The moon setting was just familiar enough to make the bizarre cultists and environment deeply unsettling and uncanny, as well as providing a brilliant suspension of disbelief that allowed for a good deal of hand-waving and prevented too many infodumps. I'm excited to see where Ballingrud goes with the trilogy, and will definitely be coming back for more spiderlady antics!

I’m uncomfyyyyy🤢 but in the best way. I feel like if a horror book isn’t making your skin crawl or making you feel uncomfortable, it isn’t doing its job. This little novella was unputdownable from start to finish. It is just incredible grotesque, with brutal imagery, and spiders which is probably my biggest fear.

This book is 100% going to haunt my dreams tonight so props to the author for that one. I honestly don’t know why I do this to myself. Think insane asylum but with spiders oh and it’s on the moon? That’s basically this book and while it sounds like an abstract and relatively confusing concept, the author pulls it off amazingly.

If you need a short, less than 100 paged read that will make you want to rip your skin off and make it feel like you have bugs crawling on you, this is for you! I literally had to go for a walk and take a shower to feel normal again and honestly I’m here for it. (that’s so toxic lol) You should definitely read this book though!

*Huge thanks to Netgalley & Tor Nightfire for the digital ARC!*

Having previously read Nathan’s stellar short story collections ‘North American Lake Monsters’ and ‘Wounds: Six Stories From the Borders of Hell,’ I was beyond excited when this novella was announced. Nathan also has a novel out, ‘The Strange,’ but I’ve yet to get to it, my TBR as deep as the Mariana’s Trench at this point.

But when Netgalley approved me for this one, I knew I’d be diving in quick, and after reading Michael Patrick Hicks’ review, I couldn’t wait to see what I was in for.

What I liked: ‘Crypt of the Moon Spider’ takes place in an alternative reality, where humans have colonized the moon to a degree. Many years ago, a cave was found deep under the forests on the moon, a cave where an immense spider lived. Now, the moon is home to those deemed ‘unfit’ on earth, people with depression, melancholy and immoral thoughts.

Taking place in 1923, we follow Veronica, as she arrives at an institution on the surface of the moon, where Dr. Cull has developed a cure for melancholy. She wants to get better, wants to return to earth and her husband, but doesn’t believe she can be fixed.

Ballingrud does a wonderful job of setting the stage and frankly, while this is considered ‘science fiction’ it merges the line between sci-fi and horror so very well. This novella is unnerving. You know something lurks, something’s just below the surface – not only of the moon, but also of the story.

Once Dr. Cull’s methods are revealed and Veronica’s childhood stories are unlocked, the story rampages towards a shocking mid-story climax. It was frankly unexpected, seeing how Ballingrud was telling this story, but it worked perfectly to set up the second and third acts.

The ending brought some closure but also created significantly more questions. These questions will be front and center when book two arrives and Ballingrud deftly makes it so that the reader wants to know the answers to those questions.

What I didn’t like: Within the story, we are introduced to the character known as ‘Grub.’ I personally thought the section that details his backstory and arrival was unwarranted. While it did work to show us Dr. Cull’s depravity and methods, it slowed the pacing. Saying that, there’s the potential this was necessary for the trilogy aspect.

Why you should buy this: Ballingrud has a way with prose that instantly transports you to whatever wonderful place he’s created. It’s one of those things that the masters of writing have and the rest of us chase. The story within is magical but grounded, while also being dark and sinister. The first book in this trilogy effortlessly has the reader in the palm of its hand, making us long to learn what comes next.

Fantastic stuff. Nathan is at the top of the game. I cannot wait to see what else he does. I'll follow him until the ends of the earth

Thank you to Netgally and Tor Nightfire for my arc in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

In the world of this novella, it is 1923 and Veronica Brinkley has set foot on the moon and is admitted to the Barrowfield Home for Treatment of the Melancholy. Known for its use of spider silk, the renowned facility and doctor, Barrington Cull, promise to rid one of troublesome thoughts of melancholia. However, the moon's past and husk of the gargantuan spider will change Veronica's life beyond what Dr. Cull has promised.

I LOVED this novella. It is so creeping and the descriptions of the spider silk and the moon are just delightful. This reminded me a lot of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper," but the after effects of the short story where the husband leaves the wife at some facility to die. I also just loved the universe that Ballingrud creates here. It's so interesting to imagine a 1920s where space travel, at least to the moon, is possible. And then there's all of the cool occult stuff with the giant spider. GUH. I loved this and cannot wait for the next novella in the series.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC!

What a great dark gothic story!!!! I couldn’t stop reading this book!! I highly recommend this to everyone!!!!

Loved this! Super spooky and atmospheric, as well as a really quick read. It's immersive immediately and has wonderful twists and turns and reveals.

This book reminded me of a gothic Shutter Island, but if you added a bit of moon obsession and also spiders. Said spiders were not as disturbing as I thought they would be tbh.

It's like if Bergenwyrth were a 1920's American insane asylum built on top of a chalice dungeon. It's tropey as far as gothic fiction goes, and very easy to read.

Wonderful, dark science fiction. I liked the portrayal of the main character's struggle with depression. The setting was extremely creepy and claustrophobic sometimes. Generally a very well-written book. I can only recommend this.

This novella is extremely well written. The characters are interesting and incredibly unlikeable in an intriguing way. There was an unexpected amount of body horror, but I didn't find it overwhelming. This is a very well done story involving mental illness, scientific experimentation, and revival of a potentially extinct species (I think). I hate spiders, but I'd read another story from this sci-fi universe for sure.
Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for this ARC to review!

Welcome to the Barrowfield Home for Treatment of the Melancholy
Location: the Moon! (1923)

The Strange (2023) was my eye catching introduction to Nathan Ballingrud, which became one of my favourite novels of last year, an unsettling science fiction tale set on the desolate dustbowl of Mars. I enjoyed it so much I featured it in the ‘Accessible Adult’ section of my review almanac The YA Horror 400, which was recently published. This fascinating author is particularly well known for his weird, dark fantasy and horror short stories brought together in the two collections North American Lake Monsters (2013) and Wounds (2019). In 2007 his short story ‘The Monsters of Heaven’ won the prestigious Shirley Jackson Award, with him securing a second Jackson gong in 2013 for North American Lake Monsters, in the Best Single-Author Short Story Collection category. Ballingrud’s widely admired fiction has also been nominated for numerous other top prizes, including the Bram Stoker, the World Fantasy Award and the British Fantasy Award.

Back in 2015 Ballingrud’s novella The Visible Filth (currently out of print) was included in the excellent This is Horror website range of fiction. The Strange was his longest work to date and his debut as a novelist, with his latest Crypt of the Moon Spider he returns to novella length fiction, with this being the first in his Lunar Gothic Trilogy. This is a bizarre distinctive book, even by Ballingrud’s lofty standards of weirdness, and I will definitely be returning for a second trip to the web when part two arrives.

Coming is at a lean 128-pages there is a lot to unpack in Crypt of the Spider Moon and I am intrigued in which direction part two heads, indeed, I would not be surprised if it contains a completely new set of characters or heads into another nightmare dream sequence. Like with The Strange, this book is set in an alternate reality, opening in 1923 with quiet, subservient and mousy Veronica Brinkley being left at a medical facility on the moon by her husband for exhibiting vaguely unexplained emotional problems connected to depression. The whole novella is set at the Barrowfield Home for Treatment of the Melancholy where Veronica is treated by Dr Barrington Cull, a medical practitioner known for his invasive and successful treatments have been lauded by many. ‘Invasive’ is a bit of an understatement and is a pivotal part of the story, which involves a fair bit of surgery and gleefully hurtles into the body horror zone of David Cronenberg with skulls being sawn open.

The doctor is not exactly what he seems, neither is his chief orderly Grub and as Veronica’s treatment intensifies the story focuses upon the manner in which she reacts to it. If you do not like spiders then I would avoid this story, as a key part of the treatment involves inserting a certain type of spiderweb into the brain, which originated with a long dead giant spider which once lived on the moon. Even though the spider has been dead for many years, it still has followers and Veronica is far from your average patient. The style is deliberately jarring, there are memory jumps, various flashbacks and suppressed memories which might have some bearing in the second novella.

With many authors Crypt of the Spider Moon might have ended up as a sticky spider’s web of a mess, however, few do weird more convincingly than Nathan Ballingrud and do not expect a linear beginning, middle and neat conclusion. Little background is given to this version of 1923, (I wasn’t even sure it was ‘our’ moon as it has trees and forests) and the hospital was a threatening place where human rights disappeared out the window with a surreal nightmare morphing into an almighty bad trip. I did also wonder whether it was set in the same timeline as The Strange, but it does not matter as much of this whacky mind-bending (and skull cracking) novella makes little sense and that’s all part of the fun.

There’s something about Nathan Ballingrud’s writing that just gels with my brain. His sentences are beautifully crafted and the stories he weaves feel original. I had high expectations going into Crypt of the Moon Spider and it absolutely lived up to them.

The novella is about a woman who is sent to an institute on the moon in an effort to cure her melancholy. The methods used are unusual to say the least. I loved the weird lunar setting. I loved the medical body horror. I loved the ancient spider lore. It's sci-fi byway of the fantastical and with a heavy dose of horror.

To me, Nathan Ballingrud is basically a modern day Ray Bradbury (one of my very favorite authors!). I can’t wait to read whatever his mind cooks up next!

Yeah, so if you’re afraid of spiders - don’t read this one. I read this novella on my kindle, curled up in the dark, from start to finish one night. Then I had to stare into the darkness and try to fall asleep…..

Crypt Of The Moon Spider is chock full of body horror along with commentary on bodily autonomy and the constructs of memory. I am obsessed with this story and can’t believe there are going to be two more books in this universe. This is my first book by this author, although I’ve had The Strange on my TBR list since it was published. His writing is absolutely gorgeous and I love when an author can write about horrible, terrifying things in a way that is both haunting and beautiful.

Also a moment for this cover because what the fU<k is that, right?!? So freaking scary and I love it. If I could make one recommendation - if you are thinking about reading this book, just go in blind. Skim the synopsis but don’t really read it. Just put all your trust into me that you should read this one if you like body horror, the moon, female rage, and more horror!

**Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the eARC of this creepy title!**

Nathan Ballingrud is reliable in delivering original, thrilling stories, but this one surpasses his previous work. Continuing in the style of his novel, The Strange, this book blends fantasy, science fiction and B-movie aesthetics to create a unique vision. The prose is lyrical and nearly every line glitters with depth and poetry as the narrator exhumes buried secrets. Delving into America's dark history of psychiatric treatment in an all-too-plausible context, Crypt of the Moon spider moves along at a frightening pace, revealing mysteries, miracles and terrors on every page. Fans of classic science fiction will be charmed by this viscerally disturbing fantasy and ravenous for the next installment in the Lunar Gothic Trilogy.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the ARC.

With the recent release of Yorgos Lanthimos's film, Poor Things, and two other Frankenstein movies slated for 2025 release - one from Guillermo Del Toro for Netflix, and another in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s theatrical The Bride - Mary Shelley's shadow continues to loom large as a source of inspiration for modern-day horror talents. Enter into this fray, Crypt of the Moon Spider, Nathan Ballingrud's latest novella and first in the Lunar Gothic trilogy for Tor Nightfire.

As with Ballingrud's previous release, The Strange, the author presents us with a fantastical alternate history and a voyage to the stars more in keeping with the imaginings of Jules Verne and Edgar Rice Burroughs than Neil deGrasse Tyson. In Crypt, it is 1923 and Veronica Brinkley has been entrusted by her husband into the care of Dr. Cull of Barrowfield Home for Treatment of the Melancholy on Earth's moon. The clinic has been built upon a tomb that once housed the legendary moon spider, and although this species is no more its webs still cling to the treetops of the moon's forest surrounding Barrowfield Home.

Veronica is a waifish sort, the type of person upon whom events occur to and are heaped upon with little care or who lack any awareness of their own power for agency. Her victimhood is learned, instilled upon her by her own mother as a child in their Nebraska farmhouse who taught her that her life is not her own and that women exist only in the wake of men. Mother's is an old-fashioned viewpoint in lockstep with the times -- the suffrage movement, if it existed at all in this askew historical, would not yet have led to the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which itself would only be a couple of years old in Veronica's adulthood. Women are second-class citizen, and Veronica's institutionalization has little to do with her own wants or desires so much as her husband's, who has consigned her away off-planet in an effort to wash his hands of her entirely. She's passed from one man to another in a series of victimizations that culminate, but do not end, in an unorthodox medical procedure involving moon spider silk and intracranial surgery.

With both Crypt of the Moon Spidery and The Strange, I've found an awful lot to love about Ballingrud's alternate histories and star-flung exploits. What they lack in scientific rigor they make up for with fun and spectacle. He clearly has a vision with these tales, and he does a fantastic job realizing them. The modern technologies and antiquated world views of the 1920s setting provide intriguing dichotomies against the fantastical lore, and its impact on the sciences, upon which these worlds are built. Ballingrud presents us with imagery that alternates between the marvelous and the terrifying in equal measure, granting us visions that are both awe-inspiring and chill inducing in their terrestrial and extraterrestrial horrors, and the mishmash of ideas and concepts he weaves together are keenly unlike anything else you're likely to read. Or, as Tyson might more eloquently put it, with Ballingrud, we got a bad-ass over here.

You can usually be guaranteed of an excellent read from Mr Ballingrud. This is probably my favorite piece of his work. It’s horror. It’s science fiction, it’s really creepy. It’s a five star read through and through.

Horror fiction writers: this is how you do it

I am not a big fan of horror fiction. I think, however, that is because, as a general rule, it is so poorly done. I'm being unfair -- when I say "it is poorly done", what I mean is that it doesn't horrify me. I am not horrified by creepy-crawlies -- in fact, I spent more than 30 years of my life studying worms, so I think worms and bugs are kind of cool, very beautiful little machines, in fact. Blood and guts and gore also don't bother me.

What I find really scary is psychological terror -- the fear of losing oneself. Nameless fears -- the "nameless" part is important. As a filmmaker once remarked, if you want to really be scary, never show the audience the monster. Leave it to their imaginations -- the monster they imagine is always scarier than anything you can put on the screen. As soon as you show the monster, as soon as you name the fear, it becomes a concrete problem to be solved, and that will never be as frightening as the invisible and nameless.

In Crypt of the Moon Spider, Nathan Ballingrud does that. In fact, he does it a little TOO well. It is truly scary. (And not because of the spiders -- there are spiders, but they play a surprisingly small role in the story.)

In fact, I'm going to be a little inconsistent here, because my main compliant about Crypt of the Moon Spider is that I never knew what was going on, even at the end. The world-building feels vague and perfunctory. Much of the action takes place on the moon, and there are forests and spiders there. It is 1923, and there are regular shuttle flights from Earth to the Moon. This is obviously not the Moon as we know it, and I never figured out how the world of Crypt of the Moon Spider relates to this one we inhabit.

Probably that ambiguity contributes to the mind-numbing horror that Ballingrud produces so well here. But still, I was left unsatisfied at the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor for an advance reader copy of Crypt of the Moon Spider. Release date 27-Aug-2024.

Crypt of the Moon Spider is a dark and dreamy tale of horror, corruption, and identity spun into the stickiest of webs.

Years ago, in a cave beneath the dense forests and streams on the surface of the moon, a gargantuan spider once lived. Its silk granted its first worshippers immense faculties of power and awe.

It’s now 1923 and Veronica Brinkley is touching down on the moon for her intake at the Barrowfield Home for Treatment of the Melancholy. A renowned facility, Dr. Barrington Cull’s invasive and highly successful treatments have been lauded by many. And they’re so simple! All it takes is a little spider silk in the amygdala, maybe a strand or two in the prefrontal cortex, and perhaps an inch in the hippocampus for near evisceration of those troublesome thoughts and ideas.

But trouble lurks in many a mind at this facility and although the spider’s been dead for years, its denizens are not. Someone or something is up to no good, and Veronica just might be the cause.


My first experience with this author but will not be the last. A very good, very creepy short novella that should appeal to all horror fans, as it did for me:)

We humans on earth try to survive and make do and good within our own perplexing lives and frailties but unfortunately things break, and can and can’t be undone, and one may seek out cures of all kinds and if all else fails there is one on a distant moon involving a home and spiders.
Book a seat on a shuttle to this destination, seats are limited and expensive!

One day in 1923 a Veronica Brinkley was voluntarily handed over in custody by her husband for Treatment of the Melancholy at Barrowfield home.
The complexities of her dilemma upon earth along with the anxieties and frailties of what to come are well crafted necessary elements hooking the read in upon a moon amongst spidery matters and frightening minutes within a metamorphosis of one Veronica with a deeply effective human tragedy.

Upon a moon amidst the immeasurable cosmos denizens of human and spider entities be awaiting with a infusion of human frailty and the macabre and ancient holy wonder in a mesmeric manifestation of gothical grotesque excellence penned by Nathan Ballingrud with a phantasmagoric procession of monstrous delights.