protean depravity

Spring and summer time are also awards time and it is exciting to watch the ballots of all major horror and SFF awards slowly trickling in. A couple of weeks ago the first Bram Stoker preliminary ballots and later the final lineup were announced and that lineup is, together with the Shirley Jackson lineup as well as recommendations from my network of fellow horror fans and friends, one of the major sources from which I make my tbr-list. So naturally I wanted to take a closer look at the nominees and the books who got "so close": the books that will be competing for the titles of superior achievement in bold and below them the other shortlisted books that haven't made it into the top five. In my experience these titles are almost always just as good and if you ever wonder what to read next you can without hesitation grab one of them. There are quite a few titles I have already read and reviewed here, so I'll just link those to the corresponding Protean Depravity review...

Photo courtesy of Kate Heartfield Kate Heartfield is the author of the award winning historical novel Armed in Her Fashion and the exciting Alice Payne time travel novellas. A couple of weeks ago she celebrated the publication day of her latest book, The Embroidered Book , a historical fantasy set in the time before the French Revolution. I'm very glad to have a chance to talk with her about her writing, The Embroidered Book and her forthcoming work which is set in the universe of the Assassin’s Creed videogames. 

It's time for my latest reads again, yay! I felt a little weary of horror in the abiding February darkness and have been reading lots of world literature, books on nature and even one self-help book instead. I was feeling a little guilty that I neglected horror in this time but while writing these reviews I just realized that's not the case at all - luckily I have enough material for my wrap-up. That being said, here they are, I hope you enjoy the short reviews!

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!

Women find their power where they can, and remember it in twisted threads. Misheard whispers. Embroidered and disguised. This was a pretty wild read, people, and I don’t know how to begin reviewing... I guess it's best to start with the author and her previous work.

Yay, The Final Girls Berlin Film Festival is due in two weeks and their program looks AMAZING! The festival takes place in City Kino Wedding but the very cautious of you or those who can't come can watch the shorts online! Here's their message:

I finally made the time and gathered the concentration to write this post about my last few reads in 2021 and my more recent reads. Hope you enjoy the first shorties of this year!