Review: Q Island and Giveaway!

I received a free review copy of Q Island by Russell James from his publicist before the holidays. Q Island was getting some positive buzz at the end of 2015 and James has another book coming in 2016, so I was intrigued to read this one.

I am also offering the copy I received and read [so it is not in brand new shape] as a giveaway here today. I will accept entries to zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com through 5 pm [Chicago time] Wednesday 1/20/16. At that point, I will pick a random winner.

Now on to the review.

Q Island offers an original take on the zombie novel. The basic plot is that a deadly virus, that has laid dormant in a frozen, but infected mammoth for 10,000 years is quickly spreading across Long Island. The virus turns the infected’s veins a dark black as it spreads and turns them into homicidal maniacs-- kinda like a zombie, but not exactly. They are much easier to kill than zombies. Once the infected person is killed, their body explodes, sending spores into the air and infecting all of those around. The title comes from the fact that the US government completely closes off Long Island to quarantine, hence Q Island.

As I mentioned the plot itself is interesting  and original. This is not a zombie novel like we are used to; in fact, it feels much more real-- which is terrifying. James’ strength as a writer and the success of this novel are built on how authentic he makes the entire story feel. As someone who has read many zombie and monster novels, I appreciated this greatly.

The story opens with the point of view of an infected mammoth and then quickly moves to patient zero. The way the virus gets to Long Island from Siberia makes so much sense you wonder if this could really happen. Why not.

So the dread and anxiety are built from page one perfectly. The chapters are short and the pace, fast so that by the time we meet our three main narrators, Samuel-- a doctor/infectious disease specialist, Melanie-- the mom of an Autistic boy and all her friends in the gated townhouse community where she lives, and Jimmy-- a career criminal, as readers, we are already worked up and invested in the story. That was very well done.

I am not going to spend any time here explaining how the story unfolds because that is much of the enjoyment of reading this novel. Just know that it is a well constructed plot, with plenty of ups and downs, great action sequences scattered throughout to keep interest, anxiety, and story all moving in a satisfying way. Also the three narrators each have their own story lines, which on their own are better than average, and as they merge together organically, enhance the overall story. Samuel’s storyline working on the virus and getting mixed up in some political issues was my favorite. Melanie and her crew of “regular guys,” was good. I really felt a connection with their plight.

However, my complaint with the novel comes from the villain Jimmy. I was not really invested in his story. I was so indifferent about him, I didn’t even take the time to hate him. He was a little too over the top evil from the start, unlike Paul, a secondary villain whose arc from vigilante hero to evil so bad you cheered when he finally got his, was much more satisfying. I understood Jimmy’s necessity for the plot, but I was indifferent to him as the main villain here.

The very best horror writers are able to include a villain beyond the “monsters” who readers hate as much as they love the heroes. Brian Keene, Jonathan Maberry, and Joe Hill do this the best. Now that might not be fair to James since these are three of the best horror writers today, but I was heartened to see glimpses of these feelings with the Paul character.

Q Island is more than solid on every other front however. The combination of the realistic infectious disease details, the compelling every day heroes with Melanie and her crew, and the political intrigue make it a great option to add to libraries with modern horror collections. I can also assure you that the novel has a satisfying modern horror ending-- closed enough but still very wide open to allow the terror to live on. It was a fun, fast, satisfying horror read.

For more from James, who I think is an author worth keeping an eye on, here is a link to an interview he did. I learned a lot about him and his work from listening to it.

Three Words That Describe This Book: realistically terrifying, fast paced, multiple plot lines

Readalikes: Q Island reminded me a lot of Jonathan Mayberry’s zombie novel Dead of Night because of the realistic way the infection spreads, the rapidly shifting points of view that keep the pace fast, and the overall sustained sense of dread. You can read my review of Dead of Night to see more details.

Brian Keene’s Castaways [one of my all time favorites] also features an island setting and involves monsters who are more human than not.

David Wellington is another author that is a good choice here, especially his NYC set zombie series that begins with Monster Island.

While those are whole package readalikes, here are some more specific options.

If you liked the medical parts of the story the most, try We Are Monsters by Brian Kirk or Devil in Silver by Victor LaValle.

If you liked the political intrigue the most, try Mira Grant’s Newsflesh Trilogy.

Finally, James is a friend and fan of  horror author Hunter Shea who is also worth checking out.

New Book Bonus Annotations: Chapter 8- Monsters and Ancient Evil

 When I was writing the Third Edition of the Readers' Advisory Guide to Horror, I originally had over 20 annotated choices per subgenre appearing in chapter 4-13. However, for word count sake, I had to reduce each lists to a well packaged dozen. Obviously making the cuts was hard, but I was able to include the tittles of those deleted annotations in an appendix at the end of the book with a promise that the annotations would run here on the blog.

And that promise begins today. Each list will be posted on the blog over a series of 10 weeks, every Tuesday, beginning June 1, 2021 and running through August 3, 2021. This weekly series will serve to promote the book's upcoming release in August of 2021, but I have also created an archive of all of the lists that will live here. That page is the official index of this bonus content.

In the book, my top three choices in each list are marked to denote Becky's Picks. I will also do that in these lists to give you a place to begin as you suggest. Just like the titles in the print book, every title appearing here is a great options for all public libraries. You can use these lists for collection development, displays, lists, and suggestions. Each subgenre has an essay discussing its history and appeal in the book which you can order here. 

Bonus Annotations

Chapter 8: Monsters and Ancient Evil

[+] Denotes Becky’s Picks

Ahlborn, Ania. The Devil Crept In. 2017

Jude disappears, leaving his cousin and best friend, ten year old Stevie distraught and searching for him. Told from two perspectives, that of the very perceptive and sympathetic Stevie and Rosie, an old woman who lives in the woods, this is an atmospheric and creepy tale, with a tension that builds steadily as Stevie’s encounters bring him into contact with unfriendly townspeople, oddly behaving cats, and what is a very real monster in the woods. A coming of age horror tale that is a perfect suggestion for fans of early Stephen King.

+Beukes, Lauren. Broken Monsters. 2014

A terrifying twist on the monster story, a serial killer is fusing the bodies of his victims with animals and leaving the grotesque creations in abandoned buildings across Detroit. What follows is a fast paced, gruesome mystery, told through multiple perspectives of a city on the brink of ruin and its broken residents as they both come to terms with the horrible monster in their midst and their connection to the horror. A nice bridge title that can draw serial killer readers to horror, this tale of real life monsters has all of the markings of a monster tale with enough of a hint at a possible unnatural force driving the horrors to satisfy genre readers. Broken Monsters was nominated for just about every horror and thriller award the year it came out.

Brogden, James. Heckla’s Children. 2017

With a prologue introducing a monster stalking the land and terrorizing the people who lived there centuries ago, readers are then thrust forward to modern times when four teens disappear while on a survival skills field trip in a British park on that same land. Only one returns, but with no memory of what happened. Nine years later an archeologist is called back to that park to identify some bones, but these are not the bones of modern teens, they are from the Bronze age. With an engrossing plot that establishes the intense unease from page one and steadily increases it from there, an interesting and diverse cast of characters, shifting points of view, and excellent world building, this is a stellar choice for fans of ancient evil. Bone Harvest is another good choice in the subgenre.

Campbell, Ramsey. Grin of the Dark. 2007

Clowns are a classic horror novel monster and British genre master Campbell has one of the best entries into this trope. Simon is doing research into the forgotten silent film star, Tubby Thackeray, a contemporary of Chaplin’s whose entire oeuvre has been lost. Simon’s research takes a strange and dark turn very quickly, and the deeper he digs, the more terrifying it all becomes. Evil clowns are just the start, there may be a much larger ancient evil at work. This inventive, suspenseful, and chilling tale with a found footage frame will appeal to a wide swath of readers and even a few fans of classic cinema.

Cutter, Nick. Little Heaven. 2017

In 1980 a monster lures a girl away from her home, kidnapping her. But this is no random monster, it wants to settle a score with the girl’s father and his two closest friends, a score that goes back to 1965 and the isolated religious community of Little Heaven. The story, told in alternating time frames, a technique which adds suspense, is gruesome and oozes fear from its very first lines. Readers are drawn to the obviously flawed, but sympathetic protagonists and are horrified as they are besieged by terrifying and violent monsters. However, this is also a story that makes time for contemplation of the meaning of family and community in between its most disturbing moments.

Deady, Tom. Haven. 2016

In 1961 the town of Haven, MA experienced a spate of child murders. Now 17 years later, Paul, the man who was sentenced for those murders has served his time and returns home, reaching out to those who still believe in his innocence namely a local priest, his  a young boy named Denny, and his best friend Billy. When the killings begin happening again, Paul is accused, but it is becoming clear that the culprit of it all is a monster in the woods. With compelling characters, both good and evil, a shifting narration that keeps this epic story moving, and breathless action sequences, this is a horror novel that harkens back to classic Stephen King while still asserting its own original identity. Haven won the 2016 Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel.

Hamil, Shaun. A Cosmology of Monsters. 2019

In this grotesque and foreboding debut, a family is haunted by a monster for generations. It all begins with Noah’s Lovecraft loving parents and their comic book shop and well known Haunted House attraction, but fairly quickly tragedy befalls the family, tragedy that may very well be linked to a monster, one that befriends young Noah, following him into adulthood. But monsters, no matter how friendly they appear, are still monsters. A leisurely paced story of family, coming of age, and of course, horror, with an obvious nod to Lovecraft, Hamil’s novel leaves the reader in a prolonged state of unease long after completion.

+Keene, Brian. Castaways. 2009

A television crew and contestants in a Survivor-esque reality show are literally caught in a fight for their lives—the island they have been left on is populated by an indigenous tribe of bloodthirsty monsters and there is a giant storm bearing down on them! This novel, written as a tribute to the late Richard Laymon, is a grisly, disturbing and compelling page turner but Keene adds humor and builds characters readers actively want to root for and against to help buffer the gore and sexual violence. Also try Ghoul, a more traditional coming of age, ancient evil resurfaces, monster tale.

+LaValle, Victor. Victor LaValle’s Destroyer. 2018

Using Frankenstein as the frame, LaValle tells a very modern story of revenge, race, and science in a graphic novel format. It’s 2017 and the monster is angry. Forced to wander the earth for decades, it is now bent on destroying all of humanity. Enter Dr. Baker, a descendent of the Frankenstein family whose anger at humanity may rival the monster's own. In many ways this reimagined classic is much scarier for today's readers as it keeps the themes of the original but strips the historic feeling of it, both because there is no denying it is about our current situation and because of the detailed superhero comic inspired art. 

Little, Bentley. The Bank. 2020

Little has made a career writing small town, pulp horror that pits ordinary people, living mundane lives, up against a monster. Here he ups the ante, mixing in the real life horrors of identity theft, economic downturn, and aggressive marketers as a new bank opens in town, claiming to want to help everyone, but actually run of a supernatural evil. Following the points of view of various community members, including tension at every turn, that ratchets up to violent terror, this is a fast paced, fun roller coaster ride of horror with a monster at its core. Most Little titles fit into this subgenre and are worth exploring for monster fans.

Partridge, Norman.  Dark Harvest.  2006

It’s Halloween in 1963 and the local boys are taking part in their town’s traditional hunt to find the “October Boy.”  This is no ordinary hunt however.  The boys must be locked away without food for five days before being let out for the hunt, and he who manages to kill the monster, gets a big reward.  Readers follow Pete on this particular hunt and together we find out the horrifying truth behind the ritual.  Dark Harvest is a critically acclaimed, original, and shocking story that monster fans should not miss. It regularly makes horror readers’ overall best lists.

SanGiovanni, Mary. The Hollower. 2007

The Hollower is a monster that stalks the residents of Lakehaven, NJ but this monster cannot see its prey. It cannot see them or even touch them, but it is able to destroy them from the inside out, tormenting them from inside their heads. A small group of residents who can see the Hollower band together to try to stop it. Pedal to the metal action and unrelenting terror that doesn’t let up from page one until the conclusion, and ending that wraps up the story but leaves just enough of the terror alive for the sequel, this is a crowd-pleasing pulp horror novel featuring an intriguing edition to the monster trope. The Hollower series continues with Found You and The Triumvirate

Shea, Hunter. Creature. 2018

Kate lives with a host of illnesses that rob her of a normal life, but her husband Andrew takes great and loving care of her. As a treat, he surprises her with her dream trip to a lake cabin in Maine. The first half of the story works to build up Kate and Andrew as characters and to get the reader emotionally connected to their story in order to make everything that happens in Maine that much more terrifying. This is a rare treat, a creature feature with characters as  strong as the menacing monster. Shea is a popular and skilled pulp author and this is only one of his excellent offerings in the subgenre.

Shelley, Mary.  Frankenstein.  1818/ 2017 Annotated Edition.

Often cited as the first horror novel ever written, Frankenstein is the story of a scientist’s effort to create life. Shelley uses her Gothic novel to describe the horrors humankind can expect to confront when it foolishly tries to conquer nature. While many modern readers will no longer find Frankenstein “scary,” its place in the history of the genre cannot be denied.  It will also be a title with which most of your patrons will be familiar, even if they have never actually read it themselves. Libraries should seek out the 2017 annotated edition, edited by Leslie Klinger for their collections.

Southard, Wesley. One for the Road. 2019

In this fast paced story filled with a menagerie of terrifying and creative monsters, readers are introduced to Spencer, the guitarist for a heavy metal band, as they are all on their way home from a long tour. Spencer cannot wait to quit  as soon as they get home, except instead of making it home they are abandoned outside a town where monsters attack the band members. This is a short, compelling, visceral, and extremely creative story filled with creatures who wreak havoc in original ways. It is the story about a band at the end of its life who are stuck in a kind of hell; or are they? Spencer’s strong narration carries this story, but also leaves the truth up for grabs, meaning the unease stays with the readers beyond the final page. One for the Road won the 2020 Splatterpunk Award for Best Novella

Strand, Jeff. Dweller.  

Toby is an outcast who finds peace in the deep woods behind his home. He also finds a monster living there-- a monster named Owen, who becomes Toby’s best friend for over 50 years. But when your best friend is an actual monster, he can inflict horrible things on your enemies. This is a can’t miss, original, heart-breaking and chilling story that was recently reissued by the author.

Wood, Bari. The Tribe.

First published in 1981 and recently brought back as part of best selling author Grady Hendrix’s Paperbacks from Hell reissue series, The Tribe is an example of the Golem trope, a monster from the Eastern European Jewish tradition. In the prologue, an American soldier liberating a concentration camp finds a group of Polish Jews thriving, but how? Flash forward to the novel’s present and eight of those survivors, “the tribe” still protect their own in Brooklyn, but they may also have the help of a giant monster. Violent, disturbing and gruesome, this novel includes an introduction by Hendrix which adds important context for today’s reader.

31 Days of Horror: Day 30-- What I'm Reading: Zone One

 

As promised, I read the most talked about zombie novel of the moment, Zone One by Colson Whitehead.   I liked Zone One much more than I anticipated I would, it is not a horror novel.

While Zone One is set in a very real feeling post-apocalyptic world, fear of the zombies is not the key motivator here.  This is a novel about trying to reclaim civilization. It is an interior novel; one that takes place mostly in our hero's, Mark Spitz, head. The moments of pure pleasure in reading this novel come from his observations about how the world has changed, and from Whitehead's amazingly realistic and chilling descriptions of the landscape in his created world.

I will be frank, over the year, I have never been as impressed with Whitehead's writing as the critics have been.  However, there are some absolutely beautiful and haunting passages here.  I did step back to re-read a few.  I also loved how detailed his setting is.  Not only do we have detailed descriptions about the Zone One operations and how they are run (a mix of army and civilian), but we have the unseen provisional government in Buffalo becoming its own character. Additions like giving the reconstruction a theme song (one which we cannot hear because of the medium, but which still somehow permeates our reading of the novel) and calling those who remain "pheenies" (short for the American Phoenix, how we will rise again) add authenticity to the setting. 

Our specific "pheenie" and guide through which we get a first person view of this wasteland is Mark Spitz (not his real name).  The story is set up like a suspense novel with a compressed time frame, in this case 3 days. Throughout the course of these three days, we see Mark and his team of "sweepers" cleaning out and buildings in lower Manhattan in Zone One, the only zombie cleared zone on the island.  Mark tells us what is going on now, but there are many flashbacks to how he got from the old world, through the end times.  He also look forward to more cleared out zones and the rebirth of this great city.

I don't want to give any more details about Mark or the setting away, because as the story it unfolded , I was enthralled.  You are going to have to trust Whitehead though.  The beginning is a bit bumpy, like most post-apocalyptic stories.  You have to just keep reading and trust that Whitehead will fill in the details.  But for me this was part of the joy of reading this novel.  I loved the details AND how Whitehead chose to reveal them.  It added satire and suspense.  Mark is also a great vehicle to tell this story because the only thing he excels at is being average.


Whitehead, a New Yorker, obviously knows his setting.  The haunting descriptions of a desolate New York drew me in.  In particular, I loved the scenes in the subway tunnels, and found them especially chilling. Anyone who has spent any time NYC will be moved by this novel.  I especially felt a kinship here because like Mark, I grew up in the suburbs of NYC and visited often, but with the eyes of an outsider still.

I also enjoyed the new type of zombie Whitehead has added to the pantheon.  He has created "straggler" zombies.  These are zombies who rather than reanimating and compulsively searching out fresh human meat, merely roam back to place of meaning from their past and stay there. For example, the psychologist who goes into the office after turning into a zombie, sits in his chair, and waits for the patient who will never arrive.  These zombies are much like the remaining humans with their different forms of PASD (post-apocalyptic stress disorder) who are straggling through what is left of life on earth.

The final thing I liked about Zone One was its ending.  As you read the book, Whitehead clearly foreshadows (really broadcasts) how this reclamation experiment is going to end, yet as you read, you continue to hold out hope.  Ash is raining down, the zombies are literally knocking on the door, Spitz keeps telling us each place he has found refuge post-apocalypse has only been a short respite until it is destroyed and he must run again, and the book is set in only a three day period with things going from so-so, to bad, to worse.  Yet we hope.

The fact that I had any hope while reading this book is a huge testament to Whitehead's writing.  Look, I read a lot of dark books, where bad things happen, and everyone ends up dead, yet I was rooting for the pheenies.  This is not to say that I was disappointed with the ending.  I loved it even more because of what a great job Whitehead did, but many readers who are flocking to this title because it is the "hot" book right now, may be disappointed.  In fact, on Amazon, the book is not getting good customer reviews.  Much of this is due to the fact that it is not scary enough for horror fans and it is too dark for mainstream literary fiction readers. But in the right reader's hand, Zone One is a gem.

I cannot stress enough, this book does not have rosy things to say about the future.  The zombies are merely Whitehead's vehicle for commenting about the path humanity is on.  And it is a path he does not see leading somewhere good, but even worse, he seems to be saying destruction is inevitable.  This is a bleak book.  But it is also a satisfying look into the human condition, what remains of society when there is very little left, and the hope to be found in the "average" citizen.

Three Words That Describe This Book: bleak, post-apocalyptic, thought provoking

Readalikes: If you liked The Passage by Justin Cronin, chances are you will enjoy Zone One.  The Passage is definitely a notch above Zone One, but that is because of the level of detail Cronin has built in to the story.  Click here to read my full review of The Passage which includes more readalike options.  You can also click here to read Cronin's review of Zone One.

Other post-apocalyptic stories I would suggest here are: The Walking Dead series, I Am Legend by Richard Matheson and Swan Song by Robert McCammon (a hidden gem that should be on the shelf at your library).

Monster Island is part of David Wellington's zombie apocalypse trilogy that is set on the island of Manhattan just like Zone One.  Monster Island is much less literary and much more scary than Zone One, but it is a great option for readers who really enjoyed the NYC setting and want to see a similar story line from a different angle.

I also found Wastelands: Stories of he Apocalypse, a well reviewed, 2008 collection with with stories by Stephen King, Orson Scott Card, Octavia Butler, and George RR Martin.  The collection is great because it runs the gamut in terms of tone, from the bleak and hopeless to stories of hope, and presents a broad view of this popular subgenre of science fiction and horror.

The interesting thing about Whitehead's career is that each book he has written is different from the last, so he is a hard author to match with another author who will be the same.  However, that being said, this novel specifically made me think of two other authors who write with a similar tone and mood to Zone One.

First, Doris Lessing writes character driven novels that are bleak and thought provoking, and often have a speculative element.  Try The Memoirs of a Survivor which is set in a post-apocalyptic landscape.

Chuck Palahniuk is the master of bleak novels which probe the inner turmoil of the human condition.  He uses anti-heroes (like Spitz) and everything he writes is a satire of something we take for granted.  He uses the same wry humor found in Zone One too.  Fight Club is a good starting point.

31 Days of Horror: Day 27-- Why I Love Horror by Lisa Kroger and #HorrorForLibraries Giveaway 104 of a Finished Copy of Toil and Trouble

Today I have a 2-fer with the regularly scheduled #HorrorForLibraries Giveaway and a Why I Love Horror entry by one of the authors. And this is a follow up book to a Bram Stoker Award Winning nonfiction title that is one of my top print reference titles for all libraries. More below, but first, here are the details and rules on how to enter:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American public library. My rationale behind that is that I will be encouraging you to read these books and share them with patrons. While many of them are advanced reader copies that you cannot add to your collections, if you get the chance to read them, my hope is that you will consider ordering a copy for your library and give away the ARC away as a prize or pass it on to a fellow staff member.
2. If you are interested in being included in any giveaway at any time, you must email me at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line "#HorrorForLibraries." In the body of the email all you have to say is that you want to be entered and the name of your library.
3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
4. If you win, you are ineligible to win again for 4 weeks; you will have to re-enter after that time to be considered [I have a list of who has won, when, and what title]. However, if you do not win, you carry over into the next week. There is NO NEED to reenter.

Click here to see giveaway #103. Our winner was Lois from Chest County [PA] Library.

Now on to today's giveaway.

Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction by Lisa Kröger and Melanie R. Anderson is an award winning look at the most important women in horror, science fiction and fantasy, this is more than an encyclopedia. Along with extremely fun and compelling stories of the lives of women, some of whom everyone knows and others, who after reading this book you will never forget, it is also a volume filled with lists of read and watch suggestions, discussions of the next generation of women, and insight into the genre itself. 

Now they are back with another stellar, must purchase title: Toil and Trouble: A Women's History of the Occult. And the publisher, Quirk Books, is offering you a FINISHED COPY of the book to add to your collection immediately. And if you already ordered it [which I know many have], well we all know what happens to occult books at the library...you will need another copy at come point.

From the publisher's description:

This celebration of forgotten magical women, from Salem to WitchTok, is a fascinating and empowering read for anyone interested in occultism or feminist history. 

Meet the mystical women and nonbinary people from US history who found strength through the supernatural—and those who are still forging the way today. From the celebrity spirit mediums of the nineteenth century to contemporary activist witches hexing the patriarchy, women have long used magic and mysticism to seize the power they’re so often denied. 

Organized around different approaches women have taken to the occult over the decades—using the supernatural for political gain, seeking fame and fortune as spiritual practitioners, embracing their witchy identities, and more—this book shines a light on underappreciated magical pioneers, including: 

• Dion Fortune, who tried to marshal a magical army against Hitler 

• Bri Luna, the Hoodwitch, social media star and serious magical practitioner 

• Joan Quigley, personal psychic to Nancy Reagan 

• Marie Laveau, voodoo queen of New Orleans 

• Elvira, queer goth sex symbol who defied the Satanic Panic 

• And many more!

And as a bonus in today's post, I also have Lisa Kröger  offering her take on Why I Love Horror.

Why I Love Horror by Lisa Kröger 

Quick question, horror fans. How do you repel a vampire?

With holy water, of course. The liquid is so powerful, only a few drops will burn the skin of the damned. You could also whip out a crucifix (just the sight of it makes the creature hiss and retract).

Who do you call when your teenage daughter is possessed by a demon?

An exorcist, courtesy of the Catholic Church.

Horror is usually built on the dynamic of good versus evil. It’s why so many of us can call the genre “comfort food.” Unlike the real world, the evil is clearly defined, and so is the good. We know who the savior of the story is. Our job is only to watch—and wait—to see if the good will triumph. Often it does, even if the promise of future evil still remains.

Horror has often been called a transgressive genre. I’ve called it that myself—it’s one of the primary reasons I love it. It’s meant to disrupt the comfortable places we exist in, to make us feel unsafe and insecure. The disruption is meant to be good, mostly, as it shakes us up, wakes us up, and makes us question our world. The transgressive nature is what led me to write Monster, She Wrote and my newest Toil and Trouble: A Women’s History of the Occult. Women breaking rules and taking charge is at the heart of the kind of horror I love.

I grew up in a conservative evangelical Christian community. The rules of my church were strict: no musical instruments, as only human voices were permitted in songs—and no dancing was permitted ever. As a child, I was warned against “mixed bathing” (which meant swimming in pools with boys). I remember overhearing a debate over whether or not women should be allowed to speak at all within the walls of the sanctuary (we already couldn’t pray out loud there). It was a place built by rules, and most of those rules told me that I was “wrong.”

Horror, then, for me was an escape, and if I’m honest, a bit of a rebellion. The first movie I remember seeing was The Exorcist, when I was in middle school. It was a clandestine affair: I was at a sleepover, and we stole the video from my friend’s older brother. No one knew we were watching; surely, we would be told we couldn’t watch a movie like this one. Here was a girl about my age, saying things I could never imagine saying and doing things with (gasp) crosses that I couldn’t comprehend. It exploded my world. I was gleeful—watching horror was an act that my community would shun me for, if they ever knew. I was watching something that was “sinful”—that was “wrong”—and it felt powerful. In a way, it was the first step to my life outside of that community.

As an adult, I’m an atheist, or maybe an agnostic. Truthfully, I don’t care about the label of it all—I just care to define myself as not a believer, as an outsider to that community. As I grew older, my love for horror grew too, but there was always a strange Christ-shaped shadow that followed me. Even in my escape into horror, there were the crosses and crucifixes and holy water. The power of Christ compels and all that.

Sometimes, a narrative surprised me. Carrie (1976) was one of those films I watched early on that cemented my status as a horror fan. Carrie’s blood-soaked death stare as she targets her classmates at the prom is iconic, pure horror at its best. But for me, the true terror was found in Carrie’s home. It was one of the few movies that I had seen that peeled back the façade of living in a community that was overshadowed by a fundamentalist worldview. My own childhood experiences were vastly different from Carrie’s, of course (there were no prayer closets, no religious abuse, nor accusations of “dirty pillows”), but both the book and the movie really understood the stark difference in the world outside of Carrie’s home and the world inside. Carrie was an anxious outsider—her mother’s religious fanaticism cemented that identity for her. She never stood a chance.

To this day, it is still for me one of the best representations of the dangers inherent in religious fanatism.

Yet, the horror genre as a whole seems to still fall into the narrative trap of making the Christian church the template for the good that will defeat the evil. There’s The Exorcist, of course. But also The Amityville Horror, the movies in The Conjuring Universe, The Omen. They all position the Christian (usually Catholic) church as the ultimate way to destroy evil. Even films like Wicker Man present Christianity as the “right” religion when compared with the murderous pagan cult.

In all of these, there is little examination of the dangers that might be inherent in a religious environment. The “evil” sometimes grows from the inside out.

When Mike Flanagan’s Midnight Mass premiered on Netflix, I was cautiously optimistic. I’d loved The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor. But this show was something different—no big, haunted house, like the earlier shows, just a small, conservative community with a church at its heart.

But Midnight Mass resists the traditional narrative of a supernatural evil overcome by a religious good. There is a supernatural evil, of course, but there’s also something beneath that, something already rotting on the core of the island town. Flanagan’s story demonstrates how faith can blind people to dangers—in this case, mistaking those dangers for something miraculous. But it also shines a harsh light on how “good” people are really bad (their religiosity has only coded them as virtuous, though their words and actions proved otherwise).

But more than that, Midnight Mass allows the heroes to rest outside of the Christian community. The first to fall to the evil is the most religious of them all, Father Paul, followed by his second-in-command, Bev Keane. Flanagan’s church does not exist to fight evil; rather, the church is the weakest point that allows the evil to take hold in the town. Without the church, without Father Paul, without Bev, the people of Crockett Island would’ve remained safe. Both Father Paul and Bev manipulate the townspeople, using Bible verses twisted to fit their purpose. They make angels out of literal monsters.

The show demonstrates the dangers inherent in blind faith and unexamined allegiance to an ideology better than anything I’ve ever seen.

But the show truly excels in its depictions of the heroes, those characters who stood up against the evil. First was Sheriff Hasan, a newcomer to the island who questions the ethics of handing out the Christian Bible in the public school. He draws the ire of Bev during a school meeting, but he stands his ground. Then there is Sarah Gunning, the doctor who noticed something not quite right with the blood samples of her patients (which seemed to burst into flames in direct sunlight). Sarah has returned to the island to care for her elderly mother, but she never quite felt at home, especially with her girlfriend drawing stares from the more religious folks. There is also Erin Greene, the unmarried and pregnant school teacher who stands up on more than one occasion to the not-so-subtle “slut shaming” verbal jabs from Bev.

A Muslim. A lesbian. A “fallen woman.”

They are all people who would be considered “sinful” or “wrong” by the Christian community on Crockett Island. Yet, in Flanagan’s story, this band of outsiders is the true heroes. They are the ones who rang the alarm when danger entered their community. Midnight Mass is religious horror, but it is one that celebrates the outsider.

I, for one, enjoy horror that examines all the institutions, religious or not, that can breed evil within our society. I especially enjoy the ones that remember we need to see the outsiders as heroes.

New Book Bonus Annotations: Chapter 12: Lovecraftian and Cosmic Horror

When I was writing the Third Edition of the Readers' Advisory Guide to Horror, I originally had over 20 annotated choices per subgenre appearing in chapter 4-13. However, for word count sake, I had to reduce each lists to a well packaged dozen. Obviously making the cuts was hard, but I was able to include the tittles of those deleted annotations in an appendix at the end of the book with a promise that the annotations would run here on the blog.

And that promise begins today. Each list will be posted on the blog over a series of 10 weeks, every Tuesday, beginning June 1, 2021 and running through August 3, 2021. This weekly series will serve to promote the book's upcoming release in August of 2021, but I have also created an archive of all of the lists that will live here. That page is the official index of this bonus content.

In the book, my top three choices in each list are marked to denote Becky's Picks. I will also do that in these lists to give you a place to begin as you suggest. Just like the titles in the print book, every title appearing here is a great options for all public libraries. You can use these lists for collection development, displays, lists, and suggestions. Each subgenre has an essay discussing its history and appeal in the book which you can order here. 

Bonus Annotations

Chapter 12: Lovecraftian and Cosmic Horror*

[+] Denotes Becky’s Picks

Baker, Jacqueline. Broken Hours: A Novel of H.P. Lovecraft. 2016.

 

It’s 1836 and Arthor Crandle is offered a job to be an assistant to a reclusive author in Providence, RI. Crandle has no idea what he is getting himself into, but readers will know right away due to the setting and novel’s subtitle. What follows is a story of Crandle’s odd experiences including nightmares, strange happenings, and even tentacles all of which are now a part of his everyday experience. This is a story that is more focused on recreating the atmosphere and tone of a Lovecraft novel and less interested in crafting terror. There are also basic Lovecraft biographical details sprinkled in amidst the weirdness. A great choice for Lovecraft novices who want to understand both the man and this subgenre.

Campbell, Ramsey. Thirteen Days by Sunset Beach. 2015.

Most of Campbell’s work tends to fall within this subgenre and this is a recent example of how Lovecraftian horror manifests itself in our modern world. Three generations of a family head to a Greek Island for a vacation. The grandparents are hiding a dark secret, but the island itself is holding onto an even darker one. A secret that is slowly infiltrating itself into the family, and it might not ever let go. A terrifying story that is all about the oppressive atmosphere, the details piling up on top of one and other, pressing down on the characters and the reader. Another recent option is The Searching Dead, the first book in a new autobiographical, Lovecraftian trilogy. 

Cantero, Edgar. Meddling Kids. 2017.

Scooby Doo meets H.P. Lovecraft as four kids and their dog spent the summer of 1977 solving a series of mysteries. But 13 years later, one of those mysteries, involving a lake monster, draws these now troubled and aimless adults back, and the truth is way more sinister and dangerous than they ever realized. Mixing fast paced horror action with a witty tone, this is a quirky and nostalgic tale, filled with monsters, ghosts, and extremely likable protagonists. 

Emrys, Ruthanna. Winter Tide. 2017.

This, the first book in the Innsmouth Legacy alternative history series mixes details from the Cthulhu Mythos with the Cold War paranoia through a Jewish lens. It’s 1948 and Aphra and Caleb are the only two survivors from the massacre and internment of the “Deep Ones,” a species of humans who lived in the sea and worshipped the Cthulhu elders. The FBI recruits them to reconnect with their spiritual culture to help fight the Russians who have harnessed some of their people’s supernatural powers. While this series is in direct conversation and debate with Lovecraft’s “The Shadow Over Innsmouth,” Emrys has created her own world that will appeal to fans of dark fantasy, cosmic horror, and even spy thrillers. Deep Roots is the sequel

Johnson, Kij.  The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe. 2016.

Dramatic and lyrical, this novella is set at a prestigious women’s college where the eponymous professor must go on a quest through the Dreamlands to rescue a star pupil. Inhabited by elder gods, the land is beguilingly beautiful and terrifyingly dangerous. Boe’s adventure is two-fold: to save her student and come to terms with her own life choices as she traverses a landscape that will enthrall readers, captivating those new to the subgenre with wonder and roping in experts with places straight out of  the Lovecraft cannon.

Keene, Brian. Darkness on the Edge of Town. 2008.

The residents of a small Virginia town wake up to find that they are cut off from the outside world. It is just gone. There is nothing but impenetrable darkness surrounding them with no way for others to get in, or they to get out. The story follows the citizens as it explores their isolation and varying reactions as darkness permeates their lives and the entire tone of the book. Action and character development work hand in hand to create an unsettling, richly detailed story of survival in the face of unknown supernatural forces that easily eclipse human civilization. 

Kenemore, Scott. Lake of Darkness. 2020.

Click here for my review in ALA Booklist. I added this one to the book's appendix at the last minute.

Kepnes, Caroline. Providence. 2018.

John, an odd kid, disappears. His best friend Chloe holds onto the hope that he will be found, and four years later, he is, but he may not be the same boy she knew. He wakes up with no memory of what happened after his teacher kidnapped him. He also has new powers, powers he doesn’t quite understand, powers that cause others harm just by being near him, powers that might be explained by a Lovecraft book. A move to Providence, RI, a series of strange murders, lead John, Chloe, and the detective on the case on a journey to find answers. A compelling, haunting, and suspenseful cosmic horror-thriller hybrid that is a great option for introducing the trendy subgenre and its themes to a wider audience.

+Klinger, Leslie, ed. The New Annotated HP Lovecraft. 2014.

Renewed interest in Lovecraft has drawn readers to his stories, but given the problematic nature of his beliefs it is important to provide the right edition. Award winning editor has multiple volumes collecting the cosmic horror master’s stories which he extensively annotates providing insight, context, and details to enhance the experience of reading Lovecraft in the 21st Century. This particular volume includes both an introduction by Victor LaValle and an annotated version of “The Horror at Red Hook,” the story that LaValle used to frame The Ballad of Black Tom.

Liu, Marjorie M. Monstress series. 2016.

Set in a lavishly rendered, art deco inspired, steampunk world, of an alternate early 1900s, matriarchal Asia, readers follow the strong but flawed teenager, Maika Halfwolf, as she struggles to discover her personal history in the aftermath of war, how she is connected to a monster, and what this discovery means for the world, both human and supernatural. Over multiple compiled volumes of this popular and critically acclaimed  graphic novel series, Maika goes through dramatic, emotionally resonant, and violent adventures framed by well-trod cosmic horror themes and tropes.

+Miller, Sam J. The Blade Between. 2020.

Ronan had to leave small, blue collar hometown of Hudson, NY in order to safely live as a gay man and pursue his career as a photographer, but now returns to care for his dying father. However, to his surprise,  the town has been completely transformed into a hip retreat for wealthy city dwellers. Reconnecting with his first love, Dom, a police office and his community organizer wife, Attalah, Ronan begins to realize that their fight against gentrification is complicated by a supernatural power buried in the land itself, a menace that doesn’t see humanity as a significant obstacle, a terror that might be on their side this time, but is not under their control. Intense dread and unsettling unease permeates this Lovecraftian tale from the very first lines while the issue oriented small town horror tropes keep the cosmic plot grounded enough for subgenre novices to easily follow along.

+Piper, Hailey. The Worm and His Kings. 2020.

It’s 1990 in New York City and Monique’s girlfriend, Donna, has simply vanished. After hearing of the disappearances of other women who, like themselves, live on the fringes of mainstream society, Piper learns that Donna might not be the victim of a human monster. Rather a crack underground has opened a wormhole, a portal to a cult world where strange, dangerous creatures rule, creatures that may have Donna in their talons. Piper must take the plunge to save Donna, but is her mind ready for what she will find hidden just below the surface? Both an exploration of the holes in our modern social services that force many into poverty and a fun, cosmic adventure through multiple, mind-bending, dimensions set in an original and wholly new mythos with obvious Lovecraftian roots, this novel announces Piper as an emerging voice in the horror community that cannot be overlooked.

Snyder, Lucy. Garden of Eldritch Delights. 2018.

One of Snyder's numerous story collections, this one contains 12 tales that are unapologetically Lovecraftian and feminist; fact, many of the stories make obvious nods to Lovecraft and his peers, ones that you don’t need to “get” in order enjoy this volume. A woman wakes up realizing that her girlfriend has ripped her heart out of her chest, a fresh take on the vampire trope, and revenge against a rapist are example plots of these tales featuring inclusive characters in original and shocking cosmic horror situations. In general Snyder’s story collections are reliable, sure bets in this subgenre.

Wong, David. What the Hell Did I Just Read?: A Novel of Cosmic Horror. 2017.

Combining his trademark comic horror tone with Lovecraftian elements, Wong bring in the characters from his previous novels to send them on another gruesome, intricately plotted, dangerous adventure that uses all of the tropes of cosmic horror to create the satisfying emotions of fear that horror fans crave while at the same time actively satirizing both the subgenre and the absurdity of modern life. Readers need not be familiar with Wong’s previous novels to enjoy this one in all of its weird and psychologically terrifying glory. 

*This chapter also relies on a longer essay that Mary SanGiovanni wrote for me in the October 2020 issue of Library Journal which you can find here.