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Friday, April 2, 2021

What I'm Reading: To Drown in Dark Water

The April 1, 2021 issue of Booklist is out now and I have a review of a debut story collection in there. This is an excellent volume to add to your libraries. In fact, I am giving a finished copy of this book away on the horror blog right now!

As usual, below is my draft review with more appeal and readalike content inclusion my "three words."

To Drown in Dark Water
by Steve Toase
Apr. 2021. 272p. Undertow, paper, $17.99  (9781988964270)
First published April 1, 2021 (Booklist).

Toase’s stories have been selected for Datlow's The Best Horror of the Year anthology three times, but this, his debut collection, confidently announces his uniquely terrifying voice to the world in 26 stories. Beginning with the folk horror tale, “Call Out,” Toase uses a close narration and a claustrophobic space to give the reader an intense and traumatizing story of a man versus both a monster and his community. The stories that follow showcase Toase’s command of many different horror subgenres, but what unites these stories and successfully shapes this excellent collection is how he induces absolute terror through his patiently restrained descriptions of awful things. This restraint is remarkable because readers know the situation is worsening, the fear is compounding, the unease building to near bursting, and yet Toase somehow coaxes them along, making it all seem utterly normal, until he finally delivers a horrific punch in the gut, like in “Beneath the Forest’s Wilting Leaves.” Readers will feel the blow, take a breath, and dive back in and to experience it all over again. Hand this volume out with confidence to fans of horror stories that crawl inside the reader and take residence such as those by Stephen Graham Jones, John Langan, and Samanta Schweblin.



Further Appeal: I said a lot in the review, but here are a few notes I couldn't squeeze in: 

Subgenres here: folk, psychological, weird, even body horror. There are no zombies, vampires, demons. Just the fear around us. Everyday extraordinary fear. It is as if Toase is showing off, flaunting his utter command of popular horror themes from across the fear spectrum.

I cannot stress enough how unsettling “Beneath the Forest’s Wilting Leaves" was. I think it is the poster story for his overall appeal.  

Three Words That Define This Book: terrifying, remarkably restrained, intense unease


Readalikes: Any fans of horror short story writers who do not reply of gore or traditional monsters will like this. I also thought about Orange World by Karen Russell while reading this. Also the short novels The Grip of It by Jemc and Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss are good readalikes here.


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