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Lucky Day
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Horror (2025)8 hours 24 minutes
Poker Face meets Contagion in this next novel by USA Today bestselling author and beloved internet icon Chuck Tingle.
After a global disaster prompts thousands of comically unlikely deaths, a bisexual statistics professor—who has convinced herself she might not exist—and an ethically dubious government agent must travel to Las Vegas to unravel the connection between deadly bouts of absurdity and a supernaturally lucky casino.
Also by Chuck Tingle:
Camp Damascus
Bury Your Gays
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Poker Face meets Contagion in this next novel by USA Today bestselling author and beloved internet icon Chuck Tingle.
After a global disaster prompts thousands of comically unlikely deaths, a bisexual statistics professor—who has convinced herself she might not exist—and an ethically dubious government agent must travel to Las Vegas to unravel the connection between deadly bouts of absurdity and a supernaturally lucky casino.
Also by Chuck Tingle:
Camp Damascus
Bury Your Gays
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
8 pages, Audiobook
First published August 12, 2025
About the author
Chuck Tingle
537 books6,040 followersChuck Tingle is a mysterious force of energy behind sunglasses and a pink mask. He is also an anonymous author of romance, horror, and fantasy. Chuck was born in Home of Truth, Utah, and now splits time between Billings, Montana and Los Angeles, California. Chuck writes to prove love is real, because love is the most important tool we have when resisting the endless cosmic void. Not everything people say about Chuck is true, but the important parts are.
Management and general inquiry: infotingleverse@gmail.com
Literary agent: DongWon at dongwonsong.com
Management and general inquiry: infotingleverse@gmail.com
Literary agent: DongWon at dongwonsong.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,651 reviews
November 28, 2024
i’d follow Chuck Tingle to the ends of the earth
July 18, 2025
Chuck Tingle is one of the best horror writer, and to me one of the best writer, period.
As with his others books, the plot is completely original, mixing great horror and sci-fi. There are some references to X-Files, and it absolutely fits the vibe.
I will no go into details in order to avoid spoilers, but it was a wild ride.
And just as it was the case in Bury Your Gays and Camp Damascus, the protagonist is complex, layered and willing to risk herself to fight an injustice so much bigger than her.
I loved the narration for the audiobook version, it really added to the emotion and iI felt like it was part of the world building.
It was thrilling , horrific and beautiful. I loved it.
Thank you so much Macmillan audio for this ARC!
As with his others books, the plot is completely original, mixing great horror and sci-fi. There are some references to X-Files, and it absolutely fits the vibe.
I will no go into details in order to avoid spoilers, but it was a wild ride.
And just as it was the case in Bury Your Gays and Camp Damascus, the protagonist is complex, layered and willing to risk herself to fight an injustice so much bigger than her.
I loved the narration for the audiobook version, it really added to the emotion and iI felt like it was part of the world building.
It was thrilling , horrific and beautiful. I loved it.
Thank you so much Macmillan audio for this ARC!
March 22, 2025
**3.5-stars**
Lucky Day follows MC, Vera, a lover of statistics and her fiance, Annie. Vera sees the world in an interesting way, via numbers and stats. As an academic, she's found a great niche for herself and a peaceful domestic life.
On a day they are supposed to be celebrating the publication of her book, and she's prepping to come out to her Mom, a world-wide cataclysmic event occurs.
Countless individuals across the globe are killed in truly horrific ways, yet Vera survives. The event comes to be known as the Low Probability Event.
A few years later, though Vera survived, she's certainly not thriving. She's negative, bitter, secluded and hardly-functioning. When a government agent shows up at her home to recruit her to help study the event, she's apathetic about it at best.
However, she does agree and sets out with Agent Layne as they investigate the LPE. Their relationship evolves into a sort of buddy cop movie dynamic as they examine the most chaotic events ever penned.
This was a strange one. It was good. Tingle is a great writer, there's no denying that. For my personal taste though, it wasn't quite a hit. It felt like Tingle wrote it as a way to work through an existential crisis. It was compelling in that way, but never succeeded in holding my interest.
I can appreciate the thought and skill that went into the creation of the story, but it continually lost my attention the longer it went on. Certain concepts would capture my attention, but then those would play out and it would be on to the next thing, and my interest would wane again.
I loved the set-up; meeting Vera and quickly getting to the LPEs that started it all. That was wild. It's one of those, what the hell am I reading moments, which is always fun.
I also could understand Vera's reaction to the events. She was easily the most apathetic MC I've ever read from, but considering the circumstances, it made sense, NGL.
I try to always stay positive, but I'm not sure where my headspace would be had I been through the series of events she's been through. So, that aspect, the trajectory of her character, was quite believable.
I also enjoyed Agent Layne and the dynamic that develops between the two. I think for me, it was just a little too chaotic and uneven as far as keeping my interest. Overall though, it's solid and creative. The audiobook narration was great, and I know a ton of Readers are going to love this one.
Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review.
Even though this isn't a new favorite for me, I truly appreciate Tingle's creative energy and fluid writing style. I will most definitely be returning for more!!
Lucky Day follows MC, Vera, a lover of statistics and her fiance, Annie. Vera sees the world in an interesting way, via numbers and stats. As an academic, she's found a great niche for herself and a peaceful domestic life.
On a day they are supposed to be celebrating the publication of her book, and she's prepping to come out to her Mom, a world-wide cataclysmic event occurs.
Countless individuals across the globe are killed in truly horrific ways, yet Vera survives. The event comes to be known as the Low Probability Event.
A few years later, though Vera survived, she's certainly not thriving. She's negative, bitter, secluded and hardly-functioning. When a government agent shows up at her home to recruit her to help study the event, she's apathetic about it at best.
However, she does agree and sets out with Agent Layne as they investigate the LPE. Their relationship evolves into a sort of buddy cop movie dynamic as they examine the most chaotic events ever penned.
This was a strange one. It was good. Tingle is a great writer, there's no denying that. For my personal taste though, it wasn't quite a hit. It felt like Tingle wrote it as a way to work through an existential crisis. It was compelling in that way, but never succeeded in holding my interest.
I can appreciate the thought and skill that went into the creation of the story, but it continually lost my attention the longer it went on. Certain concepts would capture my attention, but then those would play out and it would be on to the next thing, and my interest would wane again.
I loved the set-up; meeting Vera and quickly getting to the LPEs that started it all. That was wild. It's one of those, what the hell am I reading moments, which is always fun.
I also could understand Vera's reaction to the events. She was easily the most apathetic MC I've ever read from, but considering the circumstances, it made sense, NGL.
I try to always stay positive, but I'm not sure where my headspace would be had I been through the series of events she's been through. So, that aspect, the trajectory of her character, was quite believable.
I also enjoyed Agent Layne and the dynamic that develops between the two. I think for me, it was just a little too chaotic and uneven as far as keeping my interest. Overall though, it's solid and creative. The audiobook narration was great, and I know a ton of Readers are going to love this one.
Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review.
Even though this isn't a new favorite for me, I truly appreciate Tingle's creative energy and fluid writing style. I will most definitely be returning for more!!
November 20, 2025
I don't mean to brag, but I didn't need Chuck Tingle to know that statistics and probability calculations belong in a horror novel. *flashback to my school years and my ever-horrid math grades*
April 12, 2026
Equal parts nihilistic, hopeful, and completely off the walls weird- I LOVED IT SO MUCH!!! Such a wildly entertaining journey.
November 10, 2025
☆☆☆☆
Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle is a wildly inventive and clever story that kept me on my toes from start to finish. Tingle has such a unique way of combining unexpected gore with a storyline that takes twists and turns you don’t see coming. I particularly appreciated the originality of the plot, which stands out in the horror genre for its unpredictability and dark humor.
The gory elements were definitely over the top, but in a way that worked - surprising and shocking in the best possible sense. There’s a rawness to the story that I really enjoyed. However, I will say that I found Vera, one of the central characters, a bit difficult to connect with. She felt somewhat unlikeable, but I can see how her role is essential to the development of the plot. Her character’s actions push the story forward, and in that sense, her presence is vital.
At times, the plot did get a little confusing for me, and I found myself struggling to understand where the characters' actions were coming from. It felt like certain decisions were made without enough explanation or buildup, which made it hard to fully grasp their motivations. That being said, I still enjoyed the overall experience, though the moments of confusion did take me out of the story at times.
Trigger warning: Lucky Day includes a lot of body horror, so if that’s something you’re sensitive to, be prepared for some pretty intense and graphic scenes.
If you’re a fan of American Rapture by C.J. Leede (which I rated 3 stars) or When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy (which I rated 5 stars), I think you’ll really enjoy Lucky Day. It has the same blend of dark, visceral horror with a hint of psychological complexity that makes both of those books stand out. I’m definitely going to check out more of Chuck Tingle’s books after reading this one.
Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle is a wildly inventive and clever story that kept me on my toes from start to finish. Tingle has such a unique way of combining unexpected gore with a storyline that takes twists and turns you don’t see coming. I particularly appreciated the originality of the plot, which stands out in the horror genre for its unpredictability and dark humor.
The gory elements were definitely over the top, but in a way that worked - surprising and shocking in the best possible sense. There’s a rawness to the story that I really enjoyed. However, I will say that I found Vera, one of the central characters, a bit difficult to connect with. She felt somewhat unlikeable, but I can see how her role is essential to the development of the plot. Her character’s actions push the story forward, and in that sense, her presence is vital.
At times, the plot did get a little confusing for me, and I found myself struggling to understand where the characters' actions were coming from. It felt like certain decisions were made without enough explanation or buildup, which made it hard to fully grasp their motivations. That being said, I still enjoyed the overall experience, though the moments of confusion did take me out of the story at times.
Trigger warning: Lucky Day includes a lot of body horror, so if that’s something you’re sensitive to, be prepared for some pretty intense and graphic scenes.
If you’re a fan of American Rapture by C.J. Leede (which I rated 3 stars) or When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy (which I rated 5 stars), I think you’ll really enjoy Lucky Day. It has the same blend of dark, visceral horror with a hint of psychological complexity that makes both of those books stand out. I’m definitely going to check out more of Chuck Tingle’s books after reading this one.
November 28, 2024
[Now]
Welcome to my favorite Chuck Tingle, signed me, a bisexual who might not always want to exist. I fucking loved this, not only because it just ripped through my reading slump, but also because it is exactly what I needed to read right now. It took me like three-quarters of the book to understand what it's about, but I was very along for the ride until then, too.
Ok, so what if reality just becomes unrecognizable and you just had a massive dose of trauma, part of a Low Probability Event that affected the whole world? What if the implications of that and the moving parts and everything that's happening is absolutely humongous and multi-pronged and impossible to process and catch up with?? (doesn't sound like these days at all, does it? :P) Well, there's a chance (:P) that you might just give up trying to find order and also just give up on living... This happens to our great main character Vera, who is a statistics professor and a bisexual - one of those rare got-their-shit-together bisexuals (I kid, I kid).
Four years after an absolutely bizarre and deeply imaginative and somehow also fun carnage-filled series of events (a lot of the carnage in this book is Final Destination-flavored and it was really fun, especially since I recently binged the whole series and I almost feel like Chuck did some homage as well - the pool scene, amirite?!), Vera is deeply depressed and absolutely nihilistic. Her favorite pastime is staring at the ceiling, and she doesn't feel like existing anymore. Somehow, Chuck Tingle made her a very fun character?? She's become the kind of person who says stuff like: 'why would that matter? We're all just meatbags with electricity' etc etc, but it's so over-the-top it's funny and engaging. Meanwhile she doesn't want to engage with anything, ever again.
Enter this federal agent, Layne, who is the opposite of her, he is the type of person who is seizing the day to the extreme. At this point I really love his energy and I'm like: why does Chuck Tingle, whose politics are on point, making me really like this guy? The answer is: I really liked what he did there with the character and CT's politics are still ever on point.
Won't say more about the plot, because this is just an extremely fun, gory, creative ride. I love Chuck Tingle's brain and I love the way he connected the themes together. It's very relevant when you have a bisexual character who investigates a casino and gambling (very either / or type of location and activity, innit?)
I have a lot more to say, but it would be in spoilers and it's fine to leave this here. This was extremely EXISTENTIAL, I adored the character's journey (made me cry at the end), and I would put this in a category with the second Tingler I ever read: The Fear Of The Unknown Gives My Butt Pause But Then I Realize How Powerful And Unique I Am And We Pound Enthusiastically.
Oh, and idk if he has done this before, but CT put some references to Bury Your Gays and also kind of explains the event in the novella Straight. It's all a big Chuck Tingle Book Universe, maybe?
[Then]
a bisexual statistics professor—who has convinced herself she might not exist
Chuuuuuuck Tingle, how do you come up with stuff like this? Can't wait.
Welcome to my favorite Chuck Tingle, signed me, a bisexual who might not always want to exist. I fucking loved this, not only because it just ripped through my reading slump, but also because it is exactly what I needed to read right now. It took me like three-quarters of the book to understand what it's about, but I was very along for the ride until then, too.
Ok, so what if reality just becomes unrecognizable and you just had a massive dose of trauma, part of a Low Probability Event that affected the whole world? What if the implications of that and the moving parts and everything that's happening is absolutely humongous and multi-pronged and impossible to process and catch up with?? (doesn't sound like these days at all, does it? :P) Well, there's a chance (:P) that you might just give up trying to find order and also just give up on living... This happens to our great main character Vera, who is a statistics professor and a bisexual - one of those rare got-their-shit-together bisexuals (I kid, I kid).
Four years after an absolutely bizarre and deeply imaginative and somehow also fun carnage-filled series of events (a lot of the carnage in this book is Final Destination-flavored and it was really fun, especially since I recently binged the whole series and I almost feel like Chuck did some homage as well - the pool scene, amirite?!), Vera is deeply depressed and absolutely nihilistic. Her favorite pastime is staring at the ceiling, and she doesn't feel like existing anymore. Somehow, Chuck Tingle made her a very fun character?? She's become the kind of person who says stuff like: 'why would that matter? We're all just meatbags with electricity' etc etc, but it's so over-the-top it's funny and engaging. Meanwhile she doesn't want to engage with anything, ever again.
Enter this federal agent, Layne, who is the opposite of her, he is the type of person who is seizing the day to the extreme. At this point I really love his energy and I'm like: why does Chuck Tingle, whose politics are on point, making me really like this guy? The answer is: I really liked what he did there with the character and CT's politics are still ever on point.
Won't say more about the plot, because this is just an extremely fun, gory, creative ride. I love Chuck Tingle's brain and I love the way he connected the themes together. It's very relevant when you have a bisexual character who investigates a casino and gambling (very either / or type of location and activity, innit?)
I have a lot more to say, but it would be in spoilers and it's fine to leave this here. This was extremely EXISTENTIAL, I adored the character's journey (made me cry at the end), and I would put this in a category with the second Tingler I ever read: The Fear Of The Unknown Gives My Butt Pause But Then I Realize How Powerful And Unique I Am And We Pound Enthusiastically.
Oh, and idk if he has done this before, but CT put some references to Bury Your Gays and also kind of explains the event in the novella Straight. It's all a big Chuck Tingle Book Universe, maybe?
[Then]
a bisexual statistics professor—who has convinced herself she might not exist
Chuuuuuuck Tingle, how do you come up with stuff like this? Can't wait.
October 11, 2025
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 1/2
I love a good “oh, shit” moment, something that jumps out the shadow’s recesses to shake your tranquility. Something that jumps out from behind a literary wall to jolt your heart’s rhythm into an off beat drum track.
Let’s just say that this book has one of the best moments I’ve experienced. It comes out of nowhere and rocks you. You won’t know where this story is going. Trust me.
This is an otherworldly, fever dream romp that doesn’t relent. It cranks up the absurdity dial as far as it will go and blasts its peculiarity for the world to hear.
Vera is awesome. She’s understandably bleak in her outlook, but hey, so am I…I get her. Her journey is ethereal, but resonant. She makes moves the way I would, so she is wholly believable.
This book examines whether the ends justify the means. It looks at the inconsequentiality of existence as well as its magnitude, and it makes a great case for both. Sometimes we feel small and sometimes we feel so large, we are bursting the seams of reality. It’s thematically interesting and the psychedelic way it interrogates them is captivating.
I loved almost everything about this book. One of my favorites of this year…
I love a good “oh, shit” moment, something that jumps out the shadow’s recesses to shake your tranquility. Something that jumps out from behind a literary wall to jolt your heart’s rhythm into an off beat drum track.
Let’s just say that this book has one of the best moments I’ve experienced. It comes out of nowhere and rocks you. You won’t know where this story is going. Trust me.
This is an otherworldly, fever dream romp that doesn’t relent. It cranks up the absurdity dial as far as it will go and blasts its peculiarity for the world to hear.
Vera is awesome. She’s understandably bleak in her outlook, but hey, so am I…I get her. Her journey is ethereal, but resonant. She makes moves the way I would, so she is wholly believable.
This book examines whether the ends justify the means. It looks at the inconsequentiality of existence as well as its magnitude, and it makes a great case for both. Sometimes we feel small and sometimes we feel so large, we are bursting the seams of reality. It’s thematically interesting and the psychedelic way it interrogates them is captivating.
I loved almost everything about this book. One of my favorites of this year…
August 4, 2025
A HUGE thank you to Netgalley & Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy of this book!
Oh my holy sky man!! 🫢
I'm not quite sure what I just read but all I know is I had one hell of a good time & I want to do it again! *Jumps up & down repeatedly like an obnoxious child.. Honestly starting Netgallery has been the best decision I've made for myself this year! The amount of amazing authors I've exposed myself to in such a short time has been incredible! And has quite frankly changed my life. This is just one example of several.
I had never heard of this author before this. I was originally drawn to the cool cover & then obviously the synopsis.
This book was like a tornado but in the best possible way. It's just one crazy, insane ride but somehow it all flows as one & is cohesive as hell, a true force to be reconned with. You almost get an adrenaline rush similar to that of just getting off a roller coaster while reading this
For ME it was like sort of like a Chuck Palahniuk vibe but minus the emotional damage to my IQ (or clear lack thereof)
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go add everything this author has ever written since birth to my TBR.. so when you start seeing stuff on my Goodreads about butt invasions, you know, mind ya business, respectfully 🫶🏼
Ps, LOVE that there's a character named Denver who's a woman, it's my daughter's name & before people meet her, she almost always gets confused for a boy lol 🫠
Oh my holy sky man!! 🫢
I'm not quite sure what I just read but all I know is I had one hell of a good time & I want to do it again! *Jumps up & down repeatedly like an obnoxious child.. Honestly starting Netgallery has been the best decision I've made for myself this year! The amount of amazing authors I've exposed myself to in such a short time has been incredible! And has quite frankly changed my life. This is just one example of several.
I had never heard of this author before this. I was originally drawn to the cool cover & then obviously the synopsis.
This book was like a tornado but in the best possible way. It's just one crazy, insane ride but somehow it all flows as one & is cohesive as hell, a true force to be reconned with. You almost get an adrenaline rush similar to that of just getting off a roller coaster while reading this
For ME it was like sort of like a Chuck Palahniuk vibe but minus the emotional damage to my IQ (or clear lack thereof)
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go add everything this author has ever written since birth to my TBR.. so when you start seeing stuff on my Goodreads about butt invasions, you know, mind ya business, respectfully 🫶🏼
Ps, LOVE that there's a character named Denver who's a woman, it's my daughter's name & before people meet her, she almost always gets confused for a boy lol 🫠
December 31, 2024
4 stars. Existential, inventive, and containing Chuck Tingle's signature zany style of queer horror, Lucky Day is a surprisingly optimistic take on human existence in the wake of cosmic horror.
November 28, 2024
Another absolutely solid horror novel from Chuck Tingle, who has rapidly become one of my favorite horror authors in the last few years. Lucky Day is his third full horror novel, and much like Camp Damascus and Bury Your Gays, Lucky Day finds Chuck tackling another aspect of queer identity in the midst of absurd horror.
This time, we're tackling bi-erasure tied in with existential dread! What's the point in living life when you think that nothing, including your own identity and the things you used to care about, really matters?
Vera is in a relationship with a woman she loves and is celebrating being published, when the day is ruined by her mother. She's told her relationship is just a phase, she's not really into women, she likes men, bisexuality doesn't exist. And then the world goes absolutely fucking apeshit, like Final Destination run through a clown filter apeshit, and she survives a whole host of horrific accidents. My jaw DROPPED at some of the shit I was reading on page. Diabolical and hilarious all at the same time, the Chuck Tingle way.
Years later Vera is in a deep depression, finding no mean in her own existence. One day, Special Agent Layne walks into her home and drags her up and into the midst of a weird investigation. Apparently there's a casino that is very lucky to its patrons, it may have something to do with that horrific day, and Vera becomes a reluctant investigative consultant. As the story and the investigation moves along we peel back more layers of Vera's psyche as she's exposed to the world and starting to care about things again. It's painful and heartbreaking all at once, and I got pretty attached to Vera as she clawed her way through dealing with her existential dread and trauma.
Unfortunately, I wasn't attached to much else - and this is probably the one main issue I had with the story and the reason I gave it 4 stars. No other characters really jumped out, not even the other main character Special Agent Layne. I struggle with his portrayal here, and I struggle with how to talk about him without going into spoilers. I think that discomfort and suspicion of him was on purpose, but I didn't quite feel like I was feeling it as part of the story, if that makes sense. It's a fine line.
The reveals of everything going on, the huge mystery...they were fine. Tingle knocked it out of the park when it came to the reveal being 100% thematically linked to Vera's struggles and the book as a whole, but it didn't really move me in the moment. I didn't feel totally caught up in anything that wasn't directly tied to Vera's inner emotional turmoil.
That's not to say that this wasn't a good book - I'm giving it 4 stars! I mostly wish I had connected a bit more to everything that wasn't Vera herself. Otherwise, this is a wild absurd horror ride, where we follow a character trying to grapple with caring about life again.
Content warnings for: depression, suicidal ideation, animal deaths, tons of violence and gory absurd deaths
Many thanks to Netgalley and Tor Nightfire for the eARC!
================
1/24/25: THERE'S A COVERRRRRR
11/28/24: Chuck Tingle said "there is horrific moment involving a SPACE RAPTOR BUTT INVASION themed thanksgiving day parade balloon".
I already pre-ordered this but I WOULD PRE-ORDER IT ALL OVER AGAIN FOR THAT ALONE.
🦋 Bluesky 🎥 YouTube 📷 Instagram 🔗 Linktree
This time, we're tackling bi-erasure tied in with existential dread! What's the point in living life when you think that nothing, including your own identity and the things you used to care about, really matters?
Vera is in a relationship with a woman she loves and is celebrating being published, when the day is ruined by her mother. She's told her relationship is just a phase, she's not really into women, she likes men, bisexuality doesn't exist. And then the world goes absolutely fucking apeshit, like Final Destination run through a clown filter apeshit, and she survives a whole host of horrific accidents. My jaw DROPPED at some of the shit I was reading on page. Diabolical and hilarious all at the same time, the Chuck Tingle way.
Years later Vera is in a deep depression, finding no mean in her own existence. One day, Special Agent Layne walks into her home and drags her up and into the midst of a weird investigation. Apparently there's a casino that is very lucky to its patrons, it may have something to do with that horrific day, and Vera becomes a reluctant investigative consultant. As the story and the investigation moves along we peel back more layers of Vera's psyche as she's exposed to the world and starting to care about things again. It's painful and heartbreaking all at once, and I got pretty attached to Vera as she clawed her way through dealing with her existential dread and trauma.
Unfortunately, I wasn't attached to much else - and this is probably the one main issue I had with the story and the reason I gave it 4 stars. No other characters really jumped out, not even the other main character Special Agent Layne. I struggle with his portrayal here, and I struggle with how to talk about him without going into spoilers. I think that discomfort and suspicion of him was on purpose, but I didn't quite feel like I was feeling it as part of the story, if that makes sense. It's a fine line.
The reveals of everything going on, the huge mystery...they were fine. Tingle knocked it out of the park when it came to the reveal being 100% thematically linked to Vera's struggles and the book as a whole, but it didn't really move me in the moment. I didn't feel totally caught up in anything that wasn't directly tied to Vera's inner emotional turmoil.
That's not to say that this wasn't a good book - I'm giving it 4 stars! I mostly wish I had connected a bit more to everything that wasn't Vera herself. Otherwise, this is a wild absurd horror ride, where we follow a character trying to grapple with caring about life again.
Content warnings for: depression, suicidal ideation, animal deaths, tons of violence and gory absurd deaths
Many thanks to Netgalley and Tor Nightfire for the eARC!
================
1/24/25: THERE'S A COVERRRRRR
11/28/24: Chuck Tingle said "there is horrific moment involving a SPACE RAPTOR BUTT INVASION themed thanksgiving day parade balloon".
I already pre-ordered this but I WOULD PRE-ORDER IT ALL OVER AGAIN FOR THAT ALONE.
🦋 Bluesky 🎥 YouTube 📷 Instagram 🔗 Linktree
August 6, 2025
Dark, funny, bizarre...so good.
August 14, 2025
Chuck truly never misses! Lucky Day feels like exactly the story we all need right now - it's about how the world is often both absurd and horrific, and that's traumatic. But also there is hope for good, for better. It follows a bisexual statistician who experiences an extremely low likelihood event that kills millions of people, including her mother. It's about her loss of faith in the order of things, and her journey to still finding meaning. With a lot of absurdly gruesome things along the way! I know people don't expect horror to be hopeful, but this one is and I loved it. It's a quick read, but I get what he's doing with it. The audiobook is excellent! Narrated by Mara Wilson. I received an audio review copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
April 7, 2025
ARC for review. To be published August 12, 2025.
4 stars
On May 23, four years ago the world (but mostly the U.S.) suffered a major disaster, the Low-Probability Event, where nearly eight million people died in improbable and totally bizarre ways. Fish raining down on the streets of Chicago. Escaped chimps eating faces. All the Boeing 777s crashing into each other. That sort of thing.
Vera Norrie was celebrating being named the youngest professor at the University of Chicago (in statistics and probability) and the publication of her book (on a potentially shady casino) when the disaster struck. She lost everything and she cannot come to any sort of terms with it. One day Special Agent Jonah Layne, with the Low-Probability Event Commission, which has an extremely broad mandate and incredible latitude (“the LPEC decides what’s legal.”) comes calling. He’s investigating that statistically lucky casino that Vera wrote about. He believes it’s connected with the LPE and he needs Vera’s help before another event occurs.
So this a a great, great yarn. All the information about statistics and, especially, the idea of historical inertia, “what if fate is quantifiable and concrete?,” was really interesting to me (I’m rather fascinated by statistics. Plus, is it condescending to say that Tingle’s writing has really improved since CAMP DAMASCUS? Loads of fun with some good home truths. Recommended.
4 stars
On May 23, four years ago the world (but mostly the U.S.) suffered a major disaster, the Low-Probability Event, where nearly eight million people died in improbable and totally bizarre ways. Fish raining down on the streets of Chicago. Escaped chimps eating faces. All the Boeing 777s crashing into each other. That sort of thing.
Vera Norrie was celebrating being named the youngest professor at the University of Chicago (in statistics and probability) and the publication of her book (on a potentially shady casino) when the disaster struck. She lost everything and she cannot come to any sort of terms with it. One day Special Agent Jonah Layne, with the Low-Probability Event Commission, which has an extremely broad mandate and incredible latitude (“the LPEC decides what’s legal.”) comes calling. He’s investigating that statistically lucky casino that Vera wrote about. He believes it’s connected with the LPE and he needs Vera’s help before another event occurs.
So this a a great, great yarn. All the information about statistics and, especially, the idea of historical inertia, “what if fate is quantifiable and concrete?,” was really interesting to me (I’m rather fascinated by statistics. Plus, is it condescending to say that Tingle’s writing has really improved since CAMP DAMASCUS? Loads of fun with some good home truths. Recommended.
July 13, 2025
Chuck Tingle makes me question all of my literary preferences; his stories are so absurd and fascinating. Lucky Day is no exception, I think I like all of his books more and more.
Vera is a professor in Chicago, she is engaged to Annie. She tells her mother she is bisexual and introduces her to Annie, her mother spews a bunch of biphobic nonsense; and in the middle of her diatribe, the weirdest shit ever happens. I don’t even want to give anything away, this is where my reading pace slowed down as my inner dialogue went “wait, what?”
Vera runs away from her life, and four years later there is a government entity created to determine how and why 8 million people (including Vera’s mother) all died simultaneously. It definitely has Final Destination vibes, and Vera being a statistics professor we learn different odds of all sorts of things. So the perfect setting is a big casino in Las Vegas.
The book breaks the 4th wall somewhat, and I was hooked from the very beginning. Chuck Tingle is definitely solidified in the Horror genre.
Audiobook review; Mara Wilson was a great narrator. It was well paced and well acted. This book is easy to follow on audio and Wilson turned in a solid performance.
Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the ARC. Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the ALC. Book to be published August 12, 2025.
Vera is a professor in Chicago, she is engaged to Annie. She tells her mother she is bisexual and introduces her to Annie, her mother spews a bunch of biphobic nonsense; and in the middle of her diatribe, the weirdest shit ever happens. I don’t even want to give anything away, this is where my reading pace slowed down as my inner dialogue went “wait, what?”
Vera runs away from her life, and four years later there is a government entity created to determine how and why 8 million people (including Vera’s mother) all died simultaneously. It definitely has Final Destination vibes, and Vera being a statistics professor we learn different odds of all sorts of things. So the perfect setting is a big casino in Las Vegas.
The book breaks the 4th wall somewhat, and I was hooked from the very beginning. Chuck Tingle is definitely solidified in the Horror genre.
Audiobook review; Mara Wilson was a great narrator. It was well paced and well acted. This book is easy to follow on audio and Wilson turned in a solid performance.
Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the ARC. Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the ALC. Book to be published August 12, 2025.
August 18, 2025
An absurdist exploration of grief, depression, and the attraction of nihilism, nothing is impossible in Tingle’s latest novel. I have to start by saying that I didn’t expect this to be a horror story, after seeing the drastic swerve from actual horror in Straight and Camp Damascus to the dark satire that plays with horror imagery in Bury Your Gays. That swerve left me mildly disappointed with BYG, because it was marketed as horror and I didn’t feel like it delivered on that in the same way his previous stories had. So, I ignored the marketing for this novel, and I am glad I did, because this is not a horror novel, not in any traditional sense of the word. There are some horrific scenes and there is an overarching sense of existential dread, but it is floating safely in dark sci-fi thriller waters without fear of being caught in any of horror’s whirlpools. There is nothing wrong with that, but it was useful for me to have appropriate expectations (or a lack of them) when starting.
I think the premise is genius, and that is no surprise, Tingle has shown again and again that he has a wonderful eye for story and how the out there and the absurd can still be home not just to nested metaphors but also genuine heart. The writing is confident and playful, depicting bloody spectacle with a colorful glee while at the same time having space for character interiority. The plotting is actually quite fast-paced, and that made it fun and easy to read. I do think it left a lot of things at not much more than surface level, though, as we were moving through things so quickly there wasn’t a lot of space for reflection. There was a considerable sense of dynamism between the spectacle set pieces, but I wouldn’t have minded a few quieter moments that didn’t always feel like they were leading me by the nose to the next plot point. This goes hand in hand with my feelings regarding the characters’ interior journeys, which felt both rushed and unfulfilling. I liked the characters, especially the main character but also all the ancillary characters, regardless of how much time we spent with them. They made sense, felt lived-in and real, not just phoned in to fill up the background. I loved where the opening conflict found our main character, cut down from the place of her greatest success and potential by the absurdity of reality to a place marked by abject nihilism, fueled by PTSD and depression. How can she find her way out of this? But the journey she goes on doesn’t feel particularly motivated or motivating, she is kind of forced along for the ride until she makes an abrupt 180-degree turn, or that is how it felt. I like the place that she ended up, that felt natural to the world and the overall experience, but the narrative didn’t feel like it quite earned it, or rather like it happened more abruptly than it might have.
There are a few extravagant set pieces which felt ripped right out of a Final Destination film, with each one playing into the absurdity of the situation more and more, but never feeling like it lost the plot. They were deliciously fun and bloody and really effective throughout. There were a few other surprise bits of horror along the way which I also enjoyed (including a cheeky reference to his novella Straight), but this all felt like isolated little pops of color, never really setting a tone or environment but just adding (albeit fun) decoration to the relatively straightforward thriller. Unfortunately, the detective work elements were kind of the weakest parts, and the entire journey of this story is wrapped in an investigation. The mystery didn’t feel like it ever really had legs, or, more, it felt like everything was a forgone conclusion. The investigation felt like pretense and it wasn’t particularly interesting, there were never any meaningful red herrings or even particularly juicy clues. Even the reveal, while I enjoyed the social commentary Tingle was making with the antagonist and means and motives, just felt secondary to the constant need to move forward. If the story is going to be so aggressively absurdist thriller (as opposed to horror) then the actual thriller parts, the detective work and mystery and clues and legwork and reveals of nefarious plans within plans, the double crosses, and so on, those all need to be executed better, be given more heft, instead of just serving as set dressing.
I like the ideas in the novel, and I think it is a really smart and creative way to tackle some heavy themes, namely the alluring face of nihilism and self-destruction. There are other ideas that feel like they were starting to go somewhere, like the biphobia the main character experiences more than once, but these ideas also feel like they are thought about but never really dug into. I honestly think the story could have had an additional 50 pages to actually go deeper into some of its ideas, to allow more reflection, and to maybe actually set up more proper detective/thriller elements beyond the surface approximations we get. Those would have been pages well-spent that I think would have made this book a lot more satisfying to me. I enjoyed it, the story and ideas and writing are all on display. It has a creativity and a commitment to authenticity that I really admire in genre fiction, especially, not afraid to wear its heart on its sleeve. I just wanted a little more depth, more character interaction and development, and more time to really perseverate in the world Tingle created.
I think the premise is genius, and that is no surprise, Tingle has shown again and again that he has a wonderful eye for story and how the out there and the absurd can still be home not just to nested metaphors but also genuine heart. The writing is confident and playful, depicting bloody spectacle with a colorful glee while at the same time having space for character interiority. The plotting is actually quite fast-paced, and that made it fun and easy to read. I do think it left a lot of things at not much more than surface level, though, as we were moving through things so quickly there wasn’t a lot of space for reflection. There was a considerable sense of dynamism between the spectacle set pieces, but I wouldn’t have minded a few quieter moments that didn’t always feel like they were leading me by the nose to the next plot point. This goes hand in hand with my feelings regarding the characters’ interior journeys, which felt both rushed and unfulfilling. I liked the characters, especially the main character but also all the ancillary characters, regardless of how much time we spent with them. They made sense, felt lived-in and real, not just phoned in to fill up the background. I loved where the opening conflict found our main character, cut down from the place of her greatest success and potential by the absurdity of reality to a place marked by abject nihilism, fueled by PTSD and depression. How can she find her way out of this? But the journey she goes on doesn’t feel particularly motivated or motivating, she is kind of forced along for the ride until she makes an abrupt 180-degree turn, or that is how it felt. I like the place that she ended up, that felt natural to the world and the overall experience, but the narrative didn’t feel like it quite earned it, or rather like it happened more abruptly than it might have.
There are a few extravagant set pieces which felt ripped right out of a Final Destination film, with each one playing into the absurdity of the situation more and more, but never feeling like it lost the plot. They were deliciously fun and bloody and really effective throughout. There were a few other surprise bits of horror along the way which I also enjoyed (including a cheeky reference to his novella Straight), but this all felt like isolated little pops of color, never really setting a tone or environment but just adding (albeit fun) decoration to the relatively straightforward thriller. Unfortunately, the detective work elements were kind of the weakest parts, and the entire journey of this story is wrapped in an investigation. The mystery didn’t feel like it ever really had legs, or, more, it felt like everything was a forgone conclusion. The investigation felt like pretense and it wasn’t particularly interesting, there were never any meaningful red herrings or even particularly juicy clues. Even the reveal, while I enjoyed the social commentary Tingle was making with the antagonist and means and motives, just felt secondary to the constant need to move forward. If the story is going to be so aggressively absurdist thriller (as opposed to horror) then the actual thriller parts, the detective work and mystery and clues and legwork and reveals of nefarious plans within plans, the double crosses, and so on, those all need to be executed better, be given more heft, instead of just serving as set dressing.
I like the ideas in the novel, and I think it is a really smart and creative way to tackle some heavy themes, namely the alluring face of nihilism and self-destruction. There are other ideas that feel like they were starting to go somewhere, like the biphobia the main character experiences more than once, but these ideas also feel like they are thought about but never really dug into. I honestly think the story could have had an additional 50 pages to actually go deeper into some of its ideas, to allow more reflection, and to maybe actually set up more proper detective/thriller elements beyond the surface approximations we get. Those would have been pages well-spent that I think would have made this book a lot more satisfying to me. I enjoyed it, the story and ideas and writing are all on display. It has a creativity and a commitment to authenticity that I really admire in genre fiction, especially, not afraid to wear its heart on its sleeve. I just wanted a little more depth, more character interaction and development, and more time to really perseverate in the world Tingle created.
Read
October 12, 2026A somewhat bananas horror novel about nihilism and probability. Grotesque, funny, with some real existential despair in there and a Lovecraftian turn. And why not.
May 17, 2025
Mr. Tingle, I was not familiar with your game. What a wild ride this was.
The blend of absurdism and horror is beautifully done. Tingle’s twisted imagination shines brightest in the breathless sequences of gore and surreal terror. There’s a scene in a wave pool so gruesome it will make me think twice before dipping my toes into the deep end ever again.
Some of the broader, more otherworldly strokes – e.g., – kept me from fully embracing the premise. But the slick pacing ensures that no beat overstays its welcome, propelling the story forward with relentless energy.
Count me as a Tingle fan from here on out. This was a bloody good time.
My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Bluesky
The blend of absurdism and horror is beautifully done. Tingle’s twisted imagination shines brightest in the breathless sequences of gore and surreal terror. There’s a scene in a wave pool so gruesome it will make me think twice before dipping my toes into the deep end ever again.
Some of the broader, more otherworldly strokes – e.g., – kept me from fully embracing the premise. But the slick pacing ensures that no beat overstays its welcome, propelling the story forward with relentless energy.
Count me as a Tingle fan from here on out. This was a bloody good time.
My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Bluesky
December 7, 2025
”This is the endless dichotomy of existence, I suppose, moments of visceral horror and divine beauty happening all at once to create an impossibly unique thing called life.”
i have to admit that I’m not the target audience for this book and a lot of it went completely over my head. i have no issues with absurd horror, the thing i just didn’t like was the whole “analytical probability” side of things. there’s so many random occurrences that happen throughout this book and the main character is someone who sees things in equations and formulas. i also don’t love detective plot lines and this relies heavily on that as well. i get what the story was trying to do, the ending was actually a good overall arc for Vera but i just didn’t connect to the way it was written.. it felt stale.
➬ thanks to NetGalley, the author and Macmillan Audio for the alc, all opinions are my own.
i have to admit that I’m not the target audience for this book and a lot of it went completely over my head. i have no issues with absurd horror, the thing i just didn’t like was the whole “analytical probability” side of things. there’s so many random occurrences that happen throughout this book and the main character is someone who sees things in equations and formulas. i also don’t love detective plot lines and this relies heavily on that as well. i get what the story was trying to do, the ending was actually a good overall arc for Vera but i just didn’t connect to the way it was written.. it felt stale.
➬ thanks to NetGalley, the author and Macmillan Audio for the alc, all opinions are my own.
September 23, 2024
November 2025: Yup, makes a lot more sense now, but still 4.5 stars! Also, annotating and tabbing Chuck Tingle's books is always fun.
August 2025:
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC. It hasn't affected the contents of my review.
I've been having such a hard time writing this review, and that's because I know I need to re-read it in order to actually convey my thoughts. The second half of this book, listening to it felt like a fever dream, and I probably wasn't paying as much attention to it as I should. And unfortunately, I think the second half is when the book is really crucial to understanding the themes Tingle is wanting to explore. I am definitely reading this again and annotating once I have my special edition copy from Aardvark.
At the same time, I know while I was listening to this, I was riveted. Tingle’s imagination is so bizarre and his concepts so absurd; the things he comes up with to populate his horror are not the kinds of other people come up with. The idea of a Low Probability Event being a huge disaster and killing millions of people is wild, and he pulls it off. He also, as always, manages to thoughtfully explore queer themes of belonging and identity. (How the two things connect is the part my brain has managed to miss because I went into a fugue state while listening or whatever. Can’t explain it. Happened with Victorian Psycho earlier this year, also. Still need to re-read that one!)
I would recommend this book and his other books even for people who don't normally like horror. There's something about the way he writes these books that transcends horror, and it just feels like he's doing something else. Whatever it is is great.
[4.5 stars]
August 2025:
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC. It hasn't affected the contents of my review.
I've been having such a hard time writing this review, and that's because I know I need to re-read it in order to actually convey my thoughts. The second half of this book, listening to it felt like a fever dream, and I probably wasn't paying as much attention to it as I should. And unfortunately, I think the second half is when the book is really crucial to understanding the themes Tingle is wanting to explore. I am definitely reading this again and annotating once I have my special edition copy from Aardvark.
At the same time, I know while I was listening to this, I was riveted. Tingle’s imagination is so bizarre and his concepts so absurd; the things he comes up with to populate his horror are not the kinds of other people come up with. The idea of a Low Probability Event being a huge disaster and killing millions of people is wild, and he pulls it off. He also, as always, manages to thoughtfully explore queer themes of belonging and identity. (How the two things connect is the part my brain has managed to miss because I went into a fugue state while listening or whatever. Can’t explain it. Happened with Victorian Psycho earlier this year, also. Still need to re-read that one!)
I would recommend this book and his other books even for people who don't normally like horror. There's something about the way he writes these books that transcends horror, and it just feels like he's doing something else. Whatever it is is great.
[4.5 stars]
September 16, 2025
ugh i loved this!! it was soooo good. i enjoyed the characters, the plot, the crazy happenings that are so outrageous and unexpected. just all around a fantastic book!! the gore was perfectly incorporated, and i was so sad about the betrayal but i was also so expecting it!! highly recommend this one
May 8, 2025
kind of like final destination, but instead of death, it's bad luck killing everyone
December 30, 2025
I loved how chaotic it was, especially in the first half, and the whole Final Destination-ness of it all, but once the cosmic/Sci fi stuff entered the chat, I was falling asleep. The very last line was cool, along with some gorey scenes, but im a character gal, and all the characters meant nothing to me. I appreciated the commentary about bi erasure though. My favorite Tingle is still Camp Damascus.
dreaded-dnf
July 24, 2025DNF at about 40 percent. I am not connecting with this book or with the main character at all.
DNF with no rating/no review.
DNF with no rating/no review.
August 28, 2025
This is tough… the read itself is good. It’s interesting, engaging enough (although I didn’t connect quite as well with our leading lady as I did with our main man in Bury Your Gays—which is Chuck Tingle’s best). Likely most looking for a thrilling, bizarre ride will be intrigued. There is all manner of insanity here and Blake Crouch fans will be interested if nothing else. It lacks the hard science of Crouch novels but for many that is likely a good thing. None of that is the problem I have with Lucky Day. The commentary on our existence, statistical probabilities, and philosophical musings is all more than adequate.
My issues are more personal. And so I can’t give this 5 stars like I might want to. But my reasoning may not make sense to most. The leading lady in Lucky Day is bisexual. I’m also a female bisexual. When we first meet her, the reaction from her Mother is typical. The usual ‘it’s a phase’, ‘bisexual doesn’t exist’, etc. And so I was hopeful that we would be on a journey to really look at what it means to ‘not exist’ but also not belong to any sexual identity. You’re not straight, you’re not gay, you’re not trans. You’re something in-between all of them; subject to emotional feelings most people ignore in themselves just so they can say they are heterosexual or homosexual (cause it’s easier than being bisexual and trying to explain how everyone has the chance to be attractive to you). While Tingle adequately handles the idea of non-existence he never touches on the feelings or emotions behind never belonging.
Let me explain further if I may…
I can go to a cocktail event with my husband, mostly hetero couples, and I pass. I can go to a Pride parade, dish about gorgeous girls and pass. But do I ever belong to either group?
It’s a conundrum that, even at 42 yrs old, with an insanely supportive partner, I have yet to answer. Reality is that most bisexuals end up with a straight partner because that’s just what is easier as our society caters to it. And so many turn their backs on their queer feelings and roll with that identity.
A couple years ago I decided to really embrace my queerness and be more bold that while my partner is a man I’m truly bi. In doing this, I got told, by a lesbian BFF, that I ‘don’t make sense’ and really should ‘pick a side’ because I ‘can’t have the best of both worlds’. It crushes me when I recall those words. Not unlike the continuing journey of emotions our leading lady goes through in this book.
Yet Tingle has missed the sense of ‘missing’ in the middle piece of it all; or it didn’t quite get there and resonate with me. Now this is just my journey with this book. And I think everyone will have a very different one. I just got my hopes up to have some truly honest bisexual representation (for the first time ever) and so maybe got too excited and my expectations were too high.
Lucky Day is one of those books that everyone will get something different from. Its gore factor is quite low for a horror novel. It’s less scary than Tingle’s other books and really stands better with Dark Matter by aforementioned Crouch. I think most will enjoy the insanity of this story; I wish it would rain rainbow confetti, sounds so pretty!!
I’d definitely recommend reading Lucky Day; but I’ll caveat that and say Bury Your Gays has a more gut punch queer feel to it and a lot more action. That said Tingle has cemented himself as a ‘must read’ author for me this year (when not writing ridiculous smut books); and I’ll look forward to his next one confident that not all the queer characters will be dead in the end! :)
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
My issues are more personal. And so I can’t give this 5 stars like I might want to. But my reasoning may not make sense to most. The leading lady in Lucky Day is bisexual. I’m also a female bisexual. When we first meet her, the reaction from her Mother is typical. The usual ‘it’s a phase’, ‘bisexual doesn’t exist’, etc. And so I was hopeful that we would be on a journey to really look at what it means to ‘not exist’ but also not belong to any sexual identity. You’re not straight, you’re not gay, you’re not trans. You’re something in-between all of them; subject to emotional feelings most people ignore in themselves just so they can say they are heterosexual or homosexual (cause it’s easier than being bisexual and trying to explain how everyone has the chance to be attractive to you). While Tingle adequately handles the idea of non-existence he never touches on the feelings or emotions behind never belonging.
Let me explain further if I may…
I can go to a cocktail event with my husband, mostly hetero couples, and I pass. I can go to a Pride parade, dish about gorgeous girls and pass. But do I ever belong to either group?
It’s a conundrum that, even at 42 yrs old, with an insanely supportive partner, I have yet to answer. Reality is that most bisexuals end up with a straight partner because that’s just what is easier as our society caters to it. And so many turn their backs on their queer feelings and roll with that identity.
A couple years ago I decided to really embrace my queerness and be more bold that while my partner is a man I’m truly bi. In doing this, I got told, by a lesbian BFF, that I ‘don’t make sense’ and really should ‘pick a side’ because I ‘can’t have the best of both worlds’. It crushes me when I recall those words. Not unlike the continuing journey of emotions our leading lady goes through in this book.
Yet Tingle has missed the sense of ‘missing’ in the middle piece of it all; or it didn’t quite get there and resonate with me. Now this is just my journey with this book. And I think everyone will have a very different one. I just got my hopes up to have some truly honest bisexual representation (for the first time ever) and so maybe got too excited and my expectations were too high.
Lucky Day is one of those books that everyone will get something different from. Its gore factor is quite low for a horror novel. It’s less scary than Tingle’s other books and really stands better with Dark Matter by aforementioned Crouch. I think most will enjoy the insanity of this story; I wish it would rain rainbow confetti, sounds so pretty!!
I’d definitely recommend reading Lucky Day; but I’ll caveat that and say Bury Your Gays has a more gut punch queer feel to it and a lot more action. That said Tingle has cemented himself as a ‘must read’ author for me this year (when not writing ridiculous smut books); and I’ll look forward to his next one confident that not all the queer characters will be dead in the end! :)
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
July 14, 2025
Hey Chuck, super quick question for you: what the actual fuck? (Complimentary)
This book is a glorious combination of Final Destination, Nope, and Everything, Everywhere, All At Once and I love it. Chuck Tingle just gets better and better with each book I read from him. I admit I was a Chuck Tingle novice when I read Camp Damascus so I didn’t get the vision. I started to get it with Bury Your Gays and now with Lucky Day I’m a full on buckaroo.
I also will admit I went into this not really knowing what the plot would bring and now having read the book I have to say that I don’t really know what I read, but I know it was beautiful. What I mean is, to me, the actual plot takes a backseat to Vera’s emotional journey. I will warn readers now, while I love the ending of this book (may in fact still be crying because it was so touching), I will tell you Vera is in a really rough emotional place for a lot of the book and struggles with SI much of the time. It might be hard to read if you’re in a similar headspace. It’s a lot of nothing matters before Vera realizes nothing matters. If you’ve watched EEAAO, this sentence makes sense to you. If you’ve haven’t, idk, sorry you hate good cinema, I guess.
I also really struggled with the dead cat scene. Yes, a cat dies and yes you better believe I’m going to talk about my dead cat again. But this is about my reading experience, not yours, so hush. I was full on going to rate this 4 stars because I don’t really enjoy animal deaths and I am especially sensitive to animal deaths now that my own beautiful boy has passed away, call me sensitive. But I have to give it to Chuck, he really transformed the whole scene and I appreciate it. I won’t give the ending away because like I said, it’s just so achingly beautiful and I will say that it all made sense and came together at the end. At least with the cat, there was some other stuff that I don’t think stuck the landing as well but I also don’t think that it was supposed to so I’ll give it a pass. Again, it’s not really about the plot itself, it’s very much about Vera. In my opinion anyway.
I also must shoutout the narrator for the audiobook, who I believe is THE Mara Wilson. A good narrator really makes or breaks an audiobook and Mara really nailed it.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a free audiobook in exchange for an honest review. 07/14/2025
Nobody can convince me Lucky Day & Straight aren't sister books because that wink to Straight at the end? I see you Chuck! I also loved the reference to Bury Your Gays with Dark Encounter being referenced as well. I think I caught that on my first read but I can't remember anymore. And don't worry y'all, I continued the yearly tradition with crying in the backyard for the ending
This book is a glorious combination of Final Destination, Nope, and Everything, Everywhere, All At Once and I love it. Chuck Tingle just gets better and better with each book I read from him. I admit I was a Chuck Tingle novice when I read Camp Damascus so I didn’t get the vision. I started to get it with Bury Your Gays and now with Lucky Day I’m a full on buckaroo.
I also will admit I went into this not really knowing what the plot would bring and now having read the book I have to say that I don’t really know what I read, but I know it was beautiful. What I mean is, to me, the actual plot takes a backseat to Vera’s emotional journey. I will warn readers now, while I love the ending of this book (may in fact still be crying because it was so touching), I will tell you Vera is in a really rough emotional place for a lot of the book and struggles with SI much of the time. It might be hard to read if you’re in a similar headspace. It’s a lot of nothing matters before Vera realizes nothing matters. If you’ve watched EEAAO, this sentence makes sense to you. If you’ve haven’t, idk, sorry you hate good cinema, I guess.
I also really struggled with the dead cat scene. Yes, a cat dies and yes you better believe I’m going to talk about my dead cat again. But this is about my reading experience, not yours, so hush. I was full on going to rate this 4 stars because I don’t really enjoy animal deaths and I am especially sensitive to animal deaths now that my own beautiful boy has passed away, call me sensitive. But I have to give it to Chuck, he really transformed the whole scene and I appreciate it. I won’t give the ending away because like I said, it’s just so achingly beautiful and I will say that it all made sense and came together at the end. At least with the cat, there was some other stuff that I don’t think stuck the landing as well but I also don’t think that it was supposed to so I’ll give it a pass. Again, it’s not really about the plot itself, it’s very much about Vera. In my opinion anyway.
I also must shoutout the narrator for the audiobook, who I believe is THE Mara Wilson. A good narrator really makes or breaks an audiobook and Mara really nailed it.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a free audiobook in exchange for an honest review. 07/14/2025
Nobody can convince me Lucky Day & Straight aren't sister books because that wink to Straight at the end? I see you Chuck! I also loved the reference to Bury Your Gays with Dark Encounter being referenced as well. I think I caught that on my first read but I can't remember anymore. And don't worry y'all, I continued the yearly tradition with crying in the backyard for the ending
August 20, 2025
I’m a Chuck Tingle fan, but this one just didn’t do it for me. I usually love his mix of humor, sincerity, and chaotic horror, but here it felt kind of muddled. I never really understood the “why” of anything that was happening. It’s like "Final Destination" meets "The X-Files", except fate isn’t driving the unhinged kills and Mulder tells Scully that her brand of queer is a farce.
Which brings us to the biphobia. It comes up (twice!), but nothing is really done with it, which left me unsettled. It’s used as a tool to invalidate the protagonist and enforce her nihilistic nature. She has a straight person telling her she’s an attention seeker and a queer person telling her she has one foot in the closet. What she is isn’t real. She isn’t real. She doesn’t matter. Nothing matters. Got it?
I’ve actually been stewing in my anger for the last hour and a half thinking about this book and getting more agitated. Cool concept. The cover is fire. But… *sigh*
Which brings us to the biphobia. It comes up (twice!), but nothing is really done with it, which left me unsettled. It’s used as a tool to invalidate the protagonist and enforce her nihilistic nature. She has a straight person telling her she’s an attention seeker and a queer person telling her she has one foot in the closet. What she is isn’t real. She isn’t real. She doesn’t matter. Nothing matters. Got it?
I’ve actually been stewing in my anger for the last hour and a half thinking about this book and getting more agitated. Cool concept. The cover is fire. But… *sigh*
July 27, 2026
a lot of "weird girl fiction" is about woman vs the void on a figurative level, and this book takes it further, with a woman literally confronting a metaphysical void. i love the way the narrative pairs bi erasure with existential dread.
the violence and gore are intense even by tingle standards - this fantastically frenetic chaos can only occur during a low-probability event. it's absurdly horrific looney toons style shit, bloody as can be.
collective cosmic traumas, chance, fate, historical inertia, nihilism, and reckoning with the great meaninglessness of it all. throughout this darkly fun novel, i was just barely wrapping my head around the existential happenings here.
from a place of depression & passive suicidality, it's a healing read. existence is brutal, but meaning can be found in the darkness.
this bit feels very much like our unsteady reality post-2020:
the violence and gore are intense even by tingle standards - this fantastically frenetic chaos can only occur during a low-probability event. it's absurdly horrific looney toons style shit, bloody as can be.
collective cosmic traumas, chance, fate, historical inertia, nihilism, and reckoning with the great meaninglessness of it all. throughout this darkly fun novel, i was just barely wrapping my head around the existential happenings here.
from a place of depression & passive suicidality, it's a healing read. existence is brutal, but meaning can be found in the darkness.
this bit feels very much like our unsteady reality post-2020:
Every since the Low-Probability Event, I can't help noticing this world we've built for ourselves has rotted away and left a shell in its place. We're all going through the motions, still pantomiming out our little play by making small talk on a plane or getting to know a new coworker, but deep down nobody gives a damn. They never did.
April 14, 2025
Star review in the June 2025 issue of Booklist and on the blog here: https://raforall.blogspot.com/2025/06... (link live on 6/4 at 7am central)
Also Interview with the author in the July 2025 issue of Library Journal-- coming soon
Three Words That Describe This Book: existentially terrifying, absurdly fun, bleak undertones despite love winning
Other words: witty, off beat, satire, tongue in cheek, thought provoking– there are some serious undertones and issues here– amidst the fun.
Even though nothing may matter, readers know not to fear because despite this bleak realization, love always wins when Tingle is in charge.
For fans of absurd, satirical, tongue firmly planted in cheek speculative works as wide ranging as Everett’s Dr. No, Fforde’s Lost in a Good Book, and the Horror novels of Jason Pargin.
This is a bleak and visceral story, but readers will not mind it as much as other tales with that tone and level of squishy, gorey descriptions because Tingle’s promise to readers is that love will win. A “happyish” ending will always come to fruition
Look, I am keeping it out of the official review because I think it cheapens the story but you can totally book talk this one as – What happens in Vegas most certainly does not stay in Vegas. Which is part of the brilliance here because DUH, and it never did, but also, Tingle takes that tagline to existentially terrifying places.
The Haunting of Velkwood by Kiste and Blake Crouch fans (Dark Matter the most pertinent) will also like this book. But those have none of the satire/humor like the three above. Worth listing on the side.
Vera and Agent Layne have great Mulder and Scully vibes, but this is a Horror novel– not a SF cop show.
What happens in Vegas does not stay in Vegas apparently.
Vera is a great narrator. She explains how statistics work in a way that makes even the number challenged understand. The entire book is centered around the math of statistics and Tingle does a great job not losing that important thread. Even as absurd things are happening, even as there is a very Blake Crouch esque scientific explanation, even as "nothing" becomes something, even as people die in bonkers ways (must have been fun to write), Vera keeps the story grounded-- in the science and in her humanity.
A great description of what it would feel like to live through an apocalyptic event-- 8 million people died-- and just be unable to deal-- to keep existing but in a suspended state of not handling it. And then how she slowly is brought out of it.
It is important to note that Tingle does not tell the reader-- don't worry, things matter. Rather the acknowledgement that nothing matters and yet Vera still wants to live and thrive and love-- that is a very important distinction here.
This is Tingle's third Horror novel with Nightfire. Libraries should have ALL OF THEM. Because he promises and delivers on an ending where "Love is Real," you can give these confidently to a wide range of readers-- especially those who want to give today's horror a try. This is not a cozy horror story. It is bleak, and upsetting, and visceral throughout- but especially with this new one-- the absurdity provides enough of a buffer to give readers distance while they are reading while still allowing them to think about the important dark themes after-- just with some space-- and you can assure them that love will win in the end.
Also Interview with the author in the July 2025 issue of Library Journal-- coming soon
Three Words That Describe This Book: existentially terrifying, absurdly fun, bleak undertones despite love winning
Other words: witty, off beat, satire, tongue in cheek, thought provoking– there are some serious undertones and issues here– amidst the fun.
Even though nothing may matter, readers know not to fear because despite this bleak realization, love always wins when Tingle is in charge.
For fans of absurd, satirical, tongue firmly planted in cheek speculative works as wide ranging as Everett’s Dr. No, Fforde’s Lost in a Good Book, and the Horror novels of Jason Pargin.
This is a bleak and visceral story, but readers will not mind it as much as other tales with that tone and level of squishy, gorey descriptions because Tingle’s promise to readers is that love will win. A “happyish” ending will always come to fruition
Look, I am keeping it out of the official review because I think it cheapens the story but you can totally book talk this one as – What happens in Vegas most certainly does not stay in Vegas. Which is part of the brilliance here because DUH, and it never did, but also, Tingle takes that tagline to existentially terrifying places.
The Haunting of Velkwood by Kiste and Blake Crouch fans (Dark Matter the most pertinent) will also like this book. But those have none of the satire/humor like the three above. Worth listing on the side.
Vera and Agent Layne have great Mulder and Scully vibes, but this is a Horror novel– not a SF cop show.
What happens in Vegas does not stay in Vegas apparently.
Vera is a great narrator. She explains how statistics work in a way that makes even the number challenged understand. The entire book is centered around the math of statistics and Tingle does a great job not losing that important thread. Even as absurd things are happening, even as there is a very Blake Crouch esque scientific explanation, even as "nothing" becomes something, even as people die in bonkers ways (must have been fun to write), Vera keeps the story grounded-- in the science and in her humanity.
A great description of what it would feel like to live through an apocalyptic event-- 8 million people died-- and just be unable to deal-- to keep existing but in a suspended state of not handling it. And then how she slowly is brought out of it.
It is important to note that Tingle does not tell the reader-- don't worry, things matter. Rather the acknowledgement that nothing matters and yet Vera still wants to live and thrive and love-- that is a very important distinction here.
This is Tingle's third Horror novel with Nightfire. Libraries should have ALL OF THEM. Because he promises and delivers on an ending where "Love is Real," you can give these confidently to a wide range of readers-- especially those who want to give today's horror a try. This is not a cozy horror story. It is bleak, and upsetting, and visceral throughout- but especially with this new one-- the absurdity provides enough of a buffer to give readers distance while they are reading while still allowing them to think about the important dark themes after-- just with some space-- and you can assure them that love will win in the end.
June 11, 2025
Thanks to Netgalley and Tor Nightfire for the pre-release copy of Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle. Below you'll find my honest review.
In usual Chuck Tingle fashion, this novel was WEIRD AF. But really, it was weird in the best way possible. We open with our statistician MC Vera enduring the most mind-boggling, brain-exploding, kookiest crappy day imaginable as an extremely low-probability event occurs surrounding her. I'm talking monkeys in costumes bashing people's brains in with typewriters and fish falling out of the sky kinda wacky.
Fast forward a few years, and Vera has become a hermit, finding no value or purpose in life and thinking nothing matters, barely just existing... until Agent Layne breaks in and says they need her help. He works with government agency with zero oversight, managing the results and continuing weirdnesses (yeah, I made up a word) of LPEs, and he has a lead on the MAIN CAUSE OF ALL OF THEM.
Needless to say, in true Chuck Tingle manner, hijinks and chaos ensues. And this one even throws some serious cliched tropes on their heads (I can't clarify further, sadly, as that would spoil things, but hopefully when you're done, you know which ones I mean.)
Absolute gem of a story, which isn't surprising because Tingle's mainstream published works the last few years have been top notch. Sure, his self-published pseudo-smut is fun too, but he really shines in this world of horror and thriller that he's stepped into, and I'm so glad he's branched out.
Highly recommended (but be warned, horror-fans, this one is more thriller than horror, though it does have some horrific things!).
In usual Chuck Tingle fashion, this novel was WEIRD AF. But really, it was weird in the best way possible. We open with our statistician MC Vera enduring the most mind-boggling, brain-exploding, kookiest crappy day imaginable as an extremely low-probability event occurs surrounding her. I'm talking monkeys in costumes bashing people's brains in with typewriters and fish falling out of the sky kinda wacky.
Fast forward a few years, and Vera has become a hermit, finding no value or purpose in life and thinking nothing matters, barely just existing... until Agent Layne breaks in and says they need her help. He works with government agency with zero oversight, managing the results and continuing weirdnesses (yeah, I made up a word) of LPEs, and he has a lead on the MAIN CAUSE OF ALL OF THEM.
Needless to say, in true Chuck Tingle manner, hijinks and chaos ensues. And this one even throws some serious cliched tropes on their heads (I can't clarify further, sadly, as that would spoil things, but hopefully when you're done, you know which ones I mean.)
Absolute gem of a story, which isn't surprising because Tingle's mainstream published works the last few years have been top notch. Sure, his self-published pseudo-smut is fun too, but he really shines in this world of horror and thriller that he's stepped into, and I'm so glad he's branched out.
Highly recommended (but be warned, horror-fans, this one is more thriller than horror, though it does have some horrific things!).
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