Nogle never fails to present readers with great scenic and atmospheric settings with vivid imagery, reflective interiority, and a slow building dread that is further amplified by the complexity of characters and the deep intimacy she develops between readers and the characters of her stories. The Best of Our Past, The Worst of Our Future, draws on narratives of trauma, interweaving the past and present to create a warped and frightening reality. There is significance with the most mundane of included details. The prose is lush and melodic, like an elegant nursery rhyme but with all the sophistication. The writing has a unique voice and style, and strives to paint a complete portrait of characters, where readers cannot believe these people to be anything other than real. There are moments of quiet desolation and one theme that really stood out to me among the stories is consumption. Nogle is a storyteller who takes on many identities, voices, stories, and weaves tales by a low-burning campfire.

Goodreads Review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4989931731

Very, very good. Though this is billed as horror, it's closer to a chilling, surreal take on domestic life, the relationships between men and women, family... A few stories are explicitly fantastical, but all of them offer new, disturbing takes on horror tropes, like werewolves, zombies or serial killers. The general effect is dark, nightmarish, but also layered and truly riveting. It's horror at its best: exploring the dark side of the mundane, representing daily life in a way that is very slightly off, that often makes you question who is the monster and who is the victim, and the limit between nightmares and reality. Truly outstanding, and worth a read regardless of whether you only read literary fiction or are a horror fan.

This book was sadly not for me. I struggled to connect with the characters in each short story, and found some of them a bit jarring and confusing. An interesting concept though and a different take in the horror genre that many will appreciate!

Not the best, not the worst. Much like most of Flame Tree Press selections lately.
Mostly this collection didn’t work for me, except for the few final tales. And I’m not blaming the book in this instance. It’s likely more due to the basic author/reader chemistry failure.
Specifically, I actually think there is talent here, can see it in the individual sentences. But the sum total of them doesn’t quite come together right. It’s one of those forest and trees things.
The trees are solid, but the forest laves a lot to be desired.
The vague moodiness of it all, the overall style of narrative that frequently leaned dense and/or dreamy, the nightmarish magic realism (is that a genre?) of it all largely didn’t appeal to me. User mileage may vary. Thanks Netgalley.

Blog Post is scheduled for Feb 7th
Instagram (imgr link) post scheduled for Feb 17th

The Best of our Past, the Worst of our Future is a creepy, quiet collection of short stories from Christi Nogle that genuinely define the words ‘quiet horror’ for me. In fact on starting this arc I had honestly forgotten what I was going in for. I knew it was short stories and I remembered being excited about the premise so I picked it up wanting something I could read a story here and there. Jokes on me. I read the whole thing in two days.
Each story starts somewhat mundane, taking the first as an example - a mother look for a place to have her children. From there it slowly unveils it’s ‘horror’ aspect, and for the most part in ways I didn’t expect. Mushroom horror has been very big lately, and while there is one in the book it’s done differently and far more creepy than I’d seen yet. It’s a surprising and impressive collection of ideas. Additionally each story features a House in some way, and I cannot stress how none of these were your typical ‘haunted house’ they each took a different role and aspect.
There are a few that didn’t come across for me, as is the norm with collections like this. Some of the stories lean a bit far into experimental horror such as the one of the young girl and the yellow book of stories. But a few of the more experimental ones did work, like the story with the café! Experimental horror almost never works for me so the grade and variation in stories impressed me here as well.
Overall this was a great collection and one I’d recommend for lovers of the genre. Quiet, unsettling horror that I wouldn’t recommend before bed, but I definitely recommend if you want that slow unsettled, goosebumps on your skin feeling.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy.
A collection of short stories in strange little worlds. Some more enjoyable than others but definitely worth a read.

Strange and interesting short stories for horror, sci-fi, and fans of unique fiction. This collection is definitely worth picking up in you are looking for something different!

Rating - 4.5 stars

The Best of Our Past, The Worst of Our Future, bu Christi Nogle, is an incredibly chilling collection of compelling supernatural tales. Nogle has created a variety of weird worlds, where I was delighted to spend some time.

The opening story, Unschooled, sets the tone for the collection wonderfully, where a young girl is cast out of her home. Strangely beautiful and absolutely heartbreaking.

Nogle does a fantastic job of disorienting the reader, especially in stories In the Country, and Cinnamon to Taste. The world in these stories is recognizable, but ever-so-slightly off somehow.

Resilience, a story of a young girl whose family is killed in a tragic accident, unfolds as well as one of Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected. The seeds Nogle plants throughout the story are beautiful in their subtlety.

Packet C is one of the best works of flash fiction I’ve read in a while. A family finds a weird doll kit in a store, and spends all night putting it together, with high expectations.

A Children's Treasury of Windows and Doors is just magnificent. A weird, lift-the-flap book, a strangely silent father.

My favorite in the whole collection is the beautiful The Porches of our Ears, about a world in which when you die, a tiny version of yourself continues to live on. Great imagery in this one, and a rich story about family.

This is an incredibly strong collection. Recommended for fans of Kelly Link, Karin Tidbeck, and Samanta Schweblin. Yay for weird fiction!

This book of horror short stories by Christi Nogle was not what I expected, by which I mean: not standard horror fare. It was unusual, leaning towards experimental. At times easy reading and enjoyable, at times abstract and hard going, it gave me ample food for thought.

As a whole, the stories had common imagery and ideas, even if I couldn’t always formulate them into a coherent theme. Houses as sanctuary or prisons; the influence of memory and the past on our present; and glass and mirrors. By the fourth story in, I could discern Nogle’s strong voice. The prose was blurry and imprecise, creating vague uncertainty about what was going on. The reader has to be comfortable with not knowing what is actually happening. Indeed, the characters also seem lost much of the time. A story’s plot often unfolds like the layers of an onion and sometimes we will never find the central core of reality.

An excellent example of Nogle’s style is her story, “Mirrorhouse.” It is hypnotic and obscure, and almost stream-of-consciousness in structure, embodying the idea of the house as a magical place and the imagery of glass and mirrors. It is like an abstract painting in words. I appreciated the beautiful and bizarre imagery even as I didn’t truly understand the narrative. Some stories had a more traditional narrative (“Move In Weekend,” and “I Came Back,”, for example) and I appreciated these more. The collection ends on a strong note with “The Old Switcheroo,” which presented a cool original idea for a zombie story.

Nogle has a strong voice and writes beautifully, though the collection as a whole was uneven for me. That’s not unusual in a short story compilation. I note that this book represents her collected works from 2017 through 2022, with a few of the stories original to this book. I read this over a couple of days, and I wonder if I would have appreciated some of the stories more if I’d read them spread out over time.

Overall this is an interesting collection of innovative horror short stories by a writer with a unique voice, that will particularly appeal to those interested in visionary and experimental writing. I look forward to what she writes next.

Thanks to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for a digital copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

This is an absolute stunner of a short story collection. Christi has compiled in this single book some of the best weird fiction I've ever read - her writing is top calibre. I was completely ensnared in the web of off-kilter horror in every one of these stories, unable to put the book down. The stories got better with each and every (digital) turn of the page, and by the end I just wanted more. I cannot wait to read more of Christi's work. I highly recommend this collection to anyone looking for some of the best modern horror and weird fiction.

Here are a few of my favorite stories, in order of appearance (really hard to only choose a few):
- "The Pelt": absolutely surreal, I was not surprised at all to see this was original published in Vastarien
- "A Children's Treasury of Windows and Doors": I think I know what was going on here? But even if I didn't I loved it.
- "Cinnamon to Taste": just perfection, what a weird story
- "Porches of our Ears": the concept in this one blew my mind
- "Resilience": probably my favorite of the whole collection, this was perfect

Everyone, go read this book NOW!

Okay, so that was a disappointment. Yes, there are a couple of okay-ish stories in there - as much as I managed to force myself to read through. Stopped reading at roughly 60%, because I couldn't see how other stories will be any better and it was putting me in a foul mood wasting time on this book rather than reading something else.
It sounds a bit harsh, but I can't understand the hype of other reviewers. Most of these stories are so vague, you have to read them a couple or more times and even then not entirely sure what is it about. While I do enjoy mysticism, dark, unnerving stories, unexplained events etc... but these just felt more pretentious than anything else.
Also, I wouldn't call them horror stories.
Thank you, NetGalley for the advanced reader copy and the opportunity to read this but it certainly is not for me and I would not recommend it to others.

[Blurb goes here]

Beautifully written, great characters, poor story telling.

At times, when I come across a book I don't like, I avoid writing a review on it, but in this particular case, I had to.

Most stories in here, are seemingly pointless. Nothing of value happens. But...the author pours her soul in each character, and you'll feel for them. This are well rounded people imprinted on the pages of the book. You'll root for some, you'll dislike others. You'll feel the need to protect a few of them. It amazes me to find such wonderful characters in such poorly developed stories.

It comes to mind one tale in particular, one of a person suddenly getting super powers, only to meet an ill fated end...so investing on this character was all for nothing.

This happens more often than not: the author holds your hand and takes you on a journey, just to let go as soon as things start to get interesting.

Just, please: don't take my earlier words to heart. I'm just a person who reviews books, and as such, I will love some of them, and dislike others.

A lot of passion went into the writing of this anthology, and for that reason alone, I think you should give it a try.

Thank you for the advanced copy!

This was a collection of odd and weird short stories. I found myself really into the first story about a girl who is pregnant. Let’s just say things aren’t exactly normal. The rest of the stories I had trouble connecting with, but I know there’s an audience that would love this book. It wasn’t for me, and that’s okay.

These stories are so inviting, with such lovely prose and strange little worlds, and then by and by, almost without noticing it, you'll find yourself in bewildering and deeply frightening territory.

If you love misfits, unreliable narrators, troubled relationships, feminist overtones, despair spiced with deadpan dialogue, and odd & intricate houses, you'll love this collection. This is beautiful work, and it's full of surprises. You'll find yourself wanting to reread some stories you've just read, both to relive the fun and to see how Nogle set up the twist. It's like Shirley Jackson on mushrooms.

THE BEST OF OUR PAST, THE WORST OF OUR FUTURE brings to mind Big and Little Edie from Grey Gardens, but toss in some paranormal, tons of creepiness, and a Brian Evenson-esque descent through thick dread. Each story is gloriously laced with it.

From the first story to the last, Nogle takes us on a journey from strange to stranger, and even so, you'll recognize many of the themes of family, home, self-sacrifice, and grief. The strange grows to feel familiar in a way it doesn't seem like it should, and yet you can't help but plunge yourself deeper and deeper into these worlds woven quietly from threads of acceptance and resignation. Within the lines of truly lovely prose, I see myself in these characters. I see my loved ones, my friends too.

Choosing favorites feels like a cheat. Even so, the stories that sang the loudest to me were “Unschooled,” for its sheer creativity, “In the Country” for creep factor, “The Pelt” for the insightful and so-relatable passage about “the dread” necessary to make a home. “A Children’s Treasury of Windows and Doors” for its slipstream fever-dream quality, and “I Came Back” for its cinematic potential. It has strong “The Outside” vibes from “Cabinet of Curiosities.” And of course, “The Old Switcheroo” is such a classic.

Nogle is a master storyteller and THE BEST OF OUR PAST, THE WORST OF OUR FUTURE is a fabulous way to spend a weekend. Highly recommend!

Thanks to Flame Tree Press and Net Galley for this free ARC. My opinions are absolutely my own.

I never heard of Nogle, and I don't usually read horror, but this is an excellent collection of stories. Nogle is very talented, and has created a strong collection of a variety of stories.

I really appreciate the free ARC for review!!

Thank you very much to Flametree publishing and Netgalley for this advance review copy of the ingeniously sinister short story collection, The Best of Our Past, The Worst of Our Future, where Nogle's deliciously bizarre imagination took me on weird journey after journey.


This horror collection as a whole is marked by one thing: an uncanny ODDITY. Each story is an episode of discomfort where I guarantee you'll be unable to predict that happens. The very first story, "Unschooled", made me do the literary version of a double take, and start reading again from the start. I don't want to ruin the experience for you, but what starts as a fairly comprehensible episode of a young girl running away very suddenly, with a swift sleight of hand, becomes something very different... Something much more emotive and, well, LUPINE. This is typical of many of the stories, which take familiar situations into the utterly strange. The titular "The Best of Our Past, the Worst of Our Future", for example, begins with the visit of a chubby, unremarkable cousin and soon evolves into something so dark and transgressive that I found myself gloriously shocked. Other stories have none of those familiar hand holds and just dump us immediately into the deep end: "The Gestures Remain", with that giant glass house in the desert and "A Children's Treasury of Windows and Doors", with the insular, forbidding family with their sinister picture books.

I could go through every story and say what makes it special - and there's something truly special about each - but that would ruin the glorious surprise! Suffice to say that, overall, each story is utterly different and utterly absorbing in turn. She shows a mastery of voice and in every story we are led through the coils of some truly weird brain. Every narrative feels terrifyingly authentic and you're pulled into each story's logic, unable to guess what happens next or look away. Nogle's writing style is compelling, as she never patronises the reader. At each point, she makes us work for our footing, to unravel the wonderful weirdness before us. 


Overall, if you'd like a collection of stories to take you to places you'd never expect, this is the collection for you!

A quality collection of short stories, encompassing many subjects within multiple genres.
Cristi Nogle's writing here is clear, complex and concise. The majority is written from a first-person perspective which is easy to follow. for the most part.
There is something here for most readers to enjoy. From zombie apocalypse and werewolves to the simple passing of time, this book covers many a topic, often with some underlying message or social issues.
This was an enjoyable, thought provoking read throughout although a few of the stories were hard to decipher on the first reading.
Well worth checking out.

As with any collection, some stories resonated more deeply than others, but overall a great collection. The first story was especially enchanting as a look at motherhood and belonging, even in a monstrous form.