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Born of Blood: A Novella
A perfect black… a famished abyss… an apotheotic beauty… a consecrated void.
Born of Blood is a cosmic murder mystery in the same literary vein as H. P. Lovecraft, Thomas Ligotti, and Laird Barron.
Originally appearing in Orphans Of The Atercosm: A Collection, this novella has been revised and is available exclusively in paperback. It also ties into C.F. Page’s forthcoming novel The Swallowed Town, which will be released by Truborn Press on January 20th, 2026.
Born of Blood is a cosmic murder mystery in the same literary vein as H. P. Lovecraft, Thomas Ligotti, and Laird Barron.
Originally appearing in Orphans Of The Atercosm: A Collection, this novella has been revised and is available exclusively in paperback. It also ties into C.F. Page’s forthcoming novel The Swallowed Town, which will be released by Truborn Press on January 20th, 2026.
- GenresHorror
93 pages, Paperback
Published November 27, 2025
1 person is currently reading
23 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 27, 2025
This one hit all the right notes for me: brilliant writing, complex plot, uncanny vibes and an eerie atmosphere of dread throughout! This is noir-inflected cosmic horror for the experienced reader, with nods to Barron and Ligotti, among many others (Robert Aickman, Algernon Blackwood, John Langan, Brian Evenson, Brian Hodge, with a touch of Michael Cisco). Despite the luscious vocabulary, any comparison to Lovecraft's prose would be far-off, I reckon, though I consider the author's grasp of what makes cosmic horror work unparalleled today. The novella shows total mastery of the genre.
"Born of Blood" delivers a wildly imagined tale set in a brutal city of corruption and supernatural mystery, with glimpses of the "Night Place," an otherdimensional hole leaking many-limbed montrosities. The narrator, cruelly unreliable, haunted by a girl he almost recognizes, undertakes the dangerous and arduous task of finding the origins of his nightmarish visions. He does find exactly what he's been searching for - and both his and the reader's eyes are opened to a reality that's broken for too long and incomplete for even longer.
Absolutely top notch. Highly recommended!
"Born of Blood" delivers a wildly imagined tale set in a brutal city of corruption and supernatural mystery, with glimpses of the "Night Place," an otherdimensional hole leaking many-limbed montrosities. The narrator, cruelly unreliable, haunted by a girl he almost recognizes, undertakes the dangerous and arduous task of finding the origins of his nightmarish visions. He does find exactly what he's been searching for - and both his and the reader's eyes are opened to a reality that's broken for too long and incomplete for even longer.
Absolutely top notch. Highly recommended!
January 4, 2026
Fantastic, as always. I’ve read the original version from Page’s excellent collection Orphans of the Atercosm: A Collection but was excited to see him re-release this just prior to the forthcoming The Swallowed Town (which I’ve also been lucky to read an early version of) as a kind of lead-in/taster/related story.
This short novella feels at times like you’re reading a classic lyrical ballad or epic – literary horror for the cerebral crowd. It’s ostensibly a very noir detective noir, replete with cosmic rituals and abyssal entities couched in erudite prose. All masterfully done in a spare 90-something pages.
I read it. And then I immediately read it again.
Oh, but Page has those words… unequivocally, unmistakably, abyssally, and in abundance…
This short novella feels at times like you’re reading a classic lyrical ballad or epic – literary horror for the cerebral crowd. It’s ostensibly a very noir detective noir, replete with cosmic rituals and abyssal entities couched in erudite prose. All masterfully done in a spare 90-something pages.
I read it. And then I immediately read it again.
“…I have neither the brain nor the words nor the eyesight…”
Oh, but Page has those words… unequivocally, unmistakably, abyssally, and in abundance…
January 8, 2026
So, I’d personally categorize Page’s writing as “AP fiction.” Casual beach read, this is not. To get the most from your experience, I’d recommend pushing your glasses up the ridge of your nose and really taking your time with it. There’s a lot of thought and intentionality that goes into writing like this, so the small details matter.
But for those who enjoy the idea of a prose-forward murder mystery puzzlebox, ‘Born of Blood’ certainly delivers. Page isn’t a very kind author. He often feels a bit like a jazz musician; dropping in sudden style switches and format changes or even sidelining punctuation entirely at times, which all adds to the dizzying effects. He just sorta throws you in the deep end from page one and walks off. The writing is abstract and layered in metaphors. I’d go from scratching my head and re-reading parts of one page, to thinking I was high on drugs the next, to being transfixed by a gorgeously lyrical paragraph a moment later.
By the end, the story reveals itself and ties the book together nicely, but if you asked me to articulate it now? I’m not sure I properly could (at least not without sounding insane), which feels strangely appropriate to the fever dream nature of this book.
I wouldn’t necessarily rate this as an “E for Everyone” type of read, but I’m confident that fans of literary horror and cosmic mind-melting mysteries will gobble this up and be hungry for more (which luckily, they’ll get a serving of soon — with ‘The Swallowed Town’ releasing in about two weeks).
I, for one, greatly enjoyed my 80-page trip into Page’s world, and it’s impossible not to respect the man’s writing chops.
But for those who enjoy the idea of a prose-forward murder mystery puzzlebox, ‘Born of Blood’ certainly delivers. Page isn’t a very kind author. He often feels a bit like a jazz musician; dropping in sudden style switches and format changes or even sidelining punctuation entirely at times, which all adds to the dizzying effects. He just sorta throws you in the deep end from page one and walks off. The writing is abstract and layered in metaphors. I’d go from scratching my head and re-reading parts of one page, to thinking I was high on drugs the next, to being transfixed by a gorgeously lyrical paragraph a moment later.
By the end, the story reveals itself and ties the book together nicely, but if you asked me to articulate it now? I’m not sure I properly could (at least not without sounding insane), which feels strangely appropriate to the fever dream nature of this book.
I wouldn’t necessarily rate this as an “E for Everyone” type of read, but I’m confident that fans of literary horror and cosmic mind-melting mysteries will gobble this up and be hungry for more (which luckily, they’ll get a serving of soon — with ‘The Swallowed Town’ releasing in about two weeks).
I, for one, greatly enjoyed my 80-page trip into Page’s world, and it’s impossible not to respect the man’s writing chops.
January 4, 2026
Anther dope selection of cosmic horror from CF Page who has been cemented as an auto read author for me. Born of Blood at its core is a detective novella featuring an intensely disturbing serial killer. Once you get through the noir fog the story has been swaddled in, the remnants are an incredibly vivid fever dream with heavy notes of existential dread.
If you’re the type of reader who likes books that can be neatly wrapped up and summarized then this won’t check that box. There’s so many intersecting factors that highlight the peculiarity beyond simply being a quirk and really showcase the abnormality of the story. It’s a shorter read and while I read it in bursts I think this is the *perfect* choice if you have a couple hours to kill one afternoon and just want to bathe yourself in the incongruity. Page’s writing is dense and he never spoon feeds the plot to you. It takes a bit of effort to interpret the storyline with unreliable narratives but it is worth it. If deftly written books brimming with anomalies and evocative imagery are a vibe then pick this one up. Page expects you to keep up with the irregularities and if you’re successful in that endeavor then the pay off is always worth it. Not a book I’d recommend to those looking for accessible, cinematic horror, but if you’re looking for the next big name in cosmic horror then you’ve found it. The strange ambiguity Page employs leaves a mark on the brain that will linger and I can’t wait to read whatever weirdness he puts out next.
If you’re the type of reader who likes books that can be neatly wrapped up and summarized then this won’t check that box. There’s so many intersecting factors that highlight the peculiarity beyond simply being a quirk and really showcase the abnormality of the story. It’s a shorter read and while I read it in bursts I think this is the *perfect* choice if you have a couple hours to kill one afternoon and just want to bathe yourself in the incongruity. Page’s writing is dense and he never spoon feeds the plot to you. It takes a bit of effort to interpret the storyline with unreliable narratives but it is worth it. If deftly written books brimming with anomalies and evocative imagery are a vibe then pick this one up. Page expects you to keep up with the irregularities and if you’re successful in that endeavor then the pay off is always worth it. Not a book I’d recommend to those looking for accessible, cinematic horror, but if you’re looking for the next big name in cosmic horror then you’ve found it. The strange ambiguity Page employs leaves a mark on the brain that will linger and I can’t wait to read whatever weirdness he puts out next.
January 2, 2026
Quick personal note: C. F. Page published my story “Prodigal” in his anthology Anterior Skies, and has spoken highly of it elsewhere. I state this only because my own thoughts of his novella Born of Blood are not a tit-for-tat but a genuine appreciation of this physically slender but thematically dense work. Page draws on cosmic horror elements you might find in Lovecraft and Ligotti, but never dips into slavish imitation. Add to this his fluid prose, an evocative blend of Cormac McCarthy, Robert Stone, and Mark Danielewski, that draws its reader into the ostensibly police-procedural beginning (one can’t help compare its atmosphere to Fincher’s Seven) until it’s almost too late. Despite the grimness, there are touches of mordant humor (I was cackling at the link between narcissism and bathroom habits) that provided much-needed levity. This was a pleasant addition to the year’s opening existential dread.
December 24, 2025
"This city is a vat of acid."
Jake Sullivan is a cop in a city that has been plagued by multiple serial killers. When his brother disappears and clues start appearing that connect to said serial killers, Jake must untangle the webs in his reality and also in his psyche to find his brother and also solve the mystery of the beautiful woman with the scar under her eye.
This reminded me of cool, gritty cop procedurals like Se7en and Hellraiser: Inferno. Psychological and cryptic, you'll be guessing until the end. Although this is a novella, it reads like a full-fledged book twice its size. How Page was able to fit all of that into 93 pages is beyond me. Highly recommend!
Jake Sullivan is a cop in a city that has been plagued by multiple serial killers. When his brother disappears and clues start appearing that connect to said serial killers, Jake must untangle the webs in his reality and also in his psyche to find his brother and also solve the mystery of the beautiful woman with the scar under her eye.
This reminded me of cool, gritty cop procedurals like Se7en and Hellraiser: Inferno. Psychological and cryptic, you'll be guessing until the end. Although this is a novella, it reads like a full-fledged book twice its size. How Page was able to fit all of that into 93 pages is beyond me. Highly recommend!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 4, 2026
I cannot get enough of C.F. Page’s exquisite writing. In preparation for my deep dive into his upcoming novel, The Swallowed Town, I snagged this novella because it is said to be connected in certain ways.
To say that Page has blown me away (yet again) would be an understatement. The sheer talent that comes from this author boggles my mind. His imagination is vast and his prose is out of this world. Read his books. You won’t be sorry.
To say that Page has blown me away (yet again) would be an understatement. The sheer talent that comes from this author boggles my mind. His imagination is vast and his prose is out of this world. Read his books. You won’t be sorry.
December 31, 2025
C.F. Page Never disappoints. This book smelled of cigarettes, cheap coffee, and filing cabinets. At least that’s what I think a brooding detective would smell like. This story, brief but mighty, felt film noir and otherworldly. I devoured this book in a single sitting, eager to figure out what evil was brewing.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews