Deathless Divide
Just in case you need some additional reading for Pride Month, I’d like to present to you Deathless Divide.
Written by Justina Ireland and published in 2020, Deathless Divide is a sequel to Dread Nation, which we reviewed earlier this year. And anyone who’s read Dread Nation was likely wild to get their hands on the sequel.
We start in Deathless Divide exactly where Dread Nation left off. Jane, Katherine and the survivors of Summerville are running for safety, a zombie hoard behind them. They find the town of Nicodemus, but the hoard is right behind them.
Soon enough the town falls, sending Jane and Katherine on different paths.
Katherine seeks a home, after mourning her friend. She heads to California, first to San Francisco. When that doesn’t work, she heads for a town called Haven. Where Jane’s mother is rumored to be.
Jane, on the other hand, is walking a far darker path. While she’s now immune to the walking dead, she’s down an arm. And she’s burning with a desire for vengeance. Abandoning her quest to find her mother, then everyone who loves her, she lives for only one purpose. Kill Gideon Carr, the man who brought down Summerville and Nicodemus with his mad experiments.
Overall, this was an incredible read. I continued to love the characters. Especially Ms. Preston’s girls, Jane, Katherine and Sue. (By the way, I was first introduced to this series through Sue, in a short story called Letters From Home. This was on the first episode of the podcast Nightlight. Sadly, this episode doesn’t appear to be available on their website or Spotify at this time. But if you can manage to find it, it’s a great story.)
I loved that Jane was bisexual, without that being the defining factor about her. She was also disabled, and that wasn’t even her defining factor. Her defining factor was that she was a badass zombie killer/bounty hunter with a soft spot for dogs and kids. Everything else is incidental.
I loved also that Katherine was asexual. She just didn’t give a damn about falling in love, and that wasn’t something that needed fixing about her. So often we see characters who aren’t interested in romance portrayed as broken. They were hurt in the past or grew up in an unhealthy family, so they’re just scared to love. But when they find that right person, who makes them feel safe, they can finally let down the walls of their heart and love again!
Nope, none of that. I’ll go ahead and spoil one thing for you. Katherine doesn’t have any romantic relationships. And she is a complete, happy person without them.
I appreciated that the villain in this story wasn’t just the undead. It never really is in the best zombie fiction. The real danger was Carr, who was in such a rush to find a vaccine that he killed hundreds all on his own. Through unethical practices and impatience, what could have been a godsend was turned into a nightmare. It’s a testament to the bloody history of medicine in America. And how even the best of intentions can still lead people to evil.
Honestly, Carr and his mad quest for a vaccine is a large reason why this series worked. And it’s written so well that we don’t even realize the lesson we’re being taught. Never once does Ireland mention the Tuskegee experiments. Maybe she wasn’t even trying to directly reference them. But they were heavy on my mind when Carr injected black individuals and then fed them to the undead for his experiments.
All of this being said, Deathless Divide wasn’t perfect.
I didn’t, honestly, like the ending. It felt rushed. Everything after the climax, at least, felt rushed. Not as bad as a Stephen King novel, but rushed. It was like the author wasn’t sure how to finish the story. I don’t want to ruin the ending for you, because you should read it yourself. But for a book 551 pages long, you’d think we could get a little more of a wrap-up with our surviving cast.
But this is a small matter. My complaints are regarding the last chapter or so. And there’s a whole lot of great story before that.
I do think the ending of Deathless Divide leaves room for a third book in the series. I don’t know if Justina Ireland plans to write a third one. But I, at least, would be more than ready to snap it up if she does.
(4.5 / 5)
Book Reviews
Barrowbeck: The History of a Cursed Valley
“All this would be theirs, he said. The gods wanted nothing in return. Only that the marsh-folk – or the valley-folk now – should always remember that they were custodians here.
No.
Servants.”
After the acclaimed Starve Acre and its film adaptation, Andrew Michael Hurley extends his exploration of place with Barrowbeck, a collection of short stories published in October 2024. This new folk horror work charts the unsettling history of a town nestled in a secluded Yorkshire-Lancashire valley. From the first footsteps on its soil to a disquieting glimpse into 2041, Barrowbeck’s 13 tales trace a chilling narrative of time and place, where the past and future intertwine with eerie consequences.
- For centuries, the inhabitants of Barrowbeck, a remote valley on the Yorkshire-Lancashire border, have lived uneasily with forces beyond their reckoning
- They raise their families, work the land, and do their best to welcome those who come seeking respite
- But there is a darkness that runs through the village as persistently as the river
Last update on 2025-02-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
The Plot.
The initial, undated story, “First Footing,” sets the stage: a band of survivors, their village destroyed, seek sanctuary guided by their deity, Arfon, along a mysterious river. They eventually discover an untouched valley, destined to become Barrowbeck. Following this are twelve time-stamped tales that chronicle the valley’s unsettling evolution. From the haunting melodies of spectral choirs to the bizarre creation of seed-born babies and a girl possessed by the river’s essence, these stories reveal a place steeped in the strange and uncanny.
Highlights.
Hurley’s signature strength lies in crafting folk horror deeply rooted in place, and Barrowbeck is no exception. The opening chapter’s immersive descriptions of the woods and river establish a rich foundation. This is then meticulously layered upon in each subsequent story. As Barrowbeck evolves, we are drawn into its very fabric, witnessing the gradual emergence of road names, family homesteads, and sacred spaces. The setting itself seems to breathe and expand, mirroring the town’s growth with palpable presence.
Hurley’s skill extends beyond the setting, encompassing the intricate development of Barrowbeck’s people. The collection demonstrates a striking commitment to familial continuity, inviting readers to trace the subtle genealogies woven through recurring names. This depth of world-building adds a compelling layer of realism to the fantastical tales.
- An atmospheric and unsettling story of the depths of grief found in an ancient farm in northern England—now a major motion picture starring Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark
- The worst thing possible has happened
- Richard and Juliette Willoughby’s son, Ewan, has died suddenly at the age of five
Last update on 2025-02-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Drawbacks.
Though billed as folk horror, Barrowbeck leans more towards the fantastical, presenting strange occurrences rather than outright scares. Hurley’s commendable effort to adapt his writing style to each time period creates a strong sense of place. However, this approach backfires in the early chapters, notably the first, which echoes the dense prose of Tolkien’s The Silmarillion. This stylistic choice risks alienating readers seeking a horror experience, potentially leading to early abandonment.
The Final Take.
I hate to say it but I was disappointed in Barrowbeck. After Starve Acre and The Lonely, I had high expectations of Hurley as a folk horror author, but this missed the mark. That being said some of the later stories were at least interesting if only for their strangeness.
(2 / 5)
Imagine feeling powerless. Imagine feeling alone and scared. Imagine having everyone blame you for something that isn’t your fault. And then, imagine someone gave you a book that could give you your power back.
That is the story told in Witchcraft For Wayward Girls.
As a warning, this book deals with heavy issues like child SA, teenage pregnancy and forced adoptions. My review will, by necessity, touch lightly on those topics.
The story
Released in January, Witchcraft For Wayward Girls is the story of a girl named Fern. At fifteen, she’s pregnant and unmarried. Her father takes her to a Home for girls in her situation. The plan is simple. She’s to have her baby, give it up for adoption, then go home and move on with her life.
But that’s not how things work out.
When visiting a mobile library, Fern is given a book of witchcraft. She and her friends try one of the spells, and it works. Soon they find themselves doing amazing things like flying in the air and seeking revenge on those who abused them. But magic has a price. And it’s a high one.
What worked
Witchcraft For Wayward Girls was infuriating in the best way possible. From the first few pages, you can feel your blood boiling at the injustice of the situation. It starts with Fern’s father, abandoning her at the Home and just gets worse from there. It’s impossible not to be angry at him, at the boy who impregnated Fern, at the doctors. Pretty much everyone who’s not one of the pregnant girls is unfair and horrible at least some of the time.
It’s astounding how much one can desire vengeance against a person who technically doesn’t exist.
- “Superb
- a perfect horror for our imperfect age
- ” – The New York TimesAN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLERThere’s power in a book…They call them wayward girls
Last update on 2025-02-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
I also appreciated the depth of detail in the story. This is something that can be said about all Hendrix books. Witchcraft For Wayward Girls is set in Florida in the summer. And you can feel the sticky, damp heat on every page. You can feel what it must be like to be pregnant in that heat without air conditioning, swimming pools or salt. Even reading this book in chilly Western PA during January, I felt the heat and smelled the wet air.
The best thing about Witchcraft For Wayward Girls, though, is its honesty. This book deals with some hard topics. Well, one hard topic. Teenage pregnancy happens for a lot of reasons. None of them are pleasant to think about. Some are worse than others. And yes, at least one girl in this book is pregnant because she was being abused.
But even the girls who got pregnant through voluntary activities are mistreated in a very realistic way. In each situation, the girls are expected to upend their entire lives. They’re miles from home and treated like they’re the only ones responsible for their current situation. They are treated like foolish children who have truly messed up, while at the same time expecting them to shoulder the burden of women while letting the boys who impregnated them continue to be boys. It’s sick, and it’s all too real.
And it’s exactly this sort of powerlessness that makes witchcraft so appealing. There is a reason why witchcraft tends to be practiced by women and men who are not straight white men. We tend to be women, queer and people of color. We tend to come from poverty. We find ourselves in a world where we have little to no power over our own lives, so we make it for ourselves. Witchcraft For Wayward Girls understands this. And it is that understanding that will make this story so enduring.
Witchcraft For Wayward Girls is another in a long list of fantastic horror from Hendrix. It’s eloquent, inspiring and passionate. If it’s the first book you read by Hendrix I can almost guarantee it won’t be the last.
(5 / 5)
Book Reviews
My Best Friend’s Exorcism: Experience the 80’s, demons and all.
“By the power of Phil Collins, I rebuke you!”
Yeh, okay. I did the thing everyone tells you not to do.
I WATCHED THE MOVIE FIRST!
And I have regrets. But in my defense, when I impulse-watched My Best Friend’s Exorcism, I didn’t realize it was based on a book by the great Grady Hendrix. If you haven’t seen the film I would recommend reading Zeth’s review of it here.
But I am here to talk about the book.
- Hendrix, Grady (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
Last update on 2025-02-10 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Plot.
My Best Friend’s Exorcism, published in 2016, is a campy 80’s nostalgia-driven take on the possession horror genre. In the opening chapters, we meet fourth-grader Abby. She loves ET: The Extra-Terrestrial, roller-skating and, it seems, any song in the top 10 charts. When the new weird kid, Gretchen, shows up to Abby’s roller-skating party, the two bond and so begins a life-long friendship.
Fast forward to high school in the year 1988. Abby and Gretchen, along with the other half of their girl group, Margaret and Glee, decide to try LSD. Not entirely sure if the stuff is working or if they’re just high on the moment, Gretchen takes off at a run, deciding to skinny dip in the inlet behind Margaret’s house. The girls run after her but when they get to the dock, Gretchen is gone. The frantic search through the woods yields nothing, and Gretchen’s reappearance marks a chilling transformation. As Gretchen’s behavior becomes increasingly erratic and disturbing, Abby suspects something far more sinister than teenage rebellion. Over the course of a terrifying year, Abby must confront the possibility that her best friend is possessed, testing the limits of their friendship and forcing her to face unimaginable horrors to save Gretchen’s soul.
Highlights.
I’m an 80’s baby and this book was like a walk through my childhood. From the landline telephones to the overly zealous hair sprayed hair. A particular highlight for me was the frequent mention of bands, songs, and lyrics. This book triggered nostalgia for me in a big way. I admit that Phil Collins has been in rotation on my playlist since I finished the opening chapter.
Another aspect of My Best Friend’s Exorcism that needs to be noted is the way Hendrix has given his own spin on the ending. The typical possession horror usually ends with the exorcist making a breakthrough with his beliefs and casting out the demon, spirit, or devil (depending on what you’re reading/ watching) This story though does something different and I won’t reveal how because spoilers, but it was a really uplifting and hopeful way to end a book without getting all spiritual.
Drawbacks.
In order to maintain authenticity to the setting and time period, Hendrix has included the not-so-nice aspects of the 80’s. So, there are some racial slurs, and homophobic and non-inclusive language in My Best Friend’s Exorcism. I know this was part of the era and I get why he’s included this, but it didn’t sit well with me. But perhaps that was the point, to remind people that the 80’s was not all neon spandex and high pony tales.
- Amazon Prime Video (Video on Demand)
- Elsie Fisher, Amiah Miller, Rachel Ogechi Kanu (Actors)
- Damon Thomas (Director) – Jenna Lamia (Writer) – Lindsay Williams (Producer)
Last update on 2025-02-10 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
The Final Take.
I know you’ve heard it before, the book is better than the movie. This statement has become a bit of a cliche but in the case of My Best Friend’s Exorcism, there has never been a truer statement spoken. This book was a joy to read, it was a camp, body horror, demonic rollercoaster. But at its core, it is the story of two girls whose friendship withstands the devil.
(4.5 / 5)
