bizzaro

Review: Spread Me by Sarah Gailey

~ megs14malloy

Spread MeSpread Me by Sarah Gailey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Spread Me is an engaging, yet startling, SciFi-Horror novella from Sarah Gailey that contains quite a bit of, shall we say, surprising content. It certainly took me by surprise, perhaps you’ll be better prepared than I was…

I can hardly believe I am giving this 4-stars. It’s a strange novella. I’m low-key blushing thinking what y’all are going to think of me when you truly discover what it’s about.

This is one of those cases, rare, but here we are, where I don’t really like to discuss the plot. I want you to be as surprised as I was, because I think that’s half the fun. It’ll have your mind-spinning, trying to get your bearings, while your brain figures out how to respond to all this.

It has to be one of the most bizarre stories, as far as the more erotic/sexual elements, that I’ve ever read. It made me so uncomfortable, but I couldn’t look away; COULD NOT. I still don’t know what to think…

I have to applaud Gailey for their creativity and fearlessness. Honestly, I don’t think this was published with the aim of having big mass appeal. Authors willing to take that kind of risk, to write what they want, always impress me.

Spread Me is definitely niche, and I feel like it may have some serious messaging that I think I am picking up on, but maybe not? It’s tough. I’d love to see the author speaking about their thought process and goals with this one.

While I would recommend this to more seasoned Horror Readers, I would throw caution about the sexual elements. If graphic content, sexual in nature, is something that you don’t enjoy reading, you may just want to skip this one.

If you don’t mind those elements though, and just want to know what all the buzz is about, you should definitely check this out. The SciFi set-up, of this being in a research station, and the type of research the group was doing, that was all well executed and fascinating.

I enjoyed the claustrophobic feel of the station itself. The research group felt extremely isolated, and then when it was discovered what they were dealing with, even more so.

Because this is a novella, coming in at just over 200-pages, Gailey wastes no time getting to the action. In fact, there’s really no lull through the entire story. It’s quick, punchy and effective at making you squirm in a limited number of pages.

I suspect for some Readers the initial knee-jerk reaction is going to be distaste, because I really don’t see people going into this expecting what they’re going to get.

However, I also feel like this story gets in your brain, and the more you think about it, the more you realize how much it actually drew you and impacted you. Whether those feelings were super highs or super lows, it impacted you.

Overall, this is memorable. There’s a very solid SF-Horror plot here, that is somewhat overshadowed by the extreme nature of the sexual elements, but at the the end of the day, it somehow works. As strange as it may seem, it works.

Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me copies to read and review. I look forward to Gailey’s next book!

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Review: Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle

~ megs14malloy

Lucky DayLucky Day by Chuck Tingle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Lucky Day follows MC, Vera, a lover of statistics and her fiance, Annie. Vera sees the world in an interesting way, via numbers and stats. As an academic, she’s found a great niche for herself and a peaceful domestic life.

On a day they are supposed to be celebrating the publication of her book, and she’s prepping to come out to her Mom, a world-wide cataclysmic event occurs.

Countless individuals across the globe are killed in truly horrific ways, yet Vera survives. The event comes to be known as the Low Probability Event.

A few years later, though Vera survived, she’s certainly not thriving. She’s negative, bitter, secluded and hardly-functioning. When a government agent shows up at her home to recruit her to help study the event, she’s apathetic about it at best.

However, she does agree and sets out with Agent Layne as they investigate the LPE. Their relationship evolves into a sort of buddy cop movie dynamic as they examine the most chaotic events ever penned.

This was a strange one. It was good. Tingle is a great writer, there’s no denying that. For my personal taste though, it wasn’t quite a hit. It felt like Tingle wrote it as a way to work through an existential crisis. It was compelling in that way, but never succeeded in holding my interest.

I can appreciate the thought and skill that went into the creation of the story, but it continually lost my attention the longer it went on. Certain concepts would capture my attention, but then those would play out and it would be on to the next thing, and my interest would wane again.

I loved the set-up; meeting Vera and quickly getting to the LPEs that started it all. That was wild. It’s one of those, what the hell am I reading moments, which is always fun.

I also could understand Vera’s reaction to the events. She was easily the most apathetic MC I’ve ever read from, but considering the circumstances, it made sense, NGL.

I try to always stay positive, but I’m not sure where my headspace would be had I been through the series of events she’s been through. So, that aspect, the trajectory of her character, was quite believable.

I also enjoyed Agent Layne and the dynamic that develops between the two. I think for me, it was just a little too chaotic and uneven as far as keeping my interest. Overall though, it’s solid and creative. The audiobook narration was great, and I know a ton of Readers are going to love this one.

Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review.

Even though this isn’t a new favorite for me, I truly appreciate Tingle’s creative energy and fluid writing style. I will most definitely be returning for more!!

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Review: Scarewaves by Trevor Henderson

~ megs14malloy

ScarewavesScarewaves by Trevor Henderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up **

The small town of Beacon Point has a long and lurid history of eerie local phenomena. People disappear on the regular and creepy creatures are sighted just as regularly.

The adult residents of the town prefer not to talk about these unpleasantries, so they tend to turn the other way, or sweep unsavory incidents under the proverbial rug.

Regardless of the adults lack of action. over the course of several increasingly scary nights, a group of the local kids are forced to work together to try to find out the truth about their town. They need to put a stop to the horrors, before the horrors put a stop to them.

With fast-paced, intense chapters following the kids, as well as excerpts from a local radio show relaying the past spooky history of the town, Scarewaves is a wildly-entertaining read!

I had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook for this one and cannot recommend it highly enough. The production is so well done. It had me giddy!

I particularly enjoyed the sections from the radio show. The narration of the show host, Alan Graves, was so convincing. I would frequently forget what I was listening to, it sounded so much like a creepy podcast. Also included, fantastic sound effects that made those parts extra fun.

I really enjoyed the initial set-up to this one as well. We have a new girl in town, a social outcast, and other kids becoming friends with a cause, and an urgency. They need to figure the mystery of their town out and they learn to rely on one another rather quickly because of that.

I was also so impressed with the horror imagery that Henderson brought to the page. I mean, I know I shouldn’t have been surprised by that, as it is what he does. If you are familiar with Henderson’s illustrations, you know he has an incredibly dark and vivid imagination. We love to see it!

As far as Middle Grade Horror goes, this definitely is top shelf work. There are legit scary moments in this. I would have been obsessed with this as a kid. Heck, I’m almost obsessed with it as an adult!

An absolute monster of a debut for Henderson. I definitely recommend if you are a fan of Spooky Middle Grade that you add this one to your TBR immediately.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Scholastic Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This was an darkly delightful read!

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Review: Sister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy A. Snyder

~ megs14malloy

Sister, Maiden, MonsterSister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy A. Snyder
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Sister, Maiden, Monster is a wild, imaginative, bizarre, toe-curling, cringe-inducing story that is a conglomeration of many different genres.

If I had to narrow it down, I would describe it as say, Cosmic Horror blended with Apocalyptic Pandemic Fiction, and I guess, a side of Transgressive Horror.

I read this in less than a day and it left my head spinning. I know I didn’t understand it all and honestly, I can’t even say that I ‘enjoyed’ it. Like it’s not a jolly good time, but I am sort of gobsmacked by the entire thing.

I don’t want to really go into the story at all, because I went into this knowing nothing about it, and I feel like that’s the way to go. Be warned however, as I mentioned earlier, that this is Pandemic Fiction.

I know a lot of people aren’t ready for that yet, considering all we’ve been through over the last few years.

This story is broken into distinct sections and each one follows a different perspective. In a way, that arrangement made it seem a bit more like connected novellas, as opposed to one cohesive story.

I wasn’t crazy about that format, I think I would have preferred to switch back and forth between the different perspectives as the story progressed. However, that is 100% personal taste and the author should be free to tell the story any way they wish.

For me though, I do think that had an effect on my experience with this story.

As far as the perspectives, I feel like my favorite was Erin. She is the first character we hear from and actually the one whose experience, with the pandemic unfolding, most closely relates to what we all experienced in early-2020.

By the end of the story, I was still enjoying the characters I was meeting, but I had less of a grasp on what was actually happening to them. And Baby Gregory, don’t even get me started! You’d have to read it to believe it.

I did really enjoy Snyder’s writing style. I felt it was very smooth and engaging. They also explored some interesting themes and were able to successfully carry those themes throughout.

Overall, I think this is a compelling story with a lot to cringe at and consider regarding our world. I would recommend this to people who enjoy Bizzaro Fiction, or Cosmic Horror. You need to be prepared for wild events if you pick this up though. I’m just saying.

Also, I did listen to the audiobook and absolutely recommend that medium. The narration was fantastic. It pulled me into the story right away.

Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review.

This is the first of Snyder’s work that I have picked up, but I am definitely interested in reading more. Sister, Maiden, Monster releases this Tuesday, February 21st!!!

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