A review by dtaylorbooks
The Writhing Skies by Betty Rocksteady

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

THE WRITHING SKIES is an absolute fever dream of a novella. I’m still not sure what actually happened, but I’m not disappointed about it either. It had me completely wrapped up in its tentacles, titillated and horrified at the same time. It did its job in both departments there.

When the story starts, you’re dropped into the middle of everything, and it’s not clear whether what’s happening is really happening or Sarah is mentally unstable and having some kind of breakdown. Considering where the plot circles back to, that’s still not off the table, especially with how everything plays out.

Honestly, I’m still not convinced this story didn’t happen entirely in Sarah’s mind and these are the last electric pulses of a dying brain. It really could be that or something that really did happen. I think that’s a testament to Rocksteady’s skill in leaving you satisfied with the ending without really knowing if it happened or not.

The body horror is top notch. Explicit enough that you really know what’s happening to who and where, but not detailed to the point of nausea. At least for me, and I’m not a gore person. There’s enough to horrify you without making you want to vomit, if that’s your bag. I definitely wouldn’t call this extreme horror, if you need a better goalpost for that.

The writing is mostly stream of consciousness, but it utilized commas liberally. Initially I wondered if it was bad editing, but the more I read the more the words flowed with Sarah’s thought process. Normally I don’t like stream of consciousness writing, but in many other instances it doesn’t use punctuation at all. Not the case here, which jived well with my brain. With that being said, I think the stream of consciousness did lend itself to a number of editorial slips. I found a number of random apostrophes scattered throughout the book that didn’t look to be purposely stylistic or serve any real purpose. Unless I’m missing something.

At the end of the day, THE WRITHING SKIES is exactly what I was looking for with erotic horror. Well, maybe it’s a little weirder than what I was looking for, but it ended up fitting the bill nicely.

4.5