Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke

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Fourth, plot. This is all about a slave/mistress relationship and I got to say that the main plot development took a lot of swallowing, which if you have read this already, you will know what I mean. The story that’s going to stay with me the longest is Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, especially the scene describing Agnes’ dinner. I definitely want to read more books by this author. The official release date is 11/15 and we’re hoping to have our copies a little earlier than that so we can get them to everyone a bit early.

Props for hitting this level of disturbing, but there was definitely the potential to commit to the story and give us something a little more thoughtful.Here's the hard truth: I have no idea,” he says. “Well, I have some idea, but the answer has less to do with anything I did.” Kolesnik’s Elogona transports readers to a time after the world’s end, when a long-dormant sea creature has awoken to stake its claim against one of the last human settlements. Each precious thing I show you in this book is a holy relic from the night we both perished-the night when I combed you from my hair and watered the moon with your blood. In the far-distant post-apocalypse of rural America, an embattled company of chainsaw-wielding hillbillies are set forth by Her Majesty of the Ozarks on a quest for precious methamphetamine. Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke is the kind of body horror that is more disturbing because of the psychological implications. There are two memorable scenes here. The first one includes eating spoiled meat, maggots and all. The second—which I won’t give away here because it’s a little gem all readers should discover themselves—involves a tapeworm. Together, and taken along with the rest of the narrative, these scenes prove that body horror punches harder when we know why it’s happening and have built some empathy for the characters involved.

Anyway, how the hell do you talk about horror: “I was deeply discomforted by these stories but in a way that reflected well on the skill and intentions of the author”? I admired the tonal and stylistic range between all three stories, although the first is probably the most impressively “voicey” of the three. In fact, it was probably a little bit unbalancing because, for me, it was the most striking and also incidentally the longest, taking up about the first 50% of the book, while the middle story is takes you to about 85%, and the final story fills up the last 15%. It’s probably an unfair quirk of perception, but the fact there’s only three stories, and they decrease so noticeably in length … it kind of makes the book as a whole feel like it’s deflating as it goes? Like an old party balloon. Or, um, a post-ejaculatory penis. The last story is the closest to optimistic that they get (which is, y’know, a highly qualified statement) so in that respect it’s a softer landing for the reader. But it also, perhaps inevitably, felt like a weaker one. The awfulness of said relationship is juvenile and edgelordy in nature and it goes from 0 to 100 way too fast. This is a strange, dark book that manages to both be gruesome and fun in equal measure, while also carrying an undercurrent of sadness to it. Basically, it’s a perfect fit here at Weirdpunk.

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. For fans of Kathe Koja, Clive Barker and Stephen Graham Jones. Winner of the Splatterpunk Award for Best Novella. Until he finds the book. One that calls forth a shadowy horned figure. She comes with unexpected gifts and the comfort of a dependable presence. And she asks for very little in return, really. The more Ben offers her, the easier it gets. About the book:"Each precious thing I show you in this book is a holy relic from the night we both perished-the night when I combed you from my hair and watered the moon with your blood. You've lost a lot of blood . . ." Finally and most importantly was the issue of lesbian trauma being used as a horror trope. I don’t feel good about the fact that this wasn’t written by a sapphic person because it made me feel extremely uncomfortable and unhappy with the way it was handled.