Sponsored by Nightfire, a Tom Doherty Associates imprint publishing the full spectrum of horror in 2021.
At Nightfire, Halloween is all year long. COME JOIN US BY THE FIRE SEASON 2 showcases a wide collection of horror stories from emerging voices in the genre as well as longtime fan favorites. Horror has always taken many shapes, and this season focuses on the endless and complex ways it manifests itself in stories—whether through inexplicable holes in reality, creatures that go bump (and worse) in the night, or the sinister ways our own minds can twist against us.
The Dark Season is upon us my ghastly ones! I’m Jessica Avery and I’ll be delivering your weekly brief of all that’s ghastly and grim in the world of Horror. Whether you’re looking for a backlist book that will give you the willies, a terrifying new release, or the latest in horror community news, you’ll find it here in The Fright Stuff.
As we (finally) make our descent towards the end of another year I’m realizing that it has been almost two years since I decided that I needed more horror in my reading life and started my first forays into the genre. And now I’m here, writing you this newsletter, and that’s a bit surreal. It was actually Dark Fantasy that served as my soft intro to the horror genre, and something about the bleak, dark days of winter (are we sensing that this isn’t Jessica’s favorite season) that always makes me crave that beloved intersection of fantasy and horror.
Sometimes horror is zombies and ghosts, sometimes it’s unholy magics, twisted monsters, and vengeful gods. You don’t have to choose! Part of the beauty of horror is its crossover power, able to fit into any other genre and make everything it touches that much darker and creepier. Whether it’s dark fantasy, or a particularly vicious romantic suspense novel, if it makes your skin do that crawling thing where it tries to physically move away from the book you’re holding, it’s also horror. So this week let’s celebrate those books both frightening and magical.
Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria
Still the winner of the “most delightful cover ever” award, Soria’s dark fantasy novel features a city and a people ruled by the ancient prophecies of the elder seers, issued from behind the closed doors of the citadel even as the people wage a war in the streets. It has been over a decade since the last infallible prophecy came to pass and left unrest and anger in its wake. Now Cassa and her friends must solve the mystery of the final infallible prophecy before their city and all they’ve known is destroyed in its wake.
The Unspoken Name by A.K Larkwood
It’s dark, it’s queer, and I’m here for it. Csorwe, sacred tribute, turns her back on the Shrine of the Unspoken and the sacrifice that should have been hers. She follows the powerful mage who offered her her life in exchange for her assistance in his quest to destroy an empire and reclaim his power. But old vows are not easily broken, and gods have a nasty tendency to remember those who have betrayed them.
The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart
Lin is the daughter and former heir to her father’s throne, presiding over an empire controlled by mighty and horrible bone shard magic. When her father refuses to recognize her claim to the throne, even as his own power fails him and revolution threatens to split the Empire apart, Lin vows to master the dark power of the bone shard magic and surpass even her father in skill. But that much power comes at a terrible cost, and Lin must decided how far she is truly willing to go to claim her seat on the throne.
The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht
Giesbrecht’s novella is a delight of dark fantasy goodness. In the dying city of Elendhaven, on the edge of the sea, a monster stalks the shadows and does his master’s bidding. A creature in the shape of a man but who cannot die like one, twisted by magic and and shaped by his master’s cruel cunning. Together they will have their revenge on Elendhaven, no matter the cost.
The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco
Chupeco you might recognize as the talented author of the Girl from the Well YA horror series, and I’m happy to say that her dark fantasy Bone Witch series is every bit as dark and delightful. Also, there’s necromancy. And if you stick around here long enough you’ll realize that Jessica never says no to necromancy. Tea can raise the dead, but at a price. She has a gift for necromancy, which means that she is a bone witch, but though her abilities allowed her to resurrect her brother from the dead, they also mean that she is feared and shunned by those around her.
House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig
You might remember Craig’s debut novel making the horror rounds earlier this year. It was even nominated this summer for the Ladies of Horror Fiction Award for Best Young Adult novel. Inspired by the fairy tale of “The Twelve Dancing Princesses”, House of Salt and Sorrows is dark, Gothic, and filled with magic. Annaleigh lives in a manor by the sea with her sisters, her father, and her stepmother. Where there were once twelve sisters roaming the halls there are now only eight, and the tragic death toll just keeps climbing. Every night Annaleigh’s sisters sneak out and spend the night dancing at mysterious balls with unknown partners. And one by one they die. Who – or what – have they been dancing with?
Fresh From The Skeleton’s Mouth
In the realm of horror goodies over at Book Riot this last week, it’s all about snacks and shopping. Annika Barranti Klein has a list of horror baking books, because who says the horror snack fun has to end with Halloween? And if you’re kicking off your Christmas shopping for the year, check out these lists of horror-inspired socks and fantastic horror leggings for inspiration!
In honor of the hell that this winter is probably going to be, Salem Horror Fest tweeted asking everyone for their horror recommendations. If your “The World is Ending But At Least I Have Books” TBR is looking a little slim, check out the replies for an avalanche of fantastic reads.
Speaking of reading recommendations, House of Leaves Publishing, publishers of the recent critical text on religion in horror, Scared Sacred, have threaded a reading list of essential critical horror film texts.
For Bookstr’s latest 5×5 article, Samantha Jones featured five female horror authors and their answers to five bookish questions about their writing journeys and the horror genre.
On November 10 the Horror Writers Association will be holding their next Skeleton Hour webinar and you don’t want to miss it. This time they’ll be sitting own with the authors & editors of the anthology Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women, including Lee Murray, Geneve Flynn, Nadia Bulkin, Angela Yuriko Smith, and Rena Mason.
As always, you can catch me on Twitter at @JtheBookworm, where I try to keep up on all that’s new and frightening.