Making up for lost time, here I am again with another edition of Recent Reads. For this round, it’s absolutely unintentional but I ended up reading some horror with cool LGBTQ+ representation. I just wish I’d posted this sooner so it could’ve come out on time for Pride Month! Oh, well. Perhaps these reads may become a Pride Month staple for you.
Warm by Dalton Primeaux (ISBN 9798868085758)
After reading the author’s previous work, Why Are You Biting Me? I was graciously gifted by author, Daniel Primeaux a copy of his latest work, Warm. In this one, a man and his dog must take a perilous journey through a wild road after tragedy besets his family.
Right off the bat, I was hooked into the author’s writing style. It was easy to follow but not to say this is simple as the style felt to me that it complemented the narrative so well. There was a surprising amount of depth and weight to the plot. It seemed pretty personal and it just takes us on this journey of what soon is revealed to be a discovery of the self and life.
I dug how Dalton Primeaux can craft such likable characters from the get-go in a short time, given the book’s page count of around 80. The main character, who remains unnamed unless addressed by other characters has had quite the colorful life that we get glimpses into as the story goes on. This is what I want to see, a queer character with such depth and range. I’m actually excited to see what Mr. Primeaux could do with a full-length novel but I’m in love with this book.
Speaking of characters, another aspect that makes this book a winner for me is that the other main character here is the man’s dog, Max. So adorable! And we really get to read about him as a character and not just a side character for cuteness and source of conflict. I was rooting for this dog, y’all, and he was the goodest boy ever!
Ahem, anyway, though I wasn’t jumping out of my seat scared, this felt akin to the character-driven work of Stephen King except I like this more for including queer characters that are nuanced and well-developed. Being a piece of representation with a character that I got to know and like means the danger that he and his companion face becomes so suspenseful.
I look forward even more to Dalton Primeaux’s works, past and future.
It Eats Us from the Inside by Antonija Mežnarić, et al (ISBN 9789538360190)
Parts folk horror, parts cosmic horror, parts body horror — that’s what this book was, and effectively so, I might add.
The first thing that sort of stuck with me about this book is how unique it felt. Obviously, some touches feel inspired by horror landmarks like the work of Lovecraft and The Thing come to mind. Overall on its own though It Eats Us from the Inside by Antonija Mežnarić feels like a completely different beast. The protagonist’s journey was interesting and I love how there seemed to be a sense of normalcy amidst the unusual aspects of the story.
You see, this book is about a woman who goes back to her hometown, along with her wife, to look after her ill father. Their seaside town, however, is under siege by a wave of transformation and something much, much older may be the cause.
So going back to what I was saying, some unusual aspects of the story have something to do with our main protagonist’s background. I’ll be honest, it was all very interesting to me but I didn’t find myself scared or grossed out yet. That is until we get to points of the tale where unknown, slimy creatures are just beyond the pier, underwater, waiting to strike. Pair that with bodily changes that are seemingly unstoppable but definitely unpredictable and the book got me hooked. Without saying too much, the way the book ended made what happened seem beautiful but I never lost sight of how nasty and twisted what was happening was. That part easily boosted how I felt about the book.
Unmasked by R. Saint Claire (ISBN 9781542930185)
Up next on my list of reads is R. Saint Claire’s Unmasked. In it, a group of adult siblings are invited to their childhood home by their eldest sister as a reunion and to help them cleanse. Little do they know about the sinister events that would unfold during their stay and neither did I. I thought I was in for a straight slasher read with a twist because I saw one review somewhere compare it to Friday the 13th. I totally get that comparison but I’d say there’s more to it than that.
Don’t get me wrong, I live for a straightforward slasher but there’s something about “mystery box” horror books that grab me in and pull tight. This one did that. The prose is easy to follow and the perfect fit for the story. There are parts where the story has to be dramatic and melodramatic and how those parts are told were told effectively. Then, you get to some parts that are so twisted and skin-crawling and the author seems to just know how to milk the tension and weirdness of those scenes. I also love how interesting the characters are and I would have thought there was a clear-cut villain here and there is but I just appreciate how complex and not easy the main cast is. Like, I got to read the nitty-gritty of how they became to be who they are or why they make certain decisions.
Then, there’s the part where all secrets are revealed and I’d think that the book would have sustained the tone and energy it had before but there is a bloody payoff and the ending that just rocked my world at how gutsy it is. This book had me hooked and wanted the characters to do what’s best and I just had to sit with myself when they don’t and I watch them head towards doom. I guess that’s why I ultimately love this actually. It has room for camp, for character development, and for outright demented horror.
You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron (ISBN 9781526658463)
I absolutely devour slashers so one can imagine the delight I had when this title dripped. The cover is immaculate and the premise is primed for a slasher fan’s dream. Does You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight live up to its promise? For the most part, yes!
See, it’s about this summer camp that’s like one of those haunted house attractions, except this one is inspired by a slasher film shot at the location. When staff go missing one by one, a teen, who plays the Final Girl during the simulation, and the remaining crew to find out what’s going on and get the hell out of dodge.
The whole thing is very meta and it wears its influences lovingly on its sleeve. I love our characters, especially the main character, Charity. She lives the Final Girl role down to real life when s**t hits the fan. See, this is the kind of book where you thought it was going to be one thing but one twist after another makes this into something else. At first, I thought I would not like that approach but I did. The book moves at a brisk pace and there’s always something going on and something ominous to be found by our characters that I was glued to the page.
If there’s anything I didn’t like, it’s that I would have loved to have more kills on the page. The book gets violent and nasty at times but some character fates come as a surprise because I didn’t know they were dead until their corpses were revealed. I get the intent but being a slasher-inspired tale, I felt like this element is much needed.
Still, as a whole, the book doesn’t skimp on the grisly stuff with some gnarly injuries and desperate acts for survival. I also didn’t expect how grim the book would be, especially for YA. I love the reverence this book has for horror. Obviously, it’s a love letter to slashers but I felt like there were subtle nods to other arenas of the genre once the secret was out. In spirit, it reminded me of both the movies, Scream and The Cabin in the Woods. Overall, I enjoyed this book and its skin-crawling ending.
That about does it for this round of Recent Reads! Hope y’all have a good time with these as much as I did. See y’all next time!
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Dustin is a horror fan and sometimes short story writer who hails from the Philippines. He likes a lot of the horror genre but usually goes for slashers and arthouse/slowburn stuff. Currently, he’s trying to make up for lost time in the horror literature world by digesting as many horror books as he can.