External Footage: Reviews
- Offsite Footage: #BogWitchReads
If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll have seen my ongoing #BogWitchReads challenge (which I am certain to fail, in terms of time, but plan to finish anyway).
I have just completed reading The Devourers by Indra Das and next I am reading Absolution by Jeff Vandermeer. Follow me on Instagram for the rest of the project!
- Offsite Footage: goodreads
The purpose of this site is an archive, so I am adding some older material in the interest of keeping a longer record. These are the most recently posted to Goodreads.
Children of Solitude by Michael G. Williams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I expected this to be a fun haunted house story, and I got a lot more than I bargained for! The characters are messy and enjoyable, and the plot kept me guessing right to the end. Michael G. Williams has adeptly threaded a nuanced story about the challenges and nuances of family, bloodlines, and queerness, and while his writing is fun, the book is often also bitter and angry in the best, most cathartic ways.
Reginald (not Reggie, never Reg) is a cranky, horny queen and I love him to bits! I deeply appreciated his frank willingness to simply let weird old hauntings be someone else’s problem, but not as much as his clear sense of self and his uncompromising refusal to be anyone else or operate on anybody else’s agenda.
I happened to read this book during Pride month, but it’s a great read any time of year. Great writing that is often funny, dark, and lovely, while still being a quick and engrossing read.
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Brides in the Dark by Jacob Steven Mohr
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I had the opportunity to read this book as a manuscript and it was beautiful. It is a dark story, but there is a wonderful softness in the characters and their interactions. I always love the rhythm and texture of Mohr’s writing, but it is particularly stunning here. A lovely fairytale-and-then-some for lovers of horror as well as dark fantasy.
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Bury Me Cold & More Last Words by Jacob Steven Mohr
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
One of my favorite recent horror collections. Mohr’s writing is beautiful and often wonderfully rhythmic. The stories are creative, with unexpected endings, and Mohr is deft at building tension. Every story in this collection is wonderful, but I had a few favorites:
“Bury Me Cold” – I do not normally care much for the epistolary format (and this story isn’t entirely told in letters), but this one really blew me away. The writing is particularly lovely, and the see-saw of present and past builds terrifying tension.
“We All Go Down Together” – This was just a marvelously weird story, well-told.
“Truth Serum” – This story is the most effective “found footage” short story I have ever encountered. Tension so powerful it was actually hypnotic.
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The Scrawler Tapes 