The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood

by Merkin, Spencer Charnas

Sound interesting? The author thinks so too! Listen to The Silver Scream 2 today.

224 pages, Hardcover

Published February 17, 2026

Reviews

[Suzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wait? Wtf.
Did all of this happen? Big fan of metal and although I've heard of Ice Nine, this whole fiasco is not something I've come across before.
Looked it up and nothing comes up about it on the net (in the UK anyway) so I have no idea if any of it is true or just a fan fic or what.
Having said that, I really enjoyed it and I don't much care if it's a true story or not because it entertained me.
Will have to find the first one now, looking forward to it.

[Nanners · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before diving into this audiobook, I listened to the original Silver Scream audiobook as I had read the paperback the first time. I throughly enjoyed that book so I had high hopes going into this one. I am glad to say I was not disappointed.

I throughly enjoyed Roy Merkins narration style. I found his found incredibly pleasant to listen to.

The way the storyline was weaved, like the first book, to weave the tracks from the album and the accompanying music videos into a cohesive narrative impressed me. I did like the first book a tad better than this one, but I still enjoyed it overall.

I loved all the band references throughout. As a pretty big fan of the band I loved it. Though I dont think you would enjoy this novel unless you had a baseline knowledge of Spencer and the rest of Ice Nine Kills

[Rachel Martens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being at Silver Scream Con this September was exciting enough, but when I walked into the convention hall and saw the posters advertising that there were special editions of this killer book available at Ice Nine Kills' merch booth I literally beelined right there and said, "Take my money." I loved "The Silver Scream" so much and "Welcome to Horrorwood" warmed my psychotic heart too. The endless puns, horror references, and dark humor I loved from "The Silver Scream" were woven into every page of "Welcome to Horrorwood" too. And though the first book's revenge arc on a malpracticing psychiatrist tugs my heartstrings in a far more personal way and will always be special to me, I also really enjoyed the courtroom drama and police procedural plot of "Welcome to Horrorwood," which I felt was impressively done. A lot of attention to detail was put into making this book feel authentic, right down to someone having seemingly walked every hallway of a real courthouse just to map out one particular chapter. As a writer I really enioyed this book and as an INK fan I'm rabid with anticipation hoping that the great Roy Merkin will return soon to expose the truth behind the AI impersonating Spencer.

[Heather Luna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review of advance copy from Netgalley:
I love INK but reading the first one felt like everything I already got from the music videos. However, reading Welcome To Horrorwood it truly felt like the book offered more of an insight into the music videos concept. It truly felt like a companion piece and kept me hooked from the beginning. Its possible it can be because I liked Welcome to Horrorwood better than Silver Scream 1 (but by a thin margin).
The story overall was good and I liked the way Roy laid everything out, but I thought he could have put a little more inflection into the words so I could feel the emotion & intensity.
Overall, if you are an INK fan, or just a horror lover, the book is fun and definitely worth a read!

[Ali O · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood
by Roy Merkin
Narrated by Roy Merkin
🌟🌟🌟

This is an entertaining book and a well written one. I will say it wasn’t necessarily a book for me though. I struggled to fully get into it.
The story focuses on a trial involving conspiracies, secrets and lots of drama! There is a lot packed into this book and it felt like a real case.

Thank you to NetGalley for an audio Arc of this entertaining book. The author was also the narrator and did a good job!!

*This book comes out February 17th*

[Jess Theworddegree · Rating 2 out of 5]

NETGALLEY EALC review:

It was fun to look up the band and see the video clips that are described in this book
I also thought that Roy Merkin did a great job at narrating however the overall narrator voice in the book- Roy Merkin 🤣 was INSUFFERABLE.
I understand why certain narration style choices were made but that doesn’t make it anymore enjoyable and while I loved the horror aspects of this book ultimately i probably should have DNF’d it.

[Kylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so much better than the first! Better written,better characters,better connected and there was an overall story! I’m so glad they were selling early copies at sliver scream con! I don’t need to go into my love for INK except I would not be a horror fan today if it wasn’t for the band!

[Britney Ireland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC listen of this book. I really enjoyed it being read by the author himself Roy Merkin!

The storyline was great with references to lots of great movies from the past, while telling a story of its own.

[Twainy · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I’m listening to this audiobook and it keeps mentioning Ice Nine Kills which eventually makes me think, does this author have a thing for this band? That’s how I started this book.

The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood, written by Roy Merkin is a sequel & companion to Ice Nine Kills album from 2021.

I need to stop right here and mention that I like songs from this band & I’m curious to see the videos now. I think this knowledge personally pulled me into the narrative. Immersive.

So there’s a trial going on. Courtroom drama-y. We’re set up to think the frontman of this band is so into his music soaked in horror that he starts replicating murders from movies.

The feeling is sensationalistic journalism. Police procedural. An expose based on the journals of a disgraced psychotherapist. Thru Dr. Black’s writings we sit slack-jawed as conspiracies are explored & the fine line between fiction and reality is taken down with a literary axe. I wonder if I need to see the videos because I’m intrigued. I feel like I’ve gotten a behind the scenes peek at this band.

I feel super fans of this band will get more out of this than I have though I really loved the tone, story & narration. It felt genuine.

So don’t be me. Get the music, books one and two … and enjoy your weekend 😁

Thank you RBMedia & NetGalley. I’d listen to more. 💯

[Lady_deception · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had everything, Im so proud of INK and all they have accomplished there were parts of the book that weren't in the film but...glad that kent got what she deserved really wished I could've seen it

[Scott Gilbert · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like the book. I am a huge fan of the band and was really excited for this one. The story is cool overall, but the describing of the music videos by the author seemed cheap. Overall there are some great qualities in the boom but Im hoping for better next time.

[Jen Dolan · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolute perfection.

anything horrorwood/spencer-coded and i’m DONE. the drama. the camp. the over-the-top horror energy. inject it straight into my veins. 🖤🔪🩸💉

it reads like you’re inside an ice nine kills music video. theatrical, dark, and just self-aware enough to make it fun. if you’re even slightly into the horror vibe, this hits.

anything even remotely connected to Spencer Charnas and i’m a goner every single time.