Root Rot & Other Grim Tales

by Sarah Read

Walk into the woods. Dive into the water. Make a wish. Meet your fate.

Within Root Rot and Other Grim Tales, Bram Stoker Award-winning author Sarah Read delivers cautions and disturbances across 18 grim tales.

Prepare to inherit stories of fossil-haunted houses, of doorways to the afterlife. In the woods, learn of vengeful wolves and women. In the water, discover shipwrecks stuck in time, Devonian monsters, and islands where your father loved to fish—and where your future hangs in balance.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fantasy, Fiction, Anthologies, Short Story Collection, Collections

294 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 10, 2023

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is what I want when I hear the term 'dark fantasy'. Not vampire romance, not LOTR with edgelord characters... I want this. Tales that defy reality and normalcy, allowing the sinister to creep in and color the proceedings. A-OK by me if it flips to straight up horror, as it does in quite a few of these tales. But Sarah Read seems more concerned with telling a fantastic tale without any fear of... well, what causes fear. By embracing the darkness and the unexplainable, she puts the humanity of her characters in sharper relief. The results are striking and memorable, and tremendously readable.

[Becky Spratford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review in the October 1, 2023 issue of Booklist and on the blog: https://raforallhorror.blogspot.com/2... (link live 10/3/23)

Three Words That Describe This Book: Sinister, discomfort, immersive

But I can get this book to 1 word-- sinister!

Each story is original, terrifying, and compelling but when Read pits what readers think is coming against the extremely sinister tone at the heart of each tale, it is as if she is stabbing their tender spots with a knife, twisting it, and leaving it to dangle long after the last page is turned.

Suggest freely to those who enjoy dark, immersive, and character driven speculative fiction that firmly grabs its readers as written by Pelayo, Khaw, and Beukes.


Another readalike– Shirley Jackson winning Hideous Book of Hidden Horrors edited by Doug Murano which includes a story from this collection. “Wish Wash."

[Danielle (Danni) Vinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Root Rot, by Sarah Read, is a stunning collection of stories, with gorgeous writing and original concepts. I get so excited when I read something I've not seen before. I'd heard so many good things about this book so I finally read it, and am so happy that I did. It's just bloody brilliant. I'll be getting a physical copy of it because I will definitely be rereading it, and that cover is glorious. TEEF!!
These are my favourite stories...

~The Ballad of Lady Lithium
(phenomenal story about a broken addict)
~Skydivers
(WOW! very relevant story for our
dying planet. Stunningly original.)
~Seeing Stones, the Death of Madam Doris (damn)
~When Auntie's Due
(I empathised with the antagonist. So good.)
~Bloody Bon Secours
(cruelty, and ultimate justice)
~The Hope Chest
(a young girl searches for her grandma)

I highly recommend this one for short fiction junkies like me.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book I finished post hip surgery. A collection of short stories that are all very creepy. I enjoyed reading all of them.

[Chris Wolff · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great group of stories. I will write a long review soon, but Sarah Read wrote some page turners here that I highly recommend.

[tetiana i... · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories are very well-written and extremely evocative, with inventive premises. Mostly after I got the premise, the stories went the way I imagined they would, and for most of the collection I thought that this is a collection of very solid works, but none of them would be "there's that one story" for me - and them The Pescadoor happened. It is definitely "that one story" from that collection for me, and it's great.
I slogged through Root Rot for like two months, but not really because I disliked the stories - rather because they are very different from one another and I needed time to switch between movies in my head (again, extremely evocative).
Some standouts:
Inn of the Fates - my favorite imagery
When Auntie's Due - the most "retellable" story; quite fucked-up psychological horror
The Pescadoor, as already mentioned - it is about a fish and a town that was drowned after a dam was blown and desperately wants to be free of its fate.
And don't read the title story during meals.

[David Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is rare for me as a reader to find a collection where the quality of the writing is absolutely smooth across the entire spectrum of stories. In Root Rot, Sarah Read presents a wide array of stories, modern day to fantasy, dark and surreal to gritty, and throughout it the prose is consistently rich, drawing the reader in without any warning that it's just a story...

As with any collection of anthology, some stories resonate more than others, and rarely the same stories from reader to reader. In this collection, my favorites are "The Hope Chest," "Death Plate Seating for 1000," "Trouble With Fate," and my absolute favorite, which is odd because the story is so odd... "Skydivers." There is something in this collection for everyone. It's a well-rounded, richly visual parade of different angles of dark fantasy, woven together with the binding of a strong, lyrical voice.

[Matthew Elliot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Root Rot, a flexible, but horrific read.

The stories in this were sound. I love the author's style and voice. Read writes with a flourish and without being overtly over the top. I think I only disliked one story out of the bunch, which is actually very good for me because I am typically picky when it comes to short stories. I do find myself enjoying them more as I age.

I ended up giving this 4 stars out of 5.

The stories were scary, but they were horrific sometimes. They left me thinking which I really enjoy. I would read more from Sarah Read if I came upon it. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys weird, creepy stories. But if you're looking for a scare then this isn't the book you're looking for. *Makes a Jedi hand motion*.

[Rich Rosell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like a lot of short story collections - whether by a single author or various - there are typically standouts, average stuff, alongside tales that don't connect. That rule applies here, but the standout material is really dark and grim. And that's a good thing.

More hits than misses, so snag this one if you are in the mood for bleak weirdness.

[Christopher Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of weird and creepy! Seeing Stones is my favorite and I want more witch vs serial killer stories! I enjoyed how some veered from horror to sci-fi and fantasy but each with a unique horrific twist to it. Skydivers and The Pescadoor were extremely cool that way. When Auntie’s Due was absolutely horrific!

[Michael Gladish · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this one a 4.75 on my scale, rounding up to a 5, which is rare for me. A great collection that stands with some of the best of King, Link, Campbell, Barker, and Llewellyn. Literary, exotic, inventive. Loved Skydivers best, but there is something for every horror/dark fiction reader here. Bravo!

[Lila · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading this collection of creepy, disturbing stories I will always give Sarah a second glance as she stands up on the stage at the Stoker Awards. I will wonder if any harm will come to the authors tearfully giving acceptance speeches in front of her.

[Sabby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stellar collection of gritty, earthy tales.

[Tamara L. Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining, visual adventures. A good collection of stories.

[Melanie Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed a lot of these stories and even the ones that weren't quite my cup of tea were well written. I would absolutely read more of what Sarah Read has written.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5. I enjoyed about 80% of these stories and passed on the other 20%. The book was well written and almost like an adult version of scary stories to tell in the dark.

[Ryn Rehnard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Im not one to really write reviews but this collection is ✨chefs kiss✨ I plan to read her other books as well, I loved this one so much.

[Jillian Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

These took me a while to work my way through when in between other books, but overall I really enjoyed them. Definitely some good dark fairytales for bedtime reading.

[Megan Johnson]

DNF around 90 pages. I’m sure this is great if you like short stories more than me but it’s just not doing it for me.

[Lewis Housley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a pleasure to read. The stories just grabbed me, one after another and then...it was over. :( I want more!

[Amber · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at 45%. The ideas were all here and I was intrigued by the stories in this collection but deeply frustrated by the execution.

[Jeanette Wonder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe more of a 2 1/2 star. I’m being generous due to the stories I liked, were really great.

I probably brought a bad attitude into reading it as I’m not a fan of multiple stories books. I got it part of a package and so I shall read no matter.