Alex Easton, a retired soldier from the nation of Galicia, arrives at the home of their childhood friends Madeline and Roderick Usher, after they had Alex Easton, a retired soldier from the nation of Galicia, arrives at the home of their childhood friends Madeline and Roderick Usher, after they had received a letter from Madeline asking for help. Upon their arrival, Alex notices just how dire the situation is for the Usher family. And what’s up with the rabbits on the property?
WHAT MOVES THE DEAD is a reimagining or re-telling of Edgar Allan Poe’s THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER. Having not read the original story nor having seen the recent Netflix adaptation may have played a part in just how much I enjoyed this story as I didn’t have Poe’s story to compare it to.
In the afterword, author T. Kingfisher writes about how she wanted to dive deeper into what caused Madeline’s sickness in the original story and in doing so, produced a thorough deep dive into mushrooms and fungal infections. I found this endlessly fascinating. Kingfisher’s unsettling descriptions of Madeline’s transformation as well as the atmosphere of a property literally crumbling down around its inhabitants made this story damn near unputdownable. As far as the aforementioned rabbits go, there is just something decidedly disconcerting about naturally skittish animals that remain still and do not move in the face of danger.
Knowing it was a horror novel, one thing I was not expecting was just how funny this ended up being. As I said to my wife as I was reading the story, while the novel’s comedic moments are few and far between, when they’re used, they’re used to great effect. I was laughing out loud at Alex’s dry and razor-sharp wit. Their batman, Angus, was also a great character who helped ground the story when the seemingly supernatural events began to take Alex’s sanity off the rails.
It’s been about a week since I finished the book and I’m still thinking about it. It will most certainly be in my Top 10 come December, and as of now, it’s most likely the best thing I’ve read this year....more
DARK RIDE follows Hardy “Hardly” Reed, a perennial stoner living an easy life in California. That all changes when Reed spots two children who both shDARK RIDE follows Hardy “Hardly” Reed, a perennial stoner living an easy life in California. That all changes when Reed spots two children who both show signs of parental abuse. Feeling the urge to intervene, Reed quickly finds out that Children’s Aid is overwhelmed and stuck in bureaucratic muck. So it’s up to Hardy to investigate and potentially save the lives of these two kids; a task he is woefully unprepared for.
DARK RIDE is a breezy read that had me laughing out loud through its brisk length. I can’t stress enough how funny this is, which I definitely was not expecting. If you like comedies like The Big Lebowski, The Nice Guys, and Snatch, I think you’ll have a great time with this one. It’s a classic underdog story with colourful characters and settings.
Hardy gets put through the wringer running up against roadblock after roadblock while being forced to take his lumps along the way. Against all odds, he carries on even though a positive outcome proves increasingly less likely as the story moves along. The novel is gifted with a wide cast of characters who both assist Hardy and also implore him to back off. It’s hard to root against him even if you know this probably won’t end well for anyone involved.
If anything, Lou’s novel spotlights the flaws in our system that all too often fail our most vulnerable. Not everyone is like Hardy however, in fact, the vast majority of us are the opposite. How can we expect to make a difference when the world is an inherently shitty place? Reed may make a difference in these children’s lives, but there are stacks and stacks of case files on the desks of social workers that just cannot be actioned due to funding, time or staff. It’s disheartening to learn, but Reed at least proves that there is one of us looking to stand up and fight....more
In the small remote Alaskan community of Deadhart, a teen is found brutally murdered in an abandoned cabin; a death which mirrors that of another chilIn the small remote Alaskan community of Deadhart, a teen is found brutally murdered in an abandoned cabin; a death which mirrors that of another child that occurred roughly twenty-five years earlier. At that time, it had been attributed to a colony of Vampyrs living on the outskirts of the town - the same colony that has since resettled after being driven from the area a quarter century ago. The townsfolk are on edge and with the signs of this being a vampyr killing being cut and dry, Barbara Atkins, a detective and Vampyr Forensic Anthropologist with a federal agency in New York is sent to the area to investigate whether a cull is warranted.
I’ve been in the mood to read horror lately, not sure what brought it on, but in my quest to find something current to pick up, CJ Tudor’s THE GATHERING kept appearing on list after list of top horror novels for 2024. I’m glad I did as it was exactly what I needed. THE GATHERING very much feels like the literary equivalent of a “popcorn movie” and I certainly don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s a hell of a lot of fun and the twists and turns keep the pages turning at a lightning pace. The snowy landscape of rural Alaska was certainly welcome as I read this in the midst of the first heatwave of the year here in Ottawa. It also gets bonus points from me given that it takes place during late November, so Christmas lights are strewn about the town (I mean, this is more to do with lighting the oppressive darkness rather than celebrating Santa Claus, but it made for a fun visual in my mind).
To be honest, it’s hard to go wrong with a fast-paced thriller that doesn’t take itself too seriously. CJ Tudor does tackle some heavy topics here in terms of racism and sexual orientation, but it never feels hamfisted or heavy-handed. The dialogue and one-liners had me grinning from ear to ear, the gore and suspense scratched the horror itch I had, and the world building combined along with how the story ends has me hopeful for a sequel.
I will definitely be checking out more of CJ’s work moving forward given how critically acclaimed her prior work is. I can’t wait to read more....more
Hollywood screenwriter Misha has just received his first Oscar nomination, but is unable to enjoy it. He’s just been asked by studio heads to kill offHollywood screenwriter Misha has just received his first Oscar nomination, but is unable to enjoy it. He’s just been asked by studio heads to kill off a gay character in his ultra-successful television series as “gay tragedy” sells more than triumph. When he refuses, his personal and professional lives begin to suffer. Can Misha continue to make a stand or will he buckle under the pressure?
This is my second Chuck Tingle experience (what a sentence), and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Re-entering the world of horror following the success of CAMP DAMASCUS, Tingle once again examines the struggle to remain true to oneself and all the obstacles you must overcome. Oh, and lots of gore thrown in to boot. There is one scene in particular that takes place in an airplane that’s both wildly original and deeply unsettling at the same time.
One of the book’s central themes is the proliferation of A.I. and the ongoing reduction of art to the lowest common denominator in an effort to maximise profit. This isn’t a spoiler, but one of the book’s biggest plot points involves a deceased actor reborn as an A.I. generated presence garnering an Oscar nomination. Is that really so far-fetched? I feel like we may head down that road sooner than we think. Very much like his previous novel, things take a turn in an unexpected direction that largely left me satisfied. While I haven’t read Tingle’s more infamous work, I’m surprised at how quickly he took to the horror genre. His descriptions and creativity around many of the novel’s more grotesque moments left me reeling.
BURY YOUR GAYS is a sharp, tightly written commentary on the perils of algorithms and profit-chasing art. Hopefully horror fans eat this one up as well....more
Emily Austin’s INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT SPACE follows Enid, a young woman in her twenties who is obsessed with true crime podcasts, has a deep fear of Emily Austin’s INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT SPACE follows Enid, a young woman in her twenties who is obsessed with true crime podcasts, has a deep fear of bald men and by day works for the Canadian Space Agency. She’s a serial dater, unwilling to stay in a relationship for longer than necessary, often sending texts in the vein of a form letter to break it off with any new woman she feels becomes too attached to her. Recently, she’s struggled to form relationships with her half-sisters following her father’s untimely passing. At the same time, she’s also caring for her mother as she continues her battle with depression.
All of the aforementioned information gets shoved to the back burner when she suspects someone of entering her apartment and stalking her. Is this a result of too many true crime podcasts or is someone really out to cause Enid harm?
Much like Gilda in EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM WITH SOMEDAY BE DEAD, Emily Austin presents us with a deeply-flawed but unendingly interesting main character in Enid. She’s very much in her own head for the bulk of this novel and it’s hard for the reader to truly understand what is really happening versus what Enid is experiencing. That said, this may not be everyone’s cup of tea as the story doesn’t feel like it has a straight plot and spends a great deal of the book’s page count sort of meandering, which I imagine is a good reflection of what it would be like to live inside Enid’s mind. However, that is what I love about Austin’s style. I see a lot of myself in her characters, despite the fact that I am not a twenty-something neurodivergent lesbian.
This book ran a total of three hundred and twenty pages and not once did I feel like the free-flowing nature of the storytelling became muddled and directionless. I would have gleefully read this if it were twice as long, that’s how much I love being inside the mind of the characters she creates....more
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