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Filaments
Win a free print copy of this book!
20 days and 12:31:19
30 copies available
U.S. only
When Thea returns to her quiet Minnesota hometown, she expects to confront her mother’s erratic behavior. Instead, she finds herself tangled in a chilling two men have vanished without a trace, and whispers of prejudice and paranoia ripple through the community.
As Thea digs deeper, secrets buried in the bog begin to surface. Family lies, hidden forces, and small-town grudges collide in a suspenseful story where survival means uncovering the truth before it consumes her.
Fans of Gillian Flynn, Tana French, and dark rural thrillers will be gripped by Filaments — a haunting tale of disappearances, betrayal, and the dangerous threads that bind us together.
As Thea digs deeper, secrets buried in the bog begin to surface. Family lies, hidden forces, and small-town grudges collide in a suspenseful story where survival means uncovering the truth before it consumes her.
Fans of Gillian Flynn, Tana French, and dark rural thrillers will be gripped by Filaments — a haunting tale of disappearances, betrayal, and the dangerous threads that bind us together.
215 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 23, 2025
32 people are currently reading
5415 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 7, 2025
The book Filaments by KZK begins by introducing Dr. Thea Papa, who is a professor and quantum physicist. She is weary when she gets a call from her aunt letting her know that her mom "isn't right"- and so she returns to her small town of Sellers, a rural, bog-surrounded town in Minnesota.
Thea attempts to uncover two mysterious deaths in her hometown, and in doing so, explores themes of shared struggle and inheritance as they pertain to illness and identity. She learns that her mother's use of the mushroom spores to treat an illness may be associated with something darker and heavier than once surmised, something that is inherent to the wetlands. In this way, science and superstition are weaved together.
The story can be classified as neo-noir or literary gothic. It unravels cinematically with the author's intense descriptions and inner world of absolute dread. This is a satiating, macabre read that I give 5/5 stars and highly recommend.
Thea attempts to uncover two mysterious deaths in her hometown, and in doing so, explores themes of shared struggle and inheritance as they pertain to illness and identity. She learns that her mother's use of the mushroom spores to treat an illness may be associated with something darker and heavier than once surmised, something that is inherent to the wetlands. In this way, science and superstition are weaved together.
The story can be classified as neo-noir or literary gothic. It unravels cinematically with the author's intense descriptions and inner world of absolute dread. This is a satiating, macabre read that I give 5/5 stars and highly recommend.
December 26, 2025
I was very excited to crack open my copy of Filaments, and while reading the first chapter, I remembered a story about Terence McKenna running into Rod Steiger at a restaurant immediately after uttering his name: “The mushroom can reach out and touch you anywhere,” one of his dining partners reminds him. This book sure reached out and touched me, and mushrooms have been a topic of interest for me for quite some time now, especially when I started learning about the healing and restorative qualities of both regular and psychedelic species of mushrooms. Thus, I found it quite creative when the author decided to use the mushroom not only as a drug, but as a character.
The story focuses on Thea, a whip-smart scientist, who leaves her small Minnesota town to work on biological and forensic research. What spices things up a bit is the fact that she also uses mushroom spores to fight an autoimmune disease inherited from her mother, Helen. This is problematic in many ways because, as you will see, these mushrooms do a lot more than keep away the common cold.
In the meantime, two of her friends, Lina and Darren, get sucked into the mushroom enigma and end up being killed by the fungus. They suffer a hideous demise:
Flickers of terror illuminated across Lina’s face. Thea watched as the mycelium crawled into Lina’s throat, her body thrashing as she choked. And then like a caught sunfish she flopped on the concrete, squirming against her bonds. The dark mass twisted into tendrils and dragged its prey to the lawn where the soil folded upward over the grass like an open book. Her attempts at escape became feebler as the layers of threads covered her whole. Once her feeble attempts at escape dissipated, the tendrils pulled her mummified body into the Earth.
That’s some nice descriptive narration, and as a fan of Japanese body-horror manga, I truly appreciate the way the author establishes the grotesque atmosphere in these scenes. You see, the filaments from the mushroom spread through the body, controlling their host, much in the same way a cordyceps mushroom controls the brains of jungle insects.
Thea returns to her hometown, Sellers, after she learns of the death of Reverend Davis and Mitch McKoy. One of them, Davis, has a past with Thea’s mom, and both of them disappearing at the same time as her mother has made Thea suspicious.
As I mentioned, we come to learn that the mushrooms do much more than boost one’s immune system. They also control the way their users think, feel, and perceive reality. When three mysterious women show up, they use their magic mushroom powers to drag victims into their organic chaos, as they did with Reginald, Thea’s love interest: The purple threads created a latticework up his calves, dragging Reginald into the brush.
It’s pretty horrific stuff, and in the end, Thea will have to make a decision concerning her relationship with the mushroom, for even though the fungus is responsible for much of the misery around her, she cannot simply break free from the filaments. They have become a part of her, and Thea has to face that reality and, at the same time, confront the threat posed by the mushroom maidens.
Filaments by KZK proved to be a very compelling read, especially for someone like me, who has already established a deep relationship with the fungus for reasons involving both bodily health and personal growth. The author has found a very novel and unique way of combining contemporary research on mycology with a gripping, novel, and immensely readable plot. The mushroom is, in many ways, the perfect vehicle for a narrative that asks questions about the nature of reality, consciousness, and the means by which we relate to the other: a sophisticated and highly recommended take on the classic sci-fi horror yarn.
The story focuses on Thea, a whip-smart scientist, who leaves her small Minnesota town to work on biological and forensic research. What spices things up a bit is the fact that she also uses mushroom spores to fight an autoimmune disease inherited from her mother, Helen. This is problematic in many ways because, as you will see, these mushrooms do a lot more than keep away the common cold.
In the meantime, two of her friends, Lina and Darren, get sucked into the mushroom enigma and end up being killed by the fungus. They suffer a hideous demise:
Flickers of terror illuminated across Lina’s face. Thea watched as the mycelium crawled into Lina’s throat, her body thrashing as she choked. And then like a caught sunfish she flopped on the concrete, squirming against her bonds. The dark mass twisted into tendrils and dragged its prey to the lawn where the soil folded upward over the grass like an open book. Her attempts at escape became feebler as the layers of threads covered her whole. Once her feeble attempts at escape dissipated, the tendrils pulled her mummified body into the Earth.
That’s some nice descriptive narration, and as a fan of Japanese body-horror manga, I truly appreciate the way the author establishes the grotesque atmosphere in these scenes. You see, the filaments from the mushroom spread through the body, controlling their host, much in the same way a cordyceps mushroom controls the brains of jungle insects.
Thea returns to her hometown, Sellers, after she learns of the death of Reverend Davis and Mitch McKoy. One of them, Davis, has a past with Thea’s mom, and both of them disappearing at the same time as her mother has made Thea suspicious.
As I mentioned, we come to learn that the mushrooms do much more than boost one’s immune system. They also control the way their users think, feel, and perceive reality. When three mysterious women show up, they use their magic mushroom powers to drag victims into their organic chaos, as they did with Reginald, Thea’s love interest: The purple threads created a latticework up his calves, dragging Reginald into the brush.
It’s pretty horrific stuff, and in the end, Thea will have to make a decision concerning her relationship with the mushroom, for even though the fungus is responsible for much of the misery around her, she cannot simply break free from the filaments. They have become a part of her, and Thea has to face that reality and, at the same time, confront the threat posed by the mushroom maidens.
Filaments by KZK proved to be a very compelling read, especially for someone like me, who has already established a deep relationship with the fungus for reasons involving both bodily health and personal growth. The author has found a very novel and unique way of combining contemporary research on mycology with a gripping, novel, and immensely readable plot. The mushroom is, in many ways, the perfect vehicle for a narrative that asks questions about the nature of reality, consciousness, and the means by which we relate to the other: a sophisticated and highly recommended take on the classic sci-fi horror yarn.
December 17, 2025
Filaments by KZK is the kind of uneasy read that creeps into your bloodstream and refuses to leave. It is a richly atmospheric eco-horror story that blends fungal body horror, grief, myth, and psychological tension into a narrative that feels intimate as well as deeply unsettling. From the very first chapter, author KZK establishes a voice that is confident, immersive, and unafraid to linger in discomfort, and that is precisely what makes this book so compelling.
At the heart of the story is Thea, a protagonist shaped by loss, guilt, and unanswered questions surrounding her mother’s death. As she searches for the truth, the natural world around her begins to feel increasingly hostile and alive. The forests, bogs, and soil are not just backdrops but active participants in the story. KZK’s treatment of mycelium and fungal networks is particularly striking, as they are used not merely as a horror device, but as a metaphor for inheritance, interconnectedness, and the way trauma spreads invisibly, and relentlessly.
One of the strongest aspects of Filaments is its atmosphere. The writing is lush and tactile; you can feel the damp earth, the creeping tendrils, the oppressive stillness of the bog. The horror here is not loud or gratuitous; it is slow, biological, and psychological. When the body horror does appear, it feels earned and meaningful rather than sensational. This restraint gives the novel its power.
The emotional core of the story is equally strong. Themes of female rage, autonomy, grief, and control are woven seamlessly into the narrative. The relationships, particularly between women, are complex and fraught, adding layers of moral ambiguity that take the book beyond a straightforward horror novel. By the time the story reaches its climax, the tension feels both terrifying and inevitable.
The ending is haunting, resonant, and perfectly suited to the tone of the novel. It does not rush to comfort the reader, nor does it over-explain. Instead, it lingers, much like the filaments themselves.
Overall, Filaments is a standout eco-horror novel that is original, disturbing, and beautifully written. If you enjoy atmospheric horror, fungal or biological themes, and stories that balance emotional depth with genuine unease, this is a book you should not miss.
At the heart of the story is Thea, a protagonist shaped by loss, guilt, and unanswered questions surrounding her mother’s death. As she searches for the truth, the natural world around her begins to feel increasingly hostile and alive. The forests, bogs, and soil are not just backdrops but active participants in the story. KZK’s treatment of mycelium and fungal networks is particularly striking, as they are used not merely as a horror device, but as a metaphor for inheritance, interconnectedness, and the way trauma spreads invisibly, and relentlessly.
One of the strongest aspects of Filaments is its atmosphere. The writing is lush and tactile; you can feel the damp earth, the creeping tendrils, the oppressive stillness of the bog. The horror here is not loud or gratuitous; it is slow, biological, and psychological. When the body horror does appear, it feels earned and meaningful rather than sensational. This restraint gives the novel its power.
The emotional core of the story is equally strong. Themes of female rage, autonomy, grief, and control are woven seamlessly into the narrative. The relationships, particularly between women, are complex and fraught, adding layers of moral ambiguity that take the book beyond a straightforward horror novel. By the time the story reaches its climax, the tension feels both terrifying and inevitable.
The ending is haunting, resonant, and perfectly suited to the tone of the novel. It does not rush to comfort the reader, nor does it over-explain. Instead, it lingers, much like the filaments themselves.
Overall, Filaments is a standout eco-horror novel that is original, disturbing, and beautifully written. If you enjoy atmospheric horror, fungal or biological themes, and stories that balance emotional depth with genuine unease, this is a book you should not miss.
November 3, 2025
Filaments begins in a crowded college bar, where exhausted biologist Dr. Thea Pappa is reluctantly celebrating a long-awaited research grant with her graduate students. Amid the blur of cheers and clinking glasses, Thea’s sense of triumph quickly gives way to unease when her phone buzzes again and again with calls from her domineering aunt, Maria. When she finally answers, she’s summoned home amid fears for her mother’s sanity.
Within hours, Thea’s carefully controlled academic life is upended. Her mother is indeed unstable and two local men are missing. Her mother Helen, a brilliant but damaged woman who self-medicates with the spores of bog mushrooms, lives under Maria’s wary eye.
Author KZK has created a perfectly claustrophobic and tactile setting in the creation of Sellers, Minnesota, where the Pappa women are regarded with equal parts fascination and fear. That goes double for KZK’s rendering of the family’s sagging bogland house. Thea finds it overtaken by vials of amber liquid, notebooks filled with impossible equations, and the faint, fungal odor of decay. Thea’s scientific instinct is to categorize and explain, but nothing about her mother’s condition fits neatly into pathology.
KZK builds tension not through spectacle but through atmosphere. Thea’s encounters with childhood friend Lina reignite buried rivalries and draw her deeper into the mystery. Everywhere she turns, there’s the often unspoken feeling that she’s uncovering things that might be best left buried.
As Thea sifts through Helen’s research, unsettling parallels between her mother’s notes and her own scientific work seem to emerge. Will the same curiosity that made her a respected academic undo her? The novel’s suspense builds less around what happened to the missing men than around whether Thea can trust the evidence of her senses.
For fans of mystery and psychological thrillers, Filaments offers an intoxicating mix of scientific intrigue and gothic unease. KZK transforms familiar genre elements – missing persons, family secrets, small-town suspicion – into something more intimate and unsettling. The questions it raises about inheritance, belief, and the limits of rational thought are what truly keep the pages turning.
Within hours, Thea’s carefully controlled academic life is upended. Her mother is indeed unstable and two local men are missing. Her mother Helen, a brilliant but damaged woman who self-medicates with the spores of bog mushrooms, lives under Maria’s wary eye.
Author KZK has created a perfectly claustrophobic and tactile setting in the creation of Sellers, Minnesota, where the Pappa women are regarded with equal parts fascination and fear. That goes double for KZK’s rendering of the family’s sagging bogland house. Thea finds it overtaken by vials of amber liquid, notebooks filled with impossible equations, and the faint, fungal odor of decay. Thea’s scientific instinct is to categorize and explain, but nothing about her mother’s condition fits neatly into pathology.
KZK builds tension not through spectacle but through atmosphere. Thea’s encounters with childhood friend Lina reignite buried rivalries and draw her deeper into the mystery. Everywhere she turns, there’s the often unspoken feeling that she’s uncovering things that might be best left buried.
As Thea sifts through Helen’s research, unsettling parallels between her mother’s notes and her own scientific work seem to emerge. Will the same curiosity that made her a respected academic undo her? The novel’s suspense builds less around what happened to the missing men than around whether Thea can trust the evidence of her senses.
For fans of mystery and psychological thrillers, Filaments offers an intoxicating mix of scientific intrigue and gothic unease. KZK transforms familiar genre elements – missing persons, family secrets, small-town suspicion – into something more intimate and unsettling. The questions it raises about inheritance, belief, and the limits of rational thought are what truly keep the pages turning.
October 20, 2025
Filaments follows Thea, a professor drawn back to her small hometown in Minnesota after her mother’s strange behavior turns alarming. What begins as a reluctant homecoming spirals into a dark exploration of generational trauma, addiction, and the eerie pull of the bog that shaped her childhood. As Thea digs into the disappearances of two local men, she unearths a supernatural thread linking her family’s past to the town’s rot. It’s a haunting story about the way memory festers, how love curdles, and how the land itself can hold grudges.
The writing is sharp and intimate, full of slow-burn dread rather than cheap scares. KZK’s prose feels like wading into dark water, you never know how deep it goes. Thea’s voice hit me hard. She’s smart and cynical but full of raw edges that made her feel real. I loved how the story blurred science and folklore. The bog wasn’t just a setting, it was alive, patient, and almost tender in its cruelty. I’ll admit, the pacing slows in places, especially in the middle chapters where Thea’s memories crowd the page, but the atmosphere never lets go.
There’s also something very relatable here. The story isn’t really about missing people or haunted places, it’s about how women are shaped by the weight of other people’s expectations. Thea’s relationship with her mother broke me a little. There’s this aching honesty in how KZK writes about mental illness and survival, like the line between madness and resilience is thinner than anyone wants to admit. At times, the dialogue feels jagged, and that roughness worked for me. It gave the story an edge.
Filaments felt like a fever dream and a confession all at once. It’s part literary thriller, part horror fable, and all heartache. I’d recommend it to readers who like their stories weird and emotional, people who loved Sharp Objects or The Fisherman but wanted something quieter, more personal. It’s not for those who need clean endings or easy answers.
The writing is sharp and intimate, full of slow-burn dread rather than cheap scares. KZK’s prose feels like wading into dark water, you never know how deep it goes. Thea’s voice hit me hard. She’s smart and cynical but full of raw edges that made her feel real. I loved how the story blurred science and folklore. The bog wasn’t just a setting, it was alive, patient, and almost tender in its cruelty. I’ll admit, the pacing slows in places, especially in the middle chapters where Thea’s memories crowd the page, but the atmosphere never lets go.
There’s also something very relatable here. The story isn’t really about missing people or haunted places, it’s about how women are shaped by the weight of other people’s expectations. Thea’s relationship with her mother broke me a little. There’s this aching honesty in how KZK writes about mental illness and survival, like the line between madness and resilience is thinner than anyone wants to admit. At times, the dialogue feels jagged, and that roughness worked for me. It gave the story an edge.
Filaments felt like a fever dream and a confession all at once. It’s part literary thriller, part horror fable, and all heartache. I’d recommend it to readers who like their stories weird and emotional, people who loved Sharp Objects or The Fisherman but wanted something quieter, more personal. It’s not for those who need clean endings or easy answers.
February 6, 2026
This book does not rush you. It’s the kind of story where the setting is so detailed and vivid you forget you’re still sitting on your reading chair. Every scene feels deliberate, like the author knew exactly what she was doing.
It’s not a fast read, but it will keep you hooked. The storyline is one that you want to keep digging into. The pacing is steady and confident, the kind that has you promising “one more chapter” and immediately lying to yourself. This is a book you settle into — and once you do, good luck putting it down.
It’s not a fast read, but it will keep you hooked. The storyline is one that you want to keep digging into. The pacing is steady and confident, the kind that has you promising “one more chapter” and immediately lying to yourself. This is a book you settle into — and once you do, good luck putting it down.
November 30, 2025
A spectacularly written original story in a genre of its own. The beautifully descriptive language, multifaceted characters, and scientific detail drew me in from the first pages. The unexpected plot twists captivated me through the last. KZK gives language to shared experiences that left me feeling known. If you enjoy elements of science fiction, horror, a strong female lead, or a hero’s origin story, you’re bound to love Filaments.
November 20, 2025
I couldn’t wait to read Filaments and it did not disappoint! I love how the niche subject of fungus was used to completely change the thriller book genre for me. This, the descriptive language, and character development of Thea kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved this book and hope KZK will have many more books to come!
January 29, 2026
This was one of the most unique, powerful and suspenseful books I’ve read in a while! Would have read a 100 more pages about Thea and her transformation!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews