#VanDeath

by Brian Asman

Genres: Horror, Fiction

Kindle Edition

Expected publication September 22, 2026

About the author

Brian Asman is a writer, actor, and director from San Diego, CA. He’s the author of the forthcoming thriller #Vandeath, as well as Man, F*ck This House (and Other Disasters), Good Dogs, Our Black Hearts Beat as One, I’m Not Even Supposed to Be Here Today, Neo Arcana, Nunchuck City, Jailbroke, and Return of the Living Elves. He’s published short stories in Weird Tales, Punk Goes Horror 2, Waterborne, American Cannibal, The Dark Waves of Winter, DreadPop, and Pulp Modern, as well as comics in Tales of Horrorgasm.

Several of his works have been optioned for film and television. A film he co-wrote and produced, A Haunting in Ravenwood, is available now on VOD. His short “Reel Trouble” won Best Short Film at Gen Con 2022 and Best Horror Short at the Indie Gathering.

Brian holds an MFA from UCR-Palm Desert. He’s represented by Dunham Literary, Inc.

Find him on social media (@thebrianasman) or his website www.brianasmanbooks.com.

Reviews

[GCR | Book Realm]

I received this ARC through NetGalley.
Out September 22,2026

This had a really strong concept that pulled me in right away. Feuding van life influencers stuck in a survival situation with a masked killer? I was immediately in.

There’s definitely tension, and the pacing can feel fast, which kept me curious enough to keep going. But there were also a lot of moments that felt longer than they needed to be.

I did feel some character pull, but I was more invested in figuring out what was happening than I was fully attached to the characters themselves.

Overall, this was an okay read for me. It kept my interest, but it also felt like it overstayed in places, and that held it back.

I’d still recommend it if you like survival horror, messy relationship dynamics, and that influencer/social media angle mixed into something darker.

[Danielle Yvonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

VanDeath
by Brian Asman

“Still, this isn’t the best part.
For the hunter, the best parts are, in order:
—The look of fear in their eyes.
—The coppery smell of blood mixed with fear-sweat.
—And finally, the moment, that singular, blessed moment, when they know all is lost. When they realize the sand in the hourglass of their life has dwindled to just a handful of grains.”

So an influencer couple with their relationship on the rocks, decides to take a brand partner deal and load up their van to go camp and get content in Death Valley. OH, and they have stalkers. What could possible go wrong?!

I need to scream from the mountain tops about this book! This was probably the most well-rounded and solid horror book I’ve read yet this year. It is a heart pounding and anxiety inducing page turner. Sitting at over 250 pages, I couldn’t turn them fast enough to see what would happen next.

There are so many moments where I air punched out of excitement or anger, so many times I audibly said WTF and HOLY SHIT. It has the perfect creepy factor alongside the will to survive. Idk if that makes sense but trust me.

This book needs a film adaptation asap. This books needs to be read by the world asap. This is one of those books that will live rent free far after you’ve finished, in the best ways possible. This is one of those times where I wish I could read a book again.

VanDeath releases on 9/22 but can preordered now!

*arc from NetGalley

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes the camera lies. Morgan and Jasper, popular influencers (#vanlife), are actually frauds. On the brink of a collapse, both financially and relationship wise, they agree to take a trip to Death Valley. They think this may get them out of both slumps. What they can’t have even fathomed is that things are gonna get way worse….fighting for their lives in the middle of nowhere.

Wow!! What a ride this one is. This rockets you out of the cannon in the prologue, with gore and fear as immediate companions and really never lets up for the entire book. This story is fast paced, action packed and filled with tons of gore and OMG moments. I enjoyed the creepy backroads/desert vibe that plays up the isolation and mixes in off the beaten trail backwoods side characters. The suspense and build up is intense and made me white knuckled almost the entire time, I never knew what was coming next. Horror fans PLEASE grab this up. It’s so absolutely wild!

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the advanced copy, it’s a privilege. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

[Lexi Denee · Rating 4 out of 5]

#VanDeath is a fast and furious joy ride that I could not look away from. I’m not always huge on slashers but this one is FUN and it had me feeling like I was being stalked through the desert by masked assailants (in a good way.)

This is my first book from Asman, and I loved the mixed media sprinkled throughout in the form of podcasts snippets, as well as the characters (who were mostly terrible people, but still!) I can’t wait to check out more!

Without giving too much away, check this one out if you love or hate camping, deserts, and edge of your seat slashers!

**Thank you to Blackstone Publishing for the eARC of this title!**

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actual Rating 4.75

I want to thank NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for providing me with this Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

#VanDeath follows the current trend of VanLife that is thriving right now online. Only instead of everything being perfect, things go bad real quick.

Jasper and Morgan are a VanLife couple that for all appearances seem to be living their best and happiest lives. But what you see online isn’t always what is really going on behind the scenes. Morgan has been struggling with her relationship with Jasper, while Jasper feels that everything is super fine. When Jasper receives an email for an ad opportunity for some serious money, he can’t turn it down and has to talk Morgan into this next excursion on the road. But this trip is going to be a little different.

I personally watch a couple of VanLife youtubers and was instantly intrigued by this book. Instantly within the first chapter I was hooked. Most of the chapters are pretty short, which makes this read super quickly and wanting to get into the next chapter. The first half of the book is some build up, but even that has plenty of parts that keep you on the edge of your seat. Once you get to the 50% mark though, you are end for a non stop ride that gets more intense. You get to see the evolution of Jasper and Morgan’s relationship, and what each of them is hiding from their past. I really enjoyed the bits of Jasper’s backstory that we got and the relationship with his father.

#VanDeath does a good job of keeping you on your toes, and hitting you with surprises. While not quite a 5 star for me, I had a blast reading this and will definitely pick up a physical copy when this is published. If you want a VanLife/Road Trip kind of horror, pick this up!

[Horror Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brian Asman goes full slashery goodness in this novel that's filled with twists and, especially in the latter half, non stop action.

Jason and Morgan are van life influencers and they've been successful. But their relationship is strained at the moment and they can't find a way to get back on track. Morgan is contemplating leaving him and is unsure about continuing their lifestyle while Jason lost most of their money in a crypto scam unbeknownst to her.

When a granola company offers them a collab deal, he convinces Morgan to take it. They pick a beautiful but remote spot for the deal and this might be what gets them back to how they used to be.

Except for the masked killer who has disabled their van and always seems to be one step ahead. Things are going to get bloody of course!

No good slasher would be complete without the whodunit aspect and as the killer is revealed, it takes an even more horrific turn. Not giving anything away but it's not what you originally thought.

Tense, violent, full of pulse pounding action, I highly recommend it. I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley. This review is voluntary and is my own personal opinion.

[ScarlettAnomalyReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh I loved this, thank you Blackstone for approving, I had all my fingers and toes crossed.


I am one of those people that do get sucked into the van life videos, I love seeing how different people set up, decorate and cope, it's fascinating.

Jason and Morgan are doing the van life thing together but those close quarters and life going sideways for both of them is causing a lot of tension, enough that Morgan dosent know they want to stay with Jason.

Jason has a few secrets but this brand deal situation could fix a ton of them, it's perfect money to fix the problems and their marriage. But they have to set up in a middle of nowhere area and they are being stalked.

Isntjis someone from Jason's crypto debacle, someone crazy and hates influencers or something more sinister, is this completely random and how do they escape alive??

This was a crazy vision of that with #vanlife influencers having to survive a slasher, which feels like it should be easy living in a van, but some how makes things worse.

I am really enjoying horror like this, like Trade Wife but make it Van Life, those viral videos we so get so much traction but what it if were darker.

Loved this

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a competent and fun little slasher. It took some time to get going, but once it did, I rushed to finish. You’re looking at about half the book as setup, followed by an absolute landslide of a horror movie in the second half.

My one primary knock against this book is that I didn’t really like either of the main characters. They both kind of suck, and they’re both bad at relationships. A strength of the story, though, is that by the end, what they were fighting against was so much more unlikeable that I was cheering for them anyway. If I were Jasper, I wouldn’t have put my life on the line for Morgan.

And look, that could be by design. In the end, the characters got what they needed, not what they wanted. If you like slashers, especially man vs. man vs. nature stories, this is worth the read. It also has some great commentary about how the influencer economy is ruining everything, which I can get behind.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions in this review are my own.

[Nightangel_reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

✨Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy✨
This was such a fun read. I love the vanlife slasher story this turned out to be. The MCs were very well written and felt like real people. The side characters were great and a lot made for great red herrings. The idea of two vanlife influencers going out on a brand deal hoping to fix their life and relationship only to be targeted by a ruthless calculated killer. This book was able to keep my attention through out each of the MCs thoughts and into the action. As soon as it ramped up I couldn’t put it down, the pacinging was perfect. I will definitely be looking into this authors other works and recommending this book.

[Megan Magee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Morgan and Jasper are the hot couple around the van life websites, but in reality they are struggling to get on the same page. After accepting a sponsorship, things get wonky, and the couple must figure out their future, as well as if they'll even have one beyond the night. Both characters were vapid at moments yet so fully fleshed for a book of this caliber of gore. I would have liked to have seen a touch more brutality, but overall I enjoyed Asman's witty take on #VANLIFE culture. Thanks so much to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the eARC. All opinions are entirely my own.

[Sukhdave Takhar · Rating 4 out of 5]

*thank you netgalley for providing me an ARC so i can read and give my honest review*

The little van that could... well not really. Who doesnt want to go on road trips living out of a Van sounds fun right. Jasper and Morgan do exactly that til they run into alittle van trouble and thats when the fun begins. It started a tad slow like and rollercoaster does but once you on that 1st drop your off and just enjoying the ride. I been on a little slasher grind in reading and this fall right into the above average to me.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars--a fun, gory little slasher! Started off slow but once we got to the isolated town near Death Valley and met more of our cast of characters, things revved up for sure. Some good discussion of influencer culture, although there could have been a little more metaphorical skewering along with the very literal kind. A good read for people who enjoyed Breathe In, Bleed Out.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

[jamie d mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buckle up dearie, for a road trip of a lifetime. Morgan and Jasper find themselves stranded in the middle of the desert. No one can hear their cry for help. All they wanted to do was film content. Now they are trying to survive. 


I loved this book. It was steady paced and very easy to read. I especially liked the unpredictable twist and turns. It gave me the movie “JoyRide” vibes. I would highly recommend this to others. 

[Jesy Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, if I could give this book 10/5, I absolutely would. The characters are so brilliant, the plot has the exact right twists and turns. I actually did not figure the killer out until the last moment, and that rarely happens for me! This book has the perfect mix of character & world building, plot and violence. As a huge fan of Asman, I am not surprised at how much I liked this book but I am telling you right now that I believe you will to.

[Luke Dumas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buckle up. #VanDeath moves like a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter burning rubber to escape a masked killer. The violence is visceral and the imagery sticks to the windshield, but this wild ride also has genuine heart.

[Sam Driscoll · Rating 5 out of 5]

A 5 ⭐️ read for me 😊 I was hooked from page 1 and it built a sense of anticipation from there. Just the right amount of gore. Short chapters and fast paced so I flew through the 60% in one sitting! And the last sentence ✨chefs kiss✨ 100% would recommend if you are a fan of classic slasher movies

[MagretFume · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a great and gory time!
I got sucked right in from the very beginning, the tension and dread are palpable, the setting just right.
There is enough background development to empathize with the characters and root for our unlucky couple.
If you like horror absolutely give it a go!
Thank you Blackstone Publishing for this ARC.

[Kristin Centorcelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of fun. Scary and fast paced. Pulled me right out of a reading slump.

[Grim-Mama · Rating 5 out of 5]

A couple of vanlife influencers traveling out into Death Valley trying to survive their relationship, their travels and the night. What can go wrong?

Stories are like a meal you consume. This had all the right ingredients for me: a good mix of modern influencer + old school survival, a layer of love, random bites of wtf crazy, a pinch of guilt, a peppering of gore, plenty of tension, and a little dash of hope.

I’d always recommend this author’s books for a fun horror ride and this did not disappoint. I’m not extra traumatized now about roadtripping.

[Courtney (pawsitivelybookish) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Influencer horror is always a fun time!

This one was a fast paced and thrilling ride…pun intended. It’s a great summer read and will have me second guessing a van trip 👀

[Alora Khan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was CRAZY. Just imagine being stuck in the desert and hounded by a psycho killer for no reason. It went zero to sixty almost immediately and was definitely a thrill ride. The main characters were interesting and the killers were even more interesting. The twist at the end was great and I enjoyed the heck out of this. If you love slashers don't miss this. Coming September 2026.