Thorngale

by Phoenix Mendoza

In their neglected, decaying family estate on the cliffs of the northern Cornish coast, two Anglo-Catholic brothers grow up in parasitic isolation during a time marked by the decay of English nobility. The elder, Alexander, is equal parts devout and sadistic, lording over Francis, the younger, as his tormentor and God. Oscillating between dreamlike fragments from their insular childhood to their final, sharp descent to madness in 1928, Thorngale is a chilling gothic horror tale of obsessive love and fatal devotion, written with the cutting, claustrophobic spiral of an ever tightening concertina wire.

Genres: Horror

214 pages, Paperback

Published October 25, 2024

Reviews

[elli ⛧ yourspookymom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, just WOW. How do I even start?

Thorngale is a slow, painful suffocation all the way until the very end, where you’re completely out of breath and holding on for dear life. Then you finally break past that last page and life is sucked back into you full force. Mendoza’s prose is so elegant and incredibly strong. Sometimes novels written in a poetic way can get bogged down with overdone descriptions, but the story in its entirety flowed out so well that I couldn’t imagine reading any other way - especially given its content.

This is not for the faint of heart. As a parent, this is definitely one of those books I wouldn’t have been able to read it if I wasn’t experienced in extreme horror. You have to really detach yourself from reality, but it’s easy to do because it’s a book that isolates you so well, it’s hard to not keep trudging through the true despair of the lives of these brothers.

The time and care that went into this book is so apparent. From the land and the dialect to every single aspect of this novel having a purpose. Nothing is left unscathed and untouched which I find so hard to do in writing. Completely full circle. It’s beautifully written and completely gut wrenching. Want a book to chew you up, swallow your guts, and spit you back out? Then I think you need to go on a trip to Thorngale.

4.5/5!!

[Kaylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been sitting on this review for over a month now, trying to think of how to say what I want to say. Ultimately I've realized I don't need to speak for this book; the blurb on the back sums it up perfectly. My words aren't going to capture what I really mean to say, not unless I typed out the book itself into this review.

I've been reading Phoenix's writing since I was thirteen years old. I knew within three pages that Thorngale is the best thing she's ever written. This book is like a breath caught in your throat, nauseating and starkly beautiful. It will make you feel as sick as the boys it depicts. Effortlessly you are sucked into the morass, choked and entwined. It's so gorgeous and so squirmy. I agree with other reviewers who mention The Wasp Factory--when Phoenix described this book to me last year, my first reaction was read The Wasp Factory immediately. This book isn't tonally bizarre in the way of Banks' novel; instead it's a series of perfectly placed, dizzingly romantic, feverishly holy punches. This is if The Wasp Factory was a romance, maybe. It's something only Phoenix could have written. Check your sense of moral disgust at the door, and sink into a truly beautiful, truly horrifying read. What a phenomenal book. I can't wait to read what she writes next.

[Freddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know how to rate this book, for two very distinct reasons. One, I am biased, I (humble brag) am even in the acknowledgements for this one so I cannot be objective about this.
But two, more importantly, this book feels beyond ratings. This book just exists. It doesn't care what its readers think of it, it does not matter whether you like it or not, it will claw its way inside of you anyways.
It is disgusting, horrific, romantic, claustrophobic and so tragic. I don't think this story will leave me for a good long while.

Two last points that I want to make:
1. Mendoza's writing is brilliant. Her metaphors are incredibly well-crafted, the religious imagery that this story is drenched in adds such a richness and deeper dimension to the story and to the believability of the characters. In Francis' POV Mendoza keeps playing with the Cornish language compared to the English language, and she artfully crafts connections and instills meaning in words that wasn't there before. It truly feels like every word in this novel was carefully chosen and put into its spot.

2. This book is not for those with a weak stomach. If you have never read extreme horror before, I would recommend starting with one of Mendoza's short story collections to dip your toes in. This book is A LOT. There were several moments where I had to pause and gather myself before continuing. I do think it adds to the story, and the discomfort is more than worth it, but this book is probably not for everyone.

[Shrike Yuan · Rating 5 out of 5]

For Thorngale, I overcome my disdain for making one thousand new accounts for every single form of social media imaginable. For Thorngale, I write the paragraphs in hope of forming a cohesive review instead of several hundred words of incoherent fanboying. For Thorngale alone, I will do it.

Anyways, all of that aside, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I went into it expecting to enjoy it (read: frothing at the mouth) and consumed it within a week. I truly enjoy forms of media that capture their characters in a death spiral, where you dread, fear, and mourn them even as you gleefully turn each page, and Thorngale exemplifies this. I think in the first few hundred words I was tempted to think that I could predict where the story goes, how the characters act, how they drift apart from and crash into each other- I was wrong, and so ecstatic to be wrong. Thorngale is gripping, vastly entertaining, and at times confronting- and I think the last of these three things makes it a book you might feel like you're tumbling through, but in my opinion the real magic starts a few paragraphs in, when Mendoza's incredible grasp of prose kind of forces you to stop stumbling, get a hold of yourself, and start chasing after the characters instead to keep up with the intricate dynamics that entangle them. Reading this book is a lot like being planted, uncertain, at the top of a high slope and then pushed- you just have to run and enjoy the momentum, of which Thorngale has plenty. Is this making sense? I mean, is any of this making sense? I literally could not put it down. Surely that endorsement counts for something.

I'm very wary to include spoilers so I will refrain from enthusing at length about my affection for the Gales, nor of the cast of supporting characters (minus One that i shall not name), but I truly, truly enjoyed Alexander Gale as a character and the passages narrated by him are just delightful. You will have read characters like Axe before. I have read characters like Axe before. They'll never be him. Everyone wants to think that their nefarious white man is The Man of The Moment, what with the unconventional understanding of religion and morality and sexuality, and the Extremely Notable Physical Deformity (??), and the tendency for obsession, and the... I don't know, Miscellaneous Darkrom Male Protagonist Trait Number One Thousand, but they will never be Alexander Gale.

[Jennifer Stout · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek at this book, and my god, does it STICK and stay with you! It's pure gothic horror, mixed with allegory and literal devotion--I don't want to talk too much about the twists and turns and looming dread you experience while reading it because a) I don't want to give anything away, and b) I wouldn't in a thousand years do it justice. Come for the vibes, stay for the gorgeous prose and the way these sentences will haunt you for fucking DAYS, WEEKS later. A masterpiece!

[Sarah Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its hard to find the words to describe Thorngale, which considering how I usually am not lost for words is a fine enough review. It reminded me deeply of the wasp factory, which was a book that I never stopped thinking about even if I didn't really enjoy it. The way that this differs from that is that I did thoroughly enjoy Thorngale, even as it made my shoulders rise with the horror and the eroticism of the horror in it. A gloriously fucked up book, meaning that as a complete compliment.

[LYS. · Rating 5 out of 5]

You could find God in the Mariana Trench, if you only submit yourself to it. You could find God in your brother’s fist, if you only learn to yearn for it.
—Francis Gale, page 36

oh, god, what is there to say about THORNGALE? for the past few days, axe and francis have taken me on such a whirlwind of emotions, that i can’t even really begin to say much of anything without spoiling half the plot. one thing’s for certain is that this book is not for everyone. i am famously a lover of weird, nasty horror, and even here i could feel myself testing the borders of my own limits of what i could handle. it’s pure gothic. it’s absolutely vile. it’s, at its core, beautiful, too. mendoza’s writing is so fucking sharp and granular and to be inundated with all this description is what i think it feels like to drown. but, as the quote says, you could find god in the mariana trench, if you only submit yourself to it. so i did. reading her prose is kind of a beam of sunlight directly guided to your eyes, imo.

the gale brothers, from their childhood to womb-strong adulthood, are indeed parasitic and obsessive and are devoted to each other in ways blood and god could not touch. THORNGALE could only end in one way, and i’ve known that since the beginning, but the journey was absolutely insane. crazy, crazy novel. and now i will recommend this to the one person i think could stand to relish in the discomfort of this. yayyy.

anyway, love n light, guys!

[🫀 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine if you will The Carnivorous Lamb by Agustín Gomez-Arcos met Dead Ringers (1988) dir. David Cronenberg in a bar and they hit it off so well they decided to adopt a baby from the early 20th century English Gothic orphanage (they asked the fewest questions). That baby might turn out something like Thorngale.

When I finished Thorngale I didn’t imagine that it would take me a month to get around to writing a review. It was an eventful month, but all throughout this book kept floating back into my brain. Particularly the characters and some scenes I don’t want to detail because spoilers as well as specific bits of language. Keep an eye out for perspective and the places where things don’t quite line up (I had so much fun with that).

This book is not for everybody. I won’t get into specifics, but I think it’s fair to warn that no matter who you are this book crosses one of your lines. This is a work of extreme gothic horror, and it’s not just one thing that pushes it into the extreme category. It’s a whole collection of things. Everyone draws their lines in different places, but this is fucked up in so many different ways that I would be surprised to find someone who doesn’t find any element of this text upsetting or repulsive whatsoever. I personally really appreciate a book that can get under my skin, and oh boy did this do that.

If this sounds relevant to your interests then join me here in the Thorngale reader’s pit. It’s a hole in the ground that’s not too damp and certainly not a grave. The dirt is cozy, I swear. A nice place to spend forever.

[v0id_93 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first book by Phoenix and I couldn’t be more thrilled with Thorngale.

True to gothic horror, Thorngale’s decades long backdrop coincides richly with the Gale brothers evolving relationship, entrenching you in the decay of the house alongside the decay of innocence, personhood and autonomy, until you’re fully consumed back into the organic material from whence it all started. I think it speaks volumes to Mendoza’s writing how her ability to produce incredibly compelling characters, specifically Axe, makes you root for their happiness even though they are terribly unworthy of it. And on top of that, there are grotesque moments but the artful, delicate balance Phoenix demonstrates shows nothing is too vile when you love someone. I think perhaps that might even be what elevates the actions and makes the behaviors more shocking; how stark the love is Axe has for Francis. It’s tangible and overpowering. He is unashamed in his suffocating, all consuming need for Francis and Francis had no choice but to allow it

**editing to add: if you (like me) enjoy elements of extreme horror and taboo relationships but gravitate away from those subjects because they tend to be done poorly, Mendoza absolutely shattered my expectations. Nothing is gratuitous or done for shock value in Thorngale, it all has purpose and in my opinion, very tastefully done ✅

I sincerely hope more readers pick this up!

‘After all, it was excruciating to exist as the sun of God’s solar system. A crushing pressure, an inescapable, choking clutch. When Francis knelt and turned his tear-streaked face to the saviour, he wondered. How did you do it? How did you survive the awful, singular beam of His love? Did you burn up, like an ant beneath a microscope? Were you relieved, eventually, to die on the cross? Was the pain of the Passion a relief from the pain of being adored?’

[Lanchi Le · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been a long time reader of Phoenix's work and have been lucky enough to have read Thorngale a few months ago and WOW has it stuck to the inside of my skull for those few months. The opening sunk into me with the raw and unfiltered voice from Alex (Axe) and his twisted perspective on the world, how he is rooted in his beliefs from so young and is so convinced of his godliness. From there, Phoenix's luscious, tantalizing writing draws you further and further into this decrepit, decaying forgotten mansion in Cornwall and these two brothers who are parent-child, siblings, god-man, and lovers all in one. They are everything to each other and they destroy each other because of it, because there is no other way.

The things that Alex comes up with to teach to Francis are grotesque and awful, but it never ever feels that way. You are fully convinced, as he is, through Phoenix's masterful storytelling, her beautiful writing, that this is the best way he should raise his brother. That devout, suffocating love of his drives his brother away when he is old enough. You get to see a wonderful contrast to the outside world, get to see Francis and what he could have been, had he grown up in a normal home, but by the time he is out in London, it's already too late. Phoenix's writing and Francis' perspective do an amazing job of convincing you for a while that he might get away from Axe, but Axe never frets - he's steady and patient as always, and poor, bird-bone Francis never has a chance.

I don't want to get too spoilery, because you should just pick up and read Thorngale yourself, but truly, it has become one of my favorite pieces of writing of all time. I felt like I was there in Cornwall, that I could smell the layers and years on their bedsheet (and how EMOTIONAL I got in the later half of the book when Axe takes the bedsheet to the ocean.) Just so masterfully crafted and so authentic to the author. I just don't think this book could work if it wasn't written by such a tender and thoughtful hand. You can feel the intention of every moment. Every metaphor is strung so carefully and lulls you into its cocoon, like a womb, even though you know that you're laying in a coffin with these doomed brothers.

Huge congratulations to the author for what a wonderful accomplishment it is to have brought to life such a complex, beautiful, haunting story. I cannot wait to read this over and over again and discover something new about it each time.

[Ría Domingo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Stunning and Harrowing Masterpiece

I’ll be honest—there were moments when I felt myself reaching my limit while reading this book. But the writing is so good that I could NOT put it down and I ended up finishing it in one afternoon. I also feel like devouring Thorngale in one sitting is exactly how it should be consumed.

This is not a book for everyone, and that’s important to acknowledge. It’s extreme horror, and it’s very good at being a horror book. It’s visceral, raw, and deeply disgusting in places. It doesn’t coddle you as a reader—it respects you too much for that. If you’re someone who enjoys horror that pushes boundaries, this book will absolutely deliver.

The sheer skill and dedication poured into this story is unmatched. Every single word choice, sentence structure, and vivid metaphor feels deliberately crafted, creating an experience that’s as mesmerizing as it is unsettling. The prose is razor-sharp, every detail painting visceral, unforgettable imagery. The narrative grips you and refuses to let go—you’re held hostage from beginning to end.

What I admire most about Phoenix is her refusal to pull punches. She maintains an unyielding, raw honesty in her writing, and that unapologetic authenticity is what makes her work shine. This book is raw, unflinching, and deeply thought-provoking.

If you’re someone who loves horror that pushes boundaries and demands engagement on every level, you owe it to yourself to read this. Just be ready to face the full brunt of it—it will not hold back.

[Silver · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of those books that you will probably never stop thinking about after you read it.

So immersive to the point where you feel like a voyeur just by reading along, with beautiful, thoughtful prose. I adore how rooted the novel is in place and time (1920s Cornwall), and it was extremely well-researched and a delightful (albeit sometimes overwhelming) sensory experience. Parts of the novel are reminiscent of some of my other favorite books of all time: We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson, Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh, and Maurice by E.M. Forster, yet this novel also remains entirely unique and unlike anything else I had ever read before.

The characters are so intricate, terrifying, and sympathetic all at once, and this novel does not shy away from the realities of human life both at its most beautiful and at its most disgusting. Thorngale also sounds the depths of how far two human beings can possibly become intertwined with one another in ways that will surprise and fascinate you. I cannot recommend this book enough, especially if you are interested in complexity, gray morality, horror, eroticism, history, religion, getting dirty, or all of the above!

[Basil · Rating 5 out of 5]

I created a goodreads specifically to review this book. I’ve read (and adored) Phoenix’s writing before, so I thought I had an idea of what I was getting into when I picked up this book; but I was not prepared. She takes the reader to extremes, writing without fear or shame about corrupting, consuming, obsessive devotion. You descend into maddening tragedy alongside these characters, knowing full well that only devastation awaits them but rooting for it anyway, wanting it for them because they themselves crave it so badly.

Thorngale somehow manages to be devastating and romantic and beautiful and absolutely sickening all at once. I often say that my favorite kind of horror is not the kind that scares me, but the kind that leaves me feeling kind of queasy and claustrophobic, that has me sitting around thinking about it for days. Thorngale does all of those things to the extreme. It is not for the faint of heart, but if you can read it, it will change you.

[Brianna Laux · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went into this read completely blind and was blown away by the detail and character building. I cannot recommend this book enough. As soon as I started reading, I was hooked and unable to put the book down until I finished and was left craving more.