The Burn Line

by Jonathan Sims, Jude Owusu (Narrator), Kay Eluvian (Narrator)

There's something lurking in the stifling darkness and labyrinthine tunnels that run below London... something old, something vicious, and something very, very hungry.

It's the hottest summer on record and London is dying. Prices are high, pay is low, and stressed commuters are packed onto London Underground trains again like the pandemic never happened. To add to the misery, the temperatures underground just keep climbing and climbing, the heat trapped in the clay with nowhere to go.

Then one fateful morning five travellers on an unlucky tube carriage find themselves bound together as witnesses to a single horrific event - an event they can't quite seem to remember.

They make an unlikely team - a weary tube driver, a disillusioned civil servant, an ambitious city trader, an overwhelmed hotel worker, and an unhoused young man just trying to get by - but now they must come together to confront what they have seen and stop it in its tracks before it kills them all.

From the dark and twisted mind behind Thirteen Storeys, Family Business and podcast sensation The Magnus Archives, The Burn Line is a sinister and socially conscious horror masterclass perfect for fans of Stephen King, Jordan Peele, and Black Mirror.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller, LGBT, Adult, Queer, Paranormal

Audible Audio

First published August 25, 2026

About the author

Jonathan Sims is a writer, performer and games designer whose work primarily focuses on the macabre, the grotesque, and the gentle touch of creeping dread. He is the mind and the voice behind acclaimed horror podcast The Magnus Archives, as well as story-game design duo MacGuffin & Co., and some of your favourite nightmares. He lives in Walthamstow with the two best cats and an overwhelming backlog of books that he really should get round to.

Reviews

[Sidney]

i'm really struggling to rate & review this one... it's not bad at all, it just didn't blow me away either. i liked it enough to pick up something else from this author in the future though.

as a southern girl who often feels like her skin is melting off when she steps outside during the summer, i loved the setting of a stifling, claustrophobic underground London. the psychological horror elements are done really well & i think the author did a good job of adding his own fresh twist to the creatures here that most of us are familiar with. they're genuinely a little creepy. anytime i'm given a diverse cast that's always a plus too! (Tash was my favorite.)

where i get conflicted on the rating is the pacing & writing. parts one & five were the strongest sections of the book for me. the beginning has great tension, & the way the creatures are described immediately made me picture something similar to the Strigoi from The Strain, which i LOVED. but the further i got into part two, the pacing started to drag for me & i had that issue until about halfway through part four. the writing was good overall, but it fell a little flat in certain areas.

the covid references were just really random to me, not because it makes the book feel dated or anything like that, i think with the news of the hantavirus it definitely feels more relevant BUT i just don't think it added anything to the plot? it never really tied into anything significant. it felt more like the author was mentioning covid just to mention it. i honestly kept forgetting the story was supposed to be set during covid & then a few chapters later there'd be another reference & i'd just be like "oh right..."

i’m not too into podcasts, but this definitely piqued my interest to check out The Magnus Archives, & i’ll definitely be checking out more books from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review

[The Reading Frog (trying to catch up!)]

Thank you to Jonathan Sims, Poisoned Pen Press & NetGalley for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review

Rating: 3.75/5 ⭐
CW: Explicit | Body horror, burn injury description, death, dissociation, gore, gun violence
Moderate | COVID/pandemic, inebraited POV
Mild | alcoholism, gender dysphoria, mention of hard drugs, mention of suicide, mention of transphobia, withdrawal symptoms
My chosen soundtrack(s): The line - Jed Kurzel | Gyroscope - Boards of Canada (the beat reminds me of the sound of train tracks)

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‎ ‎ ‎ ‎The Burn Line follows a group of diverse characters who are all, in some way or another, down on their luck, living an unfulfilling existence or are in some way or another struggling under London's (metaphorical) thumb.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎A dangerously hot heatwave is reigning over the city, reaching temperatures that would make it "illegal to transport cattle on the Central line because it was too hot." Unfortunately, there are no such regulations in place to protect humans, which is why we join our cast of characters in the London Underground.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎Five strangers find themselves in a tube car, all for different reasons, yet with something pivotal in common. The travellers feel as if they just woke up from some type of dream. Dazed and unsure of how they found themselves where they are.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎Traces of a mysterious, ashy, oily substance can be found on and around them, and a permeating, unpleasant sweet smell dominates the air alongside the heat.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎It's confusing and unsettles them all. Whether they acknowledge or deny it, blame it on exhaustion or the heat, something horrible and life-changing has bound their fates together.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎The group tries to leave what happened behind them, but the London Underground doesn't easily let go of what was once in its clutches...

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Representation
╰┈➤ BIPOC MC, Senyo, described as black, and it's mentioned that his parents came from Ghana
╰┈➤ South-Asian MC, Elise, described herself as white-passing but is implied to be South-Asian
╰┈➤ Chronically ill/ mostly invisibly disabled MC, Elise, has Diabetes and relies on insulin
╰┈➤ Transfem MC, Tash
╰┈➤ Unspecified, either bi/pan or lesbian MCs
╰┈➤ WLW dynamic
╰┈➤ Genderqueer SC (they/them)
╰┈➤ Mental health rep, through multiple (main) characters, depression, suicidal (ideation), paranoia, some compulsions, anxiety and dissociation


Themes
Non-spoilery | Altruism, dehumanisation, dissociation, empathy or the lack thereof, heat wave, London as a microcosm, memories, ordinary/everyday run-of-the-mill people, post-pandemic aftershocks, selfishness, social/political issues, solidarity, survivor's guilt.
Somewhat-spoilery | Capitalism, corruption, gentrification, housing crisis, perceived superiority, privilege, ruling class, "whose lives are regarded as disposable?", working class.


Tropes/What To Expect
‎ ‎ ‎ ❥ Multi POVs
‎ ‎ ‎ ❥ Something followed them home...
‎ ‎ ‎ ❥ Mysterious and tense
‎ ‎ ‎ ❥ Diverse, flawed, complex characters
‎ ‎ ‎ ❥ Social/political commentary
‎ ‎ ‎ ❥ Found family

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What I liked/loved
‎ ‎ ‎ ✧ The set-up of the first chapter was an amazing introduction to the atmosphere of the story and offers vivid descriptions of the characters.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎Before even a single sentence of dialogue is uttered, we already get some idea about who these completely different people are.
‎ ‎ ‎ ✧ The diversity. The characters we share a headspace with all come from different backgrounds, races, identities, and walks of life. Who they are as people, what their jobs are, their familial and non-familial relations, their ambitions, etc., all impact the way they experience and view the world. Which brings me to my next point.
‎ ‎ ‎ ✧ The multi-POVs worked really well. I loved that we got to experience characters we already knew through another character's perspective, putting them in a new context, getting to know them again through a different framing. We also got some overlap of POVs of the same events, which was fascinating to read.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎I liked every character's POV I've read, but I loved spending time in Aaron's and Seyo's headspace the most.
‎ ‎ ‎ ✧ Amazing social and political commentary, which I can't really discuss truly in depth without spoilers, but just trust me when I say there is some interesting discourse.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎Now, for those who have already read it: The Burn Line is very much a commentary on classism, capitalism, slum lords, housing crisis and privilege. It's something very reflective of our current lived reality, which made it really easy to immerse and sympathise with the characters.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎I specifically enjoyed the discourse on being unhoused and how aristocrats buy up buildings only for them to sit there empty. A valuable resource used as passive income for those who need it the least. Simultaneously, characters like Aaron are judged for "not working hard enough" and are assumed to be fully responsible for the horror of being a rough sleeper. There's also a focus on how people in such circumstances are dehumanised, seen as a statistic, and an acceptable loss by those who profit.
‎ ‎ ‎I do think some exploration of those topics was a little on the nose, but I had a fun time regardless.
‎ ‎ ‎ ✧ Characters as commentary devices. It's narrative, it's character work, it's personal. This read is extremely character-driven.
‎ ‎ Our group is complex, flawed, and nuanced. Some I instantly loved, others surprised me by changing my opinion on them in ways I hadn't expected. Some made me roll my eyes or beg them to get that stick out of their arse. Their complexity makes them the perfect devices for exploring these social and political discourses on a personal level.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ✵ Through Aaron, we explore altruism, empathy and kindness in situations that often force a person to grow hard and cold. Where selfishness is survival, yet not always the given choice.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ✵ I love that we explore through Senyo how we sometimes have no choice but to be a part of a system we morally and fundamentally do not agree with. How being 'a part' of something is impactful in both negative and positive ways. That 'few against the many' goes both ways.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ✵ Will was such a fascinating character to me. Someone complex, bursting with ambition and a certain desperation for success. Trying to win a game regardless of starting with an undeniable disadvantage. How something at some point has got to give.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ✵ Through Elise, we explore what it's like to constantly have to make yourself palatable and presentable even when doing so is extremely exhausting.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ✵ Tash takes us along the undesirable living situations she has to navigate and the unfortunate reality of having extra safety measures to think about when queer and/or trans.
‎ ‎ ‎ ‎Each character is in some way its own exploration of a corner of the social/political microcosm that makes up London, which mirrors worldwide circumstances.
‎ ‎ ‎ ✧ The first half of the book builds great suspense and has that "something is wrong, but I don't know what" feeling that keeps you engaged and turning another page.
‎ ‎ ‎ ✧ Though the disability/chronic illness aspect doesn't have a huge presence, I'm glad it was more than a footnote. It impacted Elise as a character, how she navigates the world and of course, her literal health and safety. I'm always thankful for non-lazy representation.
‎ ‎ ‎ ✧ There are lots of original takes on established horror tropes/themes/aspects. I love being surprised like that!
‎ ‎ ‎ ✧ Sims truly has a large vocabulary to invoke disgust with. Which is honestly really impressive. I don't think I've ever seen the word 'ooze' this much in one singular book.



What I didn't like/felt lacklustre about
‎ ‎ ‎ ✦ Though marketed as a horror, it wasn't really a horror to me. Yes, it was mysterious, dark, sometimes eerie, and it definitely contains some body horror, but I still wouldn't categorise it as such. Especially because a large part of the book was character-driven, mystery and at some point quite action-fueled. It feels like a genre-bend of multiple categories. So keep that in mind when deciding if this is the read for you.
‎ ‎ ‎ ✦ I did NOT care about the romance sub-plot. You can't just declare that there is a romantic relationship without anything to base it on. No scenes, no chemistry, nothing. We surely are told about it, but there is zero evidence that made me believe their "love".
‎ ‎ Not every book needs romance! If it doesn't add anything, just leave it out! This plot point truly was the embodiment of the phrase "yes, girl, give us nothing".
‎ ‎ I've noticed this with a lot of queer rep in books. When there is queer rep, there is often a romance dynamic to, I don't know, prove this queerness? It has a certain amatonormativity to it that I simply don't care for. I'd rather have single, well-developed queer characters than an empty romance plot just for the sake of it.
‎ ‎ ‎ ✦ There were some pacing issues.
‎ ‎ The first third of this book is all about mystery and suspense. This segment I loved.
‎ ‎ This is followed by a segment where some things are revealed, but not a lot happens. It felt a bit like waiting, which felt slow to me.
‎ ‎ The last third is almost survivalist, which I do enjoy, but it did become a little campy. There was somewhat of a different tone to the start of the book. Where it was once quite serious, introspective and deep, the third part became a bit more comedic and wacky. I didn't mind it, I had fun! But I did have to switch gears for a moment.
‎ ‎ ‎ ✦ SOLVED I have one question I don't have an answer to, and I'm not sure whether I missed it or if we are supposed to be left wondering. Either way, it is bothering me! If anyone knows who this is referring to, let me know:

Beneath the roiling mass of the titanic corpse-beast, she could see a stone table. She never told the others who it was she saw lying on that table, prepared for some vile transformation or ascendency, but the face she could see above the funeral-shroud was horribly familiar, and she realized why it was the ghouls might have been so distracted that night.

I might just be a bit stupid, my brain may just be as cooked as the London Underground.


Conclusion/Notes
‎ ‎ I picked up The Burn Line just in time to fill that Summerween craving I've been having, and it definitely was a good snack for my growling stomach!

‎ ‎ The plot is original, fun and unique in its creature and worldbuilding, albeit a bit campy after a certain point. The suspense kept me on my toes, and I was genuinely invested in the survival of our main characters. Which I think showcases where this book shines: its characters.

‎ ‎ I loved meeting Elsie, Senyo, Tash, Will and Aaron, and to me personally, they were the showstealers of it all. They were layered, complex, messy, and sometimes made choices I did not agree with, but not once was I not invested in them.

‎ ‎ Overall, The Burn Line is a fun read. It wasn't life-changing, but it definitely made me feel less like shit about my own suffering of these ridiculously high temperatures, because the characters in this book definitely had a worse heatwave experience than I did. For that I am thankful!

The Burn Line is set to release on Aug 25 2026.


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“We have more power together.” “But they do it anyway(...) “That’s the thing. We don’t get to have power. If we try, all that changes is how hard they kick us when they take it away.”

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[Erin]

ARC for review. To be published August 25, 2026.

3 stars

I was looking forward to reading this because I thought Sims’s “The Magnus Archives” was an absolutely amazing podcast for fans of horror; I was always impressed at how Sims kept up the level of quality over a large number of seasons.

This book’s tone reminded me of the podcast, but the podcast’s excellence lies as being part of a whole, I think (although there are some great standalone episodes) and maybe Sims’s fiction works better with n shorter form. I liked the individuals who were the main characters and I enjoyed the setting but I was not crazy about the big bad at all and the whole idea of them seemed a bit half-formed.

It wasn’t a bad read though and I would always read another Sims book based on the strength of “Archives.”

[Steve Chaput]

A group of strangers experience something mysterious on the London underground which they can’t explain. Suddenly events begin to happen that causes them to seek each other out.

Something is lurking in the depths of London and people are disappearing. The group begins to realize that they must take matters into their own hands.

Nicely developed characters that I’d love to meet again.

[james]

jonathan, why do you never read your audiobooks yourself, jonathan


something of a capitalist critique and the middle and lower class should work together to defeat the one true evil (aristocracy), some allusion to the billionaire who’s trying to never die by drinking his son’s blood, and a good old pandemic throwback - it’s delivering on themes but not particularly on a captivating reading experience

[Andreas]

while I agree with the message, it could have used some modicum of subtlety in its delivery; also, I particularly dislike ultra-contemporary references in fiction (looking at you, covid-19)

[Becky Spratford]

Review in the June 2026 issue of Library Journal

Three Words That Describe This Book: Multiple Points of view, Social Commentary, Horror-Mystery

Draft Review: Fans of the Magnus Archives podcast rejoice, its creator has written his first book, an entertaining and immersive eldritch horror-mystery set during a sweltering heat wave, featuring a monster in the London Underground. In consecutive chapters to open the novel, readers meet five strangers on a train car. One by one they tell their story of that fateful day as each experiences an unsettling moment of dissociation, notices a distinctly awful smell unlike any bad odor they have encountered on the Underground before, and comes away with a gray, flaky film clinging to them. The dread and unease from that fleeting moment follows each, first as a nagging bad feeling, then manifesting into a pale humanoid creature, stalking them. A story where every detail matters, bonkers in all the right ways, producing claustrophobic chills, and providing a biting social commentary, readers will dive into the tunnels and root for this motley group of former strangers turned found family as they work together to stop a terrifying monster and save the people of London (and themselves) from a terrible fate.

Verdict: With a huge built-in audience, libraries need to have this one available, but it is also an excellent suggestion for fans of Chuck Tingle, Alma Katsu’s Fiend, and Jeffrey Cranor and Joseph Fink’s Welcome to Night Vale.

Other words: Eldritch, found family. bonkers (but just the right amount, still serious horror), dark humor, stifling, claustrophobic immersive, popular podcast now writing a book, entertaining, terrifying, multiple points of view

First, it must be said that the author is the creator of the very popular original, horror-mystery podcast The Magnus Archives. It has a Welcome to Nightvale feel, but instead of a town it is focused on an archive and the supernatural mysteries that come from that.

So right away, you have an audience for this book at your library-- the millions of people who have enjoyed the podcast. Also fans of Welcome to Nightvale and its spin off books.

The story is original, entertaining, with an eldritch feel, and so stiflingly claustrophobic. We start on a London Underground car. It is the middle of the worst heat wave in London ever. This is important to the story because everyone is sweatier and more out of it than normal.

There are 6 people on the car. Part 1 of the novel is 5 of those people telling the story of their day on that train car. Elise (works for the transit ministry as a coder), Senyo (an Underground driver and union leader), Tash (an overnight hotel clerk), Will (a finance guy), and Aaron (young homeless man).

One by one they tell their story of that day. This is a great way to start the book because readers get to meet each character from inside their head. It sets up the fact that all 5 had a moment of dissociation on the train and that they knew something strange happened. They also note a strange bad smell-- very different from regular Underground smells and a weird flaky film that gets on them. The dread and unease from that experience followed them throughout their days and even moved into something stalking them (maybe) at home in their nights.

(Side note, I had two books with smell playing a big part in the story for this column-- Fabulous Bodies is the other)

And it increases the mystery around the 6th person. Which comes into play.

But the bouncing around of character helps to keep the story moving and allow the reader to understand the motivations of each character before they understand each other.

Here is the thing that Sims does well-- all the details matter. The five characters notice and work on things in their jobs, things that all get used in the story-- but not in a way that feels forced. I liked that. So for example, the heat wave and how and why the Underground is so hot and how people have been trying to fix that for years that comes into play. That is one example.

I always appreciate when the details that build characters and place also playing a role in the plot.

Like all good horror, the story is resolved but the chance of the monster coming back to find them is very possible. Sequel?

The social commentary about how hard it is to live in London with rising costs, racism, and how poorly the homeless are treated, and how the rich are getting richer, etc...it is all woven in to the story.

The monster deep in the tunnels is well built. It is more than they even realize at first and how they seek it all out and fight it is believable. Everyone uses the skills and professions they have to help solve the mystery. They really need to work together as a unit to save themselves from being the next victim. For example, Senyo has access to the Underground CCV for each car at anytime. Will has access to a very rich man who may know something about all of this. etc...

And in the process-- the found family they create is heartwarming. Even after the terror.

This is a solid, entertaining horror story with some social commentary. The mixture of dark humor with serious social issues and terror was done well, but it is a little over the top at times. That makes is a fun read and I cannot fault the author for that.

Paris nicely with Alma Katus's Fiend (ancient evil tied to the rich and social commentary) and Fabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle (bonkers, smell plays a part, social commentary, mystery aspects) And of course fans of Welcome to Nightvale.

[Trisha]

Just a hot day and your average day on the train - from work to home, home to work, each person on their own ride and in their own world. Until today - today, they all seem to wake up and shake off. . .something. They don't know what. There's only a few of them on this warm train and none of them know each other.

But as they each go home, they start hearing shuffles around them and something appears to be. . .stalking them. But as one of them has a friend go missing, assumed murdered, he knows he needs to find out who was on the train and they need to discover what is going on - before they all meet the same fate.

This was a great mystery that rolled right into a creepy horror story. I liked that we get each POV, each person waking up on the train and their movements from there. It really helped understand they all had their own lives that were disrupted by this moment. I liked how they came together, figured things out. I never guessed where the new shocking horror would pop up or how it would all come together.

I did an audio and the narrators were great - one of them being the author! It really did add to the urgency of the story and help discern each personality of the characters. A good story, I enjoyed it!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

[Michael]

I could easily see this being a Netflix series, and I think I would enjoy it more in a visual, episodic format. That gorgeous cover is cinematic in and of itself. I didn’t find it particularly scary or horrifying, I kept skimming to get to the action. Each character gets their own chapter and early on this set up felt very repetitive. We don’t need to see the story from every person’s viewpoint within it.

[Julia Bodwell]

A story that’s equal parts creepy & intense. You’ll be rooting for the main characters and the bonds of friendship & family they form in this wholly original horror standalone!

[gracie]

This is a book that I'm rating solely based on its merit rather than a joint rating with my enjoyment because I read this while in a depressive episode. I'm quite familiar with Jonathan Sims and I was intrigued to see how a full length horror novel from him would go and I was not disappointed.

The book is very well written and there was a perfect balance of tension, suspense and the comedic moments in the novel. I liked the characters and how distinct they felt from each other, the different backgrounds they came from too. It was all very interesting to read about.

Can't quite say I was hooked from start to finish but even the slower moments did a good job of setting up the foundation for the faster paced moments. The ending was a bit anticlimactic but satisfactory nonetheless and that's a lot more than I can say for a lot of books I've enjoyed.

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review

[Dozelina 666]

I have very mixed feelings about this book.

The premise immediately caught my attention. Five strangers experience something horrifying on a London Underground train, only to discover that they can't remember exactly what happened during those missing moments. When they realize whatever they encountered isn't done with them yet, they reluctantly join forces to uncover the truth before it finds them again.

I really liked the writing. Jonathan Sims does an excellent job creating atmosphere and I especially appreciated how vividly he captured the suffocating heat of the London Underground. Between the overcrowded trains, the relentless temperatures and the claustrophobic tunnels, I could almost feel myself sweating alongside the characters.

I also enjoyed the multiple POVs. Spending time with each of the five main characters gave the story a lot more depth and I found it easier to understand their motivations and connect with their individual struggles.

My biggest issue was the pacing.

For me, the first half felt like a very slow burn, so slow that I occasionally found myself waiting for something significant to happen. Once the story picked up, I was much more invested, but I do think it took a little too long to get there.

Overall, I enjoyed the atmosphere, the character work and the creeping sense of dread. I just wish the story had reached that intensity a little sooner.

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Thank you to NetGalley, Orion Publishing Group and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

https://turnthepagewithana.blogspot.c...

[kensi]

2/5 stars

While I haven't read the author's previous novels, I am pretty familiar with his podcast, The Magnus Archives, which I enjoyed but did not love; at least not as much as many people seem to. Still, it's because of the podcast that I know just how well Sims can write horror (some episodes have stuck with me 5 years after the end of the show) but unfortunately this book fails to showcase much of the talent Sims has.

The premise is great: something is killing people on the Tube and a group of strangers has to band together to find out what it is and how to stop it. A bit simple maybe, but oftentimes in horror novels or movies things become too complicated so sometimes simple is best. The first chapter opens with a creepy, queasy feeling incredibly well... and then we have to re-hash the exact same thing happening 4 more times through every other main character's POV which takes up the entirety of the first section.

It's not until Part II where the plot honestly starts to kick in, which is about 20% into the novel and about 10% too late in my opinion. But now the plot is interesting enough that I'm captivated by it and am excited to see where it leads until I hit a wall at 60% when George comes into the picture.

The fact that everyone buys his story so readily is ridiculous because it sounds as if he's made it up on the spot, and yet the group goes along with it and decide to follow this man who they all privately don't trust into the depths of the Tube system to hopefully kill this creature that has been hunting them. Sure, I guess? Obviously they have to do something but going in on their own would have been better than this. Then George ends up betraying them, of course. Which everyone should have expected from the beginning, but whatever. And on top of that, he gives a ridiculous cliched monologue all the while KNOWING that several of his potential victims can MOVE despite the paralytic powers these creatures have! I just don't understand how things got to this point when the middle bit was going so well.

The final battle ensues, Chekhov's insulin injection is used to keep some characters back to explore more, one of the worst one-liners I have ever read is used completely unironically, and at this point I have lost almost all interest I held in the book and I'm ready for the book to be over.

And it does end. Kind of. There's an epilogue where everything is wrapped neatly with a bow that doesn't feel particularly earned and that's it. Except also not because the threat is still very much there despite everything our heroes went through, so it felt like it was all for nothing. I can tell Sims was going for the found family trope here at the end, but again, it doesn't feel earned. We're told over and over again that certain people have become close in either romantic ways or not, but we don't ever really get to see that for ourselves, which is disappointing.

I think this would have worked better as a novella or a short story. Like I mentioned, for a good 40% of this book I was entirely locked in and eager to see how the story was going to progress, but then it went off the rails and not in a good/fun way. I also believe that having an entire clan of these immortal creatures instead of just one worked against the novel. The creatures were almost ridiculously easy to kill once someone got over the paralysis which made them significantly less threatening. If there had been just one creature that was powerful it could have worked better.

The writing is done well, I appreciated the representation found throughout, and the concept is great, but unfortunately this book didn't work for me as much as I wanted it to.

My thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

[a dog who learned to read]

I was drawn to this book because the concept of creepy happenings on London's tube network enticed me - there is an undeniable appeal to the dark tunnels and the upending of the mundane commute - so I was somewhat disappointed to find that setting quite loosely explored. Yes, the characters scramble through the underground for a bit, but the details of the environment and the inclusion of the trains themselves felt very sparse, and large swathes of the book take place away from the underground.

That might not be such an issue in itself, but there is an overall lack of detail and complexity that pervades this book and made it a disappointing read for me. We follow a fairly large group of characters, chapters switching perspectives between them, and because they are all written quite flatly (and share much of the same personality traits, reactions, and feelings), this feels like a structural decision employed to sidestep writing the real connective tissue of the story.

Very quickly, it all feels tiring. Just about every character expresses the exact same view of the world in the exact same way - we're miserable, we're poor, and we hate rich people - and it's just not very interesting. It starts to feel like characters are turning directly to me, the reader, to say, "I have the correct and moral view", which becomes even more tedious when the overarching message of the book is so transparently predictable because it precisely mirrors its identical protagonists' view of the world.

The fact that the one character who is some sort of middle class bridge between the working class characters and the cartoonish aristocratic ghoul types must be neatly offed in lieu of exploring his character with any complexity for a second is frustrating. This moment felt emblematic of the book's total lack of interest in examining its characters or world beyond a Scooby Doo villain approach to class. And having just written that sentence - that makes it sound more fun that it is! I could imagine a simplistic, cartoonish exploration of class that worked better for just a touch more variance in its characters. But the rich people in the book keep saying "I am rich and sneering" and the non-rich people keep saying "this rich guy is sneering" and it's like, okay I got that. I understood that. I have received your signal.

There is a pervading sense of the repetitive, and the book's style feels remarkably young and simplistic, but it's the cartoonish, obvious, uncomplicated characters that primarily made the book a disappointment for me. The relationships they build with each other essentially happen while we're not looking, so they're broadly unsatisfying, but the larger issue is that these people just don't feel real. They don't feel distinguished, they have little to say, and they just parrot the same dull, basic political statements over and over again.

The characters feel flat, the political commentary feels stale, and the setting and the big bad of the book alike feel undefined, predictable, and boring.

It wasn't for me. Perhaps I am a ghoul.

[Milt Theo]

"The Burn Line" was a struggle for me, and even days later after finishing it I'm still unsure why. I couldn't connect with the cast, I found the pacing uneven and often dragging, though there were scenes and twists I really enjoyed. But the overall result just wasn't compelling enough for me, and I often found myself putting the book aside. The premise is quite promising and entertaining, the author nailed it on atmosphere and setting, but why insist on repeating the same descriptions from different POVs, by characters with such uninteresting backstories? The ending was also a let down. In any case, I think readers who enjoy creature features will enjoy this one nevertheless, as long as they dive into it with the lowest of expectations.

[Krystelle (based on the novel by Stephen King)]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This is a really good example of the kind of thing you can do with horror as a social commentary. More than anything, this book is a big, bundled class discussion and dissection, and the things that happen to the characters are in aid of that discussion.

The thing is, the characters are equally well fleshed out and developed, and so you get a delicious horror banquet that hits all the right notes in all the right places.

While we have five characters to follow, all of which are interesting but not overwhelming. All of them are well developed, and they don’t tend to take too much or too little of the narrative. I think my favourite characters were Elise and Aaron, just because they were so well written. The description of the public service was very apt, and I laughed more than once at some of the absurdity.

The monster threat in this was exceptional, and I think a really good twist on the normal lore. It just felt like it had a lot more work and care put into it, and I really appreciated it from a horror standpoint. The only thing I did feel could have been improved was the ending, but even that was only by a little bit.

The writing was exceptional too, and I think it’s definitely a testament to what horror should be- social commentary, a touch of wry humour, and, at the heart of it all, really good characters who make reading the book a delight.

[Erin Dunn]

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars

✨✨Atmospheric and tense, but a bit too slow at times✨✨

The Burn Line is a very atmospheric, creepy, and tense read! I really enjoyed it for the most part.

The setting of a stifling hot London Underground and 5 travelers trying to figure out what’s going on, why they can’t remember some stuff, and what is killing people was really intriguing. I definitely wanted to keep reading and figure it all out!!!

I did struggle with what to rate this one and that doesn’t happen to me often. Some of the pacing was a little off for me, it was really slow in some parts. The rest was pretty fast paced though and I did really like how well done the tension building is. I think maybe it was because of how many POVs there are why it was slow at times.

I’m pretty happy with the ending. As a whole, I really liked The Burn Line!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free ebook copy in exchange for an honest review. This book is expected to be released August 25, 2026 .

[rhys]

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for a copy of this e-ARC!

The Burn Line was my first exposure to Jonathan Sims and it is safe to say I believe that the hype is well deserved. This book was eerie, placing a new spin on a beloved horror trope of mine, vampires. Sims’ ability to produce dread is fantasy, the description of these monsters are revolting and nasty, the body horror was excellent when it became present.

However, the biggest gripe I had with this story was the character’s relationships. I enjoyed all of the individual characters from what we got of them, but I think this story would’ve benefited a lot more from either: a) being longer to show rather than tell the development between the cast, especially with the family dynamic. Yes, the situation is high stakes, and there’s a nasty white freak chasing them around; but, whenever the dynamics between the characters were mentioned I found myself wanting more out of it (ie Tash and Elise, Aaron and Senyo) or b) having the amount of POVs cut down to strengthen individual characterization, as I personally felt as though it felt spread thin.

I would have found myself rooting for them and their individual arcs a lot more if I were shown bonding rather than largely told about it. A lot of it seemed to have happened off page and that aspect disappointed me the most in this story, especially when it becomes so vital to the narrative later on.

[KaysKillerReads]

This one took me longer to read than it should have. July was a very busy month in all the best ways. Between family vacation and everything else life decided to throw into the mix (life, am I right?), all that reading time I had planned never quite materialized.

And honestly, who knew 4-year-old boys cling to their moms more than dryer sheets cling to microfiber? 😂

Had I actually had the time, I probably would have finished this in a couple of days. I had a hard time putting it down, and when I did, it spent that time living rent-free in my head.

Jonathan Sims does a fantastic job of taking something that's been written a million times in a million different ways and somehow making it feel fresh. It's a vampire story (or is it? 👀), with a strong undercurrent of "the rich get richer while the poor suffer" woven throughout.

My only real downside was the pacing. The beginning felt a little slow, while the ending felt rushed. It almost felt like the book was originally much longer and then trimmed down, with most of the cuts coming from the final act.

While I completely understand that the character building at the beginning is vital to the story, I found myself wishing we'd gotten more of George. I also would have loved more backstory on the creatures. Combined with the rushed ending, it left me feeling like there were pieces of the story missing.

All in all, I'm giving this book 3 stars ⭐⭐⭐.

I enjoyed it, and I would absolutely recommend it to others. But for me personally, I just can't push it past that 3-star mark.

[Grace -thewritebooks]

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review

Obviously I'm here as a Magnus Archives fan, and I'm so thrilled to be so up to date that I got to read this before its pub date, but I'm also into horror anyways so I like to think I wasn't swayed too much by preconceived notions. Not sure that there has ever been a more timely book release as the UK succumbs to yet another heatwave, the pace of this story had a slow, simmering build that I really enjoyed. Sims' descriptions of the heat on the London Underground were replaying in my mind when I was there over the weekend and that wasn't even a horror element, just setting the scene.
I don't think this follows the found family trope in the standard way, but circumstances really do throw these characters together from all walks of life and require them to have each other's backs.
Overall, I wasn't blown away. I do think we've seen this style of Underground horror before, which is not to say that I didn't have a great time, the building of suspense was fantastic and each character's background was relevant to the unfolding story. And I loved the 'eat the rich' energy throughout!

[Sabrina (witchy.library)]

3.5 overall!

I was intrigued by the cover alone with this one and was definitely excited to see what it had in store. I loved the multiple POV’s of each character and seeing each perspective and how they come together. You definitely get to feel for each character and the struggles that they go through. This was definitely a slow burn thriller and builds up the suspense.

I guess I was expecting something different with this book and did want more of the creature part of it. With the long chapters it did feel dragged out and long winded at times where there could’ve been more action. The twist also did feel predictable and I wanted just maybe a little more from the ending.

Overall, this one was middle of the road for me and was good at times but also a slow burn that I felt needed to speed up some.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for my ARC in exchange for my honest review!

[Kim Novak (The Reading Rx)]

I can't remember the last time a horror novel attacked my olfactory senses in such a way. I would literally smell the words coming off my Kindle. New fear unlocked being underground in a subway after reading this! I enjoyed the multiple POVs and how all the characters came to recall their shared horrific experience in slightly different ways. I thought the cast of characters was thoughtful and diverse, and the story would make for a great movie or limited run series.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

[Stacey Markle]

The London setting, in the underground tubes particularly, is a terrific choice. Instantly anxiety inducing, the hot dark tunnels can hide any sort of nastiness! Jonathan Sims plays on that fear and anxiety so well in this gripping read.
5 strangers experience something at the same time while riding the tube (subway for NA) yet can't really get a handle on what happened, especially since no one else remembers anything. As they slowly come together to unravel this mystery, they experience dark days and insane happenings. The sense of dread and tension is built slowly but surely, culminating in a great ending. With 5 main characters and a host of others, it gets busy keeping everyone straight but it's worth the effort.
Eerie and atmospheric, this engaging novel worked well for me. I would definitely read more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read and review this title. My thoughts are my own.

[Carissa | the.grim.readers]

I picked up THE BURN LINE after having been sent a gorgeous finished physical copy from the publisher, which then reminded me I had this gem waiting for my on my kindle as an eARC as well. This is a story that is truly hard to describe, so I'll list some of the main vibes it gave: claustrophobic settings, creature feature, unexpected friendships, creeping dread, and enough gore to have made me grimace on multiple occasions (compliment).

All of our characters went through something horrific together but none can seem to remember until it slowly and creepily starts to be pieced together. This is one that I'm glad I went into blind as I was initially somewhat intimidated by it's near 400 pages at first, but the pacing was good overall and kept me well-engaged throughout and desperate to find out what happened alongside our characters. Readers who enjoy slow, atmospheric horror that combines creature feature and an intriguing cast of character POVs I think will find themselves really enjoying this as well.

[rachel]

You see that one month gap earlier this year where I appear to not read anything? Yeah, I was binging the entirety of The Magnus Archives.

I was truly, endlessly impressed by the horror anthology, how it all culminated, and how utterly brilliant Jonathan Sims’ mind is.

So, imagine my utter delight when I find THE BURN LINE on Netgalley (thank you to them & Poisoned Pen Press!) and was approved for an e-ARC less than 24 hours after requesting it. Naturally, I dived in immediately, even though my TBR is growing longer than the Great Wall of China.

In The Burn Line, six strangers in London emerge from the Underground rattled and anxious from an experience they can’t remember, but is affecting them in their day to day life in a way they can’t explain. The only thing that connects them is this incident, and their terror is made all the more oppressive by Sims’ description of the oppressive London heat wave and burden of barely scraping by in a world made for the elite and wealthy.

The multiple perspectives that this book offered was brilliant and kept me endlessly compelled— you’re kept on the edge of your seat as they attempt to figure out what exactly happened while still trying to get by in their day to day lives. There were many elements that were reminiscent of The Magnus Archives and heightened my experience reading The Burn Line, although I am not sure—for readers unfamiliar with TMA—whether this would be interpreted as foreboding or as an element that muddles the remainder of the plot.

Although the beginning of the book was a bit slow to take off (and you don’t learn about the true origins of “the incident” until the later portion of the novel), the latter half of TBL was worth the wait. The last 30% of the book in particular reminded me of the video game The Quarry—and, since I have been looking to fill that void since its release, I am happily satiated.

My only other qualm with THE BURN LINE was how jarring it was realizing the time period it took place in. TBL takes place in the direct aftermath of the worst of the pandemic and also directly following when the Queen of England dies. Thus, being transported back into a time where everyone is wearing masks and mourning her royal majesty was a bit,,, peculiar. I think this novel could have greatly benefited from a qualifier that it takes place in 2022 (in the synopsis?), as reading it four years after the events of the book did somewhat remove me from the plot.

Otherwise, this was a near perfect read. Perhaps I’m biased because of my enjoyment of The Magnus Archives, but this was such a good horror read for me. I’m so happy I took a chance on this and will make Jonathan Sims one of my auto-buy authors from this point forward.

[Bookish Barbarian]

A compelling concept that smolders but doesn't quite ignite.
Jonathan Sims brings atmospheric dread to the suffocating depths of the London Underground.
A solid, spooky, and fiercely political weekend read for fans of Sims' style. However, its heavy handed execution and detached characters keep it from truly sticking the landing.

[Luke]

There may come a day when I venture into the shadowlands known as 'audiobooks' and pull out something that engages me to the end. Until that day, the only longform audio narrative I've listened to with any degree of success is "The Magnus Archives", an epistolary series headed, voiced, and so much else by Jonathan Sims, the author of this book here. One begins to see where the tendrils of enticement spawned from that motivated me to pick this up, as with barely two weeks till All Hallow's Eve the 1st, I'm in the mood to make another stab at resurrecting my interest in horror on more sustainably intersectional ground, and this work's familiar creator with queer label proudly held high was an easy choice (especially when other readers used Libby's Notify Me tag to good effect). Alas, I was left middling more than not, but as so often happens these days, the read was a respite for my beleaguered brain nonetheless, and Sims himself is a potential worth cultivating.

This book wears its politics on its sleeve, for better or worse. I'd have been far less objective if I had gotten the sultry Sim's enunciation that enticed me for many an hour of floor exercises and gridlock commutes, but what is the cave and what is the shadow. In any case, speaking as someone who works in a rather highfalutin area myself, it was fascinating extrapolating the local problems onto London, one if not the final embodiment of capitalism in where the only predator is real estate and the only real estate is fallout shelters. In comparison, the horrors and its victims fell rather flat, and more than once I found myself contemplating the difference between listing off DEI concepts and committing to not founding one's definition of monstrosity on the usual archetypes of bloated, genderfluid, birthing agent, physically immobile, you see where I'm going with this. Or perhaps the last few years of my own horror story raised my expectations when it came to actually being scared. In any case, the horror of human civilization was my real takeaway from this, so. Missed the heart but hit the brain, perhaps.

My first encounter with Sims was as a part time library assistant balancing a second job and a full time course load in a masters degree. Now I'm a full time professional as well as cancer survivor watching the rights of my community being compromised into genocide by both sides of the political "divide." I must have sleepwalked bargained with the devil at some point, but just as homelessness and death spur on the characters from trans woman to union leader to person of color in tech the most in line, the monster hunting gives space to dabble in revolution and its consequences without having to account for everyone in the brave new world forever after. Such is literary escapism, and for all my equivocating, I am more than interested in seeing what else Sims puts out, textual or otherwise. For I never finished listening to TMA (I am rather immune to sunken cost fallacy when it comes to audiovisual media), and a certain book has popped up enough in my collection development research conducted on the job that I have to wonder whether I'd hook any of my patrons with whispers of a certain Jurgen Leitner.

He couldn't, he wouldn't, believe that it was some sort of widespread conspiracy among TfL staff. That seemed not only repugnant, but impractical. After all, he'd worked with these people for two decades, arranging schedules and trying to organize union meetings. He knew exactly the level of coordination they were capable of, and it was far less than they would need to hide something like that.

[Sam]

My Selling Pitch:
IT on the London tube.

Pre-reading:
Listened to a few episodes of The Magnus Archives tonight to prep for this. They’re quite good for horror short stories. They’re well-paced and genuinely made me feel uneasy. I really, really dig the anglerfish concept of the first story. A predator with a lure is gooooood. She spooky. Supposedly you can read the book independently of the podcast. Thank goodness because I don’t have a prayer of catching up. I’m bummed I’ll miss references though! (This book functions independently from The Magnus Archives.)

(obviously potential spoilers from here on)
Thick of it:
He is so good at breeding eeriness. We’re not even out of chapter one.

Is it not a cat? (Not a cat!)

I like the diversity, but I feel like the cast might be one member too big considering we basically had to repeat that train scene five times.

It’s a little Planet Midnight (my favorite episode of Doctor Who) and a little weeping angel because they forget them when they’re not looking at them.

OK, American Psycho. We love a nod to Patty B.

Count again, girlie. Someone got melted? Sludged? Eaten?

Kinda reminding me of Bat Eater with covid in the subway and the not so subtle digs at our governments being shitty to the common people.

So the monster’s Voldemort lol.

The way it paralyzes them reminds me of how scientists think dinosaurs like T. rex may have used low-frequency noises like gators make to stun their prey.

The visuals of this are so good, but now that we’ve seen the monster, I need it to pick up again. You killed that tension. You have to give me something to replace it. So like the pacing is kind of faltering for me.

This middle bit is DRAGGING.

It went from some threatening monster to some dude’s bitch ass daddy escaped the old folks’ home, and I no longer care to see it resolved. 🙄
Hopefully, there’s a further twist because there’s a lot of book left. The story’s kinda reminding me of IT where it was like omg how do you survive this to that’s it? 👀

I feel like they’re just gearing us up for some confrontation in the tunnel where they’re gonna drive a train at the thing, someone’s gonna have to hug the wall, and they’ll barely get a message out, and I just don’t care. (Missed opportunity much.)

I don’t like any of these characters.

I like the something’s coming poster. That was good. That was fun.

What is Delacey’s bag? Like he lying but for why? (For shits and gigs is BAD motive.)

I’ve hit bored.

I just- it’s very conspiracy theory ooo, the world is controlled by rich lizard people, and I’m bored.

They’re just overgrown subway rats.

I’m so checked out. I do not care.

Yeah, it’s so weird and rude of them to choose survival. Super crazy motive🙄

I dunno, if it’s an object permanence issue, have they tried ADHD meds😂 I mean, that is a kinda sorta speed. I’m just saying-

Shoot it through its mouth?

You had the opportunity for a funny ringtone joke, and you went with the default? Lame.

Don’t the police have dash cams though, so-?

Let’s go lesbians!

God save the queen 🫡

That’s it??? I feel like we didn’t even finish killing the monsters.

So you survive an evil brought on by the elite class, and you’re like you know what I’m gonna do with this money? Give it to the charities- you know, the ones run by the elite class.

Post-reading:
This was pretty disappointing. I really enjoyed the podcast episodes that I listened to before this which are basically just a collection of horror short stories. They’re notably open-ended. And I point that out because the setup for this novel is great, but the follow through is… Like homeboy can set a mood. The visuals are excellent. They’re very cinematic. He can get the hairs up on the back of your neck…as long as he’s relying on your brain to fill in the horrifying blanks. It’s such a common problem I have with horror where as soon as the author shows us the monster, the story loses all bite. It’s always scarier before the big reveal, so horror authors do have to walk a fine line between keeping an audience’s interest while not dragging it out for too long and showing their hands too early. This was way too early. We get the monsters pinned down and the threat of them neutered almost as quickly as they show up. Paralysis and the fact that the characters will forget the monsters if they’re not looking at them (which is a bit too Doctor Who to feel original) feel like valid threats until in the same breath they’re listing off the dangers, the characters have already figured out how to fight through them with sluggish movement and exposure therapy recall. And the balance never tips back to keep the tension. If you don’t up the ante or move the goalpost, all that hard earned dramatic pressure dissipates.

We have to slay the monster and survive is not enough to carry a story when you’ve already shown us they can be killed.

An interesting first third will not keep me from checking out in the back half when the story devolves into something familiar. This feels like yet another riff on IT. You’ve read this book before. We’ve got a ragtag group banding together to fight an impossible monster while we slowly reveal their tragic backstories.

And unfortunately, the backstories aren’t all that tragic. I didn’t care. I didn’t like any of the characters. They felt like pretty stock archetypes to rage against capitalism. And I’m down for some societal critique in my horror-in fact, I think it’s a MANDATED element of good horror. But you’ve gotta give me more than the blanket statement all rich people are evil. It reads like a bad conspiracy theory. The plot of this is essentially lizard people are running the government. That’s eyeroll worthy not satisfying, especially when we don’t even finish the hero’s journey. I’m all for take the money and run, but it feels like we just ended the story because we hit word count. They move away, end scene. There’s room left for a sequel and if it’s following IT so closely already, you’re kind of just like okay, when does the band get back together to storm London part deux? And it’s not in this book. I don’t think this needs a sequel. I don’t think there’s gonna be that sort of demand for it.

The book’s also painfully similar to Bat Eater, and I think that book does a whole lot more with less. Even though this book is really pushing its diversity, which we love to see, it doesn’t have anything unique to say about those perspectives. It’s kind of just listing them off. It feels a little performatively inclusive rather than own voices. Bat Eater is gonna give you something a little more culturally sensitive, you’re gonna care more about the characters and their possible deaths, and it’s got more of an activism arc than welp, the whole system’s corrupt, so we’re just gonna move away and leave it for someone else.

I don’t think the book as a whole is bad enough to go on my do not read list. I think it’s fine even if I wouldn’t personally recommend it. I think you can still read better. I would, however, actually recommend the podcast. I did enjoy those. I think if I heard rave reviews about another book, I would give this author another try, but from this sampling, it seems like he just puts a spin on other people‘s work that he’s enjoyed.

Who should read this:
Magnus Archives fans
IT fans

Ideal reading time:
Summer

Do I want to reread this:
No

Would I buy this:
Nah, grab it from your library.

Similar books:
* Bat Eater by Kylie Lee Baker-lit fic, paranormal horror, family drama, social commentary
* IT by Stephen King-horror classic, paranormal, family drama
* Cuckoo by Gretchen Felker-Martin-IT retelling, paranormal horror, family drama, queer, trans, social commentary
* Abyss by Nicholas Binge-paranormal horror, family drama, social commentary

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Michael Hicks]

Note: This review was originally published at FanFiAddict.

It’s the haves versus the have-nots in the London Underground, and all that’s at stake is the fate of the world in Jonathan Sims’s The Burn Line.

A small group of passengers awaken on a subway car, unaware of what’s happened only moments before but uneasily certain they’ve missed something, even if they don’t know exactly what. One believes he’s having yet another dissociative episode; another thinks they’ve fallen asleep, while another thinks they must be getting ill. None remember the horror of what has just transpired around them, and the only evidence that something had been amiss at all is the greasy ash-like substance each inadvertently comes into contact with as they exit at their next terminal and an uneasy feeling that haunts them over the following days. Soon, they feel like they’re being watched, even hunted, as an outside force draws them together once more…

The Burn Line has an almost Koontz-ian flair to it during its early goings-on. Classic 1980s Koontz, I mean. Not the conservative, post-hair transplant, all dogs are oh so mystical and should be worshipped with religious fervor Koontz. The Koontz that wrote Strangers, which centered around a disparate collection of people with little in common save for forcibly suppressed memories and the fear that terrorizes them and draws them together to a desert motel. The Burn Line positively echoes Strangers in certain ways, at times feeling like a necessary 21st Century update that’s all too relevant to our here and now.

Sims draws his five central characters together slowly, methodically, allowing for plenty of character development and giving each the chance to stand on their own and become familiar to the reader. Each has a distinctive voice and background, and Sims draws from the diverse and multicultural affair of modern-London. There’s the Ghanaian train operator, Senyo, with a bum leg; trans Natasha with the nutjob roommate; Elise with the new job doing coding for the city’s transportation office; homeless Aaron; and Will, a finance broker with a six-figure salary.

Each notice the odd smell and catch the ever-so-brief sight of something that shouldn’t be stalking them through the city. And while The Burn Line carries the whiff of a monster book, the real horror is late-stage capitalism. Sims’s London is a pre-apocalyptic nightmare – a grim, if accurate, reflection on the current state of our world circa 2026 – with its still-relevant concerns surrounding the recent pandemic, unnaturally hot temperatures, a flagging economy, and artificially overpriced buildings standing empty amidst an on-going gentrification and the padding of investment portfolios. This is a city bright and shiny with the influx of elite wealth, but if you look closer it’s nothing but high-priced rot and decay. And, let’s face it, this isn’t just London; it’s everywhere and anywhere these days, so long as there’s money to be made and people to be fucked over.

Sims’s leads come from various socioeconomic backgrounds, with Will obviously being the best off financially, at least for a time. He’s the one that has to face the biggest reckoning, as he’s introduced to the world as it really is rather than the one that has been presented to him. It’s a world his trauma-bonded friends already know all too well. But let’s be honest, it’s a reckoning a lot of us better off than most (and how quickly that can turn on a dime) folks should – in fact, must – face sooner rather than later, of being confronted with how thin the veneer really is on all the propaganda and whitewashing of history. Of grappling with a present-day based on past atrocities of colonization, of living in a country founded on stolen land and built on genocide and slavery, of finding out what a douchebag Christopher Columbus really was. Of the rich giving you just enough in wages that you don’t starve to death but can’t really save, promising you empty platitudes, redirecting your anger toward one another instead of at them, and offering just enough false comforts to stave off the guillotine. Telling you this new data center will transform the city and provide jobs, but not telling you it’ll only hire ten people, drive up your utility costs a hundredfold, and turn your drinking water into plague-ridden brown sludge, and that they need all your land to tear down your home for new power lines to feed the data center while they get tax break upon tax break to make them richer and richer and richer. All you gotta do is pull yourself up by your bootstraps, trade the black lung of your grandparent’s day for some radical new cancer, eat the diarrhea lettuce, pay them monthly fees so you can work as a beta tester in your off hours for their newest get rich quick pyramid scheme of broken AI apps, on top of paying all the shiny new tariffs, and enjoy a world full of unending wildfires, catastrophic heat waves, torrential flooding, school shootings, global pandemics, and melting ice caps. It’s the art of the deal, folks! Come and get it!

The Burn Line is grounded firmly in all these real-world horrors and anxieties – not the fake pabulum of an almost-trillionaire’s worries about Black and trans actors being cast in Hollywood’s version of a Greek epic or the daily petty grievances of a sundowning, grifting, money laundering, pedophile president meant to distract you, but the real ones. The skyrocketing costs of simply living, of surviving in a world hellbent on destroying you for a healthier bottom line, that demands your body and soul in toto because at the end of the day, you’re not really human at all. Hell, you’re little more than just another cow in the slaughterhouse, never expecting the sudden killing blow of a nail through your skull. You’re just food for the rich, same as it ever was. That’s the world Will has to struggle to understand, to survive in and fight against, so fully was he sold on all the artifice, so comfortable was he in all the glory and protections of his white privilege and the belief that he was safe.

Even through the fantastical horrors lying in wait in the London underbelly, there’s a grim, even fatalistic, realism threaded through the empathetic beating heart of it all. Sims cares about his downtrodden cast, and he recognizes that the only way to survive against the horde of the insatiable rich is to stick together, to build found families and communities that can see past skin color and ethnicities and shrinking bank accounts. To organize. Senyo, for example, is the de facto paternal figure, but also a strong and smart union man. We need guys like him now more than ever. We care about these characters because we can see ourselves in each of them. We are them. Some of us will realize this right from the outset. Others will deny it, as Will initially does, and probably even decry it as woke because they honestly think they’re just some temporarily inconvenienced, down on their luck billionaire, too, still asleep enough to believe the dream. Sims, though, he’s awake and he sees things for what they are, metaphorically and realistically, but also righteously, deservedly angrily. You can take that to the bank.

[laila suarez]

the cover & blurb of this book immediately caught my attention as I was scrolling for new book recommendations! i don't have much experience with horror novels, but i am glad that i gave this one a try!

this book that has a very strong conclusion! after we hit the 50% mark, i started flying through the pages. i enjoyed the multiple povs & the way that the book was broken up into parts but the first half was definitely a push to get through. while i enjoyed the author's writing style, it could feel a little wordy at time. we spend multiple sentences describing one irrelevant item in the background and it can take you out of the story a little bit. the way the author tied in seemingly random moments from each characters life into the ending really helped to make the story more cohesive as well.

i enjoyed the social commentary that we had throughout the story, and it feels especially fitting for our current climate. however, i wish we could have seen just a little bit more done with it. there was also a very seemingly random romance that was thrown into this book about halfway through with no real buildup? i ended up liking our characters by the end but i never really felt onboard with the relationship aspect. the found family in this story is another plus! all of our main characters feel pretty in-depth and their personalities still come across well for a novel written in 3rd person.

overall, the burn line was a good novel, but i'm just not sure if it was the best fit for me. if you're a fan of urban horror and suspense, i think you could really enjoy this book and i recommend you give it a try!

thank you to poisoned pen press for the arc!