Aseptic and Faintly Sadistic: An Anthology of Hysteria Fiction

by Jolie Toomajan (Editor), Hailey Piper, Alex Laurel Lanz

Are you sure something’s wrong? Or are you just hysterical?

Aseptic and Faintly Sadistic is rage-made-art, an unsettling meditation that also serves as a charitable platform to support abortion rights in the United States. Inside are twenty-six haunting speculative tales that explore the social, political, and personal dimensions of hysteria.

Women who are convicted of sexual transgressions are forced to become living seed mounds.

A lonely young man makes his perfect girl out of caulk and endeavors to teach her about the wonders of the world.

The poor barter for health insurance by serving as living batteries for the elite.

In this anthology of feminist dark fiction, presented by CHM, author and editor Jolie Toomajan has curated a collection of nightmares from both award-winning and emerging writers, including Hailey Piper, Christi Nogle, Joe Koch, Kelsea Yu, Laura Cranehill, and more.

Proceeds will benefit the Chicago Abortion Fund.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Anthologies, Fantasy

Unknown Binding

Reviews

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aseptic and Faintly Sadistic is one of those 'once in a decade' anthologies, packed with punch after punch of powerhouse stories. All falling under the theme of hysteria, the range in style, length, voice, and genre between the covers is vast, and I loved nearly every piece. It's very difficult to pick favorites but some standouts for me include The Girls of Channel 9 by Jennifer Lesh Fleck, China Doll by Kelsea Yu, The Dark Mother's Call by Cheyenne Shaffe, The First Mrs. Edward Rochester Would Like a Word by Laura Blackwell, The Heaviest Fall the Furthest by Alex Laurel Lanz, and Bitter Makes the Sweet So Sweet by Christi Nogle. I was absolutely bowled over by a few stories as well - The Potter by Aya Maguire; The Girls With Claws That Catch by Hailey Piper; Nectarine, Apple, Pear by Laura Cranehill; and The Voice of Nothing by Diane Callahan. As you can probably tell, I could go on. This collection of stories made me feel seen, heartbroken, angry, empowered, and overall beyond moved. The closing line alone left me in awe. I cannot imagine a more perfect anthology to fight back against the body autonomy issues and healthcare crisis we're facing in the United States right now. The editor, Jolie Toomajan, did a knock-out job with her debut anthology and I hope to see more of these from her in the future.

[Laura]

It was a thrill to get a story accepted into this anthology, but now that I've read it, I'm feeling even more honored to have a story in such company. Powerful tales and reflections take on many styles and forms here, from feverishly Weird to clipped and cold-eyed observation. It took me a long time to read because several of the stories haunted me for weeks at a time. So many different takes, all coming back to human rights and bodily autonomy. This project is a fundraiser for the Chicago Abortion Fund.

[Genesee Rickel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good collection! There were 5 stories I didn't rate because I found them so confusing. Knocked off 0.5 stars for that. 3.5 stars. Authors I'm most interested in reading more from: Kelsea Yu, Laura Blackwell, Hailey Piper, K. Wallace King, Alex Laurel Lanz, Katherine Marzinsky, Sarah Zell, Erin Keating, Diane Callahan, and Aya Maguire. The book has CW listed for each story in the back (love this!).

5 stars - 11
4 stars - 5
3.5 stars - 1
3 stars - 3
2 stars -2
No rating - 5

1) Forward by Jolie Toomajan. 5 stars.
Ok, so this isn't an entry in the anthology, but I think forwards deserve just as much attention! This forward feels like my emotions when I'm screaming at the world, when I'm so furious I'm shaking, when I feel like I can crack reality with my cries. And I think that's the point! Not just of the forward, but of the entire collection, and I CANNOT WAIT to read more!

2) "The Girls of Channel 9" by Jennifer Lesh Fleck. 4 stars.
A story of women who are in a program called "Alternative Corrections" which seems to be a broadcasted prison. The women are violented hosed down, covered in mud, and seeded with plants. It's unclear why they are in this prison or how they get out, if they can even get out. El, the protagonist, is desperately clinging to hope. It kind of reminds me of Chain-Gang, All-Stars. They way they treat the women's bodies, as if they aren't human, as if they are only there to care for the seeds, is very analogous to taking away people's reproductive rights. Violence and hope are present on every page.

3) "By Their Bones Ye Shall Know Them" by Joe Koch. 4 stars.
This is a really affecting story about forced-birth, it's relationship to war, patriotism, propoganda, and masculinity (gender-flipped and using machines in place of humans). It was really harrowing and fucking awful (as in what happened was awful). I wasn't sold on the machine worldbuilding bit at first, but by the end I was fully engrossed and genuinely upset. Some of the descriptions reminded me of "positive eugenics" (intentionally breeding those deemed to have desirable traits, according to the Nazis). Some quotes: "Claes wanted to share all his secret thoughts expounding rebellion against the tradition of puberty turning boys into society's property, but all he could do was scream." "The violation of the bone straining to break out felt like a rape in reverse." "Coming of age was a nightmare. Ending another's coming of age would be an act of mercy. No one but Claes and the boy beside him knew what they had survived to create this precious, dangerous, unwanted life. Claes stroked the smooth rifle and made a vow."

4) “China Doll” by Kelsea Yu. 5 stars.
Voyeurism + yellow fever + doll horror- YIKES! This story complements “The Eyes Are the Best Part.” We watch as a Chinese undergrad young woman and a white grad school guy start a relationship. Her discomfort grows overtime; she starts listening to her intuition more. But then it’s too late!

5) “The Flock” by Marisca Pichette. No rating.
Not really sure I followed the symbolism in this one. Might have to try and read it again.

6) "Exodus" by Dante O. Greene. 3 stars.
The story of a woman whose body separates and its parts take their revenge on those who have wronged them, landing her in jail. Two standout quotes: "There is, apparently, no legal precedent for condemning a body part without the whole person attached." "You know what the body parts will do in their exodus: wrongs you have suffered will soon be remedied. After all, what is a woman but a collection of organs wrapped in skin, ready for the use of men?" This story certainly illustrates how women are treated.

7) "The Dark Mother's Call" by Cheyenne Shaffer. 3.5 stars.
One day, our protagonist Natasha stumbled upon a surprise roommate - a HUGE spider in the spare bedroom. The spider summons its prey, which grow ever larger and eventually includes human men. When Natasha falls for a man, she does what she can to save him from the spider, and the story moves on from there. I loved the bisexual vibes of the story and the spider. I thought the ending was a bit confusing, but maybe I'm looking for it to symbolize something more than what it does. Some quotes I liked: " 'You can't eat this one," she said. 'I like him.' 'If he's pure of heart,' said the Dark Mother, 'you'll have nothing to fear. Only men filled with darkness hear my call.' . . . 'I don't doubt his purity, but I doubt your interpretation of it.'".

8) "The First Mrs. Edward Rochester Would Like a Word" by Laura Blackwell. 5 stars.
I LOVED this one! It reads like a marvelous soliloquy and I would love to see it performed. Mrs. Edward Rochester has called fellow "mad" women to her to build community and it is glorious. I underlined huge sections (whereas in other stories it's just been a line here or there). She speaks to Edward, to Jane Eyre (Miss Air), to women from fiction, history, myth, and to those of us today. "Women of fiction, women of fact made fiction, I am here for you. All the mad wives and monstrous wives who disappointed and were disappointed; all you who were found wanting because you dared to want: The iron gate of Thornfield stands open to you."

9) "Speak of the Hunger" by Tania Chen. No rating.
This is another story that I didn't really understand. I did get a very distinct feeling of being trapped somewhere horrible. Some favorite lines: "Hunger is an ugly thing, she knows; it sits trapped between tongue and throat, burning and biding its time. The longer the gnawing pains rotting the insides stay, the hungrier you are. Hunger is a creeping thing; it slithers, waits at the edge of the bed, perched like a shrike, singing like a canary, a crescendo as it makes its nest in a kitchen bowl. Hunger is a gentleman... And beneath hunger is that crushing knowledge that you can never leave, that it's over once those teeth have sunk in. But hunger doesn't care what you think of it. And this house is hungry. Hungrier than she has ever been in her entire life, hungrier than the woman could ever be."

10) “The Girls With Claws That Catch” by Hailey Piper. 5 stars.
This story reworks the Jabberwocky poem into a metaphor of being trans and encountering transphobic violence. It’s also a story of father and daughter. Honestly, it is devastating!

11) “Lakeglass Houses” by J. Z. Kelley. No rating.
Another story I struggled to follow. Generally about abusive relationships and maybe gaslighting? The house was creepy.

12) "Nectarine, Apple, Pear" by Laura Cranehill. 4 stars.
Set in a dystopian (but sadly believable) near future in which miscarriages are considered abortions, abortions are illegal and punished with forced birth at a confined, soulless birthing prison. The protagonist didn't have previous abortions, she had miscarriages, and she desperately wants her baby. Not everyone around her is in the same situation. It is also SO tragic and I can feel rage building within me from the story (and from the truth is depicts). One of my favorite lines: "I can't vote anymore, now that I've done this. It doesn't matter. Voting didn't help. We'll find a way to have control of our bodies, regardless. All I want is control over mine."

13) "Light House" by K. Wallace King. 5 stars.
This one reads like a poem - it's lyrical and paints beautiful images. A young woman is in a light house and she keeps seeing a younger woman/girl in the water. She desperately wants to save her, but the girl has no fear of the powerful water. Our protagonist is treated poorly by her partner and her mother seems worried about her; there are hints at mental illness. It's a bit enigmatic and quite captivating. One of my favorite lines: "She leaned farther out her high up window so the sea would drown the sound of it. She caught her breath. There was that girl again. Slender as an eel, wind tossed hair, barefoot on the rocky beach below. From up so high, the girl looked fragile as sea glass." Is she seeing her past self? I loved the ending! "Wide-armed she dove, her mind a golden shimmer, like all girls before fear. Beneath whitecaps, above gently billowing kelp she floated. Then with a powerful kick, she swam away from being told, sawm away from silver, shining, in the great vast sea like something that belonged there."

14) "Oblong Objects In The Mirror (Are Closer Than They Appear)" by Lillah Lawson. No rating.
Hmmm... another confusing story. Wish I was reading this with someone else so we could twist out the meanings together! A young girl grows up with nightmares of being kidnapped and she is constantly ignored by her caregivers, leaving her to self-soothe. This continues into adulthood. Maybe she gets into an abusive relationship? Maybe she gets out? Some lines I liked: "To drive is to fly, fly away from the possibility, to run from the past." "The shell cracks and out I seep; all is laid bare, and you can see, and you can see, and you can see. I cannot bear to be seen. Not unless it's through a filter." "How could a man so ludicrous, so unkempt, manage to break me so utterly." "My sadness, my madness, my badness, conjured you up. A million times you've killed me, and yet I long for you. I get in my car."

15) "The Heaviest Fall The Furthest" by Alex Laurel Lanz. 5 stars.
This is a story about the cycles of violence, how those who try to help become suspects in our patriarchal world. It's about how men don't believe women, how they don't hear or prioritize their cries for help; there is only punishment. The story opens with a woman falling to her death and another woman being right there when it happens. She desperately tries to get the men around her to call for help, but they refuse, they assume she had something to do with the death.

I think this story is hitting me particularly hard because yesterday I helped reverse an OD. Half a dozen strangers stopped what they were doing and helped. It was harrowing and also amazing. That woman didn't die that day. Our cries for help were listened to. But damn, that is not how that always goes. With everything going on in politics right now, I feel like the world is becoming increasingly less safe with every moment. I feel like the reality of this short story, which is already a very real part of our life, is more likely to happen. So yea. Right story, right time. Lots of feelings!

16) "Mother Mansrot in the Glass Mountain" by Sarah Pauling. 2 stars.
This story wasn't for me. Set in a fantasy land, a princess appears to be trapped in a glass mountain. No one has been able to free her, and our protagonist has started to believe that she may not be real. One line I did like: "After staring for long enough, you can convince yourself that seeing and feasting are the same thing."

17) "Revenge Dress" by Susan L. Lin. 4 stars.
A new dress for summer is personified in this tale of fast fashion's revenge. Aurora get's the dress at the start of the season and then we experience the rest of the story from the dress's POV. I think in the end she is killed by her box of donated clothes, but the way the attack was described reminds me of SA stories, of how women are often found, and how their stories are stripped of context and humanity.

18) "Semelparity" by Katherine Marzinsky. 5 stars.
A story about an octopus giving birth, but fighting the process because to reproduce means to die. She is fighting to survive, fighting with everything she has, screaming "I don't want this! I don't want to be a mother!" But "Nature/Instinct" keep demanding she surrender her life for her children. I loved this rageful scream of a story! Excellent final sentence, "As Marina lay rotting, the loves that Nature had counted more valuable than her own began."

19) "Body Parts" by Sarah Zell. 5 stars.
In an echo of Frankenstein, a man has assembled a woman from a variety of women's bodies. They create a new consciousness but still hold their previous lives' memories. They tell this newly created woman to be afraid, but she is not, and she fights back. Fucking loved this one! "The body parts are wrong. I am not a person. I am not scared... They needn't worry. The bones in the corner of my jaw grind a little when I open the slash of my mouth, but these teeth are sharp enough for this."

20) "Riveted By Bullets" by Dee Engan. No rating.
I have no idea what I just read. And not in a cool,-I'm-blown-away way, in a that-was-deeply-confusing way.

21) "Abaddon, 1861" by M. Regan. 4 stars.
Twins Mary and Michael escape the church that has abused them, seeking employment and relative safety in a circus. Mary continues to sprout new eyes all over her body, allowing her to see more of humanity and the universe. Her brother tries to interpret for her, but he never fully understands what she is saying. As a reader, what I've gathered is that Mary believes humanity is a lost cause and won't understand that until it is far too late. Some favorite lines include: "Mankind is so enamored with the beauty of the stars' demise, Michael... So enamored, that we shan't notice until it is too late how we are similarly on fire. For an instant that lasts a thousand years, our death knell will harmonize -- resonate-- then the celestial pyre upon which all life and light is reduced to ask shall consume us." "I serve no one," Mary intones. "All must burn."

22) "Piece by Piece" by Erin Keating. 5 stars.
An ode to "The Picture of Dorian Gray"! Desmond White keeps taking wives and they keep dying. Ruby, our protagonist, is sold to White to become his next wife. White paints his brides, and as he paints them, his strength grows and theirs wanes. This short story touches on classism and how doctor's dismiss women's pain and fear, partner abuse, and how this abuse is facilitated by enabling side characters. Some favorite lines include: "The men didn't notice the way the dark rattled the doors, searching for one left unlocked. But all the other folks did." "Ruby disappeared piece by piece, as women do." "When Ruby looked down at her body, it was made only of smoke wrapped in blood-red satin." "All she had wanted was fresh air and clear skies and darkness that did not stalk her to sleep. But perhaps safety was too much for a woman like Ruby to ask. Girls were raised wary for a reason, after all."

23) "The Voice of Nothing" by Diane Callahan. 5 stars.
A young woman, our narrator, was abused as a child and as a result suffers from SI, self-harm, and a desperation to disassociate and escape. As an adult she is caged inside the family vacation home where her only amusement comes from the lovers she summons. The village considers her a siren. She is bisexual, and her love story with her harp teacher is deeply touching and tragic. There's a lot of body horror in this one and really gorgeous imagery. Some favorite parts: "Almost, because I leave out the part about the fluttering inside me that began that day. The feathery stirring has grown year by year, sating itself on something deep within me, and now that I'm twenty-four, it threatens to overwhelm my body with its presence. A winged creature lives between my breastbones. It years to burst free." "I don't know where the pretense ends and your real self beings, just as I feel about myself." "You next our fingers together, and my whole being warms at the visceral feeling of the calluses on your fingertips." "It's like kissing my shadow, and I need to breathe more of it, to drown in your warm scent. You taste inexplicably of almonds. Your lips trace over the skin scratched red on my neck, and a sense of dread gnaws at me. I bite my lip hard enough to make it bleed. Breathless, you say, 'I never want to cage you. Never. If this will hold you down, I--' I press my mouth to yours again, more hungrily this time, but the dread hasn't dissipated, and now our kiss tastes of metal. My teeth are gentle against your lips at first, but the urge to make you..." "There isn't a trace of hatred or fear on your face. And that look feels enough like freedom, like flying far away." "As soon as we're reminded that anyone else exists, we lose our true selves. We become less true. That's how it feels, anyway,' I reply. 'Eventually, though, I'll have to go back out into the world of being a woman, and I want to be more than that.' 'More than what?' 'More than a woman.' Your fingertips stop their ministrations. 'What could be more than that?'" "I will not be still. I will become a scene when she witnesses the physical manifestation of everything I have internalized."

24) "The Potter" by Aya Maguire. 5 stars.
This was so beautiful and sad! A science fiction tale about some people having the ability to craft life with stardust, and one of these gifted children traveling with her mother to a far away planet to do just that. One issue - "potters" can't create scent. The ending was lightly telegraphed but I still adored it. Some quotes: "In her hands the stardust shines like an oil-spill. When I touch stardust, it slips from my fingers, but for Penny, it is quicksilver; not dust, but starlight. Clay that leaps to life, eager and ready." "Can you love something you have complete control over?"

25) "Right To Life" by Ian Gabriel Loisel. 3 stars.
Interesting concept, not the most compelling writing. In the future, medical treatments have advanced that one person can use their life to sustain another (for a price). Seems like a more extreme version of what already exists. Notably, people can also be compelled to submit their bodies to sustain another's. A woman is voluntarily helping a famous musician. Then one day the patient's sister arrives and says her brother never wanted this, and our protagonist finally begins to question the system.

26) "Bitter Makes The Sweet So Sweet" by Christi Nogle. 2 stars.
This one was hard for me to follow. It's set in a small town where zombies seems to be... normal? She feels trapped, serving her undead father, and her only comfort is a kitten. There's pry more to it, maybe even some fairytale stuff going on (there's a spindle?), but I couldn't follow it. Good, strong sense of place though.

27) "How To Make A Girl To Love You (On A Budget)" by Kenzie Lappin. 3 stars.
Lots of wish fulfillment in this one. A super average and deeply unlikeable dude conjures a woman (magically) to be his partner. He is attracted to her even though he describes her as "child like" since he has to teach her everything about the world (barf). She eventually outsmarts him and kills him; he totally had it coming.

[Mere Rain]

Great horror anthology.

[Emma Hannum · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a time where women's rights are constantly on the line, Aseptic and Faintly Sadistic presents a collection of stories that express the utter sadness, fear, confusion and anger that I– and so many other women–are feeling. In a way it is comforting, yet sickening, to apply the well written allegories and metaphors these authors composed to their real-world counterparts. These are so beyond creative pieces. They were a woman's life, they are a woman's life, and if nothing changes, will be a woman’s life in the future. To answer the question posed on the back of the anthology, “Are you sure something’s wrong? Or are you just hysterical?” We are not hysterical. We are justified. Always have been, always will be. Major credit to editor Jolie Toomajan.

[chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the stories were kinda weak and predictable, others were genuinely great ("The Voice of Nothing" was beautifully written).

[Jennifer Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Proceeds from Aseptic and Faintly Sadistic go to supporting the Chicago Abortion Fund, and I preordered this book back when it was still pre-publication for that reason. I've been meaning to read it ever since, and I'm glad I finally got around to it.

The variety of horror stories here is fantastic, and there's a real artfulness to the way they progress. The downside is that the beginning of the book has such a despairing tone, I admit I sometimes struggled with wanting to go forward, despite the power of the stories; once that despair begins to transform, though, it's incredibly difficult to put this book down. I'd also say there are probably horror stories here to fit any (horror) reader's tastes, though that also means there may well be some that are less engaging. For my part, there were a number of stories where I wished things were a bit clearer or less ambiguous, just in terms of what was going on, but I'm confident that some readers would fall in love with those stories for the very same reasons that they weren't the standouts for me personally.

All told, though, these are powerful stories that are beautifully written, and it's a really impressive collection that I'd certainly recommend.

[S.J. Townend · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome! Some literary masterpieces amongst these gems. Highly recommend.

[Marla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Averaging my rating for each of the 26 stories, my rating is 3.53/5, rounding up to 4. However, this isn't a good reflection of the book as a whole. My ratings fluctuated all the way between 1/5 to 5/5, with few in the middle.

Favorites, amazing, rated 5/5: Abaddon 1861, Revenge Dress, Piece by Piece, The Potter

In contrast, rated 2/5 or under: Riveted by Bullets, By Their Bones Ye Shall Know Them, Speak of the Hunger, Body Parts

Detailed ratings for each story:

The Girls of Channel 9 - 2.5/5. Women are caked with mud and seeds, their ordeal is broadcast on Channel 9. I appreciate the idea the author was going for, but the logistics make no sense whatsoever. For me, this kills any impact the story may have had - it has to be possible in this kind of context to be meaningful.

By Their Bones Ye Shall Know Them - 1.5/5. This story is about a world where men get pregnant and give birth to weapons (come on, my eyes cannot roll any harder). It's heavy-handed to say the least, both in obvious messaging and bloated prose. Also, the author identifies as male, so I don't know if their voice should be included here.

China Doll - 4.25/5. A second person perspective, a China doll above her boyfriend's bed narrates a girl's life. I figured out what was happening about halfway through. I liked this one a lot, the second person worked well (rare!). It was creepy, fun, and Twilight Zone-esque.

The Flock - 4/5. A woman grows geese all over her body. It's an obvious metaphor for unwanted pregnancy, but creative and surreal. This was a short one.

Exodus - 4.5/5. A pastor shakes a woman's hand and it dies, chaos ensues. I loved this one, though a few parts (haha) were a bit on the nose.

The Dark Mother's Call - 4.5/5. The dark mother, a 3 foot tall spider who grows larger, becomes a woman's roommate. A feel good story that feels like a fairy tale, I really enjoyed this one. I wish it had been longer.

The First Mrs. Edward Rochester Would Like a Word - 3.5/5. Well written, but I feel like this idea has been done to death.

Speak of the Hunger - 1.5/5 (for some pretty prose). What?

The Girl With Claws that Catch - 2.75/5. A girl turns into a Jabberwock and her father eventually cuts off contact. I'm not certain if it's supposed to be a metaphor for her being gay/bisexual, or her being sexually active in general, or simply improper/not living up to her father's ideal, and then being rejected. But either way, it's a clever idea that goes on for far far too long and has way too much repetition.

Lakeglass Houses - 4/5. A woman meets her boyfriend's parents for the first time, they live on an island in a house made of frosted glass, everything - including furniture and blankets - is made of glass. I enjoyed this one, mostly - very lovely imagery but the message was a little on the nose.

Nectarine, Apple, Pear - 3.75/5. In this world, women who have abortions are punished by being impregnated by IVF and forced to give birth before serving jail time - they can still choose whether to keep the baby or not, and if IVF doesn't take after 3 times they are exempt. A woman really wants a baby and lies about having an abortion so she can get IVF after 6 miscarriages. This would have been 4/5 if not for some distracting, eyeroll inducing, political language. It was quite a sad and lovely story.

Light House - 2.5/5. Some pretty prose, but I don't know what this very short story was trying to say.

Oblong Objects in the Mirror - 3/5. A woman gets out of an abusive relationship, it's very creatively written in the way of generic try-hard grad school "creativity", and there is imagery of eggs. Yawn.

The Heaviest Fall the Furthest - 4.5/5. A woman watches another woman falling almost on top of her and wants to call for help. A bunch of men come up to see what's going on and proceed to judge her instead helping the woman who landed on the sidewalk. This was a frustrating read, but very well written. The ending is way too abrupt.

Mother Mansrot in the Glass Mountain - 3.25/5. It's a glass mountain this time instead of a glass house. A youth comes to rescue a princess trapped inside, the POV is a crone who had tried to rescue the princess in the past and who is also trapped. I don't know how I feel about this one: it was interesting to read, but the story became muddled. It was hard to visualize where everyone was - the descriptions were disorienting, and the ending was a nothingburger.

Revenge Dress - 5/5. A woman buys a nice dress, the story is from the third person limited POV of the dress. I REALLY liked this one, very clever and unexpected.

Semelparity - 4.25/5. An octopus fans her eggs, questioning her instincts. A really good flash fiction, maybe a bit too dramatic.

Body Parts - 2/5. A very short flash fiction, the content of which has been done thousands of times. Yawn.

Riveted by Bullets - 1/5. Who approved this nonsense? I read every word, and I'm no stranger to convoluted literary narratives - but this story is unreadable. Word salad trying to pass itself off as "art". Hard pass.

Abaddon, 1881 - 5/5. A girl starts growing eyes and having visions. This is my favorite story in the collection. Go read it.

Piece by Piece - 5/5. A miner takes a wife each year, and each year that wife dies. This year he marries Ruby. This one was excellent and bleak.

The Voice of Nothing - 3.75/5. A girl who sleeps with her eyes opened is confined to a house by her mother in order to rest, she believes there is a winged creature living inside her and self harms. Her mom gets her music lessons. The culmination petered out for me, but it is well written and initially engaging.

The Potter - 5/5. A little girl who can mold stardust into anything (a potter) is on her way to a space colony who needs a potter. This one was unexpected and hit me hard as a mother. An excellent flash fiction.

Right to Life - 3.5/5. A woman is linked to a comatose man in a hospital room. She cannot leave, her essence is keeping him alive. She volunteered for this and it's supposed to be for only a few months. This one was good, I was intrigued, then it just... ended. Boo. If it had continued to somewhere it would have been an easy 4.25/5 at least.

Bitter Makes the Sweet so Sweet - 3.25/5. A middle aged woman lives with her father who is some kind of vampire or zombie. This was just okay for me. Nothing stood out as terrible or special. I was a bit bored by the end.

How to Make a Girl to Love You - 4/5. A guy who lives in his basement makes a girl out of caulk and tries to teach her how to be a woman. This one was fun.

[P.L. McMillan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has to be one of my favourite anthologies of all time, not to mention this year. Although some of the tales really stood out to me among the 26 wonderful stories, there was not a single story I did not enjoy. I loved how very unique each story was from one another, ranging from weird fiction to body horror, from settings in a grim, terrifyingly possible future realities to unpleasant presents. Starting with a poignant and heartwrenching foreword from the editor herself, I couldn’t put this anthology down! Each story grabbed me by the throat and wouldn’t let go.

Let me call out my favourites (though, let me remind you again, that not a single story missed the mark, which is so rare to find in an anthology!):

“The Girls of Channel 9” by Jennifer Lesh Fleck opens the anthology with a super grim story set in some (maybe not so) distant future where women are punished for sexual “transgressions” are forced to live as living seed mounds. The imagery Fleck put in my mind will be living rent-free there for a while. This one gave me The Handmaid’s Tale vibes.

“By Their Bones Ye Shall Know Them” by Joe Koch is set in a different reality and spins the idea of forced birth on its head. Koch effectively builds a complex world and a cast of unique characters without interrupting the quick pacing of the tale. I can’t say too much more without spoiling anything so let me just say that Koch absolutely has a new fan.

“The Girls With Claws That Catch” by Hailey Piper takes a new spin on “The Jabberwocky”. This story felt like a modern fairy tale and Piper flavours it full of her skillful prose, ripe with imagery, and dripping with bitter-sweet themes. What if the Jabberwocky was real, what place would they have in our world and what repercussions?

“Lakeglass Houses” by J. Z. Kelley was so deliciously weird and vivid. A young woman is meeting her partner’s parents for the very first time. We all know what that is like, navigating the rocky politics, the awkward first impressions. Well, nothing compares to what she has to go through.

“Piece by Piece” by Erin Keating is another fairy tale-esque story along the same vibe as Bluebeard but with Keating’s unique flavour. The tale centers around a town called Lodestone, where a man named Desmond White lives and is a serial widower. I loved the gothic vibe to this story. So well paced and tense throughout, with a haunting end.

“The Potter” by Aya Maguire legitimately made me gasp at the end and then I immediately re-read it. Set on a spaceship, a mother and a daughter are heading to a new planet. I can’t say more, but this story was so well written. Short, straight to the point, and unforgettable.

Definitely check out this anthology. I cannot stress it enough, every story was a banger.

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aseptic and Faintly Sadistic, edited by Jolie Toomajan, is much more than a bold response to the constant violations of bodily autonomy that are affecting countless people, of untold harms being perpetrated seemingly daily. Featuring stories by Kelsea Yu, Marisca Pichette, Hailey Piper, and many other amazing voices in horror. The foreword by Toomajan is vital to understand the fury so many of us have been feeling for years and that indeed, it isn’t just her who is choking on this quiet rage. Stories that resonated with me most included “China Doll” by Kelsea Yu, which is so brilliant that I’m at a loss on how to begin to capture why this story is so good and so meaningful. It is so much more than visceral invasion of bodily autonomy and speaks very powerfully to the harmful fetishization that women of East Asian descent, particularly Chinese women, face. I also very much liked “The First Mrs. Edward Rochester Would Like a Word” by Laura Blackwell, which, as the title implies, features the perspective of Bertha Mason, the first wife that readers of “Jane Eyre” know Rochester locked away and declared her mad. Similarly, taking its cues from other works of literature, this time from Lewis Carroll, Hailey Piper’s story features a girl on campus who is a Jabberwock, as in “…the jaws that bite, the claws that catch, and so on.” The protagonist’s father has tried to keep her from the harms of the Jabberwock, but fate has something different in mind. Another story that was profoundly disturbing was “Body Parts” by Sarah Zell which invaded me to my core—make no mistake: some people assume that a story has to be longer or more substantive in order to have a ‘true’ impact, but even though this was more a flash piece, it cut very deeply as does all good writing. Diane Callahan’s piece “The Voice of Nothing” was also gripping and disturbing, and the inclusion of poetry within the story made it more beautiful in its terror.

[Lucien · Rating 5 out of 5]

authors, avert your eyes! these numbers are just for myself so I can remember which stories I liked!!

the girls of channel 9: 8/10
by their bones ye shall know them: 7/10
china doll: 9/10
the flock 6/10
exodus 8/10
the dark mother's call 8/10
the first mrs edrward rochester would like a word: 8/10
speak of the hunger 2/10
the girls with claws that catch: 10/10
lakeglass houses 6/10
nectarine, apple, pear: 2/10
light house 5/10
oblong objects in the mirror (are closer than they appear): 5/10
the heaviest fall the furthest: 7/10
mother mansrot in the glass mountain: 6/10
revenge dress: 5/10
semelparity: 7/10
body parts: 6/10
riveted by bullets: had to skip this one because my brain could not register this writing style at all, was giving me a headache
abaddon 1861: 7/10
piece by piece: 9/10
voice of nothing: 9/10
the potter: 7/10
right to life: 6/10
bitter makes the sweet so sweet: 6/10
how to make a girl: 10/10

[Horror DNA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edited by Jolie Toomajan in response to restrictive rulings and laws against bodily autonomy, Aseptic and Faintly Sadistic: An Anthology of Hysteria Fiction is a righteous font of terror and rage. An unmistakably brilliant collection of stories by some of the best writers working today.

You can read Zachary Rosenberg's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.

[Chelsea Pumpkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aseptic and Faintly Sadistic is a battle cry. For every 'no' we wanted to scream but couldn't. For every chance left untaken. For the ones we had to break ourselves for, to leave behind. It reclaims the years we wish we hadn't wasted. It grants second chances for loves lost and fights unfought. It's validation and vengeance; tenderness and respect. These stories stoke the power within us while acknowledging our wounds and scars. They build us up while burning it all down. I couldn't dream of a more perfect reaction to everything we've had to—and continue to—endure.

[Lydia M · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t know why I bought this book. Maybe I was looking for insight into views of others. I don’t know. Writing this review without being insulting or derogatory has proven impossible. Second worst book I’ve ever read, only to anything written by Cassandra Khaw.
P.S. “women’s rights” are not on the line.

[K.C. Norton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of these stories worked better for me than others (and there was one where I truly have no idea what happened), but I quite enjoyed the overall gothic feel and range of body horror this collection exuded. There are some excellent reflections on bodily autonomy and whose life/health/pleasure matters.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite stories were "The Girls With Claws That Catch" by Hailey Piper, "The Potter" by Aya Maguire, and "How To Make A Girl To Love You (On A Budget)" by Kenzie Lappin

[Jennifer Donohue · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Lakeglass House" by J.Z. Kelley is a pitch-perfect, fraught (and appropriately taut) short story that doesn't let you go until the stunning conclusion. Worth the price of admission!

[Christopher O'Halloran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an amazing anthology with nothing but banger after banger. I was so glad to see it win the Shirley Jackson. Well deserved!