Short-horror Summer: 3 recently released horror novellas read and reviewed.
- The Fiction Fox
- 11 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Some people call it "summerween", but for me it was a complete coincidence that I happened to read three recently released horror-novellas almost back to back. This provided me with a perfect excuse to review them together in this three-of-a-kind post.
All of these were effective bite-sized pieces of horror in their own right. Whether you're in the market for grief-horror, Lovecraftian terrors or a mix of domestic-tension-meets-body-horror: I've got a recommendation for you...
Jellyfish Bloom by J.J. Walker
A oceanic horror-tale of guilt and secrecy…
Genre: horror novella (111 pages)
Published: After Dusk Press, July 2026
My rating: 4/5 stars
The Story:
There’s been a disappearance in Shiver. A woman is missing and all Anya Durand can think about is whether her husband, Theo, had something to do with it. As she struggles to put together the pieces of a night when he slipped out and returned smelling like salt and seaweed, more uncertainty broods. She hears a leak behind the wall. Water in the attic. Starts seeing things so strange, it makes her wonder not just whether Theo is guilty, but why it feels like the ocean is haunting their house.
Thoughts:
I was already familiar with the author’s work, having read The Flowers at Flood House last summer. The most memorable aspect of that novella was the imagery, and Jellyfish Bloom showed its strength in the same area. I will not spoil the experience by describing any of them in detail. I will say that The Haunted House and Oceanic Horror are two of my favourite tropes within the genre, and the scenes where Walker combines the two felt like they were specifically written to unsettle me personally. The story combines elements of body-horror with mystery and (domestic) thriller. They mystery of the missing woman’s fate, combined with the increasing tension, suspicion and distrust growing between Anya and Theo give the story momentum that keeps the reader on edge. It’s a novella that lends itself well to be binge-read in a single sitting on a rainy afternoon.
The short length is also the stories biggest problem. As strong as the set-up was, the ending tried to pull off a few too many twists and shock-events in quick succession, leaving a few too many unresolved threads and not enough room to breathe. In a novella, unresolved threads aren’t a dealbreaker for me, and I actually enjoy one that leaves me puzzling for a while after finishing. This won’t be the case for every reader, and it’s worth taking into account your own tolerance for this, before you pick this up. As for me, I’ll definitely read more by the author in the future.
Many thanks to After Dusk Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Godfestation by Jendia Gammon
A haunting roadtrip through an Appalachian landscape distorted by grief.
Genre: horror novella (120 pages)
Published: Sley House Publishing, August 2026
My rating: 4.5/5 stars
“When you know a river, you are not surprised by a flood.”
The Story:
In the wake of her father’s passing, Ivy “Fern” Fernberg takes a cross-country road trip through the vast Appalachian landscape. The deeper she travels into the far-stretching desolate landscapes, the more she notices the world around her distort. Monstrous beings, encounters with strange people and landscape that seem possessed and sentient. Are these hallucinations brought on by her grief, or is something larger at play?
Thoughts:
Grief-horror is my personal catnip and Godfestation didn’t disappoint. Another reviewer described the imagery in this novella as “a topography of grief”, and I don’t think there’s a better way to describe my experience with it. Fern’s experience of grieving her father is directly transposed onto the physicality of her environment. It translates the feelings of alienation and almost cosmic horror that deep grief can bring into something visible and palpable, and because of that link to a very familiar and real feeling, the fantastical horror imagery feels like it speaks to something completely true. I also loved how connected Fern’s father directly to the “mythology” of the story. It made him feel like a full character, rather than simply “an absence”, connecting the reader even more to Fern’s grief.
The novella isn’t perfect, and I especially felt like the ending didn’t quite land; hence a 4.5-star rating instead of a 5-star. Overall though, I’d highly recommend this for fellow grief-fiction-fans, specifically those drawn to folk-horror imagery.
A Plagued Sea by Kim Bo-Young
A modern Lovecraftian tale of pestilence and pollution.
Genre: horror novella (112 pages)
Published: Tor Nightfire
My rating: 4/5 stars
“If my husband had looked human, whatever the circumstances, if he had looked even a little more human, you wouldn’t have killed him like that.”
The Story:
Three years ago, the isolated costal community of Haewon Village was ravaged by an earthquake. Mu-young and her niece arrived to town that same day. They were outsiders and only meant to be passing through, but the disaster and its fallout lock them in place to face the horrors that follow. Soon a mysterious sickness start to spread through the villagers, causing horrific transformations and forcing the town into government quarantine.Three years later – lockdown still in place – the town is transformed into something unrecognizable. Mu-young has stepped up as one of the few remaining law-enforcers in the village, desperately trying to keep a semblance of order. Then an officious bureaucrat from Seoul arrives; their first outside contact in years, and Mu-young’s first hope for answers regarding the truths of the earthquake that started it all.
Thoughts:
This book is an easy recommendation for anyone looking for a modern take on Lovecraftian mythology. It reads like a modern retelling of The Shadow over Innsmouth and shares a lot of the originals themes, but with a 21st century update. Without giving too much away; it covers prejudice, isolation and the ostracization of communities, ecological terrors and a deep sense of distrust regarding authorities (aka the government).The description are sensory, the atmosphere is impeccable and the body horror absolutely visceral. Some “fishy-scenes” genuinely made my skin crawl with unease, without coming across gratuitous.
Unfortunately, because of its short length, there simply isn’t enough time to develop any of the themes into the depth that I might have wanted from it. There are hints at the themes of prejudice (which can be interpreted as both racial prejudice or ableism), but they are left for the reader to ponder by themselves, rather than explored on page. The same goes for the characterization of Mu-young, and her arc of coping with the trauma she endured.
Secondly, and this is very personal to my own taste: nothing kills tension for me like an onomatopoeia in horror. If you describe a door opening to me with a loud “creeeaaaaak”, I will immediately feel like I’m in a toddlers-first-animal-sounds-book. It feels unnatural in a horror setting to me, and it breaks my immersion. This novella makes use of onomatopoeias A LOT. To make things worse, the sound-descriptions are the original Korean. That might add to authenticity for some, but made it even more immersion breaking for me, as I had to figure out what a “ka-tok” or “pak” sounds like.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Honford Star for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
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