Alone until a compelling stranger arrives. This time we have an estranged couple traumatised by the suicide of their son going to work on an abandoned island alone for the winter. We again get a tale that looks at suicide, control, and even a focus on crucifixion (all tackled in the main tale above). The next tale The Enchantment is a curious example of how an author has several recurring themes in their work. It’s a dark and bleak tale but one that is supremely effective. There is a ticking clock of suspense wondering what exactly is going to happen and the last entry is indeed chilling and neatly rounds the while tale. This feels more a whispered confessional as we hear what Agnes has done how it makes her feel and the intensity gets stronger, and we begin to fear this will only end badly. Then Agnes starts to push the boundaries too in a quite disturbing way back as she focuses on becoming a mother and in a truly terrifying metaphorical way. Here the question is how far you push someone to dependence on each other and Zoe enjoys pushing Agnes to ever further outrageous and more terrible acts. We learn very little about these two people bar odd comments about past relationships and a few mentions of the workplace.
At first just two lost people but very quickly the relationship changes as the two bond. What works is LaRocca creates the two different voices within the email.
#Things have gotten worse since we last spoke. series#
An act of kindness leads to a quasi-online relationship that turns emotionally fraught and becomes a series of challenges Zoe sets Agnes in a form of Dominant/Submissive online relationship that goes very quickly to dark places. A simple antique apple peeler being put up for sale leads to Agnes and Zoe chatting. This tale is in the form of someone collecting the electronic correspondence between two women which we are told at the start leads to the death of one of them. The collection starts off with Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke. In Eric LaRocca’s Things have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke And Other Misfortunes, we get a triptych of tales exploring terrible bargains between people creating some chilling horror. Not always monster and human prey but the way two people can impact each other’s lives and make things terrible is a horror that an ancient curse can never create. Hell is other people not just philosophical theory but also applicable to the commute and workplace but indeed horror needs relationships to work. It is not something I would at all recommend for anyone who feels uncomfortable about this issues being used in a horror context What have you done today to deserve your eyes?Ĭontent Warning – this set of horror tales will be tackling suicide, self-harm, body-horror, pain and stress caused to animals and issues around childbirth. Three devastating, beautifully written horror stories from one of the genre’s most cutting-edge voices. Winner of the Splatterpunk Award for Best Novella.Ī whirlpool of darkness churns at the heart of a macabre ballet between two lonely young women in an internet chat room in the early 2000s―a darkness that threatens to forever transform them once they finally succumb to their most horrific desires.Ī couple isolate themselves on a remote island in an attempt to recover from their teenage son’s death, when a mysterious young man knocks on their door during a storm…Īnd a man confronts his neighbour when he discovers a strange object in his back yard, only to be drawn into an ever-more dangerous game. For fans of Kathe Koja, Clive Barker and Stephen Graham Jones. Three dark and disturbing horror stories from an astonishing new voice, including the viral-sensation tale of obsession, Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke.
Price – £17.99 hardback £5.59 Kindle eBook I would like to thank Titan for an advance copy of this collection in exchange for a fair and honest review
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