Reading Horror Novellas until I find a 5-star...

As evident by the glaring lack of content coming from me over the past few months, I’ve been stuck in the biggest reading slump I’ve encountered in years. Nothing I pick up seems to click with me, and I’ve been especially struggling to commit to longer or heavier books lately. In an attempt to break my slump, I decided to focus on some short-fiction for the first week of October, which lead me to this idea: reading all the unread horror-novella’s I had available until I found a 5-star read. Consider this experiment a success: 6 novella’s down, and I’ve had more reading-enjoyment in the past week, than I’ve had in the entire month before it. If you’re looking for some bite-sized horror to stock your Halloween TBR, maybe one of these 6 will suit your fancy.

Reef Mind – Hazel Zorn

Length: 73 pages

Keywords and subgenre: eco-horror, pregnancy/parenthood

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Synopsis: A previously unknown invasive lifeform emerges from the depth of the ocean and begins to transform the landscape. As above, so below; the surface landscape is overtaken, transformed and mutated into an almost psychedelic coral scenery. And so are the people that live near its shores…

My thoughts: Although I loved many of the ideas behind this novella, I didn’t love the execution as much as I hoped I would. The oceanic imagery, mixed with grotesque bodily transformation is very effective, and the sporadic illustrations by Becca Snow, which are included throughout, lift it to another level. There’s a lot of commentary on climate-change (as to be expected), legacy, parenthood and (undesired) childlessness. Some of those later points, I didn’t know would feature so prominently, but tied in beautifully to the story and themes at hand. Where the novella stumbled a little was in its writing style. It’s very hallucinatory and kaleidoscopic, which I didn’t mind. It was also quite “overwritten”, and the combination of those two elements pushed it into my allergy-zone. To give you an impression: in the span of a few pages, an eye is described as “a bulbous nucleus of terror” and a character contemplates randomly: “what is creation, but a terrible cancer haunted by inevitable decay?” Sure, it sounds poetic, but when you think of it longer than a few seconds, it doesn't actually say anything meaningful in the context of the story. The purple prose also took away from my investment in any of the character, which is essential in a story with an emotional core like this one. Overall, I’m happy I’ve read this one, but it’s tied with my next one for the spot of “least-favourite” of the bunch I’ve read. I went back and forth on whether to round my 2.5 star-rating up or down. On the one hand, I noticed 2 typo’s, which I do feel are usually unacceptable in a finished product that I paid for with my own money. On the other hand, for a small publisher like Tenebrous Press to take a risk in curating the beautiful artwork both within, as well as on the cover: I can only respect and applaud that. To me, the level of care placed on the graphic design, outweighs 2 small textual errors.

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The Castaway and the Witch -  Ioanna Papadopoulou

Length: 164 pages

Keywords and subgenre: Fantasy horror, fairytale-vibes with elements of romance.

Rating: 3/5 stars

Synopsis:

We follow nine-year old Nefele, as she is washed up on the Floating Forest, an infamous mythical prison-island, holding onto her father’s corpse and with little chance to survive in the wild. Growing up in complete isolation, with only the island and its wild magic shaping to raise her, she rises to be the sorceress-queen of the island. And the subject of local folklore across the mainland as a witch to be feared... When, years later, a castaway boy washes up on her shores, having only heard of her through whispered tales of terror, Nefele must choose between the witch she wishes to be, straight out of a fairytale, and the real, living person she actually is.

My thoughts:

I may have set myself up for failure with this one, as based on the synopsis alone, I was already not expecting a 5-star read. Romance and romantasy are genres I actively avoid, as they never fail to make me cringe out of my skin, and this seemed to lean very closely towards that territory. Still, I was interested enough in everything except said romance, to check this novella out regardless.

The author took great inspiration from the character of Circe and her island Aeae as mentioned in the Odyssey. Which happens to be my one of the most interesting characters in Greek mythology, and a bit of a personal obsession of mine ever since I did a huge project on her for my high school graduation. This part of the story (the setting, the atmosphere, the misunderstood-witch-vibes) were impeccable. I loved the descriptions of the island, and the way its magic marries beauty and decay.

The story reads much like a fairytale, and has a fittingly simple but clear story and central question at its core. It would’ve been too simple for a full length novel, but works fine within this shorter context.

Unfortunately, I did cringe and resent the romance a lot. Mainly because the story hints at so many more interesting topics, but never explores them. There are themes of identity, trauma and mythologization (are you the story people tell about you, and can you change that narrative?), which are touched upon, but abandoned in favour of a bland romance based on proximity between two immature characters…

Had i been a romantasy-fan, I might have rated this higher. As a matter of fact, I think I’d recommend it more to fans of that genre who aren’t looking for a romantic fairytale with some darker tones. For me however, it’s stuck at a maximum of 3 stars…

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In The Valley of The Headless Men – L.P. Hernandez

Length: 145 pages

Keywords and subgenre: supernatural horror, wilderness, national-park

Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis:

Two estranged brothers Joseph and Oscar, have recently lost their mother unexpectedly, and have yet to fully process their loss. When they clean out their mothers house, they find a letter from their absent father among her belongings with a mysterious reference to Nahanni National Park. Taking it as a sign, the two decide to take an impromptu camping trip there, in order to reconnect with nature and each other following this loss. Joined by Gillian, Josephs girlfriend, they throw themselves into the beautiful but treacherous wilderness of the mysterious lands, haunted by legends and stories of its own. Surrounded by these overwhelming natural forces, they must reckon with the ghosts of the lands, as well as their own pasts in turn.

My thoughts:

For about 100 pages, I was sure this was going to be the shortest experiment I’d ever done, as this started out on a straight-path to 5-stars. I loved how this novella build its tension from multiple angles. Between the almost cosmic threat of the pristine wilderness, the legends and folklore surrounding the titular valley, and the strained relationship between the protagonists; I was on the edge of my seat. The writing was beautiful and brought the vivid imagery to life in my mind. Unfortunately, the ending took a star off for me. It felt a little too predictable, and the supernatural elements brought a bit of a tonal shift that didn’t match what came before. There’s a good chance you’ll either love the first part ór the last, but not necessarily both…The book clearly took a lot of inspiration from the likes of Annihilation and The Willlows, and unfortunately those similarities highlighted where it fell short of those works for me.

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The Cold House – A.G. Slatter

Length:160 pages

Keywords and subgenre: contemporary gothic, grief, folk-horror.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis:

After a tragic car-accident takes the lives of her husband and daughter, Everly Bainbridge’s life is unmoored in an instant. Lost, grieving, and struggling to put a single word to paper towards her latest novel, she jumps on an opportunity to escape her current situation. That opportunity presents itself in the shape of a layer, revealing that her husband wasn’t quite the man she knew him to be, and she is now the (very wealthy) beneficiary to a large isolated manor in the countryside. Retreating into the manor to gather her wits and process how to move forward, she is soon confronted by strange occurrences around the house. Occurrences that lead her to unearth the dark and unspoken secrets from her husband, the local community, and her own past in turn.

My Thoughts: 

In under 200 pages, Slatter manages to write a layered and gripping tale of loss, survival, the lies we tell the ones we love and the lengths we’d go to, in order to keep those same loved ones safe. Part modern gothic, part folk horror, and sprinkled with a dash of humor from a cynical protagonist (that doesn’t feel out of place amidst the horror!); this was a joy to read. My only critique would be that the ending felt a little rushed, and could’ve benefited from maybe 20 extra pages to even out the pacing.

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Elegy for the Undead – Matthew Vesely

Length: 188 pages

Keywords and subgenre: Queer (M-M), grief, melancholic horror, zombies

Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis:

Against the global backdrop of a zombie-virus outbreak, we zoom in to an intimate tale of love and tragedy. Jude and Lyle's newlywed life is shattered when Lyle becomes infected, leaving him with only a short window of time, before the disease slowly begins to transform him into a violent and often incomprehensible person. Fond remembrances of young love meet the challenges of navigating a partner's terminal illness in this bittersweet tale that explores both how we fall in love and how we say goodbye when the time comes far too soon.

My Thoughts:

Although it was far more of a queer love-story than a true zombie-horror, I really loved this novella for what it was. I adore stories about love, caregiving and grief in all its forms, and Elegy for the Undead footed that bill brilliantly. Largely told through flashbacks from before the outbreak, the focus is far more on the relationship between Jude and Lyle, and their anticipatory grief for what’s to come, than it is on the actual zombies. This might put some people off, but to me, it was exactly what I was looking for, and actually highlighted the horror in the sporadic moments that it did come through. This reminded me a lot of a recent release which I read and adored, that being One Yellow Eye. These might make in interesting paring for a “love-in-times-of-zombie-apocalypse-themed” reading-sprint.

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What Stalks the Deep – T. Kingfisher

Length: 190 pages

Keywords and subgenre: horror-meets-humor, supernatural, cave-setting

Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis:

What Stalks the Deep is book three in the Sworn Soldier series, and as such was one of my most anticipated releases of the year. And boy, did it live up! In this story, Alex Easton and their old friend Dr Denton travel oversees to America to the mysterious disappearance Denton’s cousin inside a haunted mine.   

My Thoughts:

And here's where I found my five-star-read. What Stalks the Deep was everything I wanted from a horror novella, as well as a Kingfisher-work.

Kingfishers signature style marries creative (fantastical) concepts with genuinely creepy scenes of cosmic terror, and balances it out with a dash of her signature dry humor. Humor and horror are hard to balance, Kingfisher nails it for me with their depiction of Alex’s down-to-earth narrative voice. The humor doesn’t outstay its welcome, but the inclusion of a line like “That is very horrifying and I want to go home," I said, although I pronounced it, "Ah. I see.”, delivered after an absolutely horrifying scene has just ended, adds character and makes this story stand out.

Speaking of characters; I was thrilled to be revisiting our familiar cast. Besides being introduced to some very interesting new characters, we also get to see some more of the friendship between Alex and Denton play out, which I can’t get enough of.

Overall, this was a joy, and after being let down a little bit by What Feasts at Night, this third entry reignited my excitement for this series in full force. Considering the final line of this novella, I have a feeling Kingfisher has more entries in story for us, and frankly I can’t wait.

At the end of this novella-streak, I accomplished my goal of both finding a 5-star read ánd breaking my record-reading-slump in the process. I might be tempted to do more of these "themed reads" in the future. Let me know if there are any recent horror-novellas that could've fitted this list, of if you have any suggestions for themed-reads you'd like to see, or try yourself.