Nah, posting that you didn’t like something is helpful, too, imo.

Currently trying to get through The Fisherman by John Langan, to help expand my ability to recommend cosmic horror.

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Finished:

The Thief by Claire North (speculative historical thriller | bingo squares: another continent, minority author, orange, short, game)

A man stakes his memory on a game of hide and seek in Thailand in the 1930s, forcing him into the wilderness to avoid discovery by his opponent’s many pawns. Second in the Gameshouse trilogy.

I didn’t love the tense-switching within paragraphs, but I can’t object to a story about a desperate protagonist trying to cleverly outmaneuver their foes. Enjoyed; will read the third at some point.

I love that series, but I do remember repeatedly thinking that if they mentioned Joy’s hair one more time in the first book, I’d throw it across the room. (Thankfully, that particular issue goes away in later volumes.) I expected very little, but was pleasantly surprised it zigged in certain places I was preparing to roll my eyes at a zag, and how well it kept moving, despite the high page count. Definitely focused on plot over character, though, and entertainment over depth.

If you end up enjoying book 1 enough, I’d say also go for book 2, although it loses the stuck-on-a-planet-with-cosmic-horrors thing. Books 3 and 4, which involve a new threat (hinted at in book 1), are worth reading if you’re still invested, but I liked them a little less. (Joy is too special, and I found a couple of the through lines disappointing; still thoroughly readable, though!) Not sure about the spin-off books, but they’re on my TBR list to check out eventually.

Glad you’re enjoying it so far; hope it keeps being therapeutic!

There’s a lot of classic/popular stuff I haven’t read (yet), but:

• Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer - Quite different from the movie in a lot of ways; reads a little like a fever dream, which I kind of love. If you read and like this, be aware that the rest of the series (at least, to the middle of book 3, where I paused) is quite different: going from book 1 to book 2, particularly, is like whiplash (new MC; dry, bureaucratic setting/plot; almost no horror except for like 10 pages near the end).
• There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm - I read/reviewed this last year for bingo; the self-published edition I read (available currently) is SCP-related. However, it’s been picked up by Ballantine, which is publishing a revised, non-SCP-related version in November that might be worth waiting for, idk.
• The Willows by Algernon Blackwood - Classic, available on Project Gutenberg. If you see recommendations for The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher (which I wasn’t a fan of, but that’s me), this is the novella it was inspired by.
• The Immaculate Void by Brian Hodge - Very good, but has kind of a grimy feel that wasn’t really my jam.
• Agents of Dreamland by Caitlín R. Kiernan - Caveat with this one is the prose takes effort to get through. Good, but the writing put me off trying to tackle the sequels for a while.
• The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle - Retelling of Lovecraft’s “The Horror at Red Hook”, but from a Black perspective. More impactful if you read the original first (I didn’t, but I probably should).

Cross-genre/other influences

• If you don’t mind graphic novels, some of Hellboy and a lot of its sister series, B.P.R.D., deals with cosmic/Lovecraftian stuff, mixed in with classic horror, folklore, myth, and pulp. It’s fantastic.
• Iron Truth by S.A. Tholin - Space opera with military and cosmic horror aspects. The sequels are also enjoyable, although I like each new book slightly less (there’s also less horror in them).
• Carter & Lovecraft by Jonathan L. Howard - Urban fantasy crossed with sort of standard Lovecraftian stuff, rather than a super original take (although that’s kind of the point). Enjoyed it, but haven’t read the sequel.
• The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch - Mostly sci-fi/mystery, with cosmic undercurrents. Good for the most part, but sets a false expectation at the beginning that it’s going to be super horror-y, when it’s more of a time travel thriller. (Don’t expect the time travel to be super logical, btw.)

Just started The Thief by Claire North.

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Finished:

The Dry by Jane Harper (contemporary mystery | bingo squares: other continent, motion picture, award HM)

A detective reluctantly returns to his hometown for the funeral of his childhood friend, who apparently murder-suicided his family. Digging into what happened brings up an incident from their past.

The plot is solid but nothing special, if you’re into mysteries. However, I found it well-paced, well-written, and evocative, especially impressive for a debut.

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo (fantasy | bingo squares: minority author, short, x of y HM, LGBTQIA+, award, political HM maybe)

A former servant of the previous empress tells a history-documenting monk the story of her youth, in relation to the empress’s years of exile.

I wasn’t in quite the right headspace for this, so it felt longer than it was; I did end up liking it, though. Interesting framing device. Not sure if I’ll read the others in the series.

Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater (romantic fantasy of manners | bingo squares: number, cozy, jerk HM)

While in London for the Season, a young woman under a faerie curse finds herself tangled up with a grumpy magician, who’s agreed to find a way to help her.

This is pure fluff, but so enjoyable that I sped through it. I found the MC’s curse a little inconsistent in places, but that’s a minor quibble. Spice-free.

Good luck!

I finally got around to watching it (sorry it took so long!). I agree with your review pretty much in full, actually, and second that it’s not for the squeamish lol.

The whole thing was beautifully shot, including the horror bits, and the story was really good at getting you to sympathize with Elvira on her downward spiral, led astray and enabled by the adults.

It’s about 300 pages, so not bad at all.

Glad it was useful to you!

I have half a dozen nominees on my to-read pile (I’ll get to them some day), but of the entire list, I’ve only read I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons (ok, but no The Last Unicorn) and The Butcher of the Forest (great overall, imo).

for instance, I don’t generally enjoy alternate histories, and it bugs me that they’re considered SF

Alternate histories seems like one of those oddball sub-genres that has to go somewhere; I guess I would maybe call them spec fic, if they’re not otherwise sci-fi or fantasy? But it seems like they lumped spec fic into the sci-fi category, which seems reasonable.

Currently partway through The Dry by Jane Harper.

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Finished:

Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline (horror-ish)

A Métis woman, whose husband has been missing for nearly a year, stumbles onto him acting as a preacher for a traveling Christian ministry. The problem is, not only is he like a different person, with no apparent memory of his past life, but there’s also a rogarou hanging around him.

I thought the characters were really well done, but otherwise, I’d put this in the ‘fine’ category. I did enjoy the look into Métis culture and folklore, though; I’d always assumed that rogarou were just a twist on werewolves, but they’re much more their own thing.

Bingo squares: minority author, folklore (HM), x of y

The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison (cozy fantasy mystery)

Last book in the Cemeteries of Amalo trilogy, spin-off of The Goblin Emperor. Thara Celehar tries to adapt to the change in circumstance from the last book, and gets in the way of powerful people as he tries to follow his duty and calling (as is tradition).

This was a really satisfying conclusion to the trilogy, imo, wrapping up strands from the previous books and leaving the door open for more with the MC. I think this one upped the fantasy word quota a bit, though (“revethvezvaishor’avar”, anyone?).

Bingo squares: orange, x of y, LGBTQIA+, new release, steppin’ up (HM), political (HM), cozy (in the ‘cozy mystery’ sense: not graphic, overall fairly gentle tone, lots of interludes drinking tea or sharing a meal with friends)

Currently reading Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline.

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Finished:

Old Man’s War by John Scalzi (military sci-fi)

Old people enlist in the galactic military in exchange for new, younger bodies. Follows one particular old man through basic training and a series of battles during his first two years of service.

So I ended up going back through some reviews of this, because it’s well-liked/often recommended, and I wasn’t a big fan: apparently the context I’m missing is that it’s meant to be a subversion/snark of classic pulp like Heinlein. Lacking that connection, I stand by my opinion from last week, which is that while it’s certainly not bad, I personally wanted a lot more from either the plot, characters, or commentary.

Bingo squares: war (HM), late to the party (HM)

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (supernatural gothic horror)

An academic invites a small group of people to spend the summer at a reputedly haunted mansion, in order to gather research on the supernatural. Surely, nothing will go wrong.

Aside from a few bits and pieces, this is an entirely different story from the Flanagan show (haven’t seen the movie). There’s a lot of things left out in the interactions between characters, which I found kind of frustrating in the first half, but as the narrative gets more and more dreamlike, it becomes apparent that that’s intentional. I ended up quite liking this, and I can see why it’s a classic.

Bingo squares: adaptation, orange, x of y, alliterative (HM)

Let me know how you end up liking it!

This is gonna sound dumb, but it was too much war for me. I imagine the battle after battle after battle + blur of faceless soldiers was the point, but I needed either a more interesting plot or more character work for it to hold my attention. I haven’t read any other Scalzi, but I liked the narrative voice well enough in Old Man’s War to be down to try something else by him at some point.

Currently finishing up Old Man’s War by John Scalzi. It’s well-written, but not really my cup of tea.

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Finished:

The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold

An ex-soldier gets a job as a tutor/secretary for a member of the ruling family, helping her navigate court life, enemy schemes, and the titular family curse.

As I said previously, this was too slow for my taste, but I liked the characters and the plot. I did spend a lot of the book hoping the 35yo MC would get introduced to a potential love interest that wasn’t 19, though. (Thankfully, not much time is spent on their crushing.)

Bingo squares: x of y, steppin’ up (HM), political (HM)

Currently in the middle of The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen. I’ve watched a lot of Scandinoir, but this my first time reading it! Too many flashbacks for my taste, but otherwise it’s engaging, and I’m looking forward to finding out if my theories are correct.

Also still reading No One Will Come Back for Us by Premee Mohamed. All the stories so far feel like the equivalent of art sketches, but I’m ok with that.

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Read River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey. Fun little novella that’s essentially a western, but with hippos instead of horses, set in the South. I saw some reviews that felt it wasn’t long enough or developed enough, but I thought it was fine. I enjoy plot-focused stuff, though, so YMMV.

Bingo squares: saddle up HM, lgbtqia+ HM, creature HM, minority author, x of y

I’ve seen the adaptation of The City & The City, but while I remember liking it, the concept seemed pretty gimmicky. Does it feel more natural/realistic in the book?

I’ve started No One Will Come Back for Us by Premee Mohamed, a collection of cosmic horror stories. I do love me some cosmic/eldritch horror, and The Butcher of the Forest was one of my favorite reads from last year, so I’m hoping I’ll enjoy this, too.

Despite not really being a short story person, I tentatively picked out 2 or 3 collections for bingo this year. My plan is to read them in pieces, between other things. We’ll see how it goes!

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Finished Golden Terrace, Vol. 1 by Cang Wu Bin Bai. I found this okay: the translation was pretty dry, the pacing was a bit rough, and I never got invested in the romance. I am interested in how all the political intrigue plays out, but I doubt I’ll get around to reading the second volume (nothing gets wrapped up at the end of Vol. 1). This is probably a good pick if you like romance-focused historical C-dramas (it’s got the vibes), but I don’t think I’d recommend it otherwise.

Bingo squares: different continent (HM), minority author, LGBTQIA+ (HM), political, jerk (HM)

Just like last year, we’ve pre-seeded the Storygraph challenge with ~500 (mostly fiction) books from various genres, if you’re looking for ideas (no account required to browse!).

ETA: The returning categories have different book suggestions from last year, so for even more ideas for those squares, check last year’s Storygraph, too.

Thank you both. :)

The show’s done the usual cutting, streamlining, or tweaking that adaptations do, like making Lamb less of an offensive jerk and River a little more competent than in the books. Otherwise, I think they’re pretty similar, tbh; same story beats, very snarky, fairly quick-paced. There’s something about the first 3 that I liked better than the next couple (which is why I put this one on pause), but I can’t put my finger on it.