Collection of novellas. I enjoyed "Argule" the most, closely followed by "Jupiter Drop." Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

As a big Josh Malerman fan, I decided I wanted to give this a fair chance even though his previous horror anthology, Goblin, was a bit of a messy and confusing read for me. His anthologies do tend to be a big abstract, I never am 100% sure of what happens, and usually have the reread the end over and over to try to figure it out. Still, I liked this more than Goblin! To this day though, Daphne by far is my favorite book of his. We need more books like that please!

Half the House is Haunted
This one was beyond weird. This kid’s older sister is demented apparently, and does stuff like hiding fake dead bodies under her brother’s bed as a prank. First off, how does a literal CHILD get access to a fake corpse as a prank? Anyways. She claims half the house is haunted but refuses to tell her brother which half is haunted. The parents are very neglectful and at one point quite literally both leave the house on a work emergency when their daughter is missing, and ask their 6 year old son to go find her while they’re away. Lo and behold, you find out later that half the house actually IS haunted. Halfway through, there’s a time jump of about 35 years where everyone has moved away from the house….except the older sister. Who for some reason, still lives there. Alone. (There’s a Goblin shoutout in this book, so this also takes place in the same world of Malerman’s other books!) I actually loved this. Already off to a better start than Goblin. Still written in the same abstract style but a lot easier to understand this time around. There wasn’t really a big surprise or reveal at the end like I was hoping for, but I enjoyed it. 4/5 stars

Argyle
This puts you in the mind of a man who dreamed about committing violent acts his whole life but never acted on the urge. Basically, a psychopath who constantly daydreams about it, hides it from everyone, but manages to control his urges enough to never act on it. On his deathbed, he finally reveals the truth to his family, telling his children that he is not capable of love and the only love in his life are his psychopathic urges. This was probably one of the most interesting things I’ve ever read, because I’ve never read a take from a standpoint like this. Not really the type of horror I like to read about, but I thought this was interesting. 3/5 stars

Doug and Judy Buy the House Washer
This one was really….weird. A house washer that cleans everything so insanely that it sucks anything and everything into it, including paintings on the walls. Lamps, books, and their piano literally float through the living room when they turn this thing on. It even opens photo album, and pulls the photos from the plastic to clean them. That’s what I mean about these anthologies being very….abstract. There’s a lot of suspension of disbelief required here. I found myself skimming most of this one at first, since it’s mainly just Doug and Judy going through sentimentalities as the house washer cleans the memories from their home. But trust me on this, it gets better. I found myself getting more and more invested in this story as it went on. This was a sci-fi-y tech thriller type of horror, very black mirror. 3/5 stars, I took away a star because I think the ending needed more of an explanation (as in, does the machine do this to EVERYONE, or just people they deem evil?)

The Jupiter Drop
Outer space horror! The Jupiter drop offers a 2 year flight then 2 month stay on Jupiter. Fall comfortably for two months on the Jupiter drop, where a huge crane connected to a space station literally drops you through space while you are in a state of the art luxury accommodations, transparent with glass so you can see the entire thing. Another weird abstract ending that I had trouble understanding, so 3/5 stars.

Egorov
In this story, two members of a triplet are trying to find out who killed their brother so they can exact revenge. Honestly I found this one pretty boring and skimmed most of it. 1/4 stars, I preferred the others.

Overall, I’d give this 3/5 stars. Not the best anthology I’ve ever read but I really enjoyed this and the twisted world that Josh Malerman has created. I’m a fan!

Thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey for sending me an advanced copy in return for my honest opinion.

A creepy and captivating book about a man who can create nightmares with his stories. The book is full of horror, mystery, and twists. It made me feel scared and fascinated!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!!

I adored this set or novellas. On the surface, each one would appear to be just a straight up story, and then BAM, Josh hits you with some fundamental truth about life.

What a fun book! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy. Here are my thoughts on each of the five novellas in <i> Spin a Black Yarn. </i>

Half the House is Haunted:
3.5 stars. As with most novellas and short stories in the horror or horror-adjacent genres, this was strange. It started out fascinating, as the story of two siblings, Stephanie and Robin, ages 8 and 6, respectively. Stephanie torments her little brother with speculation that “half the house is haunted,” while Robin is constantly in survival mode as he tries to avoid being alone with his sister, who is hell bent on scaring the pants off of him. The writing style is unique for feeling like it’s coming directly from the heads of the two characters. Dialogue is not separated out with quotation marks, and the pace is unrelenting, as spiraling thoughts parallel the sequence of events as they barrel forward. The childhood story culminates in a climactic event, and then the story skips to when the pair of siblings is in their forties, Stephanie still living in their parents’ old, big house, and Robin forced to confront his fears when he stops by for a visit. Avoiding additional story spoilers, I found this story to be unnerving and suspenseful. I wouldn’t call it a haunted house story in the traditional sense of the genre, but it carries some of the same themes. The ending is a little abrupt and culminates in an exposition dump explaining the whole thing, which is not uncommon for a short story, but I was hoping for a punchier conclusion to pay off the suspense. Overall, still an interesting and thought-provoking tale.

Argyle:
4 stars. This story was dark, unpleasant, and utterly unputdownable. The gist is this: a man is on his deathbed, surrounded by his closest family and friends, and in his final moments makes a shocking confession. His confession expands into a narrative tale of key moments of his life, while his family listens and close friends pop in, to the dismay of everyone as the man refuses to stop or take a break from the horrific tale he is telling. This story provokes a lot of thought and forces the reader to wrestle with the idea of what it means to be a “good” person, as well as the right a person has to spend their last minutes of life and last words saying the things that will bring them peace, even if in doing so, it ruins the peace of others. The tone of this one is definitely in the horror realm, and it reminded me a little bit of <I> Bones and All </I>.

Doug and Judy Buy the House Washer(TM):
5 freaking stars. I woke up earlier than usual on a Saturday and picked up my kindle to start this novella. It sucked me in so quickly - before I knew it, an hour had gone by and I was happy to keep reading until I finished. This story is best categorized as speculative fiction, as it has an underlying unsettling feeling throughout and does dip into the realm of spooky. A slight spoiler, but the first line of this story is “Doug and Judy are assholes.” Beyond making me chuckle, it sets up the rest of the story amazingly well, and I was transfixed by the sequence of events to follow. The House Washer (TM) is a fascinating subject for a tale that is ultimately about happiness, and it’s impressive that Malerman is able to come up with a technological device that is fantastical and terrifying but seen through the eyes of the protagonists in a way that makes it pass as realistic enough to suspend disbelief. I don’t want to give anything away here, but this story enthralled me. Unsettling, tense, semi-dystopian but also a deep character study? Sign me up.

The Jupiter Drop:
4 stars. This was a really interesting speculative fiction/sci-fi story centered around a man who decides to take the (literal) plunge and pay a fortune to participate in a thrilling experience in space. There isn’t much to say about this without spoiling things, but the story takes a psychological turn and gets moderately unsettling. I didn’t know where this story was going, but its relatively short and kept my attention as I was fascinated by the concept of The Jupiter Drop as an attraction. It could have been longer and clearer but overall a fun story.

Egarov:
3 stars. I’m sorry to say I struggled a little bit with this last story. I didn’t expect it to be so long, for one thing. There are over 30 chapters! Almost half of the whole book is taken up by this story. Maybe just because it was the last one, it threw me for a loop after the previously shorter tales. This story centers around a family in Samhattan’s “Little Russia” which suffers a tragedy and takes the path of revenge. There are some interesting literary devices used throughout the story to build a sense of tension and depict this complexities of this family. The story is good, and gets downright creepy, but I think it was just a little bit of a miss for me because it was so long and it takes a while to get to the action. There are some really good and engaging parts of the story, and I have no doubt that other readers will love every second of it.

Final thoughts: This was an absolutely worthwhile collection for fans of Josh Malerman and readers of spooky and speculative fiction. I had a blast reading these tales and loved the acknowledgements at the end with Malerman’s tidbits about his career and the origin of the title, <i> Spin a Black Yarn. </i>

I just LOVE Josh Malerman. Five short horror stories, each one better than the last. I fell in love with his writing after reading Bird Box, and every book I read from him is just as exciting. He's able to create these worlds that are so intriguing and vast. Lots of varying genres in this one including mystery, science fiction, and thriller (on top of the obvious horror).

Thank you Del Ray for the ARC copy to read and review. I am a huge fan of Josh Malerman’s writing. His words stream into my own consciousness so easily it makes reading his work a claustrophobic and horrific experience.
This group of short stories/novellas varied so much. Each story was unique and brought something totally unexpected.
The first story sticks out as my favorite the concept of half a house being haunted became an ear worm for a while after that. I loved the childrens voices in that story and maybe they’ll stick with me the longest. The story of a man on his deathbed with a grotesque secret sticks too. The couple who purchased a new gadget and got exactly what they paid for. A shared face. Maybe they’re all a little sticky. Each of them a strand of wool woven in our DNA.

I’m sure you can tell I loved this book and I recommend you pick this one up immediately!

Spin a Black Yarn by Josh Malerman. This book is described as a collection of five novellas that span genres and imagination. My reading experience was more akin to four short stories (one in two parts) and a novel disguised as a novelette on All Hallow's Eve.

Half the House Is Haunted: How reliable are the characters? It's unclear. When we turned our backs, the author may have gleefully soaped-up the lenses of our glasses. This yarn unspools in two parts. The first being told from the perspective of a child and the second being that of the same character as an adult.

Argyle: The most complete feeling story in this mischievous miscellany of malcontents., What if, on their deathbed, someone you've known your entire life were to pull back a curtain, revealing the unimaginable?

The Jupiter Drop: We Can Remember It for You Wholesale* meets Kafka. Surreal introspection of trauma that I wish were slightly more in focus. I don't know if this would've added or detracted from the experience. Star Trek: The Original Series. This story could take place during the instant of phasing while being beamed up. Sadly, not all red-shirted cadets rematerialize. * (adapted into the Total Recall films)

Doug and Judy Buy the House Washer: A tale in which the thin veneer of the Joneses is washed clean only to reveal a Lynchian fever dream. This is what happens when you put a load of whites in the washer and everything comes out dark. Whatever you do, don't check the lint trap.

Egorov: The red-headed stepchild of Dickens and Poe. The novella that would be king. A thread within this yarn seems out of time, place and possibly space. This, the least tangled tale in this collection, feels the longest. What exactly does it weave? I'm not sure. When putting all the pieces together, the resulting image doesn't look like the one on the box cover. Please note that this gothic tale tells the most graphically disturbing passage in the book. It may put you off for a bit. The story is fine. The writing is fine. Better than fine in parts. However, something seemed missing to me. The whole is less than the sum of it's parts.

As with many shorter length stories, I felt the yarns to be slightly unwound and ambiguous. Depending on your perspective, this may work in favor of these stories, as it adds a hint of mystery - and three of the stories seem designed for this. One may complete weaving each of these three yarns feeling as though you just awoke from a hazy daydream. The experience is not unlike reading a tone poem. The stories may leave you wanting, but the experience isn't unpleasant. The reader is trusted to interpret what's transpired and puzzle over what may, or may not, be.

The dark yarns presented in this project are distant relatives of a connect-the-dots puzzle from a children's publication edited by Edward Gorey, Granted, this particular puzzle is missing some of the dots. Is the final image that of a giraffe or is it something slightly out-of-focus that is going to eat you?

I enjoyed writing this review and had a bit of fun with it. Some of what I've shared may not make sense until you've read the stories. Granted, they may not make sense afterwards, either. I think this work is well worth witnessing (for the sake of alliteration). These stories are thought provoking and would make for good group discussion.

This is the first book I've read by this author. Based on this experience, I would like to read one of their full-length works.

Overall rating: 3.5 stars

A collection of five novellas, ranging from tense to chilling, but never dull. I enjoyed some of the stories more than others, but each one has its charms.

This particular ARC sat on my shelf long than I wanted to knowing once I started I would have to finish.

I am a HUGE fan of Josh Malerman. He makes imagery alive and refreshing, even it is dark. There's something about his author's writing style that's irresistible regardless of if I like the book (as a whole) or not. With this collection of short stories, I REALLY liked the first half, and although I wasn't too wild about the second half..

A mix of horror, mystery, thriller, and science fiction. I am not the biggest fan of science fiction, so in those novellas, it felt short, for me, but it was none the less interesting. It should not really deter you from reading the book.

My advice is to give this a read if you enjoy mind twists and dark human nature Your mind will unravel, like yarn, leave you in a knot a few times, leaving, you think, untying, your thoughts out of the peculiar quandary.

My advice is to give this a read if you enjoy mind twists and dark human nature coming alive. It will get the knots and stitching patterns in your mind, moving with each peculiar quandary.

I would rate this book a 3.5, overall. Systems like GoodReads and others make it hard as half stars do not exist, so I had to get crafty of my website and Book instagram for my followers. (check it out!)

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this ARC.

A very, very nice collection of horror stories by different authors. Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Thank you NetGally and the publishers allowing me an advanced copy of this book

I liked this short story collection a lot more than "Goblin"...

And yes - there are two specific short stories, that stood out to me - but I am not giving it away: It's for me to know, and for you to find out.

Would certainly recommend this book !

I had high hopes from the author as I am a fan of some of their earlier work. This is a mixed bag with most of the novellas missing the mark for me but that's always the risk with any collection. However, knowing what the author is capable of, I expected more.

Spin a Black Yarn by Josh Malerman was received directly from the publisher and I chose to review it. Josh, Josh. Josh, in the beginning, I was a super fan but I am losing interest in your works. It seems you are getting more into the "not really scary," part of horror writing, if you call it that, and your characters now talk way too much. Novellas are my favorite medium to read also but when I find myself skimming, a lot, there should be more action. That being said, some people like the slow burns, so it you are a Josh Malerman fan, or like to read "horror" stories that wont keep you up at night, give this book a read.

3 Stars

This is five well-written, original, mind-bending novellas! The stories are not interconnected, however there are nods to other tales for fans to discover. As always, Malerman did a stellar job. He’s brilliant.

This one was a mixed bag for me. I really enjoyed the first story about half a haunted house and the story about the house cleaner. I absolutely LOVED Jupiter Drop- SciFi and horror and psychological thriller perfectly mixed. I DNF the second story (about a man who always wanted to kill his family but never did- I couldn’t read it as my mom-heart couldn’t take it). I also DNF the last story as the dialog was do drawn out, I found my mind wandering.

Thank you NetGalley!

1. An eight-year-old gaslights a little too much.
2. A father who confesses (with joy) how much he wanted to kill his family.
3. A washing machine that has a side hobby of playing judge and jury.
4. Sometimes the guilt is so bad you go to Jupiter.
5. Triplets play the switch-a-roo game a little too hard.

Spin a Black Yarn is a short-story horror collection. I haven't read any of this author's previous works, so I went in with no expectations. Overall, this was not a bad collection. I loved two of them and was indifferent toward the rest. Short stories should all have a point, or at least I should be able to walk away with a lesson learned or a question for me to ponder. If you are going to pick this one up, the second and third stories are my favorite out of the bunch.

Story #1 2.5 out of 5

Let's not let eight-year-olds play at being babysitters, shall we?

At its core, this short story was about a vindictive brat, Stephanie, who tried to scare the crap out of her younger brother, Robin. As he talks about his childhood, he reviews all the incidents his sister would try to scare him with tales of half of the house being haunted. At times, some of these instances seemed a little too real to just be a prank. We follow Robin's life, and just how much those incidents impacted him. This story was like my childhood, so I never felt "scared." This just might be because I have siblings. We all scare the crap out of our siblings. It builds character, right?

Story #2 5 out of 5

Are you really a monster, if you never act on your monstrous thoughts? This story was my favorite out of the five. A man on his deathbed spends his last few moments regaling his family and friends with all of the horrific fantasies he has lived with. Since his childhood, he has wanted to harm people, and only a childhood friend and his sister helped keep his fantasies in check.

I could not put my Kindle down. This story was complex, gripping, and downright terrifying. I kept questioning the line between right and wrong, good and evil at every turn. It seems pretty clear, who the villain of this story is, yes? Yet, I felt like the man was a victim, in a way, of his own head. This short story explored the complexities of man in a more thorough way than some of the long novels I've read. It did what those books could not in the span of a few pages. Absolutely brilliant.

Story #3 4 out of 5

Imagine a machine that cleans everything in your house, and I do mean everything. From the furniture to the pages of your diary. Sounds perfect! All you have to do is hop in a little tube and watch as your house around you is flooded with cleaning solution. If you are sane, this sounds like a nightmare. Doug and Judy, a rich suburban couple, go ahead and get this new toy, more to show off their wealth than anything. The machine dregs up dark, dirty memories, and we end up discovering just all the awful things Doug and Judy did to get to where they are.

This felt like watching a tennis match. The verbal sparring between the couple was so tense and exciting. They are both equally awful and watching them try to justify their actions left a bad taste in my mouth. Without spoiling the ending, the two definitely got what they deserved.

Story #4 2 out of 5

A guy feels immense guilt over an accident. To cope with the guilt, he goes to Jupiter. Yeah, I did not really understand the point of this story either. I was bored and dissatisfied with how it ended. The guilt and space trip were not tied together in a cohesive way. If the author had taken more time to form these ties, the story would have had the opportunity to be impactful.

Story #5 2 out of 5

I would have enjoyed this story if it had not been so long-winded. It is essentially about two triplets tormenting the man who killed their brother. It was haunting at times, but the long-winded dialogue made my eyes blur, and I ended up skipping whole chunks from sheer boredom.

Thanks to Net Galley and Random House Publishing for the advanced copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

(Review has been shared to Goodreads and Storygraph. It will be reshared and posted on Amazon and Barnes and Noble website closer to release date.)

It was great to get lost again in Goblin and Samhattan. From a house that may or may not be half haunted, to a serial killer who has never killed, to the hunter who is now the haunted; it was a great ride.

Spin a Black Yarn by Josh Malerman - Fantastic!
This was my first Josh Malerman book. (but it won't be my last.)
The first story had me hooked! First story gets 5 stars.
Second story is much the same as I was hooked on every word and didn’t want to stop reading. Out of the first two I can’t say which is my favorite.
Story three was interesting, full of symbolism and what not, good but not my personal cup of tea.
Story four was far out! Got me thinking- still trying to figure it out! 🤣
But the last story Egorov- for me, this story went on too long. I think it could’ve been 1/3 the length and still gotten the point across. The paragraphs were so long I’d get lost and have to find my way again. So it just threw me off and was hard to read. I won’t spoil the ending of that one, but I get why it had to be included.
As always, I mention grammar… The writing was good. Few errors, so this story did not lose a star for grammar. I gave 4 stars because the last story just pulled the pace down so much for me-that it felt like a chore to finish reading it. I was happy when the last story was over, but not excited for that story at all.
However, I did enjoy the acknowledgements at the end of the book and I will definitely pick up more books from Josh Malerman.
In short…

Spin a black yarn
Story one- stunning! Haunting if hill house meets…Blythe manor.

Story two- Argyle
Dark!! Terrifying… phenomenal

Story three: Doug and Judy buy the house washer - meh- it was weird, like I get the symbolism but meh

Story four- the Jupiter drop - still trying to figure it out.

Story five- way too long- had it’s horror’ish moments but also meh for me.

This was a very solid collection of short stories. I especially liked how different they were and how a lot of the horror was what wasn't said, left to the imagination.