and familiar. The main character, Daniel Russell, captures reader’s hearts immediately at age thirteen when the story begins. A sudden and life-threatening trauma leaves Daniel an orphan, and he is temporarily placed with an African American family who takes him in as though he were their own kin.
The small town of Long Lincoln, Texas, in the late sixties, does not look favorably upon a young white boy assimilating so well into the home of a Black family, no matter how well they’re taking care of his needs or how happy he seems to be there. Lansdale does an excellent job exploring social issues while preserving Daniel’s naiveté as he comes of age.
I am a longtime fan of what I like to call ‘horror with heart’. Raised on the character-driven stories of Stephen King, I have developed a hunger for fictional people that I can emotionally invest in. Horror is at its best when the lives of characters you care about are at risk. In Moon Lake, readers watch Daniel process through grief, loss, first love, loneliness, betrayal, abandonment, and fear. We go through it with him. His struggle becomes our struggle. Ultimately, we want nothing more than to see Daniel get closure and find a community of people that will love him so that he can find some sense of belonging.
These basic human needs are at the core of every Lansdale story I’ve read.
Moon Lake transitions into a Southern Gothic crime-noir when grown Daniel returns to Long Lincoln after he gets a call from the local sheriff with some new information about his childhood trauma. Like any small-town horror or crime noir drama, once someone starts digging around in the past, peeling back layers and uncovering secrets, the townsfolk find out and put up their defenses. The town of Long Lincoln is a major character itself. Just like Lansdale’s famous fictional town of LaBorde, Texas, from the Hap & Leonard series, Long Lincoln is rife with ingrown systemic racism and has a long history of corruption in local government. The townies don’t take too kindly to anyone stirring up trouble or asking too many questions.
Daniel Russell teams up with some vibrant characters to assist in his urgent quest to solve a decades-old mystery, both for his own sake and for the sake of everyone else involved. There is so much to love about this story–I especially enjoy Lansdale’s sense of humor that helps lend a certain authenticity to the narrative. Life is never serious one hundred percent of the time, and horror doesn’t have to take itself so seriously. Characters, even the ones you fall in love with as a reader, do not have to be morally pure or make the best decisions–they can be flawed and a little fucked up, because honestly, if they’re not, who can relate?
It’s easy to single out specific characters and assign motives and theories to their involvement in Daniel’s mystery. At the end of every chapter, Lansdale tempts readers to keep investing, stay hungry and curious. Moon Lake seduces its audience into a smoldering, tantalizing mystery peppered with humor and heart. Don’t miss it!...more
What is body horror? In the introduction to Body Shocks, her newest anthology, Ellen Datlow writes:
“It might be the most disturbing type of horror because it deals with the intimacy of the body’s integrity being breached by intentional mutilation, accidental infestations by parasites, invasion by alien forces, degeneration, transformation, grotesquery, and pain.”
The table of contents boasts twenty-nine violations of the human body told by a diverse array of talented voices in a variety of genres, skillfully curated and edited by Datlow.
Instead of cherry-picking stories from the book, this anthology can be enjoyed cover-to-cover, back-to-back like a favorite record. Every song is a hit single; no skips. Of special interest are the provocative cover artwork and interior illustrations, which add to this whole aesthetic and mood while you read.
Because Body Shocks delivers so epically on its promise to deliver “extreme tales of body horror,” I wanted to give each story a moment in the limelight:
“The Travellers Stay,” Ray Cluley: The perfect way to kick off a body horror anthology. Think of the worst thing you could find in a motel room and then imagine not being able to leave the offending motel because… well, you’ve changed.
“Toother,” Terry Dowling: One of the scariest stories in the whole lot. Dowling manages to squeeze so much into this short piece about the hunt for a serial killer as it tightens the circle around the perpetrator, thanks to a patient at a psychiatric hospital who’s plagued with visions.
“Painlessness,” Kirstyn McDermott: A woman incapable of feeling physical pain sells her body to the highest bidders. This story is so utterly disturbing; it filled my head with myriad fears. How far will some go to fulfill their basic instincts?
“You Go Where It Takes You,” Nathan Ballingrud: One of my favorite stories from Ballingrud’s collection North American Lake Monsters presents one of the most subtle, gruesome killers I’ve ever read about. Preying on the desperation of a worn-out single mother, the stalker in this story makes a startling discovery.
“A Positive,” Kaaron Warren: Parents are meant to love their children unconditionally, providing them with a nurturing and safe environment in which to grow and thrive. “A Positive” imagines a scenario where the child is raised by other means and meant to serve the parents. It’s effective and repulsive.
Apple | Bookshop | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound “La beauté sans vertu,” Genevieve Valentine: Strong social commentary about the extreme nature of the couture fashion industry, which is its own brand of body horror. The world-building in this story is constructed in a way that feels all too real, with vibrant imagery lingers in the reader’s mind long after.
“Subsumption,” Lucy Taylor: In the aftermath of some serious environmental warfare, a group of people navigate a hostile landscape in order to survive. A woman discovers new, microscopic life forms that exist for the sole purpose of conquering their hosts. This is a story that felt like the beginning of something epic. I wanted more.
“Spar,” Kij Johnson: This story shook me to my core. After I finished reading it, I could not stop thinking about it. A collision in space leaves a woman stranded with an alien life form that will not stop violating her in every orifice. A brutal depiction of an unrelenting hell of having your body assaulted a thousand different ways with no way to escape. Utterly terrifying.
“It Was the Heat,” Pat Cadigan: I enjoyed the way this story began with the protagonist on a business trip, feeling a certain way about the climate in New Orleans as it relates to women being away from home and their domestic partners. A slow burn that ultimately plunges both the main character and the reader into an inferno before the cool-down at the end.
“Atwater,” Cody Goodfellow: Goodfellow flexes those bizarro author wings in this strange tale about a businessman who finds that he can easily lose himself in a place called ATWATER–home to orgies, battles, murder, and any number of other deranged activities committed by the citizens of this mysterious parallel universe. Just one wrong turn and he will leave the natural law and order of earth and descend into the madness of ATWATER.
“The Transfer,” Edward Bryant: A middle-aged housewife begins to question her sanity when her proximity to her husband begins to instigate a transference or shift in her identity. She wonders if she’s losing herself as she starts to resemble someone else. I enjoyed all the subtext and symbolism.
“Welcome to Mengele’s,” Simon Bestwick: You are not ready for this story. Nobody is ready for this story. It’s best to just walk in blind and let Bestwick blindside your sensibilities in the best possible way. I’ll just tease you with this line, “You don’t always want your fantasies to come true.”
“Black Neurology: A Love Story,” Richard Kadrey: This story was also featured in Nightfire’s Come Join Us by the Fire audio anthology, so you can listen to this dark, creepy tale as well as read it. It has one of the best opening lines: “Using my pull with an acquaintance at the city morgue, I convince the attending medical examiner to let me watch your autopsy.”
“Cuckoo,” Angela Slatter: The first line indicates that this story is told from an unflinching, dangerous POV: a being that can cram itself into any “meat suit” so that it can exist undetected. Motivated by a strong sense of justice and vengeance, our main character takes the reader on a journey into ruined lives and the depths of fear.
“Cinereous,” Livia Llewellyn: You can listen to this story on Pseudopod episode 585, which is where I first encountered it. In a building with no name in Paris, 1799, our protagonist, Olympe, is an assistant in training. She works at the base of the guillotine where she collects blood from decapitated bodies, a macabre employment that has catastrophic hazards. I loved all the world-building and backstory Llewellyn manages in just a few pages.
“The Truth That Lies Under Skin and Meat,” Cassandra Khaw: Add this story to my all-time favorite werewolf tales. Khaw introduces new aspects to legendary lupine lore. The sub-headings within the story are sharp and effective.
“Natural Skin,” Alyssa Wong: Liin goes to great lengths to convince herself (and others) that her beauty is natural in a world where women can easily fake it. The whole idea of “I woke up like this”: instant, effortless perfection and success. Ultimately only one person sees Liin for who she is and this is determined to be a threat. I loved this story!
“The Lake,” Tananarive Due: This was one of my favorite stories from Due’s collection Ghost Summer. It’s about a teacher relocating and having to adapt to her new surroundings and school. Some of her new students are eager to make her feel comfortable and she takes advantage of this gesture by inviting them to swim at the lake behind her house, predatory on the inside and the outside.
“I’m Always Here,” Richard Christian Matheson: This story feels like an urban legend, almost like it could be grounded in some kind of freaky truth ripped from the pages of Nashville newspapers. An unnatural familial bond between a father and his daughter results in a sensational and peculiar partnership between them. This one will give you the cringies.
“The Look,” Christopher Fowler: A young girl is convinced she has that “it” factor, the “look” to catch the eye of the world’s most infamous clothing designer. The girl and her friend devise a plan to show up at the hotel where the designer is staying so that they can cross paths. The result is not exactly what anyone had hoped for. I could have stayed in this story all day.
“The Old Women Who Were Skinned,” Carmen Maria Machado: This is a dark folktale about old witches who manage to attract the king’s attention from behind a wall. In a cruel twist of fate, one sister can look younger, while the other one succumbs to jealousy. The message Machado infuses into the plight of these sisters is a cautionary tale for all of us who find ourselves tempted to give in to societal standards for age, beauty, and sexual desirability.
“Spores,” Seanan McGuire: Don’t read this if you don’t want to have fever dreams about bread mold, fungi, and evil spores! But if that sounds like a fun time to you, by all means, indulge. I enjoyed the relationship between Megan and her wife as they go through a strange event at home concerning some quickly-rotting fruit. As the end draws near and the tension is high, I found myself not wanting this story to end.
“Sweet Subtleties,” Lisa L. Hannett: I believe I first read this story in 2018’s The Five Senses of Horror, edited by Eric Guignard (it’s a great anthology). It’s about a group of people so enraptured with food that they play games of dress-up and adornment, using food, candy, and other edibles. A dark fetish.
“Elegy for a Suicide,” Caitlín R. Kiernan: Bleak and haunting. This is the first time I’ve read any of Kiernan’s work. I’m impressed and in want of more. I love that this story features the real-world phenomenon of ants in the rainforest invaded by a lethal spore (Ophiocordyceps unilateralis) which turns them into, functionally, zombie ants. I’ve long hoped for horror writers to take inspiration from this curiosity.
“Skin City,” Gemma Files: A gritty, dark, noir-style story about a woman who prowls the streets in borrowed skin. I was enraptured by this narrative, with the tapes and the seedy underbelly of the cityscape. Gemma Files had me in a tight grip.
“A True Friend,” Brian Evenson: Succinct. Scary. This one gave me goosebumps!
“What I Found in the Shed,” Tom Johnstone: “Sometimes, dead is better” says Jud in Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. I thought of this quote often while reading this story about a boy who discovers a machine in the shed and the way his father has been putting it to use. Very unsettling.
“Fabulous Beasts,” Priya Sharma: A brilliant, visceral, and disgusting horror tale about sacrifice, trauma, resilience, love, and loss.
“Tissue Ablation and Variant Regeneration: A Case Report,” Michael Blumlein: A clinical, detached surgical report describing the live harvesting of body parts for cloning. After finishing, I sat back and wondered why this was the closer–and then I realized that it’s the most realistic note to end on, leaving a lingering bad taste in the reader’s mouth.
This book has two fucking prologues. Two. You may just want to stand back a few feet from this review, because it might get a little cussy and I tend to spit when I’m excited. Also, wild hand gesturing; flailing. Where were we?
Two. Fucking. Prologues.
And do you remember Mick LaSalle’s movie reviews in the San Francisco Chronicle? (I’m sorry if he’s actually still doing those, I don’t live in Cali anymore so I don’t get the SF Chron-Chron, as we called it.) There was always this little cartoon graphic that accompanied his reviews. For the movies that LaSalle really enjoyed, this was the graphic:
And that was me after the first prologue. I jumped out of my seat and stood on it and clapped like a maniac, just like the little bald man in the cartoon. Why? Because Wendig brought it. He brought in the first prologue.
Brought what, Sadie?
THE HORROR. The Book of Accidents is a horror novel. Some reviews might be using other genre labels–mystery, thriller, science fiction, dark fantasy–but make no mistake, Mother Horror is claiming this book as one of her own. This is straight-up, unadulterated, supernatural, paranormal, spooky, eerie, HORROR.
This isn’t Wendig’s first foray into the dark genre. His Miriam Black series (of which I am a massive fan) is also unadulterated, supernatural, paranormal, creepy, fucked-up, spooky urban horror. I claim that series for the horror genre too. And then there’s Wanderers. Folks, let’s call it what it is: Chuck Wendig is a horror writer.
The Book of Accidents is a chunky, meaty, time-travelish, family-centric, horrific, generationally profound, THING. At first, Wendig lights up all those mechanisms in your brain that are responsible for following the plot and retaining information.
It’s tempting to start trying to “figure things out” early on, but after reading the whole book and then going back and re-reading portions of it for this review, my suggestion is to take information as it comes and tuck it away for later. Wendig intentionally rolls the story out layer by layer, and there’s no competition between readers for being the first to “see it coming.”
So relax and settle in with the family unit at the core of this novel. Their love for one another is the driving force behind the entire storyline. Maddie, Nate, and Oliver. I feel like I need one of those graphic t-shirts where the names of the characters are listed down the side right over your heart. Because that’s where they ultimately take up residence: right there in your heart, where you’re all squishy and vulnerable.
Maddie, the artist.
Nate, the good guy.
Oliver, the neuro-diverse empath.
Nate moves his family into his childhood home and almost immediately, things begin to change. Some of the changes are just the normal things people would experience living in their hometown after being away for a while. But some of the changes are unsettling and mysterious.
As Nate and Maddie grapple with their individual and personal hauntings from their past traumas, their son, Oliver makes an unusual new friend.
As the underlying darkness begins to grow stronger and stronger, each member of the family encounters this strange, powerful magic in different ways until it gathers them together in an epic life-or-death battle.
Through it all, the reader is right there with them, helplessly and hopelessly invested. As I read, I tried to protect my brain from fear as much as I tried to protect my heart from being crushed. Wendig does not hold anything back. He pushes this family’s limits to the breaking point. It absolutely took my breath away. There were times where I was secretly whispering threats to Chuck as I read: “Oooooh, you better not let that happen” or “Damn it, Wendig if you do this, I will NEVER forgive you.”
In the end, the destination was so worth the harrowing journey. Every worry, every heart-pounding moment, every hitch in my chest, and every swear word uttered…
I highly recommend this book to anyone who is up for being emotionally pulled through the wringer. I promise you won’t regret it....more
Check out my review coming to Tor Nightfire soon!! Don't forget, "Ghoul's Rule!"Check out my review coming to Tor Nightfire soon!! Don't forget, "Ghoul's Rule!"...more
As the title suggests, these stories are about Southeast Asian women breaking down societal and cultural expectations. I enjoyed the themes of parentaAs the title suggests, these stories are about Southeast Asian women breaking down societal and cultural expectations. I enjoyed the themes of parental pressure, love and loss, motherhood, and self-actualization/identity. The beauty of this collection is in the diversity of the voices and the individuality and uniqueness of each story coming together in one book. https://tornightfire.com/this-womans-......more
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