A review by syinhui
Crypt of the Moon Spider by Nathan Ballingrud

dark mysterious fast-paced

3.0

Crypt of the Moon Spider, as a whole,  reads like a weird and terrible dream sequence. It also unfolds in the way dreams often do - where events and settings sometimes defy logic, and we’re vaguely aware of the absurdity, powerless to change it. People would say and do random, confusing things that we’d accept without question. The dream continues its disjointed course, with the actors and scenes shifting unpredictably. 

At least, that was my experience . It really helped my enjoyment to imagine this from a dreamlike perspective rather than as a solid and cohesive SF gothic-horror story. Its appeal to me lies in how surreal the whole thing was so instead of being creeped out and terrified, I was just mostly weirded out despite the spiders and depictions of body/medical horror. 

The premise is definitely striking but I’d suggest not to expect explanations as to how or why, particularly on the scientific side of things. A little suspension of disbelief is necessary. Still, not a bad read, though it could  benefit from improved world-building and pacing.