I am a huge fan of short story/novella collections. I think they are a fantastic showcase of an authors talent. They don’t have hundreds of pages to weave a story, they have to be meticulous! Josh Malerman did not disappoint. I found the entire collection to be very compelling! Each novella was was unique, and in some cases had me looking over my shoulder, sleeping with the lights on, creeped out! I loved it! Would definitely recommend!

Most of the stories in this collection felt somewhat incomplete. I really enjoyed both "Jupiter Drop" and "Doug and Judy Buy a House Washer." They felt almost Twilight-Zone-esque, and although they were both pretty predictable, they felt like they were delving deeper into the psyche of fear. "Half of the House" and "Argyle" seemed like they wanted to cleverly pick apart your brain and lay bare your own fears and insecurities, but the stories were just so boring that they failed to get my gears truly turning. Finally, the last story in the collection, "Egorov," was so drawn out that I couldn't seem to find any suspense or anticipation, no matter how hard I looked.
Overall, I lost most of the horror element wading through the never-ending prose. It usually takes me no more than a week to finish a book, and I kept having to come back to this one over a period of nearly SEVEN WEEKS. That's an eternity in "currently reading" time for me.

Spin A Black Yarn by Josh Malerman
Other Books I Enjoyed by This Author: Pearl, A House at the Bottom of A Lake, Bird Box, Malorie
Affiliate Link: https://bookshop.org/a/7576/9780593237861
Release Date: August 15th, 2023
General Genre: Horror - General Thrillers - Suspense

Sub-Genre/Themes: Speculative, Suspense, Mystery, Haunted House, Coming-Of-Age, Secrets, Murder, Science-Fiction, Siblings, Marriage, Human Monsters, Ghosts, Madness, Death & Dying, Materialism

Writing Style: Stephen King(ish), Multiple POV, Immersive, Character-Driven, Eclectic, Cinematic

What You Need to Know: You need to know that there are 5 novella-length stories. Some are longer than others but all of them are longer than a short story. I think novella collections are the hardest to read out of the 3–anthologies, author collections, and novella collections. Simply because the joy of the short story is that it’s short; novels have chapter breaks, and novellas are just very long short stories but not quite a novel. I recommend reading one of the five stories and then coming back to another one later. The stories are all so totally different, you might need some time to marinate on one before diving into the next.

My Reading Experience: Well, I’m a Malermaniac. First things, first. I’m a mega-fan. And, I loved GOBLIN which was another collection of stories. What sets an author like Malerman apart from his peers is his ability to create without restraint. Boundless, limitless, and bold. There’s a feeling, when I’m reading his work, that he’s willing to try anything. There’s an unspoken understanding not everything will stick the landing for every reader but he’s ok with that–he’s just going to keep creating unique, out-of-the-box, imaginative stories with the idea that they will find their readers–he doesn’t need to push them on everyone, the right ones will find them and connect. It’s just a feeling I get. Like he’s blowing up balloons and letting them go.
"Half the House Is Haunted"- A sister enjoys scaring her younger brother by repeatedly insisting that half of their house is haunted. It’s unnerving how this story bounces from silly and playful to disturbing and back again. Written from a 6-year-old child’s lens as an adult, it’s hard to figure out what’s really happening. The narrator is unreliable. Later, we get a fuller perspective.

“Argyle” is the story of a man on his deathbed who tells his family how proud he is to die a good man. He reveals that he is a serial killer who never acted on his impulses. I loved this story so much. It was incredibly disturbing and realistic. It made me ask myself, what would a wife or family even do with themselves if this happened? This kind of horrible deathbed confession.
A man decided to take “The Jupiter Drop”, a tourist attraction of the future where one person travels through Jupiter in a clear apartment. Another favorite. Very cinematic, eerie, and visual–I would love to see this on the big screen.

"Doug and Judy Buy the House WasherTM” is about two assholes who are married and buy an expensive house cleaning appliance so they can throw a neighborhood party to impress all their new potential friends. I thought this was a little too bogged down with dialogue. I hated these two people and didn’t want to be a fly on the wall during their conversation.

I actually didn’t finish the last story, "Egorov”, I’ll get back to it at some point, I maybe was just not in the mood.

Final Recommendation:
Comps: GOBLIN by Josh Malerman, FULL DARK, NO STARS by Stephen King, GROWING THINGS by Josh Malerman, ENTROPY IN BLOOM by Jeremey Robert Johnson

Rating: 5 stars
Synopsis: Five horror/speculative fiction novellas revolving around memories and experiences that haunt the human soul.
Thoughts: I absolutely loved this collection of novellas. This was my first time reading Josh Malerman (although I do have several of his novels on my TBR!) and I am so glad that this is where my Malerman journey begins. I was really impressed by the depth and genuine creepiness of these novellas. I'll give my thoughts on each novella individually below.

- Half the House is Haunted: Are kids really this good at gaslighting their siblings or is there really a terrifying presence haunting their childhood home?
4.5/5 for me. Genuinely creepy and unsettling at times. After this one, I knew I was in for a fun time, but MAN did I want to give Stephanie a slap on the face.

- Argyle: A man confesses to his darkest desires while surrounded by family and friends on his death bed.
4/5; Intriguing and captivating; I was eager to hear what he would confess next and it did not disappoint. Loved the Daphne shout-out in this one.

- Doug and Judy By The House Washer: A rich couple buys the latest home gadget which promises to clean every item in your home - but some things you can't wash out of a house.
5/5; I really really really loved this one. It felt like a Twilight Zone/Black Mirror episode and I was RIVETED. I can't think of a better punishment for Doug and Judy. Moments of this were so perfectly creepy and I just ate it up.

- The Jupiter Drop: A tourist signs up for a trip to Jupiter and battles his traumatic past.
500000/5; Loved it, can't stop thinking about it, and won't stop recommending this collection to people based on this novella. It felt so much like a modernized version of the classic Twilight Zone episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" mixed with Junji Ito vibes, and I could not put it down. I didn't want it to end. If nothing else, read this one.

- Egorov: A triplet is gruesomely murdered and his brothers, determined to get revenge, vow to haunt his killer until he goes mad.
5/5; So beautifully written. I really saw Malerman's talent shine through on this one as it felt like a totally different style to the other novellas. It was expertly done and I was so invested. Reminiscent of horror classics from Poe and Shelley.

I loved Bird Box, Malorie and Pearl so I was excited to see a new book from Josh Malerman. Novellas and short story books are always hit or miss for me. Some can immediately grab my attention while others leave me uninterested.

The first story in the book is Half the House is Haunted. While it moves slowly there were some parts that left me feeling very uneasy.

I think my favorite story was the second, Argyle. Shawn is on his deathbed and wants to get his biggest secret off his chest before dying. I can’t imagine what I would do if someone I loved made the confession Shawn makes to his family.

I think of Malerman’s books as horror but a couple of the stories had a big science fiction style to me. I felt like the last couple stories would make perfect episodes for Black Mirror to adapt. Those stories stuck with me the most and I really enjoyed them.

Thanks to NetGalley and Josh Malerman and team for the opportunity to read Spin a Black Yarn. I have written this review voluntarily.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine publishing for this ARC in exchange for my review. This is my first Josh Malerman and even though I didn’t love this I want to try more of his stuff for sure. These all had so much potential. I liked the idea of the stories I just felt like they fell flat and were drawn out. I didn’t find them very creepy at all. The last story went on and on and I honestly I couldn’t wait for it to be over. The ending wasn’t satisfying. It was too long. Argyle was probably my favorite and The House Washer story which I wish we would’ve got more of. I would love to see that adapted to tv! So this was a bit of a miss for me but I will try more from him in the future.

Josh Malerman is one of my favorite authors and these novellas, while a departure from his usual style, doesn’t disappoint. In particular, I really liked Half the House is Haunted, in which a complex sibling relationship is explored over many years and Argyle, which was truly chilling. He rounds the collection out with a couple of speculative fiction tales and what can best be described as a historical murder mystery.

Recommended.

I received an advance review copy of this book from Net Galley.
Josh Malerman is one of my favorite authors and my favorite books by him are Inspection, Unbury Carol, and Bird Box. I was excited to see what he had in store for us with this collection of short stories. I read them mostly at night, and while reading Half the House is Haunted, my cell phone rang and I jumped! I found Argyle just as scary and wondered how the author conceives of his ideas as they are so original. I enjoyed the next three stories, but they didn't scare me in the same way as the first two stories. I felt the first two stories earned 5 stars, and the other 3 earned 3 stars, so I decided on an overall 4 star rating. I also reviewed this book on Goodreads.

Spin a Black Yarn by Josh Malerman is a superb read with a superb plot and characters Well worth the time and recommended!

This is a fun book of creepy stories. Nothing too terrifying but enough to keep you engaged throughout the book.

unfortunately there were some great ideas here but the execution just missed the mark. These were novellas that were intended to seem connected to each other but IMO they felt very disjointed and almost unfinished. I forced myself to get through all of them but I still couldn't figure out what they were all trying to say as a group of interconnected stories. The ideas were actually quite creepy but then the actual unfolding of the story was missing way too many details that should have been there to help bring all the storylines together, so instead what we were left with was just a bunch of seemingly unfinished, unconnected stories. The writing itself is not the problem, Josh Malerman can write, his problem is just that he does not fully understand how to connect all of the ideas he does have, 3 stars for him, but I might raise it up to a 4 the more I let it marinate.

This is my first Josh Malerman read! I don't know how that's possible but here we are. If you're like me and you've not read Malerman, this is a great place to start. Fans of Malerman will delight in a collection of 5 very different tales of horror. Each is unique in how it is told, and the type of terror it brings.
Half the House is Haunted is written in an unsettling back and forth narration, told from the perspective of a brother and sister.
Argyle (maybe my favorite). A dying man reveals the secrets he's been carrying his whole life.
Jupiter Drop is Sci Fi horror that seems idyllic until the end.
Doug and Judy Buy the House Washer. We all know people like the Barmans'.
Egorov is written if translated from Russian. It's about grief and revenge and family. This one was weird for me but I can't stop thinking about it.
This collection was an easy 5 stars from me for its diversity and original storylines.

The cover is brilliant. The woodcarving print image on the cover page is perfection. Make sure to read the Author Notes to catch up with Mr. Malerman and learn more about how Spin a Black Yarn came to be. Enjoy!

“I have a confession to make…this is the first novel I’ve read by Josh Malerman. I blame all the wonderful writers out there writing all the wonderful books. After reading Daphne, Malerman’s brutal, terrifying new novel, I’ll be happily dipping into his back catalog, because this book rocks. It’s part serial killer novel, part slasher, part urban mythology, and part coming-of-age. Oh, and it’s scary as hell.”

Spin a Black Yarn, his newest book, is a collection of five novellas, and I’m happy to report that Malerman is working at the top of his game here—every novella here is a masterpiece of story, mood, and characters in perfect synchronization. Malerman isn’t a one trick pony. There’s horror here, absolutely, but there’s also science fiction and fantasy. What all five stories share is a sense of unease and disquiet that seeps off the pages, through your eyeballs, and right into your brain meat. Malerman isn’t afraid to shred your nerves and tickle your gag reflex at the same time. He makes your feel things.

Without giving away too much, here’s a quick overview of the stories. By they way, they’re not connected, but each is set in the small Michigan town of Samhattan, throughout a variety of time periods.

Half the House is Haunted
A dialogue of sorts, with alternating POVs, between two sisters, from when they are very small until end of life. They’re the main characters, but the house of the title is just as much of a character, and you’ll find yourself questioning just where the palpable sense of evil the permeates the story is emanating from. This one will burrow its way under your skin.

Doug and Judy Buy the House Washer™
One of the two science fiction stories here, with a fascinating and very much science fictional central concept, but it reads more like the savage dissection of a toxic marriage between two toxic people who are clearly meant for each other. Claustrophobic and uncomfortable, as if we’re eavesdropping on something profoundly intimate.

The Jupiter Drop
Science fiction, until it becomes something else altogether, a hallucinogenic journey into fantasy that will have you questioning what’s real and what’s not.

These next two are my favorites in the book, and I think they will join Daphne as stone cold horror classics.

Argyle
The confessions of a dying man to his family. That’s all you’re getting from me. Read it, and good luck trying to get it out of your head. you may find yourself looking into the face of every stranger you pass, and wondering just what horrors reside within them.

Egorov
This is the longest novella here, and it’s a masterpiece. The story of the death of one adult triplet and the lengths his two remaining brothers will go to in the name of vengeance, Egorov reads like an unholy amalgamation of Kafka, Tolstoy, and Dickens, with a healthy dose of Poe’s The Telltale Heart.

Spin a Black Yarn debuts August 15th, 2023, and is available for preorder now. For fans of dark fiction, this is a must-have.

Josh Malerman knows how to write a mean novella, and it doesn't matter if it's about events in a small town named Goblin or a wishful serial killer on his deathbed, a Black Mirror-esque lesson in how to avoid house-keeping, or a little bit of existential space horror--Malerman delivers.

I was really excited to try this horror anthology as I really enjoyed A House at the Bottom of a Lake by this author. For me though, this ended up being just okay.

Each story has a unique premise that I was excited to read.

The 1st, Half the House was Haunted, was engaging from the beginning and interesting to follow but I did lose a bit of interest half way through. 3/5 stars

Argyle ended up being the story I enjoyed the most. An interesting direction for a death bed confession - could not stop reading this one. 4/5 stars

Doug and Judy buy the house washer was just fine. Interesting topics were brought up and there were some great creepy moments but it felt a bit flat by the end. 3/5 stars

The Jupiter Drop was another just okay one. I love space horror so I was excited to try it but I think this one was just not really for me. 3/5 stars

Egorov was my least favorite. It felt long and boring and I just could not get invested. 2/5 stars

3/5 for the whole collection.

This is by far and away my favorite thing Malerman has released since Bird Box.

My favorite story was definitely the one where the father is on his deathbed and makes a startling confession to his family. It was equal parts cringeworthy and heartbreaking and made me think about the choices we make everyday and what they mean.

Absolutely loved this book and can’t wait for more people to read it.

Thank you first and foremost to Josh Malerman, Del Ray, and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

What a range of short stories! Each one was unique and haunting in its own way. They all stood out from one another and none left me wanting for more. None felt too long or too short, each one telling their story fluidly and precisely.

The first story, "Half the House is Haunted" was my favorite. A sister tries hard to convince her brother that where they live is at least partially haunted - and it carries until her dying breath. I loved it and the emotions it evoked and the overall dread I experienced throughout.

The second story, "Argyle" is about a man on his death bed and he is so happy to have made it to the end a good man. Loved the look at how our minds work and the depravity we could sink to.

"The Jupiter Drop" takes us on a more Sci-fi trip through the stars and through a man's dark past. This was the weakest in my opinion.

"Doug and Judy buy the House Washer" was a great look into the downside of consumerism and also was darkly hilarious!

We finish with "Egorov" where a man kills a triplet, who's siblings then pretend to be him and haunt the murderer. This was my second favorite story.

Set to release in August I highly recommend horror fans keep their eyes out for this one! Malerman knows what he's doing and provides a wonderfully dark time.

I highly recommend the collection of a novellas by horror writer Josh Malerman.

Malerman's use of sensory detail draws readers into the terrifying worlds he creates. The tension and suspense are expertly crafted, leaving readers on the edge of their seats as they anticipate what will happen next.

One of the standout qualities of Malerman's writing is his ability to create complex and fully realized characters. Each individual in the collection is unique, with their own motivations, fears, and desires. As readers follow their journeys, they become emotionally invested in their fates, which only adds to the terror when the supernatural elements come into play.

Overall, Malerman's collection of linked novellas is a must-read for any horror fan. His skillful storytelling, use of sensory detail, and fully realized characters make for a truly unforgettable reading experience. I highly recommend this collection to anyone who wants to be thoroughly spooked and thoroughly impressed by an incredibly talented writer.

A nice collection of novellas. I enjoyed the unique ideas of each story.. I don't want to say too much about each story, I think it's better to be surprised. I would say each story contains a person or persons going through a mental horror within themselves and I love mental turmoil.

Wow. Wow. Wow.

Spin a Black Yarn is a collection of novellas that all take place in the town of Samhatten (Daphne!) This was such a strong collection of stories. When I read something like this there’s usually at least ONE story that isn’t as strong as the others and is lacking a bit. Not this one. I was fully invested in every single one of these fascinating stories and absolutely could NOT wait to get to the end. They were all SO unique and I’d never read anything like them. All I know is Josh Malerman is killing it. He knows how to play this game and is WINNING. These stories were so brilliant and mind blowing. I would love to see all of these brought to life somehow. Creepshow, The Twilight Zone, Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities?? This whole collection is a masterpiece and Josh is a true master.