Interior: Ex Tenebris

by Connor Mancuso, Caroline Harpring (Illustrator)

61 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication October 31, 2026

Reviews

[Nena Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was written with a lyrical beauty. I loved the way the words flowed together. It has a deep meaning behind that was sad, and beautiful. It packs alot into this short read . I highly recommend

[Ginger Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used to read poetry a lot when I was younger, but it's been a while. I've never reviewed poetry before, so I hopefully I do this justice. I do like cosmic horror, and this collection made me feel the kind of dread you would expect to get from cosmic horror. The writing is beautiful, and the imagery it conjures is bleak and chilling. The pictures that went with the poems were also a nice touch. They made them feel even scarier. Obviously poetry won't be for everyone, but if you like poetry and cosmic horror, you'll probably love this.

[Shaunna Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

These poems got a little under my skin.

This is a collection of 15 poems, each exploring a different darker part of the human experience. Grief, anger, depression, denial, guilt, shame, regret, paranoia, resentment, obsession, loneliness, helplessness, despair, betrayal and death.
What I found so interesting is that these aren't written as simple descriptions of emotions. They feel like things that exist inside you. Things that grow, and things that consume you.

Venom was the one that really stood out to me.
There's something so unsettling about the way the emotion is described as this ancient, living thing that has awakened inside the body. It feeds on memories, grows around the ribs and eventually leaves the speaker saying:

"We are no longer the vessel; we are the venom".

That line really stuck with me.

Because there comes a point where you're no longer just experiencing something painful; you become consumed by it. The emotion stops being something inside you and starts becoming part of who your being.

The imagery throughout this poem is brilliant too. Ribs becoming cages. Stars shrinking into ice. No room left for the sun. And then this idea of a god that doesn't love.

It's dark, but there's so much meaning packed into such a small number of words.

And that ending...

“We did not miss the warmth at all.”

It's not just about losing the light. It's about becoming so comfortable in the darkness that eventually you stop wanting the light back.

And I think that's what I've taken from this collection as a whole. It's not trying to make these darker emotions pretty or romanticise them. It's taking things like grief, anger, obsession and despair and turning them into something almost physical. Something monstrous. Something bigger than the people experiencing them.

These poems got me thinking... Thinking about the things we carry around inside ourselves and what happens when we carry them for long enough that we stop knowing where we end and they begin.

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm going to be honest. I've never had to review poetry before, therefore this was a pretty daunting read. However, I enjoy poetry, especially the type that makes you feel something.

Interior: Ex Tenebris is a poetry collection that will indeed make you feel things. It touches on subjects such as grief, self reflection, and even some cosmic horror (among other interesting topics).

'What we plant' was my favorite poem in this collection. And ironically it is the first one. It started off with a bang, and continued from there. I wish I was the type of person to be able to disect every word and fully grasp the meaning of every poem, but I seem to be a little more simple minded and it took a good bit to understand the meaning behind some of the poems. I think its also brilliant that the author typed each of these on a typewriter, really going back to the basics when it came to gathering his ideas and putting it to paper. The only reason I give this one a 3.5 is not because the quality of the collection, but more based off of my enjoyment. It's a satisfying and rather concise read (only about 42 pages) making it a fun read to add to your book list, however, I think I enjoy more older and classic poetry. Which is nothing against this collection! I just think I only felt a connection to a few of the poems rather than the whole which is why the rating is what it is.

Definitely for those who enjoy Cosmic Horror | Symbolic Theology | Collective Human Suffering The Indifferent Universe | Body Horror | Civilizational Despair | The Weight of Existence | Ancient and Unknowable Forces | The Void | Fallen Humanity | Grief and its Stages | Self-Betrayal | The Absence of Divine Intervention | Mortality | Holy Saturday


Release date is October 31st, 2026! So be sure to add this one to your shopping list if any of the topics sound interesting to you! (Will be sold on Amazon or Connors website!)

#ConnorMancuso #RattleTheStarsPR #Horror #Poetry #CosmicHorror

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC Review!

I'm going to be honest. I've never had to review poetry before, therefore this was a pretty daunting read. However, I enjoy poetry, especially the type that makes you feel something.

Interior: Ex Tenebris is a poetry collection that will indeed make you feel things. It touches on subjects such as grief, self reflection, and even some cosmic horror (among other interesting topics).

'What we plant' was my favorite poem in this collection. And ironically it is the first one. It started off with a bang, and continued from there. I wish I was the type of person to be able to disect every word and fully grasp the meaning of every poem, but I seem to be a little more simple minded and it took a good bit to understand the meaning behind some of the poems. I think its also brilliant that the author typed each of these on a typewriter, really going back to the basics when it came to gathering his ideas and putting it to paper. The only reason I give this one a 3.5 is not because the quality of the collection, but more based off of my enjoyment. It's a satisfying and rather concise read (only about 42 pages) making it a fun read to add to your book list, however, I think I enjoy more older and classic poetry. Which is nothing against this collection! I just think I only felt a connection to a few of the poems rather than the whole which is why the rating is what it is.

Definitely for those who enjoy Cosmic Horror | Symbolic Theology | Collective Human Suffering The Indifferent Universe | Body Horror | Civilizational Despair | The Weight of Existence | Ancient and Unknowable Forces | The Void | Fallen Humanity | Grief and its Stages | Self-Betrayal | The Absence of Divine Intervention | Mortality | Holy Saturday


Release date is October 31st, 2026! So be sure to add this one to your shopping list if any of the topics sound interesting to you! (Will be sold on Amazon or Connors website!)

#ConnorMancuso #RattleTheStarsPR #Horror #Poetry #CosmicHorror

[EvanKnitsThings · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️ rounded up

This collection of fifteen poems was both moving and unsettling. Full of extremely evocative imagery this collection tells a story of man and how he relates to the larger universe. A juxtaposition of the cosmic, the divine, and the mundane done in an interesting and intimate way. “The Resistance of Another Living Thing” was my personal favorite of the collection.

For Readers of Carmen Maria Machado's surrealist horror fiction who want that register in poetry form. Fans of H.P. Lovecraft's cosmic horror mythology. Readers of Gerard Manley Hopkins' Catholic devotional poetry particularly the Terrible Sonnets. Anyone drawn to the dark lyric tradition of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton. Fans of dark literary fiction who want something that operates in that emotional register but in a compressed, poetic form.

“Interior: Ex Tenebris” will be released on October 31st, 2026. You can find it on Amazon and Connor’s website!

Be sure to follow @rattlethestarspr and @inked_and_entropy for upcoming announcements and promotions.

🏷️ Cosmic Horror | Symbolic Theology | Collective Human Suffering | The Indifferent Universe | Body Horror | Civilizational Despair | The Weight of Existence | Ancient and Unknowable Forces | The Void | Fallen Humanity | Grief and its Stages | Self-Betrayal | The Absence of Divine Intervention | Holy Saturday | Mortality

#ConnorMancuso #RattleTheStarsPR #Horror #Poetry #CosmicHorror

[Kayleigh Lynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

*****ARC REVIEW*****



Interior: Ex Tenebris is a haunting fifteen-poem collection that descends into the darkest corners of the human condition. Grief, anger, depression, guilt, shame, regret, loneliness, despair, betrayal, and death are explored through a beautifully macabre blend of cosmic horror and symbolic theology.

There’s something almost Dantean about the experience—like being led through the circles of an internal Inferno, each poem revealing another layer of suffering and confronting the ancient, unknowable forces within and around us.

“Venom” was my personal favorite, with a visceral quality that lingered long after I finished reading.

Dark, atmospheric, unsettling, and filled with existential dread, Interior: Ex Tenebris is perfect for anyone looking for a haunting October read.

[candle_thrill · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back—that's exactly the vibe of this poetry book. The fact that it was written on an old Remington typewriter makes the whole creative process feel so unique and authentic (I was lucky enough to get a glimpse behind the scenes). You can read the poems on their own but together they build a story full of cosmic solitude and eerie silence, a really cool mix between scifi, horror and philosophy. The imagery gets genuinely haunting too, like describing church bells as hollow iron skulls. I devoured it in two days 🙌🏻🖤.

[viki edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short poetry book about the existence we maintain, before and after the final breathe.
The journey of the souls through the blinking eye was a thought provoking poem, my favourite in this book, sharp imagery of being watched as life is extinguished.
In all fairness the imagery throught was very pointed, with references to the wealth of holiness and waiting to be judged, how our lives are but a drop in the cosmos.
Beautifully illustrated within each poem, the images are detailed but still open to interpretation of the reader. It is a shame it wasn't longer as I would have loved to have read more.

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s something deeply unsettling about Interior: Ex Tenebris, not because it relies on traditional horror, its really because of the fact that it makes existence itself feel terrifying. The collection speaks through a haunting collective “we,” turning humanity into both observer and victim as the poems confront cosmic indifference, extinction, guilt, faith, and the terrifying scale of the universe. The imagery is bleak, visceral, and intensely atmospheric, filled with darkness, ancient entities, dying skies, empty sanctuaries, and the crushing realization that humanity may not matter to the cosmos at all.

What affected me most was the sense of collective loneliness running through the poems: billions of people searching for proof that another living thing is still there. Rather than offering comfort, these poems embrace uncertainty and despair and somehow make that darkness beautiful.

A haunting read for anyone drawn to existential horror and atmospheric poetry.

Tropes :
• Cosmic Horror
• Existential Dread
• Apocalyptic Horror
• Religious Horror
• Body Horror

[Laura May · Rating 5 out of 5]

A massive massive thank you to Connor and also to Raytheon the stars PR for allowing me to ARC read this amazing book.
All I can say is wow! I knew as soon as the hairs on my arms went up and a shiver went down my spine at the poems written that I was going to devour these beautiful haunting poems in 1 go. Every single one I was able to relate too in real life experiences and honestly they left me with so much thought.
Good luck Connor for the launch 🚀

[Charlotte Kane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interior: Ex Tenebris is a collection of 15 poems over 44 pages. It covers 15 dark interior states of the human condition—including grief, anger, depression, denial, guilt, shame, regret, paranoia, resentment, obsession, loneliness, helplessness, despair, betrayal, and death. Each poem has a lovely image supporting it. This was a really great look at different emotions. It is a really great read, and shows a darker side of life.

[Nicole Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

"the universe gave birth to man, and it choked on its own mistake" is an excerpt from the poem: Ashamed to Be, one of the 15 poems present in this collection.

I've personally never reviewed poetry before, so this was a new one for me. But Connor did an incredible job at portraying the emotion and complexity around being a human.

All of the poems in this collection touch on difficult topics, like depression, guilt, anger, and anxiety. It's incredible the way Connor was able to find words to describe these generally seldom discussed emotions and found a way to make them sound beautiful.

Thank you, Connor for allowing me the opportunity to read this collection before release.

[Brittney Savage · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciate poetry in all forms, this was extremely dark and delightful. These poems made me feel a sense of myself that I didn't realize was even there.

[Kaiti · Rating 4 out of 5]

“It Knows” and “The Resistance of Another Living Thing” are my two favorite poems from this collection. I think often of how meaningless things can feel and these poems definitely echoed that. It’s a quick read at only 44 pages as well!

[Michaela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such an interested concept and read. I loved the concept of being the feelings that we are uncomfortable with in human experience. I was easily consumed by this poetry collection. I definitely recommend!

[Tessara Dudley · Rating 1.5 out of 5]

I received an advance reader copy of this book from Rattle the Stars PR. All opinions expressed below are my own.

This short collection of poems revolves around the human experience of and reaction to some extinction-level event. Extremely brief, it uses religious imagery, strange and unsettling metaphor, and the idea of an ultimately uncaring creator to invoke a sense of cosmic horror in the reader. While there are some clever connections made and creative metaphors utilized, on the whole this collection feels unpolished and unpracticed. The form (or lack of) was frequently baffling, particularly when it came to the frequent and superfluous use of em-dashes in the middle of clauses, possibly to suggest a pause for breath? That is my best guess, ayway. To me, the poems read much more like prose with odd line breaks than poetry, too married to the use of punctuation and grammatical sentences; I wish there had been more playing with language and structure beyond the superficial. And the illustrations, while nice, were simple enough that they did not make up for the lack of substance. I applaud the concept, but I found the execution lacking.