protean depravity

Not for the squeamish or faint of the heart, but oh, so cathartic. While all horror fiction gets my unconditional love, things get a little tricky when it comes to body horror, not to mention extreme horror. These are subgenres that at times I can react to a little too intensely and although that itself is a desired effect, and as Ellen Datlow puts it, oh so cathartic, it is also something I struggle with. Hence it is important to me to feel that I am in the hands of someone who knows what they’re doing, someone who deals with the subject in a respectful manner. There is a lot of writing out there produced for shock value only, violence for violence's sake, but a few of them can do more and move you on a different, deeper level. I am convinced that Datlow can find exactly those writings for her collection and that is the reason why I went into this book with the confidence of trust. And wasn’t disappointed at all.

Unfortunately, in my various horror book clubs, reading groups and monthly reads it is perpetually difficult to enforce the nomination and selection of books written by women. Yes, we have come a long way already and more and more women authors dare to write horror. But it is a sad truth that women are seriously underrepresented in the genre, as it is the case in speculative fiction in general. To even out this disadvantage each February we celebrate women in horror month and you can read the whole story of the initiative here . So, for this occasion I have decided to present my top 10 women horror authors here and my favorite book by them. Maybe and hopefully one of these books catches your eye and you may want to try and read it. Happy women in horror month!

Here's my wrap-up of last month's reads - I will try and include as many short story collections as possible in 2022, plus, since last year I discovered that I really enjoy reading a good thriller, that streak will continue too. Enjoy!