Hey, you guys, remember that time that Hobby Lobby stole ancient artifacts from Egypt and Iraq? Technically they bought stolen artifacts. They didn’t do the digging themselves. I like to imagine that someone walked up to one of the high-ups in a trenchcoat and said, “Saaaayy…ya wanna buy a Dead Sea Scroll?” and they said, “Sure, what could go wrong?” This book is totally not about that. This book is about Ruth, who lives in … Continue reading Crafting for Sinners by Jenny Kiefer →
Ed.note: before you continue reading this review, please be aware that the TW/CW above includes discussion in this review. Reader discretion advised. Victorian Psycho is what would happen if Patrick Bateman and Jane Eyre had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad baby. Protagonist and narrator Winifred Dotty has no ability to experience fear or empathy. She is completely indifferent to physical pain, be it her own or that of others. She has an endless … Continue reading Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito →
First and of most importance: if you decide to read this book, please take the listed Content and Trigger Warnings seriously, because some were big unhappy surprises to me and to other readers. This book started out so strong and then collapsed at the end. After about 65%, I was rage reading. And I can’t discuss any of what went wrong for me without spoilers, so be ye warned – spoilers ahoy. The cover copy … Continue reading Bane Witch by Ava Morgyn →
A Haunting in the Arctic is emphatically not a romance, but it has some elements that are relevant to our interests, specifically female rage and mermaids and selkie legends. It’s very atmospheric and creepy, but it forgets to make sense. The plot revolves around a LOT of rape, and also includes graphic violence, self-harm and gaslighting. If I had realized that the plot involved so much rape, much of it committed on page and the … Continue reading A Haunting in the Arctic by C.J. Cooke →
Slotherhouse has no business being as fun as it is. I would never have dreamed that I’d so very much enjoy watching a puppet murder a bunch of people. With a ton of endearing characters played by actors who fully commit to seeming terrified by a stuffed animal, and a focus on sisterhood in all its possibilities and limitations as well as responsible animal ownership, the messages were heartwarming which, again, I did not expect, … Continue reading Movie Review: Slotherhouse →
A Haunting on the Hill is a horror novel set in the same mansion as Shirley Jackson’s classic The Haunting of Hill House. There are brief references to the events in Jackson’s novel and a snippet of her dialogue, but those were the only things connecting the two books. For me, this was an excellent, creepy book that worked well as a standalone, but I think people especially nostalgic for The Haunting of Hill House … Continue reading A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand →
My Goodness, what have I become? There was a time when I was positively oozing the milk of human kindness. I was so full of empathy that I couldn’t bear to read about a character losing so much as a drop of blood. And yet, somehow, I’ve turned into a person who reacts to a scene of a character’s face being scoured off by tentacles with teeth by chirping, “Oooh! Carnage!” If this is relatable … Continue reading The Dead Take the A Train by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey →
I’m generally a fan of Rachel Harrison’s horror novels. They tend to offer up commentary on things like toxic friendships, trauma, and complicated family dynamics in this darkly comedic, hyperbolic package. When I heard this blended the prodigal daughter of a cult with the catharsis of rebuilding after escaping a narcissistic mother, it jumped to the top of my TBR pile. Unfortunately, it loses some momentum at the halfway point. While I could have used … Continue reading Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison →
It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror is a collection of essays by horror fans who reflect on their experiences with the cinematic horror genre through a queer lens. I enjoyed every essay in this book and gained a new understanding of the complexities of meaning that each viewer can find within a film. As the LGBTQIA+ viewers in this volume strive to see themselves reflected in a media that erases them, they … Continue reading It Came From the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror ed. by Joe Vallese →
TW for description and discussion of violence, including domestic violence, alcoholism, fear, emotional and physical harm to children, death of children and birds. My goodness, I have a LOT to say about The September House, a haunted house story that is emphatically not a romance. This book tackles mental illness, domestic violence, alcoholism, messy parenting, and the logistical difficulties of getting gasoline fumes out of antique upholstery. I didn’t so much read it as eat … Continue reading The September House by Carissa Orlando →
I’ve written, taught classes, and led panels about Mary Shelley and Frankenstein so often that, at a recent science fiction convention, one of my fellow panelists pointed out, “No matter what the topic is, Carrie, you always end up mentioning how much you hate Lord Byron” and I SO VERY MUCH DO! ASK ME WHY! The point is, I seized upon Our Hideous Progeny with gimmie-gimmie hands and although I will not tell you what … Continue reading Our Hideous Progeny by C. E. McGill →
