![]() If you like horror and you’re not reading Eric LaRocca’s work yet – it’s time to start. This novella is a raw, violating fever dream without a single wasted word, and I’m awed at the fact that this isn’t just a spectacular piece of horror but a spectacular piece of technical writing too. It built up to an ending that hit me like a gut punch, and one of the most spectacular moments of awful realisation that I have ever experienced while reading. That confusion was incredibly atmospheric and I think made this an even more enjoyable read. I think this is guaranteed to be one of those stories that I find myself thinking about over and over again.Īt first I was confused, though no less engaged for it, as I was fed tidbits of explanation and moments of clarity more horrifying than the fantasy. ![]() The writing is both macabre and fantastical, a kind of fairy-tale that makes the worst of the Grimm tales look child-appropriate. The setting is flooded with filth and creepy crawlies, and I found myself desperately hoping that the story would end – just so Mara had the faintest hope of getting some peace. We only know what Mara does – the walls of her home with her murdered father and her cruel mother. I’m not sure what, exactly, and that felt very intentional. In only 100-ish pages, WE CAN NEVER LEAVE THIS PLACE is claustrophobic and grim, with a teen girl living in some kind of dystopian (? war-torn?) society. It’s no understatement to say that Eric LaRocca is an insta-buy author for me now. ![]() I’m pretty resilient, preferring my horror as grotesque as possible, and I still think that I have had a visceral shudder reaction to every single one of his novellas that I’ve read so far. A whirlpool of darkness churns at the heart of a macabre ballet between two lonely young women in an internet chat room in the early 2000s - a darkness that threatens to forever transform them once they finally succumb to their most horrific desires. ![]() I highly recommend looking up the content warnings for this one – as with all of Eric LaRocca’s work – because he doesn’t flinch away from dark and horrifying topics in his horror. This is really difficult to review because I think it’s best approached almost entirely blind. After her father dies violently, young Mara is surprised to find her mother welcoming a new guest into their home, claiming that he will protect them from the world of devastation and destruction outside their door. A precocious young girl with an unusual imagination is sent on an odyssey into the depths of depravity. ![]()
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