“The body cannot sustain two souls….” A young Jewish immigrant is possessed by the dybbuk of his murdered friend in Aden Polydoros’s debut YA novel The City Beautiful. I’ve been eagerly awaiting this book since Aden first announced his book deal several years ago! As a Jewish teen growing up, I rarely got to see my culture reflected in anything other than “issue books” about the Holocaust, so I’ve been delighted by the recent uptick of Jewish-inspired YA fantasy with books like Spinning Silver and The Sisters of the Winter Wood. But The City Beautiful is the first book I’ve encountered that really reaches into the deep well of Jewish folklore and draws up its horror elements. The City Beautiful comes out tomorrow, October 5. Continue reading Review of The City Beautiful—Jewish Historical Fantasy/Thriller
Review of Lakesedge—Monsters and Magic in YA Gothic
What would you trade for the power to protect those you love? Violeta bargains with gods and monsters in Lyndall Clipstone’s debut YA novel, Lakesedge. Described as a “lush gothic fantasy,” Lakesedge comes out tomorrow, September 28. Continue reading Review of Lakesedge—Monsters and Magic in YA Gothic
Author Interview with Cassandra Khaw
Cassandra Khaw is a rising star to keep an eye on in the speculative fiction scene. They’ve had short fiction published in places like The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Lightspeed, and Tor.com, and their first original novella, Hammers on Bone, was a British Fantasy Award and Locus Award finalist. Earlier this month, Khaw published their debut science-fiction novel The All-Consuming World, which I just started reading. But perhaps their most anticipated release is the upcoming horror novella, Nothing But Blackened Teeth, which comes out from Tor’s new horror imprint Nightfire on October 19. Described as “a gorgeously creepy haunted house tale, steeped in Japanese folklore,” Nothing But Blackened Teeth is sure to rock the horror world this fall. Ahead of reading the novella for myself, I got the chance to ask Cassandra all about their take on the haunted house genre, their thoughts on the purpose of horror, and more! Check out our interview below:
Review of The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina
I know and love Zoraida Córdova for her contributions to the YA urban fantasy genre, including the books in her Brooklyn Brujas series and her more recent anthology of YA vampire tales. But this year, Zoraida is back with something quite different! The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina, which came out just last week, is an adult fantasy novel that takes a very Gothic approach to exploring family and identity. Continue reading Review of The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina
Gothic Settings: The Moors
I’m back with another installment of my Gothic Settings series! In case you missed it, last month I decided to start exploring the particular environments and locales that repeatedly appear as the backdrops to Gothic stories by examining the most classic and iconic of settings: the castle. While the ancient and exotic aura of the castle captured the Gothic imagination from the genre’s start, this week I want to shift gears entirely to a setting closer to home for British writers: the moors.
Review of The City in the Middle of the Night
That which is most alien and monstrous to us might actually have the most to teach us. This is part of the message at the heart of Charlie Jane Anders’s thought-provoking science fiction novel The City in the Middle of the Night, which came out in 2019. I don’t often review sci-fi on this blog, but when presented with a planet where half the world is eternally engulfed in darkest night and inhabited by giant tentacled monsters, I can’t deny how much science fiction often overlaps with horror. This novel in particular plays with how one situation can be experienced as horror by one person, but as something completely different from another perspective. Continue reading Review of The City in the Middle of the Night
Gothic Settings: Castles
I’m starting a new blog post series! Much like my Gothic Tropes series, these posts will highlight recurring elements that appear time and again throughout different works of Gothic literature. But rather than focusing on plot elements, motifs, or themes, the Gothic Settings series will examine the physical locations in which these stories are set. Of course, I had to start off this week with the most obvious classic setting for a Gothic novel: the castle.
Gothic Vocab: Liminal
Last year I started a series of posts highlighting vocab terms that will help you better understand the Gothic. So far, we’ve covered the sublime, the uncanny, and the grotesque. Today, I want to turn our attention to an adjective that is frequently employed to describe people, places, and situations in Gothic literature: “liminal.”
Review of The Haunting of Craigmorag Castle
Even Gothic romance authors deserve a Gothic romance of their own. Lisa Greer gets meta about the genre in her self-published romance novel, The Haunting of Craigmorag Castle, which came out earlier this year. If you’re looking for something fun to read this summer that blends the sweet and silly with the spooky and atmospheric, give this one a shot! Continue reading Review of The Haunting of Craigmorag Castle
Review of The Girl and the Ghost
Even malevolent spirits conjured by witches for the purpose of creating mischief can be changed by the power of friendship. This is the plot of Hanna Alkaf’s delightful middle-grade debut, The Girl and the Ghost, which came out last year. Inspired by spooky elements of Malaysian folklore, the novel uses the relationship between a girl and her ghostly companion to explore some rather dark themes ranging from bullying to death, grief, and complicated family ties in a way that is accessible and engaging for kids and adult readers alike. Continue reading Review of The Girl and the Ghost