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bookwyrmm's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A gross and beautiful read with fantastic prose
capnlinnius's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, what a read. How do I even talk about this without giving it away?
This is a book I picked up because 1, the title intrigued me, and 2, it popped up as "you might enjoy" when I was treating myself to a few other indie horror books. Why not try it?
And I am not disappointed.
I went into this knowing nothing beyond the synopsis on the back of the cover, and as I got a handful of pages into it, I realized that it is very closely tied to the Carcosa, Hali and Hastur of Bierce's short story An Inhabitant of Carcosa, and the Yellow Sign of Chambers's The King in Yellow. Of course, I had to pause and go back and re-read those (the short story by Bierce, and the collection of stories by Chambers), and then I went back to this book. I definitely recommend that you have those stories at the back of your head when reading this, because I think it will make this wonderful little novella shine on so many more layers.
Told in dreams full of delightful prose, with intermittent parts of the waking world, this book is not for everyone. It's the kind of read that you need to take your time with, really savor the images conjured by the poetic prose. The further into the story I got, the better it became, and when everything started to fall into place, I was standing at the bus stop trying to not cast shadow on the pages, and had to stop and look up and just process.
It's such a rare experience for me, to read something that leaves me feeling like the story keeps growing in my head the more I think about it. I definitely want to read this again in the future, to see if I can pick up on even more subtleties the second time around.
This is a book I picked up because 1, the title intrigued me, and 2, it popped up as "you might enjoy" when I was treating myself to a few other indie horror books. Why not try it?
And I am not disappointed.
I went into this knowing nothing beyond the synopsis on the back of the cover, and as I got a handful of pages into it, I realized that it is very closely tied to the Carcosa, Hali and Hastur of Bierce's short story An Inhabitant of Carcosa, and the Yellow Sign of Chambers's The King in Yellow. Of course, I had to pause and go back and re-read those (the short story by Bierce, and the collection of stories by Chambers), and then I went back to this book. I definitely recommend that you have those stories at the back of your head when reading this, because I think it will make this wonderful little novella shine on so many more layers.
Told in dreams full of delightful prose, with intermittent parts of the waking world, this book is not for everyone. It's the kind of read that you need to take your time with, really savor the images conjured by the poetic prose. The further into the story I got, the better it became, and when everything started to fall into place, I was standing at the bus stop trying to not cast shadow on the pages, and had to stop and look up and just process.
It's such a rare experience for me, to read something that leaves me feeling like the story keeps growing in my head the more I think about it. I definitely want to read this again in the future, to see if I can pick up on even more subtleties the second time around.
nicksenior's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
rackncheese's review against another edition
4.0
I don't think I'm smart enough for this book, but I have to admit, I really liked it anyway.
magenta_menace's review against another edition
5.0
joe koch is the king of peculiar bodily functions. puke, tentacles, maggots, amputation…what more could you want? a+, a truly monstrous masterpiece of weird horror.
booksanddopamine's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
If there was ever a book to embody a fever dream, this is it. The prose is poetic and the descriptions are elaborate. Nothing is clearly spelled out for the reader. I'm still not entirely sure I know exactly what happened. It was like catching the wisps of an abstract dream as it begins to fade and blur into another dream. I don't know. I'm giving it a 4 because it was beautiful in its own way. But I didn't love it.
caitsidhe's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
what the fuck?
whodey_spaceman's review against another edition
5.0
Cosmic / Body Horror. Lovecraft meets Robert Chambers
bernt's review against another edition
5.0
A hallucinatory journey across time and space where the flesh is just currency waiting to be hacked and butchered as payment for one's apotheosis. Take equal parts female autonomy, the horrors of childbirth, abuse through the lens of small town expectations, the concept of dreams are reality, government weapons, and every bodily fluid possible and put it in a blender. Blend to taste and serve in a tall glass. Wipe that arcane mixture off your lips and make peace with the fact that you may have missed several pieces of this puzzle. Proceed to cave your skull in. With any luck, you may be able to sleep again after Koch's evocative prose. If not, well moisturize your skin and get out the sharp implements because there's a bigger, better, you right behind all those pesky organs. We just got to cut them out.