Genre Fiction
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Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke And Other Misfortunes
Three dark and disturbing horror stories from an astonishing new voice, including the viral-sensation tale of obsession, Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke. For fans of Kathe Koja, Clive Barker and Stephen Graham Jones. Winner of the Splatterpunk Award for Best Novella.
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.
A couple isolate themselves on a remote island in an attempt to recover from their teenage son's death, when a mysterious young man knocks on their door during a storm…
And a man confronts his neighbour when he discovers a strange object in his back yard, only to be drawn into an ever-more dangerous game.
Three devastating, beautifully written horror stories from one of the genre's most cutting-edge voices.
What have you done today to deserve your eyes?
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.
A couple isolate themselves on a remote island in an attempt to recover from their teenage son's death, when a mysterious young man knocks on their door during a storm…
And a man confronts his neighbour when he discovers a strange object in his back yard, only to be drawn into an ever-more dangerous game.
Three devastating, beautifully written horror stories from one of the genre's most cutting-edge voices.
What have you done today to deserve your eyes?
Editorial Reviews
Praise for Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes:
One of the "50 Best Horror Books of All Time" -Esquire.
"Indie superstar Eric LaRocca presents three novellas that capture profound pain and unthinkable horror... With shades of Nicole Cushing and Caitlín R. Kiernan, LaRocca's book is the ideal choice for readers who want depraved and disturbing horror that scares the living daylights out of them."
- Booklist
"The author's strong prose does an impressive job anchoring everything on solid ground even as the stories spiral into surrealist grotesquerie. LaRocca is a writer to watch." - Publishers Weekly
"There's something inevitable about these stories, the way before you know it they tighten around your mind like a trap. LaRocca writes startling and gorgeous portraits of damage, and the way it spreads from body to body. Indeed, LaRocca's stories are shocking precisely because, as strange as they are, they seem like they're occurring just down the street." - Brian Evenson
"Some horror walks you down a dark corridor, where there's whispers and laughter, sobs and screams. Other horror starts down at the end of that corridor, where there's a door that opens on to you don't know what. Read this, and then decide where Eric LaRocca has left you. Not that it matters. There's no way out." - Stephen Graham Jones, author of The Only Good Indians and My Heart is a Chainsaw
"Eric LaRocca's unflinching Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke will crawl inside you, move stuff around, and make you see the world differently, like all great stories do." - Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and The Pallbearers Club.
"Eric LaRocca is like a punk rocker crashing the over-produced world of arena rock in the 1970s: he's ferocious, angry, and coming on at a hundred miles an hour. He reminds us of what horror does better than any other genre: it lets loose the raw primal scream of life." - Nathan Ballingrud, author of North American Lake Monsters
"Eric LaRocca's superb collection Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes is cutting edge horror with pristine writing sharp enough to slice open your skin. Strongly recommend." -Ray Garton, author of Live Girls and Crucifax Autumn
Praise for Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke:
"A startling affa...
One of the "50 Best Horror Books of All Time" -Esquire.
"Indie superstar Eric LaRocca presents three novellas that capture profound pain and unthinkable horror... With shades of Nicole Cushing and Caitlín R. Kiernan, LaRocca's book is the ideal choice for readers who want depraved and disturbing horror that scares the living daylights out of them."
- Booklist
"The author's strong prose does an impressive job anchoring everything on solid ground even as the stories spiral into surrealist grotesquerie. LaRocca is a writer to watch." - Publishers Weekly
"There's something inevitable about these stories, the way before you know it they tighten around your mind like a trap. LaRocca writes startling and gorgeous portraits of damage, and the way it spreads from body to body. Indeed, LaRocca's stories are shocking precisely because, as strange as they are, they seem like they're occurring just down the street." - Brian Evenson
"Some horror walks you down a dark corridor, where there's whispers and laughter, sobs and screams. Other horror starts down at the end of that corridor, where there's a door that opens on to you don't know what. Read this, and then decide where Eric LaRocca has left you. Not that it matters. There's no way out." - Stephen Graham Jones, author of The Only Good Indians and My Heart is a Chainsaw
"Eric LaRocca's unflinching Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke will crawl inside you, move stuff around, and make you see the world differently, like all great stories do." - Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and The Pallbearers Club.
"Eric LaRocca is like a punk rocker crashing the over-produced world of arena rock in the 1970s: he's ferocious, angry, and coming on at a hundred miles an hour. He reminds us of what horror does better than any other genre: it lets loose the raw primal scream of life." - Nathan Ballingrud, author of North American Lake Monsters
"Eric LaRocca's superb collection Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes is cutting edge horror with pristine writing sharp enough to slice open your skin. Strongly recommend." -Ray Garton, author of Live Girls and Crucifax Autumn
Praise for Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke:
"A startling affa...
Readers Top Reviews
Michael Burke
“The lonely one offers his hand too quickly to whomever he encounters.”--Friedrich Nietzsche “Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke And Other Misfortunes” ventures into some unimaginably disturbing nightmare scenarios. We have a trio of stories centering around people desperately needing to intensify human bonding and taking peculiar paths to do it. The first passage, “Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke,” begins as the tale of two women bonding with each other during the course of an online sale. This is not Pennywise the Clown snatching kids from the sewers. This is not Pinhead ripping things up. There is no supernatural puppeteer pulling the strings here, this is horror born of human passion. A simple chat room attraction blossoms into a friendship and eventually morphs into a bizarre sadomasochistic relationship. Dominant-submissive roles stretch out and somehow trample beyond the boundaries of what is just gross… and this is consensual. If you have a weak stomach you can not be here. The second Misfortune, “The Enchantment,” finds a couple straining to salvage their marriage for the sake of their son. The supernatural does find its way in this one. A remote island, a strange visitor, and a barrier between this life and the next all play a part. In all its wisdom, society seems to have proven there is no afterlife… and this is not something the mother can accept. She can not believe connections with loved ones can possibly be severed. “You’ll Find It’s Like That All Over” is the last segment. There is a Twilight Zone feel, a con game trap set with irresistible bait. We find a man challenged by a series of bets, each potentially more profitable than the last, and he realizes he can not refuse the challenges. There is an uncontrollable compulsion to please a neighbor he barely knows, even at the ultimate cost. “Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke And Other Misfortunes” is creepy and gruesome at times… and a wonderful read. Having just struggled through a few slow paced “will this story ever get to the point” books, I devoured these stories with glee. Again, if your tolerance for the intolerable is low, run away. Otherwise, bon appétit! I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
