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mahtzahgay's review
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
reubenlb's review against another edition
2.0
some brief moments of actual skin-crawling body horror, but it tries to do a lot at once and achieves even less
lattelibrarian's review
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Well, I'm unsure whether I ever want to eat mushrooms again.
Newlyweds arrive at their new, terrible little apartment and it is immediately overgrown with fungus. There's footsteps somehow left behind that they didn't make, they can't escape, and their horrifically annoying neighbor Brad seems to refuse to help.
There were many points of this book that I drew my hand to my mouth. The description in this book is good--which is part of why it makes for such a good, nasty horror novella. And there's three illustrations, too, which only adds to the ghastly imagery!
This is also definitely an example as to how books can be driven based on circumstance rather than inherent character development. I wanted to shake these two characters for not trying to bash the door or window down sooner, for not immediately trying to hose the place down with bleach. That being said, I feel like the book is a little inconsistent with what normal people would try to do in such a disgusting situation (including drinking household cleaners...), but hey, these are clearly abnormal people in an abnormal situation.
Newlyweds arrive at their new, terrible little apartment and it is immediately overgrown with fungus. There's footsteps somehow left behind that they didn't make, they can't escape, and their horrifically annoying neighbor Brad seems to refuse to help.
There were many points of this book that I drew my hand to my mouth. The description in this book is good--which is part of why it makes for such a good, nasty horror novella. And there's three illustrations, too, which only adds to the ghastly imagery!
This is also definitely an example as to how books can be driven based on circumstance rather than inherent character development. I wanted to shake these two characters for not trying to bash the door or window down sooner, for not immediately trying to hose the place down with bleach. That being said, I feel like the book is a little inconsistent with what normal people would try to do in such a disgusting situation (including drinking household cleaners...), but hey, these are clearly abnormal people in an abnormal situation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Confinement
ellasreadingnook's review against another edition
5.0
This is a book that will leave you thinking; about the current state of the world, if you're really functioning in this society, and it might even make you wonder if there's any mold secretly growing in your house that's plotting to imprison you. All the fun thoughts.
Elenya and Myles have just moved into their apartment and are prepared to start their lives as newlyweds. However, almost immediately, they begin to hear footsteps at night, and an odd mold begins spreading rapidly throughout their new home. Soon, the mold has them locked in, and they're left considering if their problem is big enough to call for help; after all, the police and medics have much bigger, more important issues to deal with - don't they?
I loved every single second of this book. It's creepy from the very start and doesn't let up. This is the first book I've read by Danger Slater, and I think I'll have to check out his other ones now. This story is a genius take on what "living" in today's society is like. It was weird, horrifying, heartwarming at times, and incorporated humor in the oddest places (now, when I'm on my deathbed, I'll recite a Taco Bell commercial; hopefully, it'll make it less serious, and my loved ones will be wondering for the rest of their lives if it was meant to be some kind of metaphor). Overall, I really enjoyed this one, and I will most likely be avoiding mold and mushrooms in the future.
Thank you, Tenebrous Press, for providing me with the eARC!
Elenya and Myles have just moved into their apartment and are prepared to start their lives as newlyweds. However, almost immediately, they begin to hear footsteps at night, and an odd mold begins spreading rapidly throughout their new home. Soon, the mold has them locked in, and they're left considering if their problem is big enough to call for help; after all, the police and medics have much bigger, more important issues to deal with - don't they?
I loved every single second of this book. It's creepy from the very start and doesn't let up. This is the first book I've read by Danger Slater, and I think I'll have to check out his other ones now. This story is a genius take on what "living" in today's society is like. It was weird, horrifying, heartwarming at times, and incorporated humor in the oddest places (now, when I'm on my deathbed, I'll recite a Taco Bell commercial; hopefully, it'll make it less serious, and my loved ones will be wondering for the rest of their lives if it was meant to be some kind of metaphor). Overall, I really enjoyed this one, and I will most likely be avoiding mold and mushrooms in the future.
Thank you, Tenebrous Press, for providing me with the eARC!
nadiajl's review
dark
fast-paced
It was okay.
I didn't like the writing style really, it took me a while to get used to it.
Very quick read, quite gross which I liked. Didn't like the humour.
I'm especially interested in fungal horror so I enjoyed that aspect however I wouldn't read another book by this author. Felt like it was trying too hard to be edgy maybe?
I didn't like the writing style really, it took me a while to get used to it.
Very quick read, quite gross which I liked. Didn't like the humour.
I'm especially interested in fungal horror so I enjoyed that aspect however I wouldn't read another book by this author. Felt like it was trying too hard to be edgy maybe?
ratgrrrl's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
DNF @ 75ish%
If this is a kink thing, I absolutely offer critical support, but, beyond the fact that a book like this exists, was written, and people enjoy it, no aspect of it really did anything for me and I was more consumed with trying to fathom what the actual tone and angle the book was actually going for.
Until the moment I decided to call it I was feeling this:
I...really don't know how I feel. This isn't Braindead gonzo ridiculousness, but it isn't Gray Matter disturbing horror either. It's kinda caught in the middle and come off like an homage to The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill/ Weeds leaving me to wonder, how much they would pay for it up the college?
But then there was a very strange, gross, grossly, strangely sexual scene that was played for laughs that just didn't land for me. I'm totally willing to say it was me, but it feels like an attempt to be as edgelordy and shocking as possible, while hanging a lantern on it, of it being just a joke. All of which combined feels incredibly forced and unnatual.
I'm a granddaughter of Nurgle. I can absolutely get down with the ridiculous glee of rot and ruin, and I can equally revel in the utterly creepifying terror of disgusting body horror. I'm not adverse to going either way and I'm more than happy to suspend belief.
The thing I most struggle with when it comes to heightened genre, especially horror, is the uncanny valley between genuinely affecting and truly horrifying horror, and the ridiculous fun, silly, and awful of the comic horrors (intended or otherwise). There are absolutely stories that bridge this gap, Hellraiser comes to mind, but this was not enough of anything and then suddenly so very much all at once 3/4 of the way through.
I'm becoming quite sure it's a me/ autistic thing that, while I can totally appreciate the tone of a story changing across the narrative or when hinted at and/ or built towards, suddenly throwing out all the tone building and establishing vibes (without the about caveats) just make me incredibly frustrated. It's like some kind of jump scare and leaves me wondering why we all wasted so much time not doing the story the author wanted to actually tell.
Building on this, I can't help but feel this novella would have made a much better short story. So much of the set up is rote horror set up stuff that anyone reading a book like this is very familar with and is filled with incredibly unnatural and stilted dialogue that does nothing to disguise the hand of the author. A lot of this frankly feels like filler. If you're going to do the normal times and low horror build up, you need to be able to handle that and feh dialogue well enough. It's an issue in films as often as it is in books.
I absolutely don't want yuck anybody's yum (or rather yuck in this case). I just think everyone would have had more fun if we just got into everything a bit sooner and with more of a throughline.
It also, especially through the neighbour, feels an oddly mean spirited story, with the author/ narrator seeming to feel a real animosity to the seemingly fine couple, denigrating them unnecessary. (I didn't finish so maybe something is revealed).
Just not for me, but happy stuff like this is out there making other people happy.
If this is a kink thing, I absolutely offer critical support, but, beyond the fact that a book like this exists, was written, and people enjoy it, no aspect of it really did anything for me and I was more consumed with trying to fathom what the actual tone and angle the book was actually going for.
Until the moment I decided to call it I was feeling this:
I...really don't know how I feel. This isn't Braindead gonzo ridiculousness, but it isn't Gray Matter disturbing horror either. It's kinda caught in the middle and come off like an homage to The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill/ Weeds leaving me to wonder, how much they would pay for it up the college?
But then there was a very strange, gross, grossly, strangely sexual scene that was played for laughs that just didn't land for me. I'm totally willing to say it was me, but it feels like an attempt to be as edgelordy and shocking as possible, while hanging a lantern on it, of it being just a joke. All of which combined feels incredibly forced and unnatual.
I'm a granddaughter of Nurgle. I can absolutely get down with the ridiculous glee of rot and ruin, and I can equally revel in the utterly creepifying terror of disgusting body horror. I'm not adverse to going either way and I'm more than happy to suspend belief.
The thing I most struggle with when it comes to heightened genre, especially horror, is the uncanny valley between genuinely affecting and truly horrifying horror, and the ridiculous fun, silly, and awful of the comic horrors (intended or otherwise). There are absolutely stories that bridge this gap, Hellraiser comes to mind, but this was not enough of anything and then suddenly so very much all at once 3/4 of the way through.
I'm becoming quite sure it's a me/ autistic thing that, while I can totally appreciate the tone of a story changing across the narrative or when hinted at and/ or built towards, suddenly throwing out all the tone building and establishing vibes (without the about caveats) just make me incredibly frustrated. It's like some kind of jump scare and leaves me wondering why we all wasted so much time not doing the story the author wanted to actually tell.
Building on this, I can't help but feel this novella would have made a much better short story. So much of the set up is rote horror set up stuff that anyone reading a book like this is very familar with and is filled with incredibly unnatural and stilted dialogue that does nothing to disguise the hand of the author. A lot of this frankly feels like filler. If you're going to do the normal times and low horror build up, you need to be able to handle that and feh dialogue well enough. It's an issue in films as often as it is in books.
I absolutely don't want yuck anybody's yum (or rather yuck in this case). I just think everyone would have had more fun if we just got into everything a bit sooner and with more of a throughline.
It also, especially through the neighbour, feels an oddly mean spirited story, with the author/ narrator seeming to feel a real animosity to the seemingly fine couple, denigrating them unnecessary. (I didn't finish so maybe something is revealed).
Just not for me, but happy stuff like this is out there making other people happy.
cloudyqueer's review
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
The couple suffer from same voice syndrome for about half the book. The scene with the bukkake of mold felt very silly and out of place and I don't believe either character has watched anime. It just felt like a very out of place word choice even though it conveyed the scene well.
Did love the detail of Don Quixote never being touched, that was funniest bit to me.
Did love the detail of Don Quixote never being touched, that was funniest bit to me.