From there, we read as the couple fall in love, we read their fetishistic contract wherein Agnes agrees to relinquish all control over her finances and decision-making faculties to Zoe, and, slowly but surely, we read as Zoe manipulates, gaslights, and abuses Agnes until the story climaxes into one of the best conceived works of body horror fiction of recent years. We read the couple’s meet-cute on where Agnes is selling an antique apple peeler. The collection still retains an echo of its original form as most of its pages are taken up by the titular story ‘Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke’- a post-internet take on the epistolary form which comprises emails and instant messenger transcripts between Agnes Petrella and Zoe Cross. Somewhere along its journey across the pond, it picked up a new cover and two more short stories – ‘The Enchantment’ and ‘You’ll Find it’s Like That All Over’ – transforming the book from a novella into a short story collection. They are represented by Ryan Lewis/Spin a Black Yarn for Film and Television.First published last year in the US by Weirdpunk Books, Eric LaRocca’s Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke (2022) has made its way to the UK and found a home with Titan Books. About the Author:Įric LaRocca (he/they) is the author of several works of dark fiction and poetry including Fanged Dandelion (Demain Publishing), Starving Ghosts in Every Thread (independently published), and Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke (Weirdpunk Books). I refuse to feel bad.) cover! It was done by artist Kim Jakobsson, whose work you can obsess over here. Something, something, the call of the void, maybe?Īlso, I just have to cry over that GORE-geous (I know what I did. Now that I’ve typed this out, maybe my response isn’t so much to they style of writing as it is to the connection both stories make between S&M and horror. The amount of squealy, delighted trepidation (that’s definitely a thing) that I felt upon finishing this book is something I’ve not experienced since I first read The Hellbound Heart sometime around when Things Have Gotten Worse is supposed to have taken place. I am being completely honest when I say I haven’t read writing this gloriously terrifying outside of Clive Barker. He is able to imbue each word with so much power, weight, tension, and visceral horror that it absolutely boggles the mind. But it appears that Eric LaRocca is no ordinary writer. And for many a writer, it probably would have failed spectacularly. Those things by themselves would be risky – but the combination is incredibly bold. And it kind of lays out for you where it’s going (more or less) in the first page and a half. Things Have Gotten Worse is a short book. But still, I promise that the escalation happens in such a way that you will be left absolutely reeling. For anyone who remembers the birth of instant messaging, this may be less surprising than it probably should be. It begins innocently enough, with one trying to purchase an antique apple peeler from the other. The story is told as a series of email and Instant Message exchanges between two women – Agnes and Zoe. This book is brand new, so no awards/nominations yet, but I will be 0% surprised if it receives…all of them. Well, Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke is a doozy. A post shared by Angie – Stranger Sights My Thoughts:
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