Review The Witnesses Are Gone by Joel Lane

The Witnesses Are Gone
By: Joel Lane
Release Date: October 1, 2022
Publisher: Influx Press
Award: Shirley Jackson Award Nominee for Novella (Finalist, 2009); British Fantasy Award Nominee for Best Novella (2010)
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
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The widely acclaimed The Witnesses Are Gone by Joel Lane finds new life with Influx Press’s 2022 printing. It is of little wonder this novella was nominated for multiple awards upon its first printing, namely as a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award for Novella in 2009 and a nominee for the British Fantasy Award Nominee for Best Novella in 2010. This is an engrossing, all-consuming tale that pulls readers into the strange, unknown world of Jean Rien and the old movies which may or may not exist at all.

Review — Night of the Living Trekkies by Kevin David Anderson and Sam Stall

Night of the Living Trekkies
By: Kevin David Anderson, Sam Stall
Release Date: September 15, 2010
Publisher: Quirk Books
Rating:


If anyone is looking to beef up their TBR for the next GarbAugust Readathon, look no further. Night of the Living Trekkies by Kevin David Anderson and Sam Stall is the sort of adventure- and horror-laden fare that makes for an excellent palate cleanser and the perfect sort of book to pick up your mood.

Review — Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

Woman in a tattered dress floating near rooftops with birds flying in an eerie green sky. Hex
By: Thomas Olde Heuvelt
Release Date: September 21, 2021
Publisher: Tor Nightfire
Series: Robert Grim #1
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Horror author Thomas Olde Heuvelt flexes his abilities to leave readers shaking in terror in his latest novel, Hex. Traditional hauntings, the reverberations of the US’s witch trials, and an exploration of the darker aspects of humanity are blended beautifully into a novel that is simultaneously unputdownable and will have you sleeping with all the lights on. Like many books that rise above their brethren, Hex is much more than the sum of its parts.

Review — Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

Woman who's image is distorted by water as if dripping down glass. Our Wives Under the Sea
By: Julia Armfield
Release Date: March 3, 2022
Publisher: Picador
Rating:


Some books are hard to categorize. Instead of being immediately recognizable as high fantasy or romance or the sort of literary work beloved by university professors, they meld genres, slipping from one to the other as if donning new clothes. Julia Armfield takes an exploration of grief, a celebration of love and romance, and the unknown horrors that lurk deep within the ocean, melding them together into a book that lingers long after the final page.

Review — Old Country by Matt and Harrison Query

Farmhouse with a single light on in a dark, foggy landscape Old Country
By: Matt and Harrison Query
Release Date: July 26, 2022
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
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Brothers Matt and Harrison Query bring us a horror novel of the haunting variety in Old Country. The novel hovers somewhere between a traditional haunted house novel and something verging into the territory of a mythos, with characters facing forces far beyond their understanding.

Review — Rooms by Lauren Oliver

A house with a large tree sprouting from it and roots underneath it. Rooms
By: Lauren Oliver
Release Date: September 23, 2014
Publisher: Ecci
Rating:


Gothic horror has seen something of a revival in recent years, with many modern additions to the genre able to stand strong against past generations’ great authors of the genre. Rooms by Lauren Oliver is one such gothic horror. However, it doesn’t always manage to hit its mark, instead being a little too scattered with a few too many ongoing plots that don’t get the focus and attention each deserves. Yet, there is something here that draws in the reader, that makes you want to know more.

Review — Dreaming Darkly by Caitlin Kittredge

A skull made of smoke hovering over a manison Dreaming Darkly
By: Caitlin Kittredge
Release Date: April 9, 2019
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Rating:


Gothic horror holds a special place in many people’s hearts. Examples of the genre can be found everywhere, from popular TV shows to classic literature and, of course, young adult fiction. Caitlin Kittredge’s Dreaming Darkly is a great example of young adult gothic horror. All of the staples of the genre are present—an old house that’s both huge and spooky, family secrets, odd happenings that could be either natural or supernatural occurrences, and old mysteries that haunt the present.

Review — Road of Bones by Christopher Golden

A road lines with snow-covered, frozen trees. Road of Bones
By: Christopher Golden
Release Date: January 25, 2022
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Rating:


Award-winning author Christopher Golden’s newest horror novel depicts a cold, frozen landscape that mimics the January landscape of its release date. Road of Bones follows a two-man filming crew as they traverse the Siberian landscape in order to make a documentary about the most northern place still inhabited by humans. However, the only road there is Kolyma Highway, otherwise known as the Road of Bones, for those who died during the road’s construction were simply laid down and buried in the permafrost beneath it.