My Thoughts
I love a good, old-fashioned haunted house story, and this one is chilling and very unsettling…
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Books We Love: “Just Like Home” by Sarah Gailey
Tag: Horror
Vampires, Aliens, and Killer Clowns: A Golden Age of YA Horror
We have entered a new golden age of young adult horror, and I am one hundred percent here for it. While there has long been plenty of horror-adjacent fiction, real horror has been hard to come by. That is until the last year or so. I keep a spreadsheet of all the traditionally published young adult speculative fiction for each year, and in 2022 we had 17 (!!!) books come out that were specifically marketed as horror, plus many others that were delightfully bloody and bite-y. I’ve put together a short list of some great YA horror for fans new and old to check out.
Read the rest of this spotlight at Tor.com.
Mean Girl Werewolves and Evil Arcade Games: The Thrill of Queer YA Horror
Queer horror books! By queer authors! YA horror has obviously been around forever, but it’s only really been the last couple years that queer horror has finally gotten its due. We may only have a few to choose from, but the quality level is very high. Not a bad one in the bunch.
Read the rest of this spotlight at Tor.com.
Notable Young Adult Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror of 2022
Hundreds of young adult science fiction, fantasy, and horror novels make their way through the traditional publishing industry every year. Fantasy, of course, takes the biggest chunk of the market, but we’ve seen an upswing in horror recently. No matter your favorite speculative genre, we’re in an age where choices abound. And I’m here to help you make some decisions.
Here is my list of the 30 most notable YA SFF/H of 2022. Define “notable” as you see fit, but for me I’m thinking in terms of books that stood out, books that made me think, books that played with genre conventions in new or interesting ways, and books that I can’t stop recommending.
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Urban Legends and Wicked Spells: The Rise of Black YA Horror
There’s just something special about Black horror. Sometimes that means horror with Black people in it and sometimes it means where Blackness is as central to the story as the horror is. But we know it when we see it. With this resurgence of young adult horror has come the rise of YA Black horror. Some of it shares space with science fiction or fantasy, while some leans in on the teen slasher format. Regardless, almost all of it deals with race and racism, with the horrors of being a Black teen in a world that has been designed to crush you at every opportunity, and with the thrill and power of fighting back.
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Must-Read Speculative Short Fiction for November 2022
I’ve got some short pieces, some creepy pieces, some cute pieces, and some unconventional pieces for all your November short speculative fiction needs. It may almost be the end of the year, but there’s still a ton of great fiction out there for you to read.
Read the rest of this spotlight at Tor.com.
Must-Read Speculative Short Fiction for October 2022
Sometimes it feels like all of history is happening all at once. In October, I needed some short and sweet stories, stories with a little lightness and ease, stories that had me gasping or laughing but didn’t leave me feeling overwhelmed. I’ve got a little Halloween horror for you, too, don’t you worry.
Read the rest of this spotlight at Tor.com.
Mini Review: “Split Scream, volume 2” by Cynthia Gómez and M. Lopes da Silva
Release Date: November 15, 2022
Series: Split Scream
Publisher: Dread Stone Press
Genre: Horror
Description
Dread Stone Press presents SPLIT SCREAM, a new Horror Novelette Double Feature. This is Volume Two. Grab some popcorn, turn the lights low, and don’t be afraid to scream.
FEATURING:
“The Shivering World” – Cynthia Gómez
Nayeli’s brilliance should be enough to outshine the darkness she longs to leave behind, but she fears she’ll never get further than what her unstable mother can provide: a futon in a garage. She’s determined to transfer to a good college and get out, but the men in her life-a violent neighbor, a greedy landlord, her mother’s predatory boyfriend-stand in her way. Only once she encounters the supernatural, a being she suspects to be La Llorona herself, does Nayeli begin to truly see the power she is capable of. But at what cost? “The Shivering World” is a Faustian bargain in a place of poverty and gentrification, where supernatural terrors meet the horrors of escaping to a new life.
“What Ate the Angels” – M. Lopes da Silva
Non-binary ASMR artist November discovers the sound of a giant heartbeat beneath Los Angeles, which only they seem to hear. When their vore-loving partner Heather, a City Hall archivist, grows ill and can’t get the healthcare she needs, they believe they will find a solution through the thrum. November journeys underground, through abandoned Prohibition-era tunnels, to the den of a creature born from the fabric of the city itself: oil, bones, chemicals-and souls. “What Ate the Angels” is queer body horror full of dread and pulpy, throbbing filth.
Continue reading “Mini Review: “Split Scream, volume 2” by Cynthia Gómez and M. Lopes da Silva”Mini Review: “Unwieldy Creatures” by Addie Tsai
Release Date: August 2, 2022
Publisher: Jaded Ibis Press
Genre: Science Fiction
Description
Unwieldy Creatures, a biracial, queer, gender-swapped retelling of Mary Shelley’s classic novel Frankenstein, follows the story of three beings who all navigate life from the margins: Plum, a queer biracial Chinese intern at one of the world’s top embryology labs, who runs away from home to openly be with her girlfriend only to be left on her own; Dr. Frank, a queer biracial Indonesian scientist, who compromises everything she claims to love in the name of science and ambition when she sets out to procreate without sperm or egg; and Dr. Frank’s nonbinary creation who, painstakingly brought into the world, is abandoned due to complications at birth that result from a cruel twist of revenge. Plum struggles to determine the limits of her own ambition when Dr. Frank offers her a chance to assist with her next project. How far will Plum go in the name of scientific advancement and what is she willing to risk?
Continue reading “Mini Review: “Unwieldy Creatures” by Addie Tsai”Must-Read Speculative Short Fiction for September 2022
From warfare to deadly plants, ghosts to spaceships, spirits to ‘droids, and then some. My ten favorite short speculative stories I read in September are scattered across worlds and time, but most will leave you with a melancholy feeling.
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Punk-Ass Book Jockey 