Sep 4, 2018
In this episode we discuss Rachel Autumn Deering’s Husk, an
“all-too-real work of horror fiction, Rachel Autumn Deering
explores the mind of a young man who is struggling to cope with the
effects of post-war stress, drug addiction, self-doubt, and
loneliness as they manifest themselves into his deepest, darkest
fears.”
In the story, “Kevin Brooks returns to his rural Kentucky hometown
after a three-year-long tour of duty in Afghanistan. He has lost
the grandparents who raised him, his lifelong best friend, and his
trust in the government he once proudly served. When Kevin meets a
kind, young girl named Samantha, he thinks his luck might have
finally taken a turn for the better. But something else has its eye
on Kevin. Something dark and brooding and mean. Something that
knows Kevin better than he knows himself.”
Show Notes:
Initial impressions
Essential horror curriculum would include this book, plusElizabeth by Ken GreenhallShirley JacksonMapping the Interior by Stephen Graham JonesThe House at the Bottom of a Lake by Josh Malerman
Visceral, sexy sex-that-wasn't scenes
Monster as metaphor for PTSDVampire motif?When We Were Animals by Joshua Gaylord
Skillful dialectThe Redwall series
Short length = perfect pacing
Key takeaways?
Favorite lines