Karen > Recent Status Updates

The Gulpepper Institute of Health and Wellbeing - 4/5 - As palette cleansers go, that worked. Mega star Evie Chill checks in for some R&R to soothe her brain. She'll probably need more therapy for what ensues. Good creeps, icks. Sexual assault attempted but thwarted in a satisfying way.

Vitulinum - 5/5 - Fuck me dead, that one hurt. This one comes with a content warning - extreme bigotry, racism, homophobia, transphobia, domestic violence, sexual abuse (adult and child). Connor will do anything to make sure his sister is safe. He finds them a way out, but there's no telling yet what the true cost will be.

I'm going to need to sit with this one for a few before I can move on to the next tale.

Sunlight on Clear Water - 5/5 - You know you're in for something when the young couple gets naked in a secret oasis. And this was something. Not for arachnophobes. Dog is still OK.

Strange Leaves - 4/5 - Another strong starter. A weed deal goes bad and the rest of Adam's day is not much better. Chrissy and Co are laying groundwork to prepare the town for something, but will it be enough? I've got a softer place for the drug stories when revenants are involved, apparently.

Excursion Troop - 5/5 - A Venture Scout troop's last excursion does not go as planned. If you've been paying attention to the stories so far, anyone veering toward the Gulp or mushrooms or the creeks sounds like the start of a bad idea. This story has all three! And oh, the body horror. Mushroom eyes - let me leave you with that.

That Damn Woman - 3/5 - Tragedy strikes after a domestic (he struck her, but was not the killing blow. I'd still argue the accident was his fault for being a dumbass, though). Then choices are made. Then things get weird.

I feel like this one may have taken too long to get weird for me, but once it did, it didn't fuck about. Delicious consequences. The dog is OK. The cows are not.

Cathedral Stack - 4/5 - A fishing expedition gone awry. Fantastic, atmospheric, tragic, delightful. Denuding/degloving in this one. Big icks, pleased to have felt them. A couple typos in this one that slightly threw my immersion.

Gulpepper Curios - 4/5 - A traveler ignores advice to give Gulpepper a miss and finds more than he could have wanted in the local curios shop. Really enjoyed this one. I think perhaps the last two lines should have been swapped, though. Either way, a strong start to this one.

Oh yes, I've ventured into the Gulp and decided to stick around for the next collection or two.

48 To Go - 2/5 - Ehhhhhhhhh. More seedy underbelly and not the right kind of creep in this one for my tastes. Would have liked to have seen any consequences for the cavalcade of decisions made.

The Band Plays On - 5/5 - Ok, that was kind of brilliant. The band Blind Eye Moon are good. Too good? Four young backpackers will find out. It was all the good tropes with some Gulp flavoured twists, and I got a bit of a chuckle at the end.

Mother in Bloom - 4/5 - It's still body horror if the body is a corpse, yeah? Two young teenagers are relieved when their terrible mother dies. Before they can get rid of the body, though, something starts to grow. A bit tragic, a bit weird, a bit ew. Pretty great. (Also, return of Woollies.)

Out on a Rim - 3/5 - Our introduction to The Gulp. The Gulp is a strange place, where seasoned truckies would prefer to not be after dark. Naturally, three days from retirement George and his trainee Rich are stuck overnight. We get hints of the odd and discover a seedy underbelly with occult talents. I'm also wondering if "Woollies" is a regional spelling variant - only ever seen it with one L for the brand.

Vicki! Stop calling the TEENAGE vampire "the next generation's Mr. Yummy.

(why am I reading this? I like the premise and literally every other good guy character)

Ok, I glossed past the incorrect "sight" (kill sight, sigh) a few chapters back. But lower jar? (jaw)

What is up with this edition? I hope these were fixed in future passes.

"You're" instead of "your"? Completely unreadable! /s

I really like Monty's mum. She's great.

You can get a lot of reading done when there's nothing else occupying your day, it turns out.

Re-read because I went to start Murder of Crows and realised I remember nothing! Well, not much. I did find the first quarter less irritating this time - except for Asia, she can go to Hell. I must have a softer spot for grumpy Simon this time around.

Because epic fantasy seems like just the thing when one is going through books so quickly this year, right? ;)