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A review by screamdogreads
All These Subtle Deceits by C.S. Humble
3.0
"Lauren tried to bite the stalks, but her teeth were not sharp enough. The flowers crawled down her esophagus, so deep that she could feel them slither into her digestive tract, expanding her diaphragm and writhing in her stomach like worms. And slowly, maddeningly slowly, the marigolds swallowed her into the earth."
All These Subtle Deceits feels much like a classic horror novel, only, retold, at once both fresh, exciting and strangely comforting. At the heart of this novel lies a town so well crafted, with many stories to tell - it grabs ahold of readers and suckers them in, refusing to let them go. It's a quick read, all in all, one of those blisteringly paced horror novels that can be flown through in an entire sitting. It is, however, a book that consumes your time, that commands attention, that implores you to set everything aside. It's brilliant, quirky, and a ton of fun, it may even be a series. But, even as a standalone, singular thing, this book rocks.
It feels much like a love-letter to the horror genre and the scary story in general. Everything that makes horror so fantastic is packed into this tiny little novel. It's got a real bite to it, and there's so much love poured into this book. Really, it's a hybrid mishmash of a possession story, a haunting, of demons and priests and otherworldly horrors that plague a small town - it's full of every popular horror trope, but here, they're exciting and refreshing.
All These Subtle Deceits feels much like a classic horror novel, only, retold, at once both fresh, exciting and strangely comforting. At the heart of this novel lies a town so well crafted, with many stories to tell - it grabs ahold of readers and suckers them in, refusing to let them go. It's a quick read, all in all, one of those blisteringly paced horror novels that can be flown through in an entire sitting. It is, however, a book that consumes your time, that commands attention, that implores you to set everything aside. It's brilliant, quirky, and a ton of fun, it may even be a series. But, even as a standalone, singular thing, this book rocks.
It feels much like a love-letter to the horror genre and the scary story in general. Everything that makes horror so fantastic is packed into this tiny little novel. It's got a real bite to it, and there's so much love poured into this book. Really, it's a hybrid mishmash of a possession story, a haunting, of demons and priests and otherworldly horrors that plague a small town - it's full of every popular horror trope, but here, they're exciting and refreshing.
"Those who are born and raised in the city are swift to stay, though many of them do not know why. The city compels them to remain. Not because of its grandeur or the promised fortune found in the mineral-rich earth, but something else. Something deeper. Something enrapturing to its natives and seductive to its immigrants. Black Wells captures you. Its allurements conjure a strong chain that wraps around the heart like ivy swallows a trellis. It is a quick and beautiful kind of bondage. A subtle kind of deceit. "
The body horror of this novel is top tier and the excitement never lets up. For such a short novel, it truly delivers a shockingly huge punch. C.S. Humble is one of those authors with a talent for making horror sound utterly breathtaking and gorgeous. It's a delightful thing, when an author can extract beauty from even the horrific. Blending stunning writing with an adrenaline fueled plot, some truly brutal scenes and sickening body horror, All These Subtle Deceits is a novel not to miss.
"Their hands snapped down to their sides again, the sobbing ceased immediately. Slowly, their heads turned towards Lauren. Their vertebrae crunched like brittle autumn leaves deep within their cold, swollen skin. Their gazes fell on Lauren, each of them peering with rheumy eyes, swollen white. "