Oh hell yaaass! This book is pure fire. It's an immediate favorite indie read, and ranks right up there with Termite Parade as my favorite Mohr novel.Oh hell yaaass! This book is pure fire. It's an immediate favorite indie read, and ranks right up there with Termite Parade as my favorite Mohr novel. And I'm already jonesing for the next book in the trilogy.
I love the way he writes his lead characters. They are complete pieces of shit yet they have so much heart that you just can't help rooting for them and and they just keep redeeming themselves and there's a part of you that wishes you knew them in real life. Like, these guys and gals are where it's at. They live on the edge and aren't afraid to bruise their knuckles or bloody their fists or gnaw off a fucking finger. They'd do anything to protect their own. And they are all just so perfectly badass.
Mohr hits a homerun with this one. It's all gritty LA punk scene, drugs and eyepatches, machetes and glowing reindeers, Viking bloodlines, and hallucinations in a Whole Foods. And it breaks the 4th wall the entire time which is just... mwaaaah! Chef's kiss!
This is a book you have to experience. Go pre-order it. You won't want to miss it. And if you've never read a Mohr before, now's your time to sneak a few in before it releases....more
I recently saw that Brian Evenson had a few copies of this one on hand that he was willing to sign and ship out and, I mean, how could I say no to thaI recently saw that Brian Evenson had a few copies of this one on hand that he was willing to sign and ship out and, I mean, how could I say no to that?! You could say I'm a bit of an Evenson fangirl, but again, if you've read his work, how could you not be?
Black bark is an incredibly dark collection - clocking in at just under 150 pages - that showcases some of Evenson's creepiest stories. Pitch black tunnels that house dripping, whispering creatures. A strange cabin that beckons to a lost and injured man may be the last threshold he crosses. Due to a series of unfortunate events, a young boy is forced to live with his estranged grandmother, who is anything but the kindly old woman he was hoping for. And two men are sent out on a one-way mission to follow a fence line to determine where the contagion began...
His writing gets under your skin. It itches. It twitches. It burrows in deep and never leaves you. It's the movement in the corner of your vision. The noise you hear downstairs just as you're about to drop off to sleep. The slight disturbance in the air that tickles the hairs on the back of your neck.
Which of Brian's books have you read? Do you have a favorite?
Danger Slater knocked it out of the universe with this one. I've been a big fan of his writing for years and this is quite honestly his best book yet!Danger Slater knocked it out of the universe with this one. I've been a big fan of his writing for years and this is quite honestly his best book yet! It's by far my favorite. And that's saying a lot because I love everything he's written.
Good lord! Channeling the wonder of 80's John Hughes films, our protagonist Elizabeth believes she's living smack dab in the middle of one - she's a loserish high school girl who's madly in love with the jerkwad basketball star Trevor. He's got a steady girlfriend and doesn't even know she exists but she won't let those social odds stand in her way. While she's obsessively planning their first kiss, her sidekick goth pal Stevius, who is secretly pining for her, agrees to help make her dream of going to the prom with Trevor come true, with world-annihilating repercussions.
This was the most fun I've had reading in a while! It's cutesy, it's crass, and it's full of creative new alt words for our unmentionables. Vaginas are now cupcakes, buttholes will forever be turd cutters...
If Little Miss Apocalypse wasn't on your radar before, it is now. Get this novella into your TBR! You deserve this! ...more
What starts out as a sapphic, slightly obsessive love story quickly takes a dark and unsettling turn into body horror and mutilation, fantasies about What starts out as a sapphic, slightly obsessive love story quickly takes a dark and unsettling turn into body horror and mutilation, fantasies about roadkill, and oh yes, even some cannabalism.
This book was so fucked up and I loved it so much! Except for the scene with the menstrual blood. That, of all the things in this gross and demented story, icked me out.
Not for the weak of stomach but oh that prose. It was written so beautifully for something so gross and twisted!...more
Oh gosh you guys. Why aren't more of you reading this book?!
The first sentence of the book's description says it better than I can: The sixteen storiOh gosh you guys. Why aren't more of you reading this book?!
The first sentence of the book's description says it better than I can: The sixteen stories in this collection surround queer men of various ages―teenagers, young adults, men in middle age―trying to temper their expectations of the world with their lived experience. Using the lens of the bizarre and fantastic, these stories explore discontent, discomfort, and discovery.
The stories all contain people in slightly strange and extraordinary situations. A man who can slip through walls begins to pull his boyfriend in with him, another who can identify other queers by the blue glow eminating from their hands, and a lover who regrows his grieving boyfriend's recently deceased father in his backyard. Houses randomly vanish into thin air, taking the families who are inside with them. Heads of households begin to grow fruits and vegetables under their skin when the ground can no longer produce them. Garden of Eden's begin to appear in unexpected locations, complete with their own Trees of Knowledge.
In Joe's deft hands, we are thrust straight into the heart of each of these tender and somewhat fantasical stories, sharing the characters' fears and confusion, suffering their rejections, experiencing their joys...
It was just wow. The blurring of reality and fantasy was just * chef's kiss *. An early favorite for me, and if you're into queer magical realism, you've got to trust me, it will be a favorite of yours as well....more
I picked up this collection today and had not expected to tear through it so darn quickly!
In Patterns of Orbit, Chloe deftly navigates the harsh realI picked up this collection today and had not expected to tear through it so darn quickly!
In Patterns of Orbit, Chloe deftly navigates the harsh realities of outer space, the horrors buried deep within the ocean, and literally everything in between. Her stories are relentless in the best way. She accomplishes in a few pages what others can't pull off in a hundred.
Steeped in love and loss, comforts and fears, science fiction and horror, these stories will unsettle you. They will gut you. They will crawl under your skin and haunt you. If you don't start looking at forests, bodies of water, and the stars differently after this... do I even know you?
Yowsers! I wasn't prepared for how much I was going to like this book. I mean, I love everything that Meerkat Press puts out, but dayumn! This was jusYowsers! I wasn't prepared for how much I was going to like this book. I mean, I love everything that Meerkat Press puts out, but dayumn! This was just soooo good.
Phina is a rent-me-by-the-party princess living her best life with her grouchy sidekick cat Heracles, until she receives a series of postcards from her sister Eff who appears to have joined a community that's definitely not a cult. She asks Phina to check on her ex-boyfriend because she's had visions that someone from the retreat-thats-not-a-cult may have hurt him and typically what Eff sees tends to come to pass. Phina does some sleuthing and discovers that, yup, the dude was banged up pretty good in a hit and run, and relays this back to her sister. A few days later, Phina receives a call that Eff is in a coma in the hospital due to bad fall that took place just outside the retreat's grounds.
Head spinning with all sorts of worst-case-scenarios, Phina decides to locate and inflitrate this community-thats-not-a-cult's retreat in order to figure out what sort of nefarious and life threatening things this group is up to.
Set in an abandoned goblin themed amusement park and run by a rich guy who appears to want to relive his childhood to its fullest, Phina must hide her true identify and befriend as many of these odd characters as possible to uncover the truth about Eff's accident, but can she get to the bottom of things before they realize what she's up to?
It's incredibly voice driven and was an absolute blast to read. I started it last night and ended up finishing today in practically one sitting. It sucked me right in and I have no doubt you will be too.
Thrilled to be partnering back up with Jen Michalski and her forthcoming story collection. It releases in January and we're seeking interviewers, reviThrilled to be partnering back up with Jen Michalski and her forthcoming story collection. It releases in January and we're seeking interviewers, reviewers, and other coverages. Reach out if you'd like a review copy!!...more
Moonfellows is an alt-historical sci-fi (without the science) story about a group of folks who are sent to the moon in the early 1900's to mine it forMoonfellows is an alt-historical sci-fi (without the science) story about a group of folks who are sent to the moon in the early 1900's to mine it for MacGuffinite, a precious mineral that has the potential to change the world as they currently know it. But the mission goes to shit pretty quick and the crew soon find themselves not only stranded on its dry, dusty surface, but also fighting for their lives as one of their very own begins to transform into something horrible...
I read this in nearly one sitting. You know how sometimes you pick up a book expecting to read just a few pages and before you know it, you've finished it? Well, this is one of those books, you guys. It was just. that. friggen. good! Absolutely unputdownable! Cosmic space horror goodness for the win!
And not to sound cheesy, but I believe this is his best book yet! It's been so amazing reading his work over the years and seeing how much he's grown as a writer. I cannot wait to see what he writes next. I'll be first in line to get my grubby, space-sluggy hands on it!!...more
I love how Kathe Koja reinvents herself with every novel. Dark Factory is a fully immersive, futuristic dive into augmented reality clubbing and quiteI love how Kathe Koja reinvents herself with every novel. Dark Factory is a fully immersive, futuristic dive into augmented reality clubbing and quite unlike anything we've read from her previously.
Ari is the Factory's floor manager and king socialite. He's there to make sure everyone is having the time of their lives while seeking out ways to improve their experience. To do this, he brings on Max, a local artist who designs similar experiences, only his take place out in nature. The arrival of Max upsets Ari's boss Jonas, who fears Ari is trying to take his job and kicks him to the curb. And so we follow Ari around as he rides the waves of his popularity, jumping from club to club in an attempt to recreate what he had at Dark Factory and begins to fall in love with Felix, a talented and highly sought out DJ. In addition to Max, who keeps testing the limits of the Factory's Y reality, we meet an assertive journalist Marfa who documents it all, and various other music makers, experience designers, and rich bitch clubbers who can't pass up the thumping and bumping of the trance inducing rhythms that slide off the page and into our heads as we lose ourselves inside this weird and wonderful world Kathe has created for us.
Meerkat and Kathe make an awesome team and have truly outdone themselves with the lead up to the release of this book!...more
And to think I almost turned down the review copy because it was pitched as historical fiction and a murder Best book I've read this year, by a mile.
And to think I almost turned down the review copy because it was pitched as historical fiction and a murder mystery... which are two of the most effective ways to ensure I say nope, not for me, that's a hard pass. But you guys, seriously! This book was so unexpectedly everything I absolutely love about small press fiction!
It's set in rural Arkansas in the 20's and revolves around a young man named Buddy who was shot to death by the town's sheriff and Coralee, Buddy's sister, who is deeply and emotionally rocked by the loss. Told in the alternating viewpoints of Coralee, her husband Earl, and Leroy the laywer, we quickly come to realize that there's more to the story than what was originally told, and it appears the town itself is hiding a whole lot of dark secrets.
It's ridiculous how good this book is! Do yourself a favor and pick it up. Don't read the jacket copy. Just trust me. You're going to love it.
"There were two witches to the story. There are two witches to every story."
"In their language, Monster meant something else entirely."
"How many times"There were two witches to the story. There are two witches to every story."
"In their language, Monster meant something else entirely."
"How many times can a person be sold before they become a beast?"
"Those who think you are special see what they want to see. & those who hate you do the same."
A stunning series of vignettes, beautifully dipicting the story of how each carnival act came to be and not be. Humanizing the once inhuman. Freeing them of their disabilities broadcasting that which makes them different.
Oh man, I was super unsure about this as I first started it due to the strange set up but holy crap, once I got used to the ebb and flow I fucking lovOh man, I was super unsure about this as I first started it due to the strange set up but holy crap, once I got used to the ebb and flow I fucking loved it. A psuedo biographical retelling of two twin brothers and their dark family issues, hosted online by an anoymous webmaster, through the use of copyright infringed republications of an unreleased screenplay, public domain documents, and the family's own memoirs, with clever use of footnoting (which I usually H.A.T.E.).
Kudos for how Joshua manipulated novel-norms! Everything is questionable, no one is reliable, and there may or may not be some unexplained phenomenon taking place here.
Brillantly executed, once you learn how to follow along.
This was a book that I had started reading a few months ago. I had gotten about 3/4ths of the way through and then other priorities pulled me away. WhThis was a book that I had started reading a few months ago. I had gotten about 3/4ths of the way through and then other priorities pulled me away. When I went to pick it back up this month, I realized I couldn't remember much of what I had read, so I decided to chuck the bookmark and start from the beginning again. And oh man am I glad I did!
Such a powerful, visceral collection, even the second time around! A fabulous mix of body, ghost, and mental horror. Some of the stories unsettled me, others remained with me chewing on my brain, and one in particular completely grossed me out - I read it the way some people watch gory horror movies, through my fingers, with that weird icky feeling behind my knees, going no no no no noooo!
Undertow continues to knock it out of the park. They have ridiciously amazing taste!...more
Don't let the page count fool you. Directory is deceptively muscular and packs an incredibly powerful gut punch. Told in interconnected flash stories,Don't let the page count fool you. Directory is deceptively muscular and packs an incredibly powerful gut punch. Told in interconnected flash stories, Linforth urges us to disect what it means to be "I vs we" as we follow a set of twins who are also sometimes triplets as they search for the father who abandoned them, and an end to the tramas they've suffered....more
Holy hell, Collective Gravities gutted me. Just pulled all of my insides out. It's one of those collections where the first story hooks you so hard anHoly hell, Collective Gravities gutted me. Just pulled all of my insides out. It's one of those collections where the first story hooks you so hard and you're rendered helpless, a willing victim to the words on the pages, pushed and pulled and dragged around like a fucking ragdoll, simultaneously ricocheted and riveted. If you're not reading this, what the fuck ARE you reading?!...more
An amazing, I refuse to put it down because I absolutely MUST find out what the hell is going on here, almost read it in one sitting but I started it An amazing, I refuse to put it down because I absolutely MUST find out what the hell is going on here, almost read it in one sitting but I started it too late last night, fuck with your head on a multitude of levels, this is why I read small press, book.
It's a wicked noodler of a dystopian/utopian/post apocalyptic novel in which the author drops us smack dab in front of Mark as he awakens, as he always does, at precisely 6:20am in his tiny room. Mark is one of four people who appear to have willingly/unknowingly gone into isolation together. They have been locked in some kind of bunker/building/spaceship/experiment underground/in space/on another planet for an unknown period of time, and there appears to be something wrong/not right/off about each of them, and they might be/are withholding/forgetting/lying about information/themselves as they move through their daily routine.
Are you wondering if I fell down and cracked my head because I'm not making any damn sense? Good. Because reading this book is very much like that, but in such a deliciously awesome way.
Think Immobility and The Warren by Brian Evenson. Think Wool by Hugh Howey. Think 10 Cloverfield Lane, think Passengers. We only know what the characters know and we are trying like hell to figure things out along with them. And yes, we are left just as confused as they are when the book draws to a close. that's not to say that I don't have my theories. Oh man, do I have theories!
Don't blink for a second. You can't afford to.
Undertow Press continues to show me that they are all that and a bag of chips. Every title I've read from them continues to raise the bar and blow me away. And now excuse me while I go find more Michael Griffin titles to devour....more
Fans of Cormac McCarthy, Talyor Brown, and Robert James Russel (Specifically his book Mesilla) will fall in love witThis some bitch is where it's at.
Fans of Cormac McCarthy, Talyor Brown, and Robert James Russel (Specifically his book Mesilla) will fall in love with the writing and storyline here.
Holy. Fucking. Yes.
And I am thrilled to announce that I have partnered with the publisher to handle the publicity for this book! Please reach out and message me if you have an interest in reviewing this title or interviewing the author for us!...more
I was initially blown away by Kathe when I read Under the Poppy. That book affected me in ways literature usually does not. Many of the books I read wI was initially blown away by Kathe when I read Under the Poppy. That book affected me in ways literature usually does not. Many of the books I read will linger for a short time but later become muddled up with everything else I've read before or since. Details will begin to fade and then too the plots themselves. But not so with Kathe's triology. That one has stuck with me for the long haul. It is truly dazzling stuff.
It wouldn't be fair of me to attempt to hold this latest collection up against those books. While some of the stories here are forgettable, others spoke to something deep inside me, or just plain ole creeped me out. And a few of those stories... man... they are also going to be with me for the long haul. I can feel it.
Don't let this little chapbook fool you. It's the creepiest little thing I've read in a long while. I'm off to read something else so it's not the lasDon't let this little chapbook fool you. It's the creepiest little thing I've read in a long while. I'm off to read something else so it's not the last thing I'm thinking of as I drift off to sleep tonight.
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