Read-Only: A Collection of Digital Horror

by Caitlin Marceau, M. Regan

Stop while you can.

Seriously.

We know you're curious about this book, about the stories tucked away in its pages, but you need to turn back while you still have a chance. This collection can't be unread, and once you learn the truth about what's lurking behind your mobile screens, camera lenses, and newsfeeds, you can never forget.

Read-Only: A Collection of Digital Horror, the inaugural edition of WatchMojo Publishing's Fiction Quarterly, features fourteen never before seen short stories that reveal the insidious side of your favourite high-tech toys.

We sincerely hope you enjoy the collection in front of you, but remember: read only at your own risk.

Genres: Horror

180 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2017

About the author

Caitlin Marceau is a queer Canadian author and illustrator based in Montreal. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing, is an Active Member of the Horror Writers Association, and has spoken about genre literature at several Canadian conventions. Her work includes Femina, A Blackness Absolute, and her award-winning novella, This Is Where We Talk Things Out. Her second novella, I’m Having Regrets, and her debut novel, It Wasn’t Supposed To Go Like This, are set for publication in 2024. For more, visit CaitlinMarceau.ca or find her on social media.

Reviews

[Nev Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

"If you want to pick up a collection of stories that are unique and refreshing, this is one for you. If you want to discover some new writing talent at the beginning of, what I consider to be, a very long writing journey, this is one for you. If technology scares you, don’t read this book. You will never pick up that smartphone again."

See here for the full review:

Read-Only

[Amanda [darjeeling_and_jade] · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wrote a loooooonnnnngggg review for this one and I'm really happy with it. I did a mini review for all of the short stories in this collection. If you're curious, the full review can be found at [a cup of tea and an armful of books].


Review highlights:

Mobius*
M. Regan

4 stars.

Do you know what a mobius strip is? I had to be reminded by the author. It’s a continuous surface made from a twisted rectangle that only has one side and one edge. Knowing that made the story more interesting for me. But if you don’t know that, I feel like the impact of the story is lost, which is really unfortunate! I think it’s a really awesome story and concept. Knowing what I did before reading, I found the story to be more meaningful than just a standard short story. There is a sort of mundane repetitive nature to this story where the characters muse on what purgatory could be like (for me it’s a lot of the store jingles in Japan), but I think it works because of its familiarity: long car rides where you hear the same songs over and over again, despite changing stations; circuitous conversations where you humor the other person; college classes that fill your head with things you previously didn’t know. For example,



Honey
M. Regan

This was my favorite short story in the whole anthology. I enjoyed the references to mythology as well as the subtle notes that led the reader to the end of the story. I also liked the idea of a character who learned everything from the internet. Honey is a great example of horror happening in the everyday. Technology took a backseat as Regan focused her story on the conversation happening between two friends. It was very much the familiar being tainted with the feeling that something isn’t as it seems, which made me feel unsettled as I followed where the story was leading me. The pacing was superb in this one. It was a great short story that had me chuckling at the reveal, happy that I had properly guessed the ending. The addition of the third character, a daughter, gave the story Hitchcock and Poe vibes in my opinion. I’d like to know what will happen to the daughter in the future.

5 stars.

#NoFilter
Caitlin Marceau

The obsession in this one was insane. And highly relatable, which was kind unsettling. Most everyone has some form of social media today; most everyone is cruising for those likes or little hearts. If you look to the side of your screen, you’ll see that I do it on bookstagram. There have been times when I’ve had to remind myself to step away from the screen because I find myself thinking What more can I do? and it’s very disheartening. Such is the feeling that Ava has when she manages her social media account. She is desperate for those likes, to the point where she considers a potentially dangerous app that is said to make you extremely beautiful. I didn’t like the amount of woman on woman hate, particularly when it was against her supposed best friend. But I did think the execution and pacing of this story was done really well, despite the predictability of the ending. This was my favorite of Marceau’s stories.

5 stars.

Meat Cute
Caitlin Marceau

This was the first one that well and truly surprised me. The other stories in the anthology hinted at things that were going to happen, but this one hit me in the face with it. I genuinely did not think it was going to go down the way it did. I loved how it seemed to nod at horror stories by Stephen King. Marceau wrote a successful story that was creepy in a way that I could imagine would be true, which made it even more chilling. Like some of the earlier stories in the anthology, there’s a bit of humor inserted into the horror. It made the story easier to swallow despite this being the one that was most realistic for me. Some of the tamer aspects of this story could actually happen. As much as this one was messed up, I really enjoyed it.

4 stars.