Tuesday, December 3, 2024

Settle In With These Six Horror November Releases

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Publishing is starting to slow down at the end of the year, but I still have six new November releases I’m excited for! Read on for my selections this month:

The Swarm by Andy Marino on Nov 5 from Redhook

I have yet to read Andy Marino. But I have read Nick Cutter and he’s one of my favorites. So when Cutter described this as the “literary equivalent” of my greatest fear—“swallowing a wasp that’s crawled inside your Coke can”—I knew I needed to read this. The end of the world delivered by swarming cicadas? It’s all but guaranteed to make me extremely uncomfortable and terrified. I am so grateful this is coming out in November, when the buzzing insects go away, and not in summer, when they plague me. I probably wouldn’t want to go outside for at least a week after reading. If it was all bugs, I may want to put it off, but there’s a cult element too…

The Threshing Floor by Steph Nelson on Nov 11 from Dark Matter INK

This is a cult novel from an author I have read. I’ve been following Steph’s career since The Vein and I have been looking forward to this novel since she first started teasing it. This follows a desperate mother seeking a cure for her child. Will that cure come from a cult performing miracle healings? Will the price be worth paying? There’s only one way to find out. I think this one’s going to hurt.

Candy Cain Kills Again: The Second Slaying by Brian McAuley on Nov 12 from Shortwave

This one is a sequel, so I won’t get into a synopsis here. Mostly because I haven’t read the first one yet myself. That’s right—I can’t wait for a sequel to a novel I haven’t read. I read and absolutely adored Brian McAuley’s Curse of the Reaper. Considering this leans into that same slasher vibe, I know I’m going to have a fantastic time. Plus, it’s holiday horror! Who doesn’t want holiday horror?

She’s Always Hungry: Stories by Eliza Clark on Nov 12 from Harper Perennial

I love short story collections. I’ve had Clark’s Boy Parts on my TBR for a while now, but I’ll probably get to this first. Dark humor with a focus on hunger sounds like an incredible combination. The story concepts listed in the description don’t seem to fit neatly into one box, either. I expect this to be a nuanced read; the kind of horror that makes you think. By the end I expect to be hungry myself. Both for more Eliza Clark, and for more dark literary fiction in general. 

Sundown in San Ojuela by M. M. Olivas on Nov 19 from Lanternfish

Any cover that hints at possible werewolves is going to catch my eye. Now, this one doesn’t say it’s werewolves. What it does say is “monsters and ancient gods”. I’d be hard pressed to turn down a story like that. Add in the clairvoyance and hauntings and we’re in for a great time. There are more layers promised in this book, though. It also looks like a family drama with shrouded history. Multi-layered horror stories work fantastic with hauntings, but it’s how the monsters and/or gods fit in that really makes me curious. 

The Best Horror of the Year Vol. Sixteen edited by Ellen Datlow on Nov 26 from Night Shade

Is it cheating to choose this anthology? I don’t have to tell you it’s good—Ellen did that for me. But I can’t deny that I’m excited. I’ve read two of these stories already, and somehow not the one by Stephen Graham Jones? That means I get seventeen new stories to experience. Of those I have only read the work of one author, though I have heard of a few more. That’s one reason why I love these anthologies. If Ellen Datlow gives me a new name to read; I’ll trust that recommendation. 

Images Courtesy of Redhook, Dark Matter INK, Shortwave Publishing, Harper Perennial, Lanternfish, and Night Shade Books.

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