New Horror for Readers Who Want to Be Completely Terrified

The town at the center of Yvonne Battle-Felton’s new novel, CURDLE CREEK (Holt, 292 pp., $27.99), is a small, all-Black, separatist community with a strict population policy: “One in, one out.” To keep the enclave safe, there are many yearly rituals required of residents, including Moving On, Warding Off, the Calling and the Running of the Widows.

Osira has always lived in Curdle Creek, but she fears her standing because her children broke the town’s rules and ran away. Then her father’s name is called for a murderous ritual, but rather than submit, he flees. With her position jeopardized, Osira is forced to prove herself by traveling into different realms to answer for Curdle Creek’s sins and make things right … whatever that means.

“Curdle Creek” explores the sacrifices people are willing to make for safety, and how surrendering freedom for the common good can sometimes morph into self-immolation. Power struggles, pettiness, violence perpetrated in the name of religion, along with dark secrets hidden in the fabric of the community, make life in the small town a repressive, stressful nightmare. With tight dialogue, elegant writing and a startling ending, this is a wonderful novel about the worst monsters of all: people.

By Kevin J. Anderson

Iä! Iä! Cthulhu fhtagn! Rejoice, Cthulhu devotees, Kevin J. Anderson’s NETHER STATION (Blackstone, 308 pp., $27.99) is a fun, pulpy mix of science fiction and cosmic horror that clearly admires, and pays homage to, H.P. Lovecraft.

Cammie Skoura is a neurodivergent astrophysicist who investigates wormholes. She and a professor have spent years studying one wormhole in particular, Nether, but after losing an important research probe, they had to abandon the project.

Now, four years later, the probe has unexpectedly returned, emitting a signal light-years away from where it was last seen. To continue their work, Cammie and the professor join a research expedition to Nether funded by an obsessive trillionaire, but their trip goes dramatically awry after an accident. Then, while exploring Nether, Cammie and the crew discover the remains of an ancient alien race that somehow met a horrific death. And what caused that race’s extinction may still be around.

From Miskatonic references to tentacled cyclopean alien effigies, there’s plenty here to keep cosmic horror fans delighted. The science fiction elements aren’t new, but Anderson’s entertaining characters and knack for tension make it all feel fresh. This novel is a must-read for anyone who loves to be reminded of just how little the universe cares about us.

By Nick Cutter

I recommend wearing latex gloves to read Nick Cutter’s THE QUEEN (Gallery, 374 pp., $28.99). In fact, wear rubber boots, too. You’ll be ankle-deep in gore before the end of the prologue.

“The Queen” tells two stories. The first is that of Margaret Carpenter, a high school student who finds a new iPhone on her doorstep one morning. Strangely, the device receives texts from her best friend, Charity, who vanished a while ago and who everyone presumes dead. The texts send Margaret on a terrifying journey.

The second story belongs to Rudyard Crate, a millionaire whose childhood trauma — watching lethal ants devour his sister when they were on an adventure in sub-Saharan Africa — has twisted his mind. Now Crate experiments with insects. He wants to create a human-wasp hybrid, with deadly implications.

On the horror front, this book is a triumph. “The Queen” is gruesome, and Cutter knows how to get under your skin, which he does time and again in scenes of visceral body horror. However, the passages about Crate’s experiments — which feel more like science fiction than horror — are marred by inconsistent pacing and jarring shifts in tone. Not everything works here, but the parts that do are worth the ride.

By Del Sandeen

Del Sandeen’s debut, THIS CURSED HOUSE (Berkley, 374 pp., $29), opens in 1962. Jemma Barker is a Chicago woman trapped in an abusive relationship, and though she desperately wants to leave, she has nowhere to go. She also can see spirits, an ability she doesn’t want and can’t explain.

Then she gets an offer to move to New Orleans and work for the Duchons, a prominent but mysterious family. Jemma accepts, and once there, she faces two surprises. First, it turns out the Duchons aren’t white, but rather are a Black family passing as white. Second, she believed she was hired to be a tutor, but the Duchons actually brought Jemma on because they need her help breaking a curse. This wasn’t part of the deal and Jemma wants to run, but she also wants to learn the truth about the Duchons, and about herself.

“This Cursed House” is animated by an interesting concept, but it is full of shortcomings. Sandeen’s critiques of racism and colorism are powerful and Jemma is a wonderfully complex protagonist, but everyone else feels underdeveloped. Also, the main setting — the Duchons’ plantation — never achieves the enticing energy of a captivating Southern gothic locale. Despite the unevenness, Sandeen is an author to watch.