ARC Review: SOFT TARGETS by Carson Winter (2023)

Genre: Adult Horror
Year Release: March 22, 2023
Buy Links: Tenebrous Press Site | Kindle Edition

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Read an eARC from the publisher
Trigger warnings: graphic depictions of gun violence in the workplace, gore, death by bludgeoning, suicidal ideation. A portion of all sales goes to the Sandy Hook Foundation.

Two office workers channel their worst impulses in casual conversation in a twisted friendship that makes those daydreams a reality through a loophole that acts almost like Groundhog Day for the unhinged. Violent, mind-bending, with a breathtaking ending that hasn’t stopped bouncing within my brain since I finished.

This is one of those books where the main characters are absolutely repulsive. They’re in jobs that pay the bills and, on the surface, seem relatively adjusted, until you, the reader, get insight into their conversations, mostly revolving around how great the break in routine in the form of tragedy would be. This novella definitely serves as a character study of the worst type of white collar worker: someone with lots of ideas but who fundamentally does not contribute much to society or culture. They’re so realistic, I found myself getting mad at them like actual people and not people within a work of fiction.

The writing and development of these two is something incredible, especially given the book’s length. I will not spoil the journey, but the amount of self-awareness that emerges is masterful, especially following the restraint-less self-indulgence of the Tide – the unreality that strikes our main characters like a cyclical storm. It’s Office Space for the twenty-first century in ways both painfully true and deeply upsetting.

Intense and horrifying in its mundanity; absolutely proceed with caution give the subject matter.

Author to Author with Valkyrie Loughcrewe (Crom Cruach)

Welcome to the folkloric fever dream that is Crom Cruach. I’m so thrilled to chat with Val about how this novella-in-verse came to me. From the origins of the horrors within, the writing process, the soundtrack, what they’re working on next, this interview has it all. Crunchy, terrifying, and deeply human, this work is such a treat for horror and horror music fans alike.

Buy Links: Tenebrous Press Site | Kindle Edition | Bandcamp

Continue reading

ARC Review: CROM CRUACH by Valkyrie Loughcrewe (2022)

Genre: Adult Horror
Year Release: September 22, 2022
Buy Links: Tenebrous Press Site | Kindle Edition | Bandcamp

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Read an eARC from the publisher
Trigger warnings: body horror, gore, blood, murder, homophobia, racism, transphobia, anti-traveller racism, animal death, Nazis, arson, vomit

A family is found murdered in their homes, but their bodies haven’t quite got the memo. Churches have been burned and locals are quick to accuse others of heinous crimes. Or commit them themselves. Is it a product of something folkloric or something disturbingly human?

With sharp lines, feverish and gross imagery, this horror novella feels like a nightmare with a deeply human cast.

An interview with the author will be going up on release day, September 22nd, 2022.

Continue reading

Author to Author with Tim McGregor (Lure)

Lure tells the story of a family who came to a fishing village named for a hero and the aftermath of a literal mermaid showing up on their shores. Full of gnarly fisherman, preachers in denial, lovestruck idiots, and kids who don’t know better, this novella is a treat for those who like watching characters struggle with goodness, heroism, and mythologic reverence. It’s great for fans of Robert Eggers films and other folk horror tales.

In today’s release day interview, author Tim McGregor shares with me the origins of this haunting tale, his experience working with Tenebrous Press, and the stories he’s working on now.

Buy Links: Tenebrous Press Site | Kindle Edition

Continue reading

ARC Review: LURE by Tim McGregor (2022)

Genre: Adult Horror
Year Release: July 18th, 2022
Buy Links: Tenebrous Press Site | Kindle Edition

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Read an eARC from the publisher
Content warning: dismemberment, vomiting, physical child abuse (depicted), infection, spousal abuse (aftermath depicted), alcoholism, poverty, blood, gore

In a small fishing village named for a famed hero, Kaspar and his family run the local parish and rely on generosity to make ends meet. Things start getting weird and deadly when a mermaid arrives in town. People start going missing and madness ensues while deciding whether

Haunting and folkloric with elegant prose, this novella is a treat of deadly mermaids, townsfolk getting it wrong, and what feels like a rapture.

An interview with the author will be going up on release day, July 18th, 2022.

Continue reading

Author to Author with M. Shaw (One Hand to Hold, One Hand to Carve)

Happy release day to the first horror novella from Tenebrous Press! One Hand to Hold, One Hand to Carve is surreal journey of identity and trying to live in a society when one is missing half a body. There’s co-dependence, body horror, and a deep look into what singularity as a person means.

Join me in celebrating this release with this interview with the author, M. Shaw. It features some shop talk about the craft behind the novel, the Milkshake-Ducking of the Dewey Decimal System, and their experience working with a new small press.

Buy Links: Kindle Copy | Print Copy

Continue reading

ARC Review: ONE HAND TO HOLD, ONE HAND TO CARVE by M. Shaw (2022)

Genre: Adult Horror
Year Release: April 1, 2022
Buy Links: Kindle Copy | Print Copy

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Read an eARC from the Publisher
Content warning: body horror, domestic psychological abuse, self-harm, abstract depictions of eating disorder

The debut novella from Tenebrous Press delivers on its promise of new weird body horror. In a morgue, a cadaver cloven in half wakes up as two distinct personalities: Left and Right. Where one tries to assimilate, the other descends into a madness that brings the tale back to the beginning.

A surreal journey of identity and trying to live in a society when one is missing half a body, a delightful inaugural introduction to a new horror press.

An interview with author M. Shaw will be posted on release date, April 1st.

Continue reading