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2.76 AVERAGE
2.76 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The dread and anticipation in this are fantastic, as is the horror, I love LaRocca's descriptive prose. However I do think the story is a bit disjointed in places, and I wish there was a bit more detail regarding certain plot points - but it is a novella.
I would recommend looking up trigger warnings, if you need to prepare or avoid.
I would recommend looking up trigger warnings, if you need to prepare or avoid.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Islamophobia, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Car accident
Minor: Pedophilia
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I didn’t enjoy this at all. I really liked his short stories, so I went into this expecting to love it. It’s really a novella, or an expanded short story, as there is not much character progression or a long narrative arc, despite it being split into multiple parts, each with chapters.
The prose is melodramatic in places, which is fun and interesting for a short story, but can’t quite be sustained to novella length.
The events and character attitudes are very homophobic. Even the queer characters have strong internalized homophobia, and many of the terrible things that happen are stereotypical “gay punishments”. This seems a surprisingly retro perspective for so many characters to hold, and was very jarring.
The story was too religious for my tastes. And nothing else made up for the extreme homophobia throughout.
The prose is melodramatic in places, which is fun and interesting for a short story, but can’t quite be sustained to novella length.
The events and character attitudes are very homophobic. Even the queer characters have strong internalized homophobia, and many of the terrible things that happen are stereotypical “gay punishments”. This seems a surprisingly retro perspective for so many characters to hold, and was very jarring.
The story was too religious for my tastes. And nothing else made up for the extreme homophobia throughout.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Rape
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Everything The Darkness Eats is a Lovecraftian (sorta) story about a man who unleashes a powerful entity. It's hard to reveal more of the plot because it is a novella so you don't want to give too much away.
If you've read LaRocca you will be prepared for some of the brutal content, if not beware! I read this for a book club and none of the other members were horror fans, but they were interesting in dipping their toes into horror. The general consensus was this didn't feel like horror (I would disagree), so if you are a non horror fan looking to explore horror skip this I would say. If you are a fan of LaRocca it's a must read!
It's wrapped up a little too neat and clean at the end, but otherwise an interesting and disturbing story.
If you've read LaRocca you will be prepared for some of the brutal content, if not beware! I read this for a book club and none of the other members were horror fans, but they were interesting in dipping their toes into horror. The general consensus was this didn't feel like horror (I would disagree), so if you are a non horror fan looking to explore horror skip this I would say. If you are a fan of LaRocca it's a must read!
It's wrapped up a little too neat and clean at the end, but otherwise an interesting and disturbing story.
Thank you to NetGalley and CLASH books for the opportunity to read and review this book.
A small town in Connecticut is plagued with unexplained missing person's cases, but the cause isn't what you think (I could give you 1000 guesses and youd never say "a weird god portal in a man's basement"). Through a split perspective style, we are introduced to Ghost (a greif-stricken recluse with a literal ghost following him around) and Malik (a gay police officer in the small town of Henley's Edge), who show us drastically different angles of the town. As their stories intertwine, we learn more about what is really going on to cause the strange happenings around town.
I enjoyed the split perspective aspect of the novel, but found the eventual (and late) connection of the storylines and characters to be a bit tenuous and rushed. The plot felt a bit disjoint, and I'm not sure if it was because of the perspectives not quite fitting together or that the novel was just confusing and strange. I also had trouble making sense of the mystical/religious supernatural elements that are especially present in the latter half of the book.
If you like Eric LaRocca's other work you'll probably like this one. If you're a language reader or otherwise appreciate lofty prose, you might also like it. For everyone else, just go in expecting something really weird. This book definitely will not be for everyone.
Double check the content warnings in other reviews before reading; there is an extremely graphic scene depicting homophobia motivated gang rape.
CWs for: rape, LGBTQ hate crime, homophobia, violence, kidnapping, mild ableism
A small town in Connecticut is plagued with unexplained missing person's cases, but the cause isn't what you think (I could give you 1000 guesses and youd never say "a weird god portal in a man's basement"). Through a split perspective style, we are introduced to Ghost (a greif-stricken recluse with a literal ghost following him around) and Malik (a gay police officer in the small town of Henley's Edge), who show us drastically different angles of the town. As their stories intertwine, we learn more about what is really going on to cause the strange happenings around town.
I enjoyed the split perspective aspect of the novel, but found the eventual (and late) connection of the storylines and characters to be a bit tenuous and rushed. The plot felt a bit disjoint, and I'm not sure if it was because of the perspectives not quite fitting together or that the novel was just confusing and strange. I also had trouble making sense of the mystical/religious supernatural elements that are especially present in the latter half of the book.
If you like Eric LaRocca's other work you'll probably like this one. If you're a language reader or otherwise appreciate lofty prose, you might also like it. For everyone else, just go in expecting something really weird. This book definitely will not be for everyone.
Double check the content warnings in other reviews before reading; there is an extremely graphic scene depicting homophobia motivated gang rape.
CWs for: rape, LGBTQ hate crime, homophobia, violence, kidnapping, mild ableism
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Everything the Darkness Eats fizzles with tension, the pages just turn of their own volition. A fierce exploration of grief and power. LaRocca hits you with yet another viscerally compulsive story.
You can trust Eric LaRocca to hit that fucked up o’metre and turn your quiet reading day into a bubbling cauldron of angst and apprehension.
Everything the Darkness Eats is like LaRocca’s other books, in that, the titles are designed to make you think. His presence is everywhere and with a unique writing style all his own I am his ultimate fan. He’s an auto buy author because well, where else can you indulge in your intrusive thoughts because that is what Mr LaRocca indulges their readers in – intrusive ecstasy.
I couldn’t resist this story with deeply sympathetic characters like Ghost and Piper I was a goner. Nothing makes me fall into a story faster and harder than one that is character driven. I imagined Piper’s inability to see not as a disability but a strength. Her senses are heightened by touch and emotions. Her capacity to trust without seeing facial expressions made me love her all the more.
This is LaRocca’s first full length novel and boy did it pack a punch. I’ve enjoyed experiencing his affinity for writing about humanity, whether that’s how it breaks down in trauma or how hope shines through even in the darkest of times. Within a few pages, I felt like I was back at home – if home was a gothic cathedral of shadows and lingering threats. I held this story dear, my hands protecting a fragile creature, I felt its heart and braced myself for the onslaught of obscurity.
The story is told in dual POV, that of Ghost and Malik, a small-town cop investigating the numerous disappearances of elderly residents. Ghost is a widower, and I felt such sympathy for his mental state after losing both his wife and unborn child in a car accident. He’s in a stranglehold of grief and is plagued with a monster that resides around his throat (I took this to be the living embodiment of his grief, his guilty conscience.)
Malik a cop who lives in a small town with his husband, Brett. They very quickly are at the centre of a homophobic attack. It drives me insane how small minded some communities can be and was shocked that the very department Malik works for can take the attack as a signifier of how they behave. These two storylines interweave together and rush headlong in the conclusion.
The way the author examined the flaws of humanity was well, flawless. What would we do in order to get back that to which we have lost? The answer is simple and unconvoluted. Absolutely anything. LaRocca has shown that with dazzling brightness that we are searching for the lost parts of us and will stop at nothing to get it back.
You can trust Eric LaRocca to hit that fucked up o’metre and turn your quiet reading day into a bubbling cauldron of angst and apprehension.
Everything the Darkness Eats is like LaRocca’s other books, in that, the titles are designed to make you think. His presence is everywhere and with a unique writing style all his own I am his ultimate fan. He’s an auto buy author because well, where else can you indulge in your intrusive thoughts because that is what Mr LaRocca indulges their readers in – intrusive ecstasy.
I couldn’t resist this story with deeply sympathetic characters like Ghost and Piper I was a goner. Nothing makes me fall into a story faster and harder than one that is character driven. I imagined Piper’s inability to see not as a disability but a strength. Her senses are heightened by touch and emotions. Her capacity to trust without seeing facial expressions made me love her all the more.
This is LaRocca’s first full length novel and boy did it pack a punch. I’ve enjoyed experiencing his affinity for writing about humanity, whether that’s how it breaks down in trauma or how hope shines through even in the darkest of times. Within a few pages, I felt like I was back at home – if home was a gothic cathedral of shadows and lingering threats. I held this story dear, my hands protecting a fragile creature, I felt its heart and braced myself for the onslaught of obscurity.
The story is told in dual POV, that of Ghost and Malik, a small-town cop investigating the numerous disappearances of elderly residents. Ghost is a widower, and I felt such sympathy for his mental state after losing both his wife and unborn child in a car accident. He’s in a stranglehold of grief and is plagued with a monster that resides around his throat (I took this to be the living embodiment of his grief, his guilty conscience.)
Malik a cop who lives in a small town with his husband, Brett. They very quickly are at the centre of a homophobic attack. It drives me insane how small minded some communities can be and was shocked that the very department Malik works for can take the attack as a signifier of how they behave. These two storylines interweave together and rush headlong in the conclusion.
The way the author examined the flaws of humanity was well, flawless. What would we do in order to get back that to which we have lost? The answer is simple and unconvoluted. Absolutely anything. LaRocca has shown that with dazzling brightness that we are searching for the lost parts of us and will stop at nothing to get it back.