vanquishingvolumes's review against another edition
4.0
Erica LaRocca never misses in delivering disturbing horror stories that highlight the flaws in humanity and the darkest corners of the human mind. This collection is no exception.
akira_outofthegravity's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Oh man it sucks rating this book so low, but I was so disappointed.
I loved Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, and I was hoping of something of a similar experience here.
I found a couple of gems, I’ll Be Gone By Then, The Trees Grew Because I Bled There, Bodies Are For Burning are probably the standout stories.
You’re Not Supposed to Be Here is okay, but not great.
I was hoping for something more dark, and disturbing. I liked his portrayal of grief but that’s about it.
Maybe give this one a skip.
I loved Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, and I was hoping of something of a similar experience here.
I found a couple of gems, I’ll Be Gone By Then, The Trees Grew Because I Bled There, Bodies Are For Burning are probably the standout stories.
You’re Not Supposed to Be Here is okay, but not great.
I was hoping for something more dark, and disturbing. I liked his portrayal of grief but that’s about it.
Maybe give this one a skip.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cancer, and Grief
Moderate: Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Gore
raavenreads's review
4.0
Happy book birthday! Now I can publish my review! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honeys review!
This is probably one of my favorite Eric short story collections. These stories were sad, disturbing, and heart breaking.
I noticed that the theme with these stories were children and parents. There is also the shared theme of grief and how it affects us in different and monstrous ways. Eric’s stories never fail to make my jaw drop and heart sink at the same time.
I’d say the most impactful stories for me were: Bodies are for burning, You’re not supposed to be here, Where flames burned emerald as grass, & I’ll be gone by then. We all have complicated relationships with ourselves as well as our families, and this collection did an amazing job at exploring that. I think this is the one collection of his there wasn’t a story I was bored with or hated. Everything was off the walls as usual, but with a message underneath that I understood and was sympathetic to. I’m slowly becoming a fan here and I’m so excited that Eric’s voice in queer horror is getting such a wide audience. This collection debuts March 7th so be sure to order it!
This is probably one of my favorite Eric short story collections. These stories were sad, disturbing, and heart breaking.
I noticed that the theme with these stories were children and parents. There is also the shared theme of grief and how it affects us in different and monstrous ways. Eric’s stories never fail to make my jaw drop and heart sink at the same time.
I’d say the most impactful stories for me were: Bodies are for burning, You’re not supposed to be here, Where flames burned emerald as grass, & I’ll be gone by then. We all have complicated relationships with ourselves as well as our families, and this collection did an amazing job at exploring that. I think this is the one collection of his there wasn’t a story I was bored with or hated. Everything was off the walls as usual, but with a message underneath that I understood and was sympathetic to. I’m slowly becoming a fan here and I’m so excited that Eric’s voice in queer horror is getting such a wide audience. This collection debuts March 7th so be sure to order it!
raavenreads's review against another edition
5.0
This is probably one of my favorite Eric short story collections. These stories were sad, disturbing, and heart breaking.
I noticed that the theme with these stories were children and parents. There is also the shared theme of grief and how it affects us in different and monstrous ways. Eric’s stories never fail to make my jaw drop and heart sink at the same time.
I’d say the most impactful stories for me were: Bodies are for burning, You’re not supposed to be here, Where flames burned emerald as grass, & I’ll be gone by then. We all have complicated relationships with ourselves as well as our families, and this collection did an amazing job at exploring that. I think this is the one collection of his there wasn’t a story I was bored with or hated. Everything was off the walls as usual, but with a message underneath that I understood and was sympathetic to. I’m slowly becoming a fan here and I’m so excited that Eric’s voice in queer horror is getting such a wide audience. This collection debuts March 7th so be sure to order it!
I noticed that the theme with these stories were children and parents. There is also the shared theme of grief and how it affects us in different and monstrous ways. Eric’s stories never fail to make my jaw drop and heart sink at the same time.
I’d say the most impactful stories for me were: Bodies are for burning, You’re not supposed to be here, Where flames burned emerald as grass, & I’ll be gone by then. We all have complicated relationships with ourselves as well as our families, and this collection did an amazing job at exploring that. I think this is the one collection of his there wasn’t a story I was bored with or hated. Everything was off the walls as usual, but with a message underneath that I understood and was sympathetic to. I’m slowly becoming a fan here and I’m so excited that Eric’s voice in queer horror is getting such a wide audience. This collection debuts March 7th so be sure to order it!
kalesaladd's review against another edition
4.0
It was definitely an interesting read that I had a really hard time putting down. Like a car crash you can't look away from. Each story is filled with such depraved characters,that it's almost hard to stomach at times, and that's kind of what makes it fascinating. To rely entirely on the disgusting thoughts and actions human beings are capable of instead of some kind of boogeyman is not something that's often this deeply explored in most modern horror (that I've recently read.) He's definitely done well (also in making me incredibly uncomfortable)
Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review
Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review
andromedareads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Entertaining, but Larocca is repetitive. They rely heavily on simile to bring across their images which leads to a lot of ham fisted sentences. For example, the majority of the stories mention a character with saliva smeared on their mouth/drooling pathetically. Not in a connective thematic way like some joined thread between all these people, but in a ‘this author describes the things in his books in the same way over and over again’.
Although they are entertaining to a point, once you’ve read one Eric Larocca tale you’ve read them all. I keep returning to his collections hoping to find something different this time, but it’s more of the same.
Unfortunately the final story is the least effective and the first story follows closely behind. An anticlimactic ending leaves the whole collection on a weak note, and a slow beginning starts it on a tedious one.
After this I think I’m done.
Although they are entertaining to a point, once you’ve read one Eric Larocca tale you’ve read them all. I keep returning to his collections hoping to find something different this time, but it’s more of the same.
Unfortunately the final story is the least effective and the first story follows closely behind. An anticlimactic ending leaves the whole collection on a weak note, and a slow beginning starts it on a tedious one.
After this I think I’m done.
Individual story reviews (spoilers)
You Follow Wherever They Go
Spoiler
An abstract collection of images following a father dying of terminal disease and the child that leaves with a group of travelling musicians. Doesn’t get going before it ends abruptly.Bodies are for burning
The most successful story in the collection. Walks along the line of disgust and pity. Horrifying and nicely done. I wish they were all like this.
The strange thing we become
Told as a series of Internet forum posts. A woman struggles to cope with her wife’s terminal illness diagnoses. Relies on the grotesque. Very similar to things have gotten worse since we last spoke. It could almost be the same characters, they’re empty shells performing these horrific actions.
The trees grew because I bled here
The second story in this collection to rely on a surprise shocking pregnancy as the twist. A woman allows the man she loves to carve up her body piece by piece so she can give him all of herself. Turns out he’s seeing someone else and she retaliates but carving him up as a present to her unborn child. Horror involving pregnancy is so boring and repetitive. Did I mention that this collection is repetitive and relies on the same tropes over and over again?
You’re not supposed to be here
You’ve read this story before, but not from Larocca. A couple’s baby is snatched while they’re distracted and another couple order them to follow instructions to get him back. The twist reveals that the mysterious couple have also had a baby stolen and the new couple must now take their place.
An old familiar twist that you’ve seen before. The Devil in Me did it better.
Where flames burned emerald as grass
A strange French man pretends to have the gift of prophesy in an attempt to snatch a child (oh look the same theme again!). His convincing facade unravels and the reader is left wondering if he could actually tell the future all along. As a French speaker this story was utterly painful. The mysterious strange man has scattered lines in French and it’s embarrassingly out of place. If you’re ESL or know someone who is you’ll know what I mean.
I’ll be gone by then
This one was good. I felt wedged deep in the main character’s mind as they battle with the constricts of caring for an elderly family member, familial loyalty, freedom, and duty. The ending is impactful.
Please leave or I’m going to hurt you
A son confessed that he’s in love with his father and tries to initiate a physical relationship with him. The father tells him to leave and then dies.
I did tell you that the last story was the worst.
There’s some interesting moments of form and language in this one, but it’s so abrupt and undeveloped. A weak way to close out the collection.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Cannibalism, Grief, Homophobia, Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Excrement, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gore, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Incest, Vomit, Gaslighting, Murder, and Suicide
coaiiee's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
mvan998's review against another edition
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0