Parallel Hells

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Ingratitude: 3 stars, genuinely creepy as hell, mother of the year award goes to "Mother", this would have been the perfect excuse to have an aroace character in your collection I loved some of the stories in this collection, I liked others, and I’m pretty sure I’m not smart enough to understand a few. raw pork and opium: 2 stars, I liked the 2 parallel perspectives up until the girl had sex with her friend because he suddenly had boobs and then told him that she did not want him and was the other part a metaphor for how gay the two men are for each other? I will never know. 3 stars taken off because this read like a bad fanfic of The Secret History which is already a bad fan fiction of If we were villains (yes I know TSH preceded IWWV and no, I do not accept criticism on this statement) A golem discovers its powers far exceed its Creator’s expectations. An ancient creature, who feasts on the shame of modern-day Londoners, struggles to fit in with friends they will long outlive. And an Oxford historian discovers an antique tome that may help her overcome her academic rivals.

The short, twisted tales collected in Leon Craig's Parallel Hells have a laconic elegance that's both chilling and pleasurable' Financial Times In the thirteen darkly audacious stories of Parallel Hells we meet a golem, made of clay, learning that its powers far exceed its Creator's expectations; a ruined mansion which grants the secret wishes of a group of revelers and a notorious murderer who discovers her Viking husband is not what he seems. Read this book if you: Enjoy playing imaginary games in the woods, you want revenge on your ex, you think doing ritual sacrifice in a graveyard is cool actually, you enjoy Nordic mythology Hags: 3 stars, I want to know what happened afterward, very uncomfortable with the unnecessary sex scenes but aside from that enjoyableLipless Grin: 3 stars, kinda funny? Like what an asshole that father is. Do I know the meaning behind it? No. Do I know what the queer rep is? Also no

Real rating- 4.5. Probably shouldn’t have been reading this at 1:30am now I don’t wanna sleep hahaha full review to come! A golem discovers its powers far exceed its Creator's expectations. An ancient creature, who feasts on the shame of modern-day Londoners, struggles to fit in with friends they will long outlive. And an Oxford historian discovers an antique tome that may help her overcome her academic rivals. This deliciously strange debut collection draws on folklore and gothic horror in refreshingly inventive ways to explore queer identity, love, power and the complicated nature of being human. Irresistibly strange and inventive, Parallel Hells is a collection of dark and delightful stories that blends folklore and gothic horror with a contemporary twist. stars so I'm being generous and rounding up to two. I think I'm the wrong kind of queer for this book. This is really only for those who think horror is based on apathy, alcohol and drug abuse, sex (including kinky stuff) and a general dislike for any and all people, because aside from the disdain most characters feel for their fellow characters and the horrifying sex scenes, this isn't scary.The short, twisted tales collected in Leon Craig’s Parallel Hells have a laconic elegance that’s both chilling and pleasurable’ Financial Times

But as well as this, these stories also make you ask really interesting questions. One of my favourites was called "Hags", about a demon that after hundreds of years of being alive has refined their diet down to one thing. They feed on shame. You have this story telling you about the demon's past, their relationship with their friends, their guilt over lying and presenting themselves as a human to people they've genuinely come to like, and then talks about shame as a negative emotion. If it's removed is that always a good thing? Is it right to decide that it's ok to remove something negative from somebody else's life without consent? Is this a story in part about acting in other peoples' interests as YOU see them, and then making a choice not to do that? These stories I think are really multilayered. For fans of Daisy Johnson and Kirsty Logan, a gothic short story collection for winter nights from an emerging voice in British literary fictionWhenever I read short story collections and I see themes recurring again and again I always wonder whether that is a conscious choice by the author and something used to deliberately tie the collection together, or whether that cropping up in stories is just reflective of the authors' life experiences and who they are as a person. Let me know what you think about that in the comments. There were a couple of things that kept jumping out at me as overarching themes. In this deliciously strange debut collection, Leon Craig draws on folklore and gothic horror in refreshingly inventive ways to explore queer identity, love, power and the complicated nature of being human. No Dominion: 4 stars, I actually really liked this, it feels personal somehow and is realistically upsetting I’m so glad that spooky queer books seem to be more abundant these past few years as I’ve definitely found a new favourite genre. I recommend this to anyone who likes dark and macabre books or to anyone who fancies trying something new since there are so many different tales to sink your teeth into. In this deliciously macabre debut collection, Leon Craig explores queer identity, power, love and the painful complexities of being human in startling new ways.