I'm a big fan of the Malerman books I've read in the past, but I just don't think his shorter fiction is for me. These novellas all had interesting premises, but it was honestly a bit of a struggle to get through most of them.

My favorite story of this collection was the first one, "Half the House in Haunted." It was an interesting take on a haunted house story, while also tackling the family dynamic between a brother and his sister. "Doug and Judy Buy the House Washer™" was another novella I enjoyed. That one hooked me from the very first sentence and I couldn't wait to see what happened next.

I ended up having to DNF the final story, "Egorov" about half way through. Definite bummer to end the book on a DNF.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for a review copy.

I wanted so much more from these stories. Most of them sounded so intriguing in the description, and some were even off to a great start, but none of them lived up to what I felt they could have been.

Of the stories “Half the House is Haunted” was my favorite. The first half of this story was incredible. And I remember sharing with my SO that I had started a great book. But unfortunately the last part of the story fell flat to me and the compilation of stories followed suite.

I did enjoy “Argyle” and “The Jupiter Drop” as well, but I wish they had given me a stronger impact. I still can’t quite place what they were missing.

“Egorov” was not the story for me. I found it incredibly different from all the rest, in a manner that made it very hard to get into and focus on the story.

Overall, this selection of stores was not for me.

Thanks NetGalley for ARC of these stories.

Josh Malerman demonstrates his keen ability to write tight, tense prose in addition to his more expansive novels. These short works pack all the punch of his epics, concentrated in a small package perfect for a stormy afternoon of reading. As usual, he blends his scares with heart and layers of meaning that show how the horror genre works best when tapping into our deepest empathies.
This collection is the perfect introduction to his work for new horror readers.

A brother struggles his whole life to understand what his sister means when she says "Half the house is haunted:. A man lies on this deathbed, surrounded by family, and confesses to homicides he never committed. A husband and wife purchase the latest in cutting edge home cleaning products and learn how dirty their past really is. A tourist takes the infamous Jupiter Drop and loses himself in isolation. And the remaining pair of a triplet set seek vengeance for their brother's murder in creative ways.

I have often found that short story and novella collections fall flat for me due to the similarity between the narrator voices. That was not the case here. Malerman created a distinct set of characters with unique voices and thoughts that aided in setting the tone and atmosphere for the entire novella series, a feat that is hard to accomplish and truly sets this collection apart. Each novella, while distinct, had enough similarities in writing style that the whole series was cohesive and felt like it belonged together.

Because of the benefits that a longer novella style story has, compared to a short story format, each had a well plotted series of events that wrapped up nicely at the end without overt abruptness and led the reader to a moral, theme, or lesson learned (though again, not overt and in your face).

The best word I can use to describe the book is Unsettling. That's the only thing that gets even close to representing this collection. Malerman explores the inner workings of the human mind in creative and often uncomfortable ways. I really enjoyed this collection and I'm eager to read more from this author.

Despite being a fan of other works by this author, I’m afraid I was a bit underwhelmed by this collection of 5 novellas. Atmosphere and psychological terror were abundant, but never really reached the tipping point, making for a great story. Unfortunately, the final novella felt so overwrought to me…the villain an over-emoting caricature of Ebeneezer Scrooge. Disappointing and forgettable quality, unlike The Bird Box and Pearl.

Since when are horror story collections boring... I didn't find myself really scared or thrilled with any of these tales. A miss for me

Five separate novellas combine to form this praiseworthy collection. Each tale takes place in Malerman’s fictional world of Samhattan, which fans of the author might recognize for his other works. All 5 tales are dark, haunting, and with tension pulled so tight it’s just waiting to snap, but the common (black) thread between them is family. In “Half the House is Haunted”, an older sister’s bullying is rooted in the supernatural, and it haunts her brother well into adulthood. In “Argyll”, a man confesses his unspeakable urges to his family from his deathbed. “The Jupiter Drop” explores the isolation space, forcing a man to face his past and the family he lost because of it. “Doug and Judy Buy the House Washer™” tells of a device that brings up a wealthy couple’s dirtiest secrets. And in “Egorov,” two brothers aim to haunt their triplet’s killer.

My favorite of the bunch was “Half the House is Haunted”, but each story is unique and spans a variety of themes and voices. This one didn’t feel as whole as GOBLIN—the overarching connection of Samhattan not as strong as it’s rainy brethren—and leans into multiple genres at times, making it feel stitched together instead born from one idea. But nevertheless, each story is wonderful in its own right and any fan of the author should enjoy this collection.

Josh Malerman is always a hit or miss for me, I either LOVE his books or I feel just ok with them. This collection was a perfect example of this because I loved a little more than half of them and felt just ok about the rest. Malerman does a great job at writing stories that give you chills because you just KNOW there's more going on than what you're actually seeing. My absolute favorite story in this collection is about a man on a trip to Jupiter and it made me wish Malerman wrote more sci-fi! The rating is an average of my individual ratings of each story (which is great because the lowest I rated one was 3 stars and it was only because I didn't like the plot of the story). As always, I will read anything Malerman writes and will continue to do so because he writes some of my favorite horror!

I was excited to read these novellas. I loved Bird Box by this author and I was looking forward to some more creatively harrowing situations in these 5 stories. I didn’t love them all, but some were interesting.

1️⃣ Novella 1 – Half the House is Haunted – This one interested me at first but quickly started to drag. I didn’t like the bullying sister, but I ultimately understood what she was doing. Overall, it just wasn’t compelling for me.

2️⃣ Novella 2 – Argyle – This story was disturbing more than scary. Imagine being told someone you loved your whole life wasn’t who you thought they were. Would you believe it? It was interesting, but unsettling.

3️⃣ Novella 3 – The Jupiter Drop – This story was well into the science fiction realm, and I generally liked this one. The isolation and solitude are what made it interesting.

4️⃣ Novella 4 – Doug and Judy Buy the House Washer™ - This one was also a bit sci-fi, but it was also a bit humorous. I enjoyed it.

5️⃣ Novella 5 – Egorov – This story didn’t hold my interest at all, and it was way too long. I barely got through it if I’m honest. I hate that this was the last story in the book because it ended on a bad note.

So, the summary is that I liked two of the stories, disliked two, and one fell somewhere in between.

Thank you @netgalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey for an eARC of this book, which I have read and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Thank you for granting my wish! Novellas are hard to write but Josh did it and provided this collection of five. They were pretty good. I was impressed.
I love the universe these take place in.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC, in exchange for an honest review!

I wasn’t a huge fan of these novellas. I found myself to be quite bored throughout every story. The ones that I enjoyed more seemed to end abruptly, and the ones that I didn’t like seemed to drag on. Every story had a bit of an anticlimactic ending. The one that I enjoyed the most was ‘Argyle.’ Perhaps I’m more of a full length story person instead of a novella person. I am happy that I gave it a try, but it seems like this one just wasn’t for me.

I pulled on a loose piece of yarn and unraveled each story, delving back into Josh Malerman’s world. Spin A Black Yarn is comprised of five novellas that made me think about the characters and their lives more than the actual story. I have enjoyed devouring each of Josh Malerman’s books and short stories ever since listening to the audiobook version of Bird Box. Spin A Black Yarn is, honestly, not one of my favorites, but I think that is because the final story was my least favorite. Nevertheless, here is my honest review:

In Half the House is Haunted there is a very mean older sister who loves scaring the bejesus out of her little brother, insisting that half of their house is haunted, but which half is haunted is up to the brother to figure out. I didn’t like the bully sister, but eventually, I came to understand why she did what she did. The story follows the two siblings as they grow from childhood to adulthood. I loved that this story, as many of Josh Malerman’s stories, took place in Samhattan; I enjoyed being taken back. One quote I liked in this story was “And isn’t it amazing how a smell or a sound, one little sound, can bring back an entire scene from decades ago?” That hit me square in the jaw and I think I still have a bruise to this day.

The story Argyle kind of creeped me out a bit, well, more than a bit. Argyle is about a father and husband who is on his deathbed with his wife and adult children surrounding him in his final moments. A man who his wife and children have looked up to all this time, and who will find out, he is not who they thought he was. He was a man haunted by a deep urge to cause harm to others. We learn about his struggle from a young age up to the day he begins telling his family, and his friends, about who he truly is. Argyle is about the sweet release of finally being able to tell the world who you truly are, about finally stopping the lying and hiding we’ve done all our lives, and not caring one damn bit what anyone else thinks, because why would we care about all that when we know we will be dead soon?

Now, my favorite story in Spin a Black Yarn was The Jupiter Drop. I love science fiction and have always been enthralled with outer space, planets, galaxies, etc., and what we, as humans, could accomplish with the right technology. The Jupiter Drop easily engaged me in the most fantastical space vacation, one that I think I would love to do, but one that scared the hell out of me too. I don’t know if I would be able to come back from a vacation like that. It’s about a man who decides to take a leap and do something no one would have ever believed he would do, travel to Jupiter, enter a see-through glass room, and be dropped from above the planet, left to fall through Jupiter and be caught on the other side. The fall takes a very long time, and being alone for that long, with no one but yourself, and a computer system to converse with, well, let’s just say, I don’t think I’d have fared any better than he did. Go ahead, let yourself be dropped into this story, I think you’ll like it as much as I did!

The fourth story in this novel is Doug and Judy Buy the House Washer. Don’t let the title fool you either because, at the beginning of the story, I thought for sure I would want to buy a house washer myself. I mean, who wouldn’t want their entire house washed on the inside? Think about all those nooks and crannies, all those dust bunnies hiding, with long venomous teeth, back there in the dark, where you can’t see them, or get to them, but they can get to you… This is a must-read!

Finally, the fifth book in Spin a Black Yarn is titled Egorov. I won’t lie to you, this is my least favorite story in this book, and my least favorite story by Mr. Malerman. I had such a hard time getting through it that I kept putting it away and reading other books, listening to audiobooks, and returning to it when I remembered I needed to post my review, and even then it was hard to push through. Russian and Welsh is my family history so I felt close to the characters and their background but the story itself just didn’t pique my attention. There was a lot of meandering and self-talk by the characters and it bored me. But read it and make that determination for yourself. It’s a story about a Russian family with triplets and one of the triplets is murdered and of course, the family wants justice for their kin. I loved the way they went about getting that justice, but I thought the side character, who is believed to have murdered the brother, was focused on a bit too much. There was way too much rambling for my liking.

Overall, I do give Spin a Black Yarn a 4.5 star because I enjoyed four of the five stories. But you make up your mind.

I was provided a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

SPIN A BLACK YARN: NOVELLAS by Josh Malerman
Publication: August 15, 2023 by Del Rey
Page Count: 400


Bram Stoker Award Winner offers a treat of another 5 unique novellas. The gestalt of this worthy effort is equal to the effort of his marvelous post apocalyptic debut novel, Bird Box. This quintet of horrific explorations into the dark side of humanity … all residing in his fictional city of Samhattan, Michigan …. veer into the frailties and oddness of humanity. All are excellent excursions into the unsettling nature of “secrets” and unexpected consequences of weird events.
My favorite is “Argyll” …. briefly on a father’s death bed, he starts spouting horrific revelations of his life long desire for lust, desire and murder … and his ability to never act upon these overwhelming “urges”. Is this a deathbed confession or the result of a diseased ridden brain? In “Half The House Is Haunted” … we follow how the life of two siblings is effected over the years, as a result of 8 year old Stephanie continuously teasing and scaring her 6 year old brother, Robin, while they grew-up. “The Jupiter Drop” features the surreal hallucinations occurring while a futuristic tourist is descending in a shuttle, that he paid dearly to experience.
In: “The House Washer” a overly rich shallow couple purchase the latest and greatest invention … a House Washer, that washes everything while you sit and watch in a protective tube. But, as they sit they are forced to confront many of their foibles and shortcomings as both a couple and individually. However, there is no way to stop the “cleaning” once it begins. And lastly, in: “Egerov” a sadistic bully has his horrific cupupence meted out by the surviving two brothers as they seek revenge on the killer of their brother. He was begging to die
It is always a welcome pleasure to have another slice from the brain of Josh Malerman. Thanks to NetGalley and DelRey for providing an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review.

I was provided an ARC of this title in exchange for a review.

Josh Malerman has provided us with a collection of novellas for our reading pleasure. Shorter than a novel but longer than a short story, the novella is a difficult format to perfect. Malerman has mostly succeeded with this group.

The highlights of this collection are "Argyle" and "Jupiter Drop." The former is one of the most original deathbed confessions I have ever read. It is difficult to say more without spoiling the best aspect of the story, but it is extremely well done. The later is fascinating science-fiction tale of someone taking the ultimate vacation -- traveling through the atmosphere of Jupiter. There is a great feeling of isolation mixed with the fascinating things the traveller encounters.

"Half of the House" is a creepy and unique take on the haunted house story. Malerman nails the interaction between the two siblings both as children and adults.

"Doug and Judy Buy a House Washer" is another sci-fi romp, a fun take on keeping up with the Jones with a classic Creepshow twist. This could have been simply done for laughs, but here we find genuine emotion as aspects of the titular couple's relationship are revealed.

"Egorov," the longest of the stories, explores the relationship between a family, specifically between triplets and also between a father and sons, as they deal with the death of one of their own. This revenge tail is moody and atmospheric, but for me was a bit long.

All in all, I enjoyed this trip to the universe that Malerman in creating within his fiction and look forward to my next visit.

DNF part way through the last novella. I made it to page 300, but it is way too long for a story that’s not at all interesting. this book missed the mark for me. None of the stories were scary or memorable.

Josh Malerman is the master of spooky stories and this book is no exception. This collection of 5 novella length stories is some of his best work to date. Malerman never lets me down when I'm looking for something interesting and unique to read. I highly recommend checking this and all his other books.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me this title to read/review.

DNF at 37%

I DNFd the first novella about 2/3 in. I hated the second. And DNFd the third novella pretty early on. I will not be leaving a rating because I did not finish the whole collection. This type of story telling just didn’t work for me.

The first novella was kinda annoying with the back and forth of “which half is haunted?” Which really hindered my reading experience because that was the literal point of the story. I understand it was supposed to show how to different kids grew from what they went through in their childhood but I hated how it was presented. Also, what was the point of the naked woman? Was she actually there? Was the house really haunted?

The second novella was a borderline dead man waxing poet about he stopped himself from being a serial killer. While that is a good then, and I commend him for doing so, I didn’t really need 75 pages of him telling me about it. Also the daughter saying “oh you didn’t?” Or whatever the phrase was before each new diatribe. Like ma’am, the whole point to this is that he didn’t.

The third I just gave up early. I didn’t like where it was headed and I was already 0-2.

I genuinely don’t want to trash someone’s work. Just because this story didn’t work for me, doesn’t mean it has no value in the world. I genuinely hope this collection finds its readership and they enjoy every page.

I didn’t want to leave a rating but NetGalley is making me to submit.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of Spin a Black Yarn by Josh Malerman in exchange for an honest review. This book has five creepy stories that are sure to keep you up at night. Or at least up reading all night. I really enjoyed this book and have been enjoying reading more by Malerman.

Really excited to have gotten my hands on this novella collection! I've enjoyed some of Malerman's other works (Bird Box and Daphne, specifically) in the past, and I was eager to read this when I heard that all the stories take place in Samhatten, the setting for Daphne. Unfortunately, this collection ended up not really being for me. I found three of the five stories to be a bit of a snooze fest; even though I found the concepts interesting, the execution was a bit lacking. However, the stories Argyle and Half the House is Haunted were really compelling to me. They both had strong concepts and fantastic delivery. I really found myself eating them both up. Would recommend this collection based on those stories alone, especially if you enjoy more psychological horror.

What a wonderfully weird trip through a hellscape like no other. I didn't want it to end. Josh Malerman knows how to get under the skin like a splinter that you can't stop bothering so it just continues to fester. Each and every story is creepy, weird, and unnerving. A horror must read if ever there was one.