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Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World
New York Times
bestselling and Eisner Award–nominated comics writer Cullen Bunn presents his adult novel debut—a high-stakes hunt for a masked killer whose brutal murders may be a portent of an evil as ancient and cold as the stars themselves.
The bodies are stacking up on Wilson Island.
The town’s sheriff has his suspicions but no genuine evidence for an arrest, even as the murders continue and appear increasingly ritualistic in nature. And when an arrest is finally made, all hell breaks loose—literally—as a terrifying horror rises to envelop the town. Soon it’s all up to an unforgettable and motley group of residents to band together and eliminate an ancient evil in a desperate struggle for survival.
The bodies are stacking up on Wilson Island.
The town’s sheriff has his suspicions but no genuine evidence for an arrest, even as the murders continue and appear increasingly ritualistic in nature. And when an arrest is finally made, all hell breaks loose—literally—as a terrifying horror rises to envelop the town. Soon it’s all up to an unforgettable and motley group of residents to band together and eliminate an ancient evil in a desperate struggle for survival.
464 pages, Paperback
Published November 11, 2025
26 people are currently reading
4835 people want to read
About the author
Cullen Bunn
2,109 books1,061 followersCullen grew up in rural North Carolina, but now lives in the St. Louis area with his wife Cindy and his son Jackson. His noir/horror comic (and first collaboration with Brian Hurtt), The Damned, was published in 2007 by Oni Press. The follow-up, The Damned: Prodigal Sons, was released in 2008. In addition to The Sixth Gun, his current projects include Crooked Hills, a middle reader horror prose series from Evileye Books; The Tooth, an original graphic novel from Oni Press; and various work for Marvel and DC. Somewhere along the way, Cullen founded Undaunted Press and edited the critically acclaimed small press horror magazine, Whispers from the Shattered Forum.
All writers must pay their dues, and Cullen has worked various odd jobs, including Alien Autopsy Specialist, Rodeo Clown, Professional Wrestler Manager, and Sasquatch Wrangler.
And, yes, he has fought for his life against mountain lions and he did perform on stage as the World's Youngest Hypnotist. Buy him a drink sometime, and he'll tell you all about it.
Visit his website at www.cullenbunn.com.
All writers must pay their dues, and Cullen has worked various odd jobs, including Alien Autopsy Specialist, Rodeo Clown, Professional Wrestler Manager, and Sasquatch Wrangler.
And, yes, he has fought for his life against mountain lions and he did perform on stage as the World's Youngest Hypnotist. Buy him a drink sometime, and he'll tell you all about it.
Visit his website at www.cullenbunn.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
September 30, 2025
Review in the October 2025 issue of Library Journal
Three Words That Describe This Book: cinematic, epic small town horror, huge cast of characters.
Draft Review:
Bunn’s cinematic, visceral, and epic small town horror novel introduces readers to an island off the coast of North Carolina on a Monday evening with this chilling note, “For so many, this is the last week on earth,” and yet, even with this explicit warning, readers have no idea what is coming and just how bad it is going to be. A hungry ancient evil has been awakened, its “meat puppet” agents have been dispersed, and the entire town must fight for their survival over the course of one bloody week. However, will the characters who make it to Friday ever be able to fully shake the monster? Featuring a huge cast of characters, an episodic and brisk storytelling style, and solid character development, this is horror filled with terror, gore, and a high body count, but it also packs plenty of heart.
Verdict: Bunn has seamlessly transitioned from critically acclaimed Horror graphic novelist to the prose format with a tale overflowing with classic King vibes and yet, it is also wholly original. For fans of The Queen by Cutter, The Indian Lake Trilogy by Jones, and graphic novels by Liu, Snyder, and Tynion IV.
It has an episodic, cinematic storytelling style. You can see the story unfolding. Bunn is clearly using his award winning GN writing skills but it is not choppy. The story flows and the characters move throughout his island setting quickly, doing battle with the "Meat puppet" minions of the hungry ancient evil. The action is bloody and plentiful, but the characters have time to build-- even those who died quickly. There is a high body count here, but it serves the story.
There is heart and terror and gore and solid storytelling. Every detail matters and it has the perfect epic horror ending, just like a classic King novel.
Sorry unfolds 1 day at a time-- beginning with Monday and the header-- For so many, this is the last week on earth." PERFECT SET UP. And then open with a grizzly murder.
But reader, you have no idea what is coming-- even with that header and opening scene.
Feels like a story you have read before and yet, it is wholly original. It is long, but readers will fall into the rhythm quickly. Like a classic Stephen King but for today's readers. It has that epic 80s feel.
For fans of epic small town, horror with a large cast and lots of bloody action such as The Queen by Nick Cutter, classic Stephen King, The Indian Lake Trilogy by SGJ, but also fans of epic GN series like those by Scott Snyder, Marjorie Liu, and James Tynion IV will love this book.
Fans of Bunn, of whom there are rightfully many, will not be disappointed by his prose debut.
Three Words That Describe This Book: cinematic, epic small town horror, huge cast of characters.
Draft Review:
Bunn’s cinematic, visceral, and epic small town horror novel introduces readers to an island off the coast of North Carolina on a Monday evening with this chilling note, “For so many, this is the last week on earth,” and yet, even with this explicit warning, readers have no idea what is coming and just how bad it is going to be. A hungry ancient evil has been awakened, its “meat puppet” agents have been dispersed, and the entire town must fight for their survival over the course of one bloody week. However, will the characters who make it to Friday ever be able to fully shake the monster? Featuring a huge cast of characters, an episodic and brisk storytelling style, and solid character development, this is horror filled with terror, gore, and a high body count, but it also packs plenty of heart.
Verdict: Bunn has seamlessly transitioned from critically acclaimed Horror graphic novelist to the prose format with a tale overflowing with classic King vibes and yet, it is also wholly original. For fans of The Queen by Cutter, The Indian Lake Trilogy by Jones, and graphic novels by Liu, Snyder, and Tynion IV.
It has an episodic, cinematic storytelling style. You can see the story unfolding. Bunn is clearly using his award winning GN writing skills but it is not choppy. The story flows and the characters move throughout his island setting quickly, doing battle with the "Meat puppet" minions of the hungry ancient evil. The action is bloody and plentiful, but the characters have time to build-- even those who died quickly. There is a high body count here, but it serves the story.
There is heart and terror and gore and solid storytelling. Every detail matters and it has the perfect epic horror ending, just like a classic King novel.
Sorry unfolds 1 day at a time-- beginning with Monday and the header-- For so many, this is the last week on earth." PERFECT SET UP. And then open with a grizzly murder.
But reader, you have no idea what is coming-- even with that header and opening scene.
Feels like a story you have read before and yet, it is wholly original. It is long, but readers will fall into the rhythm quickly. Like a classic Stephen King but for today's readers. It has that epic 80s feel.
For fans of epic small town, horror with a large cast and lots of bloody action such as The Queen by Nick Cutter, classic Stephen King, The Indian Lake Trilogy by SGJ, but also fans of epic GN series like those by Scott Snyder, Marjorie Liu, and James Tynion IV will love this book.
Fans of Bunn, of whom there are rightfully many, will not be disappointed by his prose debut.
October 30, 2025
Note: This review was originally published at FanFiAddict
Stephen King’s epic tome, IT, was my gateway into horror as a teenager (or almost-teen) way back in the 1990s. Like many lifelong horror fans, I probably read King at an age younger than I should have, bypassing entirely the works of RL Stine other kids my age were devouring. I wanted to dive straight into the deep-end and, as the Mythbusters would later say, if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing. I bring this up not because Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World reminds me of King’s IT beyond some scant superficialities (although Bunn most certainly shares King as a foundational text as a horror creator and it shines through in his creative DNA here), but because it reminded me of those handful of days spent devouring IT. Bunn’s adult horror debut transported me back to what I felt like then as a kid sitting beachside at my parent’s summer home on Grand Traverse Bay, or lounging in a leather recliner with the door wall open and the wind carrying in the smells of the sand and lake. I was there, physically, but I was really existing somewhere else. I was in Traverse City then, but I was also in Derry, Maine with the Losers Club. For a few days in late October 2025, I was in my home or in my office, but I was really on Wilson Island with Willa and Sarah, with Sheriff Buck, and, disturbingly, with the masked No-Face killer.
I haven’t been taken back to the start of my love for horror in a long time. I’ve been reminded of it a few times, sure, but only a few of the books I’ve read in the 30 or 35 years since have really put me back in the shoes of what I felt like as a kid discovering horror for the first time and not entirely quite sure of what to expect next. A lot of it, I think, comes down to Bunn’s visions of terror here, as he tackles the breadth and depth of what horror can be. Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World is a smorgasbord of horrors and surprises. It’s a slasher, it’s cosmic, it’s an “animal attacks” horror, it’s a creature feature, it’s a floor wax and a dessert topping. Bunn has taken all of what I love in the horror genre and put it in a blender to create a thick, chunky, coppery slurry of blood and gore and monsters, human and otherwise.
What starts off as a shockingly brutal double-murder turns into something far more expansive as the nature of the No-Face killer, as the psycho slasher refers to himself, is slowly peeled back and the residents and tourists flocking to Wilson Island for summer break come under assault. Of course, as in Jaws, those beaches will remain open! Pregnant teenager Willa is the heart and soul of Bunn’s story, although he has a pretty expansive cast of characters that all work together to make Bones of Our Stars memorable. This one’s a people-first horror. No matter how squicky it gets – and, boy, does it ever get squicky with eviscerations galore – Bunn knows that the horrors don’t mean a thing if we don’t care about the inhabitants of Wilson Island first and foremost. Who cares who the killer is disemboweling if we don’t have somebody to root for? Where’s the sense of loss in Bunn’s nobody is safe attitude if we don’t give a damn about any of them to begin with? Bunn puts in a ton of effort making this crew three-dimensional and alive before reducing them to dead meat sacks. I didn’t like Sheriff Buck upon meeting him, but I couldn’t help wondering how things might shake out between him and that waitress he’s got a crush on. I was invested in Willa and her relationships and how her parents would react upon learning of her pregnancy. We get a few interludes from the townsfolk and tourists, who exist beyond the circle of our core cast and are there to remind us that Wilson Island is a living, breathing, functioning locale with plenty of color thanks to the reporter, its police, its citizens, the homeless, and their relationships to one another, plus the odd old misfit who sometimes forgets to wear clothes before going for his morning run. Wilson Island feels authentic and lived-in, and I know Bunn’s Derry-esque habitat is just one small part of why Bones of Our Stars took me back to my days as a burgeoning teenage horror fan on the lake.
What really took me back — what surprised me most, and happily so — was Bunn’s everything but the kitchen sink approach to horror. Like the Mythbusters, Bunn clearly believes that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing, gods bless him. He reminded me that a horror story doesn’t have to be any one type. Horror is an elastic genre, and while marketing buzzwords can reduce it to one particular thing (a slasher book, a vampire story, a zombie novel), it can also be damn near all of those genres in one batshit crazy, over the top small-town horror story when it needs to be. It can — and should! — go well beyond what’s merely expected and surprise us with its irregularities and shock us with its author’s twistedness and willingness to go there and beyond. This book is a crystal-clear distillation of Bunn’s love for the horror genre and a reminder of how fun and rewarding horror can be when it’s busy doing way more than we ask of it.
A long-time comics scribe and creator of works like Harrow County, The Sixth Gun, and The Empty Man, you can tell Bunn loves it all, from the ’80s and ’90s paperbacks from Zebra, Dorchester, Dell Abyss, and the like, all the way up to modern big-screen scares and as far back as the old 1950s nuclear creature features. I think it’s Bunn’s nearly-two decades in comics that give Bones such a cinematic feel while reading. Each page unfurls like film in the mind’s eye, gnarly and grainy, with the horrors presented in the highest of definitions. There’s no unseeing some of these kills or the devastation wrought by attacking mutant menaces. One segment wouldn’t be at all amiss in Gregory A. Douglas’s pulpy, mutant cockroach horror, The Nest. Other times it feels like Jaws by way of Se7en, or Scream meets J.F. Gonzalez’s Clickers. Bones of Our Stars is messy and gory as hell, a throwback to the classic pulp horror books and supremely wet practical effects movies of yesteryear – so much so that it feels surprising a major mainstream publisher is releasing this instead of a ballsy, small-press indie label like Grindhouse Press. After so long working in the trenches (or, some might say, the gutters) of comics, I feel like we’ve been long overdue an adult prose horror novel from Bunn and now he’s spoiled us with all these riches in one singular story. After reading Bones of Our Stars, my only concerns now are, when’s the next book releasing, and where the hell does he go from here?
Stephen King’s epic tome, IT, was my gateway into horror as a teenager (or almost-teen) way back in the 1990s. Like many lifelong horror fans, I probably read King at an age younger than I should have, bypassing entirely the works of RL Stine other kids my age were devouring. I wanted to dive straight into the deep-end and, as the Mythbusters would later say, if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing. I bring this up not because Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World reminds me of King’s IT beyond some scant superficialities (although Bunn most certainly shares King as a foundational text as a horror creator and it shines through in his creative DNA here), but because it reminded me of those handful of days spent devouring IT. Bunn’s adult horror debut transported me back to what I felt like then as a kid sitting beachside at my parent’s summer home on Grand Traverse Bay, or lounging in a leather recliner with the door wall open and the wind carrying in the smells of the sand and lake. I was there, physically, but I was really existing somewhere else. I was in Traverse City then, but I was also in Derry, Maine with the Losers Club. For a few days in late October 2025, I was in my home or in my office, but I was really on Wilson Island with Willa and Sarah, with Sheriff Buck, and, disturbingly, with the masked No-Face killer.
I haven’t been taken back to the start of my love for horror in a long time. I’ve been reminded of it a few times, sure, but only a few of the books I’ve read in the 30 or 35 years since have really put me back in the shoes of what I felt like as a kid discovering horror for the first time and not entirely quite sure of what to expect next. A lot of it, I think, comes down to Bunn’s visions of terror here, as he tackles the breadth and depth of what horror can be. Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World is a smorgasbord of horrors and surprises. It’s a slasher, it’s cosmic, it’s an “animal attacks” horror, it’s a creature feature, it’s a floor wax and a dessert topping. Bunn has taken all of what I love in the horror genre and put it in a blender to create a thick, chunky, coppery slurry of blood and gore and monsters, human and otherwise.
What starts off as a shockingly brutal double-murder turns into something far more expansive as the nature of the No-Face killer, as the psycho slasher refers to himself, is slowly peeled back and the residents and tourists flocking to Wilson Island for summer break come under assault. Of course, as in Jaws, those beaches will remain open! Pregnant teenager Willa is the heart and soul of Bunn’s story, although he has a pretty expansive cast of characters that all work together to make Bones of Our Stars memorable. This one’s a people-first horror. No matter how squicky it gets – and, boy, does it ever get squicky with eviscerations galore – Bunn knows that the horrors don’t mean a thing if we don’t care about the inhabitants of Wilson Island first and foremost. Who cares who the killer is disemboweling if we don’t have somebody to root for? Where’s the sense of loss in Bunn’s nobody is safe attitude if we don’t give a damn about any of them to begin with? Bunn puts in a ton of effort making this crew three-dimensional and alive before reducing them to dead meat sacks. I didn’t like Sheriff Buck upon meeting him, but I couldn’t help wondering how things might shake out between him and that waitress he’s got a crush on. I was invested in Willa and her relationships and how her parents would react upon learning of her pregnancy. We get a few interludes from the townsfolk and tourists, who exist beyond the circle of our core cast and are there to remind us that Wilson Island is a living, breathing, functioning locale with plenty of color thanks to the reporter, its police, its citizens, the homeless, and their relationships to one another, plus the odd old misfit who sometimes forgets to wear clothes before going for his morning run. Wilson Island feels authentic and lived-in, and I know Bunn’s Derry-esque habitat is just one small part of why Bones of Our Stars took me back to my days as a burgeoning teenage horror fan on the lake.
What really took me back — what surprised me most, and happily so — was Bunn’s everything but the kitchen sink approach to horror. Like the Mythbusters, Bunn clearly believes that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing, gods bless him. He reminded me that a horror story doesn’t have to be any one type. Horror is an elastic genre, and while marketing buzzwords can reduce it to one particular thing (a slasher book, a vampire story, a zombie novel), it can also be damn near all of those genres in one batshit crazy, over the top small-town horror story when it needs to be. It can — and should! — go well beyond what’s merely expected and surprise us with its irregularities and shock us with its author’s twistedness and willingness to go there and beyond. This book is a crystal-clear distillation of Bunn’s love for the horror genre and a reminder of how fun and rewarding horror can be when it’s busy doing way more than we ask of it.
A long-time comics scribe and creator of works like Harrow County, The Sixth Gun, and The Empty Man, you can tell Bunn loves it all, from the ’80s and ’90s paperbacks from Zebra, Dorchester, Dell Abyss, and the like, all the way up to modern big-screen scares and as far back as the old 1950s nuclear creature features. I think it’s Bunn’s nearly-two decades in comics that give Bones such a cinematic feel while reading. Each page unfurls like film in the mind’s eye, gnarly and grainy, with the horrors presented in the highest of definitions. There’s no unseeing some of these kills or the devastation wrought by attacking mutant menaces. One segment wouldn’t be at all amiss in Gregory A. Douglas’s pulpy, mutant cockroach horror, The Nest. Other times it feels like Jaws by way of Se7en, or Scream meets J.F. Gonzalez’s Clickers. Bones of Our Stars is messy and gory as hell, a throwback to the classic pulp horror books and supremely wet practical effects movies of yesteryear – so much so that it feels surprising a major mainstream publisher is releasing this instead of a ballsy, small-press indie label like Grindhouse Press. After so long working in the trenches (or, some might say, the gutters) of comics, I feel like we’ve been long overdue an adult prose horror novel from Bunn and now he’s spoiled us with all these riches in one singular story. After reading Bones of Our Stars, my only concerns now are, when’s the next book releasing, and where the hell does he go from here?
November 27, 2025
This one pains me to write, as I've always been a big fan of the author's comics. When he announced his debut prose novel, I was really pumped. Unfortunately, he didn't quite make the transition between mediums. I don't know who he went to for writing advice on novels versus comic books, but he went to all the wrong people. This felt written in the style of a media tie-in novel, with zero unique flare or style to it. That said, I'll always read his comics, and I highly recommend people try some of his graphic novels (Harrow County and Unearth are great!)
November 30, 2025
#ad much love for my finished copy @gallerybooks + @simon.audio for the ALC #partners
🅱🅾🅽🅴🆂 🅾🅵 🅾🆄🆁 🆂🆃🅰🆁🆂, 🅱🅻🅾🅾🅳 🅾🅵 🅾🆄🆁 🆆🅾🆁🅻🅳
< @
Serial killer
"Think about it…All these people, all these locals, all these tourists, all these smiling faces. Any one of them could be a murderer—the murderer. They might be blending in, but also be scoping out their next kill. Any one of them could be a wolf in sheep's clothing,” (p. 204).
"A slasher…in dad shorts."
𝙶𝚎𝚝 𝚒𝚗, 𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚛! 𝙳𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎’𝚜 𝚊 𝚖𝚞𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚎?
Gravity, friction, and faith…
The illusion of safety on Wilson Island is shattered when a serial killer starts striking. Under the cover of darkness he creeps around finding the perfect victims. He doesn’t want to do this, but he must do this. Kill. Kill. Kill. Killdeer Avenue is one street you don’t want to be living on.
Then there’s Kelly and Willa who are expecting a baby in nine months. Kelly is unaware of this when he crashes his truck swerving from a man in the road. Forcing the man to drop his loot - you know just the typical loot: a kidney, a tongue, and other human organs.
Oof! I loved this book. Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World by Cullen Bunn is a phenomenal crime thriller that reaches out of the darkness and consumes you completely. Expertly written, this is a comprehensive read that explores what happens to an island when there’s a serial killer on the loose.
However, there’s like 500 characters and my brain didn’t know what to do with 500 characters. It was a lot. But for some reason I kept reading and it all clicked together after each chapter. Phenomenal writing.
🎧: I also listened to the audio while following along and enjoyed it. Timothy Andrés Pabon does a phenomenal job of bringing this story and characters to life.
This was a solid read. Dark, brutal, and fabulous all at the same time. I also came to love how the story focused on the entire community. Loved this one.
🅱🅾🅽🅴🆂 🅾🅵 🅾🆄🆁 🆂🆃🅰🆁🆂, 🅱🅻🅾🅾🅳 🅾🅵 🅾🆄🆁 🆆🅾🆁🅻🅳
< @
Serial killer
"Think about it…All these people, all these locals, all these tourists, all these smiling faces. Any one of them could be a murderer—the murderer. They might be blending in, but also be scoping out their next kill. Any one of them could be a wolf in sheep's clothing,” (p. 204).
"A slasher…in dad shorts."
𝙶𝚎𝚝 𝚒𝚗, 𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚛! 𝙳𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎’𝚜 𝚊 𝚖𝚞𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚎?
Gravity, friction, and faith…
The illusion of safety on Wilson Island is shattered when a serial killer starts striking. Under the cover of darkness he creeps around finding the perfect victims. He doesn’t want to do this, but he must do this. Kill. Kill. Kill. Killdeer Avenue is one street you don’t want to be living on.
Then there’s Kelly and Willa who are expecting a baby in nine months. Kelly is unaware of this when he crashes his truck swerving from a man in the road. Forcing the man to drop his loot - you know just the typical loot: a kidney, a tongue, and other human organs.
Oof! I loved this book. Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World by Cullen Bunn is a phenomenal crime thriller that reaches out of the darkness and consumes you completely. Expertly written, this is a comprehensive read that explores what happens to an island when there’s a serial killer on the loose.
However, there’s like 500 characters and my brain didn’t know what to do with 500 characters. It was a lot. But for some reason I kept reading and it all clicked together after each chapter. Phenomenal writing.
🎧: I also listened to the audio while following along and enjoyed it. Timothy Andrés Pabon does a phenomenal job of bringing this story and characters to life.
This was a solid read. Dark, brutal, and fabulous all at the same time. I also came to love how the story focused on the entire community. Loved this one.
October 27, 2025
I'm calling it quits.
While I have no doubt that this is a perfect horror read for some people, it's not working for me at all.
We have lots of characters quickly introduced. Some stick around to wallow in misery for a period of time, while others are only introduced so we'll know who they are when they're immediately killed. I didn't feel any emotional connection to any of it.
After a while, the murders are all pretty much the same, so you know where it's headed. Lots of gore.
I listened to the audiobook. The narrator does a great job with the story. My one issue was that he has a very distinct voice, with little alternation between the vast number of characters, making it difficult to keep track of who the characters were. Though I'm not sure reading the book would have been much better.
At this point, I expect them all to die, and I really don't care.
DNF
*Thanks to Simon Audio for the free audiobook download!*
While I have no doubt that this is a perfect horror read for some people, it's not working for me at all.
We have lots of characters quickly introduced. Some stick around to wallow in misery for a period of time, while others are only introduced so we'll know who they are when they're immediately killed. I didn't feel any emotional connection to any of it.
After a while, the murders are all pretty much the same, so you know where it's headed. Lots of gore.
I listened to the audiobook. The narrator does a great job with the story. My one issue was that he has a very distinct voice, with little alternation between the vast number of characters, making it difficult to keep track of who the characters were. Though I'm not sure reading the book would have been much better.
At this point, I expect them all to die, and I really don't care.
DNF
*Thanks to Simon Audio for the free audiobook download!*
November 13, 2025
I picked up
Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World
,
Cullen Bunn
's adult debut novel, because as a longtime reader of his comic work I expected a wild ride. What I got was something far bigger, stranger, and even bloodier than I expected, and that is really say something when it comes to Bunn. What begins as a small-town murder mystery turns into a crazy mix of cosmic horror, mayhem, and few surprising heartfelt moments I didn't see coming.
The bodies are stacking up on Wilson Island.
The town’s sheriff has his suspicions but no genuine evidence for an arrest, even as the murders continue and appear increasingly ritualistic in nature. And when an arrest is finally made, all hell breaks loose—literally—as a terrifying horror rises to envelop the town. Soon it’s all up to an unforgettable and motley group of residents to band together and eliminate an ancient evil in a desperate struggle for survival.
Those familiar with Bunn's work in the world of comics, such as Harrow County or A Legacy of Violence (two of my favorites), know what to expect when the writer crafts a tale. But Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World is something truly special. Not only is Bunn's first foray into adult prose, it also feels like a bold step for his storytelling: an ambitious horror novel filled with brutality and gore that goes hard until the very last page.
The small-town setting of Wilson Island and the grounded storytelling made the monstrous feel almost believable. At its core, the story had this classic feel to it, but with Bunn's signature eerie touch. The isolated community with a sense of a lurking threat was a familiar setting that was turned sinister. unn's vivid descriptions transported me to the Island with each intricate detail.
Stories which feature a wide cast of characters usually take me a while to get into, if I can even succeed, but that wasn't the case with Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World. Bunn gives each character just enough of a backstory and history to make them feel fully lived-in, which allows us as the reader to care about what happens to them. Without this connection, the stakes are just not that hight and the horror wouldn't land as hard, but here is so does.
Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World by Cullen Bunn mixes slasher horror, cosmic terror, monstrous creatures, and honestly so much more to deliver a terrifying novel. Bunn crafts a characters that carry emotional weight and a setting that is atmospheric with a strong sense of place. It’s a big, messy, wild, and viscerally gory story that we have come to expect from Bunn.
Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World is available at bookstores everywhere from Gallery Books. The audiobook, narrated by Timothy Andrés Pabon, is available via Libro.fm!
NOTE: We received an advance copy of Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World from the publisher. Opinions are our own.
The bodies are stacking up on Wilson Island.
The town’s sheriff has his suspicions but no genuine evidence for an arrest, even as the murders continue and appear increasingly ritualistic in nature. And when an arrest is finally made, all hell breaks loose—literally—as a terrifying horror rises to envelop the town. Soon it’s all up to an unforgettable and motley group of residents to band together and eliminate an ancient evil in a desperate struggle for survival.
Those familiar with Bunn's work in the world of comics, such as Harrow County or A Legacy of Violence (two of my favorites), know what to expect when the writer crafts a tale. But Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World is something truly special. Not only is Bunn's first foray into adult prose, it also feels like a bold step for his storytelling: an ambitious horror novel filled with brutality and gore that goes hard until the very last page.
The small-town setting of Wilson Island and the grounded storytelling made the monstrous feel almost believable. At its core, the story had this classic feel to it, but with Bunn's signature eerie touch. The isolated community with a sense of a lurking threat was a familiar setting that was turned sinister. unn's vivid descriptions transported me to the Island with each intricate detail.
Stories which feature a wide cast of characters usually take me a while to get into, if I can even succeed, but that wasn't the case with Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World. Bunn gives each character just enough of a backstory and history to make them feel fully lived-in, which allows us as the reader to care about what happens to them. Without this connection, the stakes are just not that hight and the horror wouldn't land as hard, but here is so does.
Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World by Cullen Bunn mixes slasher horror, cosmic terror, monstrous creatures, and honestly so much more to deliver a terrifying novel. Bunn crafts a characters that carry emotional weight and a setting that is atmospheric with a strong sense of place. It’s a big, messy, wild, and viscerally gory story that we have come to expect from Bunn.
Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World is available at bookstores everywhere from Gallery Books. The audiobook, narrated by Timothy Andrés Pabon, is available via Libro.fm!
NOTE: We received an advance copy of Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World from the publisher. Opinions are our own.
November 11, 2025
Audiobook/Book Review 📖 🎧🩸
thank you so much partner @gallerybooks @simon.audio for the gifted copy and audiobook!
Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World
by Cullen Bunn
Narrated by Timothy Andrés Pabon
About the book 👇🏽
The bodies are stacking up on Wilson Island.
The town’s sheriff has his suspicions but no genuine evidence for an arrest, even as the murders continue and appear increasingly ritualistic in nature. And when an arrest is finally made, all hell breaks loose—literally—as a terrifying horror rises to envelop the town. Soon it’s all up to an unforgettable and motley group of residents to band together and eliminate an ancient evil in a desperate struggle for survival.
🩸 My thoughts:
Total Welcome to Derry vibes! Maybe because that’s what I’ve been watching but the unsettling town meets the supernatural and “meat puppet” horror is where it’s at! I really just wanted to use meat puppet in my review, iykyk. I started this as a physical read but as we got closer to pub day, I decided to cash in one of my Simon Audio credits to ensure I finished in time! And I actually really loved* the audiobook. I thought the narrator was fantastic. I truthfully feel like I flew through the audiobook where the physical book wasn’t as fast or atmospheric for me. Obviously it’s all based on preference. I am curious to see how everyone feels about this one because although I believe it could have been a bit shorter, the story we get here has so much that I also wanted more… confusing I know. I’m really hoping we get an expansion … another book maybe?? Either way the one thing I’m not confused about is how much I enjoyed this one and will totally pick up another book by Bunn. If you enjoy sinister small towns that are filled with horror, you have got to try this one! Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World is out TODAY 11/11/25!
Happy reading 📖🎧🩸
thank you so much partner @gallerybooks @simon.audio for the gifted copy and audiobook!
Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World
by Cullen Bunn
Narrated by Timothy Andrés Pabon
About the book 👇🏽
The bodies are stacking up on Wilson Island.
The town’s sheriff has his suspicions but no genuine evidence for an arrest, even as the murders continue and appear increasingly ritualistic in nature. And when an arrest is finally made, all hell breaks loose—literally—as a terrifying horror rises to envelop the town. Soon it’s all up to an unforgettable and motley group of residents to band together and eliminate an ancient evil in a desperate struggle for survival.
🩸 My thoughts:
Total Welcome to Derry vibes! Maybe because that’s what I’ve been watching but the unsettling town meets the supernatural and “meat puppet” horror is where it’s at! I really just wanted to use meat puppet in my review, iykyk. I started this as a physical read but as we got closer to pub day, I decided to cash in one of my Simon Audio credits to ensure I finished in time! And I actually really loved* the audiobook. I thought the narrator was fantastic. I truthfully feel like I flew through the audiobook where the physical book wasn’t as fast or atmospheric for me. Obviously it’s all based on preference. I am curious to see how everyone feels about this one because although I believe it could have been a bit shorter, the story we get here has so much that I also wanted more… confusing I know. I’m really hoping we get an expansion … another book maybe?? Either way the one thing I’m not confused about is how much I enjoyed this one and will totally pick up another book by Bunn. If you enjoy sinister small towns that are filled with horror, you have got to try this one! Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World is out TODAY 11/11/25!
Happy reading 📖🎧🩸
November 10, 2025
Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World
Cullen Bunn @cullenbunn
11/11/2025
Gallery Books @gallerybooks
Simon Audio @simon.audio
I went into Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World expecting a creepy small town thriller and came out with a vision that still haunts me. Whatever you can dream up in your head when you read the words meat puppet will come nowhere near the nightmarish reality Cullen Bunn delivers by the end of the book. This is horror that does not shy away from gore, ritualistic killings, and body horror so visceral you can feel it crawling under your skin. The town is small, the stakes are cosmic, and the ensemble of characters at first feels overwhelming. Stick with it. By the end, the ragtag survivors are familiar faces you have come to care about even as the world around them dissolves into chaos.
This is for readers who love horror that leans into the dark, the grotesque, and the ancient evil that lurks beneath the surface of every quiet town. Pulpy, relentless, and full of surprises. Never say the word meat puppet in front of me. I swear.
Why you need to pick this up:
🥩Meat puppets and rituals that will haunt your imagination
👽Small town secrets and cosmic evil colliding in terrifying ways
☠️Multiple character arcs that keep the story alive even as bodies pile up
😱😱Pulpy horror with high stakes and relentless tension
🩸A story that grows from murder mystery to full on nightmare. #horror #bookstagram
Cullen Bunn @cullenbunn
11/11/2025
Gallery Books @gallerybooks
Simon Audio @simon.audio
I went into Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World expecting a creepy small town thriller and came out with a vision that still haunts me. Whatever you can dream up in your head when you read the words meat puppet will come nowhere near the nightmarish reality Cullen Bunn delivers by the end of the book. This is horror that does not shy away from gore, ritualistic killings, and body horror so visceral you can feel it crawling under your skin. The town is small, the stakes are cosmic, and the ensemble of characters at first feels overwhelming. Stick with it. By the end, the ragtag survivors are familiar faces you have come to care about even as the world around them dissolves into chaos.
This is for readers who love horror that leans into the dark, the grotesque, and the ancient evil that lurks beneath the surface of every quiet town. Pulpy, relentless, and full of surprises. Never say the word meat puppet in front of me. I swear.
Why you need to pick this up:
🥩Meat puppets and rituals that will haunt your imagination
👽Small town secrets and cosmic evil colliding in terrifying ways
☠️Multiple character arcs that keep the story alive even as bodies pile up
😱😱Pulpy horror with high stakes and relentless tension
🩸A story that grows from murder mystery to full on nightmare. #horror #bookstagram
December 24, 2025
The opening is very strong. The small town slasher setup is familiar and Bunn establishes gory atmosphere and danger quickly. There is character connection early on, enough to give the story some emotional stakes, to compel me to keep reading. It’s violent and the imagery is visceral and confident, it’s absolutely all there.
Then the cast becomes too large to sustain meaningful investment. As characters multiply, the focus thins and it becomes harder to care who survives or why. The pacing also sags, particularly in the middle, where tension gives way to repetition so the momentum slows.
The biggest sticking point is the tonal shift. The move from grounded, human-scale horror to broader cosmic elements felt abrupt. It reads less like escalation and more like a pivot. I do like the strange and weird, psyche control, and survival but I wasn’t sure which story this wanted to tell.
I enjoyed it with those reservations. There’s a compelling foundation here and it was genuinely effective, especially in the early chapters. And it really was tightly executed just a bit uneven.
Recommend if you love small town slasher and don’t mind a messy, ambitious swing to the cosmic even if it doesn’t connect cleanly.
Then the cast becomes too large to sustain meaningful investment. As characters multiply, the focus thins and it becomes harder to care who survives or why. The pacing also sags, particularly in the middle, where tension gives way to repetition so the momentum slows.
The biggest sticking point is the tonal shift. The move from grounded, human-scale horror to broader cosmic elements felt abrupt. It reads less like escalation and more like a pivot. I do like the strange and weird, psyche control, and survival but I wasn’t sure which story this wanted to tell.
I enjoyed it with those reservations. There’s a compelling foundation here and it was genuinely effective, especially in the early chapters. And it really was tightly executed just a bit uneven.
Recommend if you love small town slasher and don’t mind a messy, ambitious swing to the cosmic even if it doesn’t connect cleanly.
Read
February 3, 2026Cullen Bunn brings his experience writing twisty comics to Wilson Island, North Carolina, which has more than the usual serial killer disrupting its small town. Tobias Carroll reviews Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World.
November 19, 2025
BWAF Score: 5/10
Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World by Cullen Bunn is the kind of book that goes down like a six-pack of gas station beer on a humid night. You have a good time in the moment, then wake up wondering why the hell you bothered. Bunn is a workhorse of modern horror and comics, the guy behind a ridiculous number of haunted towns, cursed families, and occult screwups. This one fits neatly into his wheelhouse, a coastal small-town nightmare where cosmic weirdness and butchered bodies pile up while regular people try to keep their shit together.
Our main lens is a rotating ensemble: worn-down exterminator Barry, teen couple Willa and Kenny, burnout dealer “the Warlock,” and town oddball Madhouse Quinn. Their normal is Wilson Island life with shitty jobs, dead-end futures, and last-chance romance until witchy light tears the sky and someone in a mask starts harvesting organs. They mostly just want to survive the week and protect the people they love. What’s in the way is a masked butcher, a looming world-ending event, and their own fuckups, fears, and family baggage. The texture is salty air, cheap booze, headlights on wet asphalt, and meat on the floor.
There are flashes of something special. The opener with Barry stumbling into his bedroom and finding Allie on the bed is mean, tense, and genuinely nasty. The island feels lived in, and Madhouse Quinn mumbling about “meat puppets for the bone” has real occult-doom flavor. There are moments where you feel the bigger, weirder mythos clawing at the edges and think, okay, this could be some real cosmic shit.
The craft never fully catches up to the ideas. The prose is clean and very readable, but also talky and repetitive, with a lot of internal whining and recap that slows things down. Short chapters keep the pages turning, yet kills and visions start to blend together. Dialogue swings between sharp and sitcom. You can feel Bunn aiming for “small-town ensemble apocalypse” and landing closer to “basic cable event miniseries with extra blood and a couple of fucks for spice.”
Underneath the gore you get themes of obligation and being drafted into someone else’s war: kids, addicts, old men all yanked into a cosmic job they never applied for. There is also a thread about how small places chew people up and keep them, even when the world is literally ending, but the book never digs deep enough for it to really sting. The aftertaste is more “that was a decent late-night horror flick” than “I keep thinking about this and it’s fucking me up.”
This feels like solid mid-card Bunn: comfy brand horror that fans will inhale, not a year-defining standout. Fun enough in the moment, but it slides right out of your brain like a slick piece of butchered meat.
Read if you crave coastal small-town horror with a body count; you can handle organ-sack carnage and a lot of talk about meat; you love end-of-the-world vibes that feel like a bloody CW show.
Skip if you need tight plotting and big payoffs, not drifting chaos; you hate head-hopping POVs and repeated beats like “we’re all so screwed”; you require your cosmic shit to go full weird instead of half-measure.
Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World by Cullen Bunn is the kind of book that goes down like a six-pack of gas station beer on a humid night. You have a good time in the moment, then wake up wondering why the hell you bothered. Bunn is a workhorse of modern horror and comics, the guy behind a ridiculous number of haunted towns, cursed families, and occult screwups. This one fits neatly into his wheelhouse, a coastal small-town nightmare where cosmic weirdness and butchered bodies pile up while regular people try to keep their shit together.
Our main lens is a rotating ensemble: worn-down exterminator Barry, teen couple Willa and Kenny, burnout dealer “the Warlock,” and town oddball Madhouse Quinn. Their normal is Wilson Island life with shitty jobs, dead-end futures, and last-chance romance until witchy light tears the sky and someone in a mask starts harvesting organs. They mostly just want to survive the week and protect the people they love. What’s in the way is a masked butcher, a looming world-ending event, and their own fuckups, fears, and family baggage. The texture is salty air, cheap booze, headlights on wet asphalt, and meat on the floor.
There are flashes of something special. The opener with Barry stumbling into his bedroom and finding Allie on the bed is mean, tense, and genuinely nasty. The island feels lived in, and Madhouse Quinn mumbling about “meat puppets for the bone” has real occult-doom flavor. There are moments where you feel the bigger, weirder mythos clawing at the edges and think, okay, this could be some real cosmic shit.
The craft never fully catches up to the ideas. The prose is clean and very readable, but also talky and repetitive, with a lot of internal whining and recap that slows things down. Short chapters keep the pages turning, yet kills and visions start to blend together. Dialogue swings between sharp and sitcom. You can feel Bunn aiming for “small-town ensemble apocalypse” and landing closer to “basic cable event miniseries with extra blood and a couple of fucks for spice.”
Underneath the gore you get themes of obligation and being drafted into someone else’s war: kids, addicts, old men all yanked into a cosmic job they never applied for. There is also a thread about how small places chew people up and keep them, even when the world is literally ending, but the book never digs deep enough for it to really sting. The aftertaste is more “that was a decent late-night horror flick” than “I keep thinking about this and it’s fucking me up.”
This feels like solid mid-card Bunn: comfy brand horror that fans will inhale, not a year-defining standout. Fun enough in the moment, but it slides right out of your brain like a slick piece of butchered meat.
Read if you crave coastal small-town horror with a body count; you can handle organ-sack carnage and a lot of talk about meat; you love end-of-the-world vibes that feel like a bloody CW show.
Skip if you need tight plotting and big payoffs, not drifting chaos; you hate head-hopping POVs and repeated beats like “we’re all so screwed”; you require your cosmic shit to go full weird instead of half-measure.
November 10, 2025
Fans of Cullen Bunn's work all have their favorites. Every title you see will have references to Harrow County, Sixth Gun, and Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe. My personal interest in Cullen's work started with a random pickup from my local shop where I saw a Subspecies trade paperback on a display, knowing nothing of the man, but being a massive Full Moon (capital H) Horror fan. I bought the book, words unheard, because of my love for the B movie greatness that Charles Band had put into the world. I loved the book, but as a person with a Puppet Master tattoo, I was definitely its target audience.
It wasn’t until a couple of years later that I connected some dots and read Harrow County, the comic that I still stand by as being easily my favorite and undoubtedly one of his best books. Not only is it a great story, but it solidifies Cullen as one of the greats in horror comics. It has a flair for folk horror that I think few in the medium get close to. Quite honestly, I don't believe I had ever heard the word HAINT until this book and when I watched Sinners earlier this year that may be the first time I had heard it spoken (after I read it at least) unless the book was being discussed. Not that it's bespoke, but it is definitely of a time or of an area. And I LOVE it.
At some point after this I became more familiar with Cullen directly and read his chapters on his Patreon, Goblinville, that I will always refer to as "The Sword Mama" world. This was my first dip into his prose (or what those that deal in "real books" as "book books." These stories are what people would classify as "dark fantasy" or what I would call "fantasy for those that deal in the macabre." You can tell Cullen has a love for fantasy, even if he's not as known for it. The world building is incredibly fun and you can see his love for Dungeons and Dragons, especially the darker modules, pouring through each page. It's this stair step that I think many will miss as they get into his new book, "Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World."
All that said, I think this is a great starting point to get into his work. Not only does it bypass the unfortunate general critical thought that does still exist dismissing comics as literature, but he is able to still build an incredibly lived in world, without a visual artist.
You are immediately introduced to characters, both big and small, that build out the small island town with which the story takes place. You get familiar landmarks, the supermarket, coffee shop, and the shoreline that the residents and tourists use daily. You know what life SHOULD BE, in a world that Cullen isn't there to stir up trouble, but that trouble is what we are here for.
The book is an absolute page turner. The initial killing of a local pest control agent turns into a manhunt for our would-be serial killer, and that world building comes into play as we see how it impacts the local residents and tourists alike. Without giving too much away, the push and pull about there being something more sinister behind the death at hand has an incredibly satisfying follow through that keeps pages turning over and over again.
The page turning of the book is one of the things that left me the most positive. We bounce between characters and events, but not so much as to be left confused. If you are like me, and I know I am, I love reading chunks at a time, and this book lets you get up, process, and get back in whenever you want. It's both a quick read but also a fun jaunt through the story. It respects your time, no matter what kind of reader you are.
I thoroughly enjoyed "Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World" and will put it up against my other favorites of this year, Grady Hendrix "Witchcraft for Wayward Girls" and Stephen Graham Jones "Buffallo Hunter Hunter" as the best horror books I've read this year. If you like those authors, but want a bit of a fantasy or cosmic flare, check in with Cullen and see what you think.
It wasn’t until a couple of years later that I connected some dots and read Harrow County, the comic that I still stand by as being easily my favorite and undoubtedly one of his best books. Not only is it a great story, but it solidifies Cullen as one of the greats in horror comics. It has a flair for folk horror that I think few in the medium get close to. Quite honestly, I don't believe I had ever heard the word HAINT until this book and when I watched Sinners earlier this year that may be the first time I had heard it spoken (after I read it at least) unless the book was being discussed. Not that it's bespoke, but it is definitely of a time or of an area. And I LOVE it.
At some point after this I became more familiar with Cullen directly and read his chapters on his Patreon, Goblinville, that I will always refer to as "The Sword Mama" world. This was my first dip into his prose (or what those that deal in "real books" as "book books." These stories are what people would classify as "dark fantasy" or what I would call "fantasy for those that deal in the macabre." You can tell Cullen has a love for fantasy, even if he's not as known for it. The world building is incredibly fun and you can see his love for Dungeons and Dragons, especially the darker modules, pouring through each page. It's this stair step that I think many will miss as they get into his new book, "Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World."
All that said, I think this is a great starting point to get into his work. Not only does it bypass the unfortunate general critical thought that does still exist dismissing comics as literature, but he is able to still build an incredibly lived in world, without a visual artist.
You are immediately introduced to characters, both big and small, that build out the small island town with which the story takes place. You get familiar landmarks, the supermarket, coffee shop, and the shoreline that the residents and tourists use daily. You know what life SHOULD BE, in a world that Cullen isn't there to stir up trouble, but that trouble is what we are here for.
The book is an absolute page turner. The initial killing of a local pest control agent turns into a manhunt for our would-be serial killer, and that world building comes into play as we see how it impacts the local residents and tourists alike. Without giving too much away, the push and pull about there being something more sinister behind the death at hand has an incredibly satisfying follow through that keeps pages turning over and over again.
The page turning of the book is one of the things that left me the most positive. We bounce between characters and events, but not so much as to be left confused. If you are like me, and I know I am, I love reading chunks at a time, and this book lets you get up, process, and get back in whenever you want. It's both a quick read but also a fun jaunt through the story. It respects your time, no matter what kind of reader you are.
I thoroughly enjoyed "Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World" and will put it up against my other favorites of this year, Grady Hendrix "Witchcraft for Wayward Girls" and Stephen Graham Jones "Buffallo Hunter Hunter" as the best horror books I've read this year. If you like those authors, but want a bit of a fantasy or cosmic flare, check in with Cullen and see what you think.
November 26, 2025
Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World.
Thank you to Gallery Books for my gifted copy.
Cullen Bunn’s adult debut feels like stepping into a small town that has been left to simmer in dread for far too long. Wilson Island looks calm on the surface. Quiet beaches. Locals who know everyone else’s business. Tourists wandering around like they’re in a brochure. And then the bodies start appearing. One, then another, then too many to pretend it is anything other than the start of something awful. The premise is simple enough, but Bunn treats it like a fuse waiting for a spark.
The book opens as a slasher. A masked killer stalks the island. The sheriff suspects more than he can prove. The tone is eerie and slow-building, the way summer air feels right before a storm rolls in. I kept thinking I knew where it was going, and then Bunn pushed it sideways into full cosmic horror. Suddenly the killer is the least unsettling part of the mystery. The shift works because the groundwork is steady. There is a sense that the island has always been slightly wrong, and the murders are just the first sign that the wrongness is cracking open.
Bunn’s long career in comics shows in the pacing and structure. Chapters snap forward with quick transitions, cinematic clarity, and a steady rhythm that keeps the tension from dropping. Even when the story slows, it does not wander. It gathers. The atmosphere is thick, and the horror pulls from different corners of the genre without ever feeling stitched together. It is slasher, creature feature, and cosmic dread layered in one escalating spiral.
The cast is broad, sometimes too broad, and the novel asks you to keep track of many voices. A pregnant teenager at the heart of the story. Her boyfriend. A sheriff trying to outrun his regrets. A pest control crew that stumbles into the nightmare. A man with the unfortunate nickname The Warlock. Even the killer has his moments on the page. Some characters fade quickly, others carve out space, but the intent is clear. The island matters. The people matter. Bunn wants you to feel their weight before he throws them into danger.
There are places where the book lingers longer than needed. The opening stretch takes patience, and a few scenes in the final third repeat the same beats of chaos and carnage. Still, the emotional core holds. It becomes a reminder that horror works best when we care about the lives at stake. Even the characters I disliked grew on me because Bunn insists on giving them small human details. The sheriff’s quiet crush. A teenager’s worry about telling her parents she is pregnant. A group of workers arguing about nothing important before everything falls apart. Those moments add texture to the terror.
The creature work is some of the book’s best material. Bunn leans into sensory detail without slipping into excess. The monsters feel ancient, cold, and cruel. They are not simply threats but echoes of something larger pressing through the cracks in the world. One line in particular stayed with me long after I put the book down: “Terror is older than language, and it never forgets its name.”
That line sums up the experience of reading this book. It is not just about the gore or the spectacle. It is about the unsettling reminder that some fears feel timeless.
This is a big novel, bold in ambition, occasionally uneven but always committed to delivering something more than a simple scare. Bunn swings hard, and when those swings land, they land with impact. The ending hints at more stories, more horrors, and more of the strange world he has cracked open.
I finished the last page feeling wired and uneasy in the best way. This is the kind of horror that sticks.
Rating: 4 stars
#BonesOfOurStars #CullenBunn #HorrorBooks #CosmicHorror #BookReview #GalleryBooks #Bookstagram #HorrorReads #2025Books #SpookySeasonReads #AdultFiction #WilsonIsland
Thank you to Gallery Books for my gifted copy.
Cullen Bunn’s adult debut feels like stepping into a small town that has been left to simmer in dread for far too long. Wilson Island looks calm on the surface. Quiet beaches. Locals who know everyone else’s business. Tourists wandering around like they’re in a brochure. And then the bodies start appearing. One, then another, then too many to pretend it is anything other than the start of something awful. The premise is simple enough, but Bunn treats it like a fuse waiting for a spark.
The book opens as a slasher. A masked killer stalks the island. The sheriff suspects more than he can prove. The tone is eerie and slow-building, the way summer air feels right before a storm rolls in. I kept thinking I knew where it was going, and then Bunn pushed it sideways into full cosmic horror. Suddenly the killer is the least unsettling part of the mystery. The shift works because the groundwork is steady. There is a sense that the island has always been slightly wrong, and the murders are just the first sign that the wrongness is cracking open.
Bunn’s long career in comics shows in the pacing and structure. Chapters snap forward with quick transitions, cinematic clarity, and a steady rhythm that keeps the tension from dropping. Even when the story slows, it does not wander. It gathers. The atmosphere is thick, and the horror pulls from different corners of the genre without ever feeling stitched together. It is slasher, creature feature, and cosmic dread layered in one escalating spiral.
The cast is broad, sometimes too broad, and the novel asks you to keep track of many voices. A pregnant teenager at the heart of the story. Her boyfriend. A sheriff trying to outrun his regrets. A pest control crew that stumbles into the nightmare. A man with the unfortunate nickname The Warlock. Even the killer has his moments on the page. Some characters fade quickly, others carve out space, but the intent is clear. The island matters. The people matter. Bunn wants you to feel their weight before he throws them into danger.
There are places where the book lingers longer than needed. The opening stretch takes patience, and a few scenes in the final third repeat the same beats of chaos and carnage. Still, the emotional core holds. It becomes a reminder that horror works best when we care about the lives at stake. Even the characters I disliked grew on me because Bunn insists on giving them small human details. The sheriff’s quiet crush. A teenager’s worry about telling her parents she is pregnant. A group of workers arguing about nothing important before everything falls apart. Those moments add texture to the terror.
The creature work is some of the book’s best material. Bunn leans into sensory detail without slipping into excess. The monsters feel ancient, cold, and cruel. They are not simply threats but echoes of something larger pressing through the cracks in the world. One line in particular stayed with me long after I put the book down: “Terror is older than language, and it never forgets its name.”
That line sums up the experience of reading this book. It is not just about the gore or the spectacle. It is about the unsettling reminder that some fears feel timeless.
This is a big novel, bold in ambition, occasionally uneven but always committed to delivering something more than a simple scare. Bunn swings hard, and when those swings land, they land with impact. The ending hints at more stories, more horrors, and more of the strange world he has cracked open.
I finished the last page feeling wired and uneasy in the best way. This is the kind of horror that sticks.
Rating: 4 stars
#BonesOfOurStars #CullenBunn #HorrorBooks #CosmicHorror #BookReview #GalleryBooks #Bookstagram #HorrorReads #2025Books #SpookySeasonReads #AdultFiction #WilsonIsland
November 18, 2025
3.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSantum https://bibliosanctum.com/2025/11/15/...
I’ve never read Cullen Bunn before, but his name has been on my radar thanks to my occasional wanderings into the comics world. And since small town horror is like my catnip, I was instantly intrigued when I heard about his new full-length novel Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World. Better yet, the book’s description was giving off strong Stephen King’s It vibes.
Set off the coast of North Carolina, the story opens with a violent double murder that immediately rattles the small, peaceful community of Wilson Island. And it’s not just the loss of lie that’s unsettling, but the shocking manner in which the victims were killed—the brutality and gruesomeness of it raising questions about whether it might have been ritualistic. The situation escalates when, in his haste to get away on foot, the killer has a near miss with a teenager behind the wheel of a truck. The resulting accident leaves the vehicle totaled, the driver shaken but uninjured, and the mysterious perpetrator still at large. The only evidence left behind is a bloody pile of organs, strewn across the road after the escaping killer dropped his bag of grisly trophies.
As word spreads, the whole town is set on edge. Willa, whose boyfriend was the driver of the truck, discovers that she is pregnant, throwing both their post-graduation plans into uncertainty. The incident also has Sheriff Buck and his deputies scrambling to make sense of the killings, working around the clock to identify the murderer. Meanwhile, some residents of Wilson Island feel the official response isn’t fast enough and decide to take matters into their own hands, including a local pest-control crew that ends up getting more than they bargained for. Then there’s the Warlock, a nerdy former D&D dungeon master and island outcast whose knowledge of the obscure might have him playing a bigger part in the investigation than anyone could have expected.
What follows is a story that is surprisingly expansive in scope but still keeps itself tightly focused on the small circle of people caught up in the action. The author jumps between the perspectives as more characters are pulled into the mystery, the shifting POVs and the frequent little interludes in between all ways to show the weirdness creeping in. For me, that’s where the Stephen King influence is felt the most, but in a way that feels more like homage than imitation as the tension builds gradually. There’s that sense of a small town carrying old secrets, and something terrible lurking underneath it all, causing certain residents to experience frightening things that defy any kind of logic, such as reality warping visions and creatures that shouldn’t exist.
The first half of the book was very enjoyable. Bunn does a good job building atmosphere and creating a mystery that really pulled me in. There’s a cinematic, almost storyboard or sequential-like structure to the way he tells a story, likely due to his professional background in graphic novels. And when dealing with such a big cast, maybe that experience comes in handy too when staging what the characters do and where they need to be. When they all started encountering different variations of the island’s horror, that kind of setup could have easily felt repetitive, but things were generally well-paced and for the most part stayed engaging.
That said, momentum started flagging in the second half and the final act also ran a little too long. There are still plenty of interesting ideas and creepy moments, but the pacing isn’t as tight as it is in the beginning. By the time the climax arrived, I wasn’t feeling it as I hoped to be—not because I didn’t care about how the resolution will pan out, but because I felt we were just playing for time. The ending doesn’t quite unravel, but a quicker wrap up would have kept the suspense high and the surprises more impactful.
Despite its issues, I still genuinely enjoyed Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World. The premise is ambitious, and Cullen Bunn does a solid job with building a tense, immersive atmosphere. Of course, with any novel debut there’s some room for improvement, mainly with regards to pacing. However, there’s no denying the imagination on display, especially in the “weird horror” department. I just wish the middle section had maintained the same energy so that the second half landed stronger. But for fans of Stephen King and It—or that something-is-seriously-wrong-in-this-small-town vibe—this one is worth a look.
I’ve never read Cullen Bunn before, but his name has been on my radar thanks to my occasional wanderings into the comics world. And since small town horror is like my catnip, I was instantly intrigued when I heard about his new full-length novel Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World. Better yet, the book’s description was giving off strong Stephen King’s It vibes.
Set off the coast of North Carolina, the story opens with a violent double murder that immediately rattles the small, peaceful community of Wilson Island. And it’s not just the loss of lie that’s unsettling, but the shocking manner in which the victims were killed—the brutality and gruesomeness of it raising questions about whether it might have been ritualistic. The situation escalates when, in his haste to get away on foot, the killer has a near miss with a teenager behind the wheel of a truck. The resulting accident leaves the vehicle totaled, the driver shaken but uninjured, and the mysterious perpetrator still at large. The only evidence left behind is a bloody pile of organs, strewn across the road after the escaping killer dropped his bag of grisly trophies.
As word spreads, the whole town is set on edge. Willa, whose boyfriend was the driver of the truck, discovers that she is pregnant, throwing both their post-graduation plans into uncertainty. The incident also has Sheriff Buck and his deputies scrambling to make sense of the killings, working around the clock to identify the murderer. Meanwhile, some residents of Wilson Island feel the official response isn’t fast enough and decide to take matters into their own hands, including a local pest-control crew that ends up getting more than they bargained for. Then there’s the Warlock, a nerdy former D&D dungeon master and island outcast whose knowledge of the obscure might have him playing a bigger part in the investigation than anyone could have expected.
What follows is a story that is surprisingly expansive in scope but still keeps itself tightly focused on the small circle of people caught up in the action. The author jumps between the perspectives as more characters are pulled into the mystery, the shifting POVs and the frequent little interludes in between all ways to show the weirdness creeping in. For me, that’s where the Stephen King influence is felt the most, but in a way that feels more like homage than imitation as the tension builds gradually. There’s that sense of a small town carrying old secrets, and something terrible lurking underneath it all, causing certain residents to experience frightening things that defy any kind of logic, such as reality warping visions and creatures that shouldn’t exist.
The first half of the book was very enjoyable. Bunn does a good job building atmosphere and creating a mystery that really pulled me in. There’s a cinematic, almost storyboard or sequential-like structure to the way he tells a story, likely due to his professional background in graphic novels. And when dealing with such a big cast, maybe that experience comes in handy too when staging what the characters do and where they need to be. When they all started encountering different variations of the island’s horror, that kind of setup could have easily felt repetitive, but things were generally well-paced and for the most part stayed engaging.
That said, momentum started flagging in the second half and the final act also ran a little too long. There are still plenty of interesting ideas and creepy moments, but the pacing isn’t as tight as it is in the beginning. By the time the climax arrived, I wasn’t feeling it as I hoped to be—not because I didn’t care about how the resolution will pan out, but because I felt we were just playing for time. The ending doesn’t quite unravel, but a quicker wrap up would have kept the suspense high and the surprises more impactful.
Despite its issues, I still genuinely enjoyed Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World. The premise is ambitious, and Cullen Bunn does a solid job with building a tense, immersive atmosphere. Of course, with any novel debut there’s some room for improvement, mainly with regards to pacing. However, there’s no denying the imagination on display, especially in the “weird horror” department. I just wish the middle section had maintained the same energy so that the second half landed stronger. But for fans of Stephen King and It—or that something-is-seriously-wrong-in-this-small-town vibe—this one is worth a look.
November 9, 2025
𖤐📚🦴🩸𝕭𝖔𝖔𝖐 𝕽𝖊𝖛𝖎𝖊𝖜🩸🦴📚𖤐
Like Peyton Place, like Derry, there is something dark under the surface of the seemingly idyllic small town of Wilson Island.
Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World by Cullen Bunn is an engrossing thriller and cosmic horror novel that follows the inhabitants of Wilson Island as the community is terrorized by a serial killer - until they realize that’s the least of the horrors that they face.
The novel follows multiple characters through the horrific events, some through their gruesome ends.
There are a few obviously connected folks such as Willa, who has just discovered she’s pregnant, her boyfriend, her best friend, and her mother and father - head of the town’s mafia (sure, why not?) and some of his goons. We also follow the sheriff, Buck, and several of his deputies as well as a group of pest exterminators.
It’s not immediately obvious how some are connected including The Warlock - a former D&D dungeon master turned unlikely hero and The No-Face Man - yes, we get some of the story from the serial killer’s perspective.
Yeah, there are a lot. Having so many perspectives slowed down the action at points, but it also raises the stakes for the reader that we had time to care about these lives that were in danger. It really came together in the later chapters as all the threads were woven together and the action - and the body count - kicked into high gear.
I don’t mind a bit of a slow start if it means I get to know the characters, and it just made me want to read faster - and stay up past my bedtime - to find out what was really going on and how it was going to turn out.
Stray thought: Cosmic horrors are one thing, but I can only suspend my disbelief so much. A D&D group that meets successfully not once, but twice, per week?
Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the advance copy for my honest review.
October 28, 2025
Thanks to this book I will internally cringe anytime I hear or read "meat puppet". It was said WAY too many times in this novel and it just makes me cringe.
Cullen Bunn seems to have some good ideas and has an eye for body horror. The first half of the novel felt solid to me. I like the short chapters and the underlying tension increasing with each chapter and murder that would happen. There are A LOT of characters in this novel, so there were times where it was harder for me to keep in check who they were, especially when we were using their nicknames and then switching back to other names. Once the more horrific elements of the novel occurred that's where it started to fall apart for me. Maybe it's because that's where "meat puppet" was introduced so many times. Additionally I never felt like I got a clear understanding of what the creatures attacking people were. Yes we have descriptions of what they look like but are they aliens or something? I never felt like I got a clear grasp on it. I could have easily overlooked that tidbit, if so that's 100% on me. Overall it was a quick read, but did feel like a slog with the last quarter of the novel. It just felt so redundant in the action that was happening and it was hard at times to propel myself forward.
As I mentioned I do think the author has some good ideas and I would definitely read more from him in the future. Overall I think this novel could have been pared down a little to make the overall story more concise.
Thank you to Gallery Books and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for review consideration.
Cullen Bunn seems to have some good ideas and has an eye for body horror. The first half of the novel felt solid to me. I like the short chapters and the underlying tension increasing with each chapter and murder that would happen. There are A LOT of characters in this novel, so there were times where it was harder for me to keep in check who they were, especially when we were using their nicknames and then switching back to other names. Once the more horrific elements of the novel occurred that's where it started to fall apart for me. Maybe it's because that's where "meat puppet" was introduced so many times. Additionally I never felt like I got a clear understanding of what the creatures attacking people were. Yes we have descriptions of what they look like but are they aliens or something? I never felt like I got a clear grasp on it. I could have easily overlooked that tidbit, if so that's 100% on me. Overall it was a quick read, but did feel like a slog with the last quarter of the novel. It just felt so redundant in the action that was happening and it was hard at times to propel myself forward.
As I mentioned I do think the author has some good ideas and I would definitely read more from him in the future. Overall I think this novel could have been pared down a little to make the overall story more concise.
Thank you to Gallery Books and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for review consideration.
September 25, 2025
I suspect Cullen Bunn has a truly great horror novel in him, but this one isn't it.
He has all the elements for a classic: world-building, strange creatures, twists, grossness, etc. It doesn't quite work for me. The book is too long for its scope. We meet a lot of characters briefly, but we don't get to know many of them (and some of them are set up just to be fodder). The speed of the novel means we don't see character growth among anyone. We meet some people, crazy stuff happens, there's lots of death, it ends.
A slimmer version of this novel would have worked really well. It takes too long to get to the main drama, and within the main drama there are too many brief scenes that, while each one works pretty well, don't really matter.
That said, his imaginative powers are impressive here, and if I wish we'd gotten a slightly fuller backstory, it still works. His shift from slasher to supernatural is also enjoyable, although I think the mystery takes too long. A concise version of this book would have really, well, ripped.
I think most horror fans will dig this one, but I'm more interested in seeing what he does when he sharpens his technique for book-length prose.
[Based on a NetGalley ARC]
He has all the elements for a classic: world-building, strange creatures, twists, grossness, etc. It doesn't quite work for me. The book is too long for its scope. We meet a lot of characters briefly, but we don't get to know many of them (and some of them are set up just to be fodder). The speed of the novel means we don't see character growth among anyone. We meet some people, crazy stuff happens, there's lots of death, it ends.
A slimmer version of this novel would have worked really well. It takes too long to get to the main drama, and within the main drama there are too many brief scenes that, while each one works pretty well, don't really matter.
That said, his imaginative powers are impressive here, and if I wish we'd gotten a slightly fuller backstory, it still works. His shift from slasher to supernatural is also enjoyable, although I think the mystery takes too long. A concise version of this book would have really, well, ripped.
I think most horror fans will dig this one, but I'm more interested in seeing what he does when he sharpens his technique for book-length prose.
[Based on a NetGalley ARC]
November 11, 2025
I’m not a reader of fiction. I was an English Lit major in college, and it burnt me out on it. I have tried to get back into it over the years, and have shelves of novels with various bookmarks sitting in them a third or half way through. If the book does not hold my attention thoroughly, I give up. I’m just not wired to push through, and I give no care about trying.
All of this is to say, when I picked up this debut novel by Cullen Bunn (simply because I knew his work from the comic book series “Harrow County”, which I truly love), I thought this same fate would befall it as well. A bookmark would find it to be its final resting place, and the book would be shelved with its many defeated comrades in my collection. I am thrilled to say, this is not the case. To put it simply, I DEVOURED this book. Over two evenings, I tore through this novel, eager to see what fate brought each of the vast cast of characters. Bunn brought each member of the story, be they minor or major, to life. His tight plot, and brilliant storytelling ability, made each short chapter bristle with true to life characters that brought the horrors of what they were living through to full technicolor life!
I am not going to relay the ins and outs of the plot, there is a synopsis available elsewhere, and I want you to go in blind (as did I) and let it unfold for you. This is all to say, I truly loved this book. I hope Mr. Bunn has many more books like this for us in the future. I will devour each of these as well!
All of this is to say, when I picked up this debut novel by Cullen Bunn (simply because I knew his work from the comic book series “Harrow County”, which I truly love), I thought this same fate would befall it as well. A bookmark would find it to be its final resting place, and the book would be shelved with its many defeated comrades in my collection. I am thrilled to say, this is not the case. To put it simply, I DEVOURED this book. Over two evenings, I tore through this novel, eager to see what fate brought each of the vast cast of characters. Bunn brought each member of the story, be they minor or major, to life. His tight plot, and brilliant storytelling ability, made each short chapter bristle with true to life characters that brought the horrors of what they were living through to full technicolor life!
I am not going to relay the ins and outs of the plot, there is a synopsis available elsewhere, and I want you to go in blind (as did I) and let it unfold for you. This is all to say, I truly loved this book. I hope Mr. Bunn has many more books like this for us in the future. I will devour each of these as well!
December 22, 2025
A Terrifying Epic!
Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World isn’t just horror, it is heart and pain and evil and cosmic. All of which is wrapped in small-town sleaze. Cullen Bunn drags you to Wilson Island, where the vibe is equal parts Gilmore Girls and "oh no, something’s eating people.” The No-Face Man? Pure nightmare fuel. The spiraling perspectives make this a dizzying nightmare at times. You receive so many perspectives, and it is small flashes and slices of life while everyone is converging on the big bad at the center of the town. And just when you think you’re reading a gritty murder mystery, the story rips the floorboards up and flips the whole story on its head. It’s gore-soaked, it’s weirdly beautiful, and it hums with that creeping dread that makes you question every shadow.
The characters aren’t cardboard cutouts; they’re messy, broken, and painfully human. Willa, our tragically beautiful heroine, is simply trying to LIVE. And her struggle is tough to read at times. This book reads like Stephen King nightmare fuel when dealing with what happens to some characters. You’ll root for them even as the blood hits the ceiling. The pacing? Like a runaway train with no brakes, barreling straight into an eldritch apocalypse. If you want horror that feels like a fever dream, equal parts brutal and poetic, this book doesn’t just deliver; it devours. Strap in, because Wilson Island isn’t letting you leave in one piece.
Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World isn’t just horror, it is heart and pain and evil and cosmic. All of which is wrapped in small-town sleaze. Cullen Bunn drags you to Wilson Island, where the vibe is equal parts Gilmore Girls and "oh no, something’s eating people.” The No-Face Man? Pure nightmare fuel. The spiraling perspectives make this a dizzying nightmare at times. You receive so many perspectives, and it is small flashes and slices of life while everyone is converging on the big bad at the center of the town. And just when you think you’re reading a gritty murder mystery, the story rips the floorboards up and flips the whole story on its head. It’s gore-soaked, it’s weirdly beautiful, and it hums with that creeping dread that makes you question every shadow.
The characters aren’t cardboard cutouts; they’re messy, broken, and painfully human. Willa, our tragically beautiful heroine, is simply trying to LIVE. And her struggle is tough to read at times. This book reads like Stephen King nightmare fuel when dealing with what happens to some characters. You’ll root for them even as the blood hits the ceiling. The pacing? Like a runaway train with no brakes, barreling straight into an eldritch apocalypse. If you want horror that feels like a fever dream, equal parts brutal and poetic, this book doesn’t just deliver; it devours. Strap in, because Wilson Island isn’t letting you leave in one piece.
January 25, 2026
So the elevator pitch I'd used to describe this novel, "It starts as Mike Flanagan's Midnight Mass as a Slasher, but at one point it becomes crazy like a Zach Cregger movie." It's that good and like a Cregger movie the less you know about the second half the better.
What I can say though is this novel is so good because Bunn puts the time in and invests his island town with a fascinating cast of characters and heart. You care about these characters and when they die it hurts, but it also makes the novel feel that more epic.
If you're familiar with Bunn's comic work, like me, you won't be surprised at his knack for building horror stories and compelling characters. What might surprise you is, with this being his first full length, adult prose novel, is his knack for the medium. There are some things and situations in this book that are genuinely unsettling and the book is packed with moments that are funny, poignant, and exciting. I loved this book.
January 12, 2026
Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World is a sweeping novel that takes place in one town over one week. It follows several (too many) characters as they navigate the odd murders and unexpected behaviors of other residents. It's a gruesome book—hacked up bodies and a field of dead animals—but it's also got a good sense of humor. (The way Bunn describes Warlock is so good and might remind some readers of someone they know.) It also feels like too ambitious of a project in some ways, or at least a little disjointed. The cast of characters is HUGE, but a lot of them feel unnecessary and like they weigh the book down and make the pacing drag much more than it should. If there were fewer side characters or more pages given to the many, the balance wouldn't feel as off to me.
Still, I enjoyed it for the most part, and I'm eager to read Cullen Bunn's next novel.
Still, I enjoyed it for the most part, and I'm eager to read Cullen Bunn's next novel.
December 21, 2025
This book was acquired as a Giveaway and was my first attempt at a Horror genre novel. Though it’s unlikely I’ll personally try another, “Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World” was indeed an interesting adventure. The authors’s stutter-start/stop narrative style effectively conveys frantic, panic stricken thoughts by the protagonist. These moments occur in contrast to her calm behavior during outrageously scary situations. Descriptions of the various human players and freakish foes, along with the entire storyline, read like a horror movie script submission. All in all, the book was entertaining.
December 1, 2025
This book tells a riveting tale of ritualistic murder that delves into the realm of cosmic horror. It's difficult to discuss too much without giving up major plot points, but if you like Cullen's graphic novels, King, Carpenter, or Lovecraft, you will find terrifying comfort within the pages of this book.
December 15, 2025
Cullen Bunn somewhat fumbles his novel debut. While delivering a solid setting and some easy to visualize scenes, fitting considering his background in comics, as well as a riveting third act, it's hampered by spreading itself too thin with tons of characters that aren't fleshed out well enough, some even introduced seconds before they are killed, beyond a few and a dull second act that feels like it's dragging. (2.5/5)
December 16, 2025
I’ve been a fan of Cullen Bunn’s comic book work for years, and I’m thrilled that his debut adult novel pulls together everything I love about his twisted imagination. Bones reads like one part Lovecraft and one part Bachman, with a dash of D&D and the biggest body count I’ve ever encountered in a book. Had so much fun with this one.
December 10, 2025
I've read several comics by Cullen Bunn (all great), and this is the first of his fiction that I've read. I really enjoyed this book, as the story/pacing was great, and really thought the characters were great too. Can't wait to read more from Cullen Bunn.
December 20, 2025
I kept thinking as I was reading it that it didn’t read like a novel and seeing the author’s comic-writing background at the end it makes sense now. I loved the death scenes but I don’t know if there’s much more than that.
November 24, 2025
3.5 rounded up.
November 25, 2025
Absolutely brilliant…can’t wait for the next novel!
December 11, 2025
4.5 stars, this was fast and graphic and creepy and fun. I read that the author is a comic author as well, so I was imagining this story taking place in graphic novel form, which was excellent.
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