In my opinion, The Little Season is miscategorized. While the story is graphic, it is not extreme horror. Nor is it quite a mystery.

The angle about the effects of "traumatized food" initially piqued my interest, but the plot line dissolved into a boring metaphysical/spiritual tangent. I appreciate the impact of a short story, but this one ended abruptly and unresolved. It seemed the author intended to inspire deep thinking around the paradoxes (or hypocrisies) of organized religion, society's unhealthy relationship with food, and the dire lengths one goes to when desperate for money. Unfortunately, the message was lost amidst attempts to explain dreams, energy vibrations, and star charts.

The summary caught my eye, but The Little Season didn't deliver. I wish I had felt otherwise because the premise was intriguing.

I received an advanced copy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The book started off so strong. I was hooked immediately. Splatter punk mystery? hell yeah.

Unfortunately I would not call this splatter punk or honestly even horror. The book felt like 95% of it was just over explaining things.

I despised the main character and not in a fun way, in a completely cringe way — example: “ It was time he started doing epic shit and creating high-value stories that were actually true. Not bullshit pickup lines of fake greatness.”

I had some confusion in the beginning because the characters were sometimes referred to by last name, first name or knick names without any consistency.

I felt like the art work added nothing to the book.

The premise was good. Cults, conspiracy theories, dreams, etc should have added up to an exciting book but it was very boring.

Dialogue felt clunky.

Almost quick reading at 32% but trudged through.

Firstly I would like to thank S.C. Mendes , Blood Bound Books and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reading copy of ' The Little Season' to read and review. Although I am an avid reader of splatterpunk and extreme horror , this is the first book I have read by this particular author apart from his work on anthologies. I am always excited to receive publications within this genre as I relish in gut churning intense horror and from the very first chapter I was hooked and instantly knew that this would not disappoint.

Due for publication in July , the story follows a young man called Jordan who is offered an opportunity to join a mysterious food tasting panel. Although he feels ill after the first meal he puts this down to coincidence and attends another sampling when more money is offered for his time. After the second dining experience Jordan instinctively knows that there is something drastically wrong and from this moment embarks on a journey diving into the rabbit holes of conspiracies.

The story was well written and I loved the angle about how food can be traumatised in terms of it being made from molecules so it can be susceptible to vibrational energy. The images sporadically placed within the text added immensely to my reading experience , but I must note that I believe that these will only be featured in the limited edition paperback and not within the mass market copy.

At only 150 pages I enjoyed the pace and it was a novella that kept me reading into the night. . Whilst splatterpunk is a niche genre and certainly not for the squeamish I recommend this short story to anybody looking for a fun and quirky read. It certainly wont be the last book I read by this author .

#TheLittleSeason #NetGalley

What a fun, addicting, quick little read. I didn’t want to put this one down.

I’d recommend this one to any fan of this genre!

Hungry for a splatterpunk mystery?
Talons is looking for food tasters and Jordan Carter jumped at the chance to join the focus group.
However, the qualifying questions embarrassed him. The first appetizer was a stale piece of bread. And worst of all, Jordan felt sick after the meal.
When Talons offers him double the money for a second tasting, he agrees and shrugs off the illness as a coincidence.
After the second meal, though, he’s convinced something is wrong. Daily nightmares and concerning voices culminate in Jordan vomiting blood. Doctors can find nothing physically wrong with him, and medical tests determine the blood isn’t even his.
Feeling scared and alone, Jordan dives into a rabbit hole of conspiracy theories to unravel Talon's ancient secret.
The Little Season is based on the 2022 short story The Guild.

A fun and quirky splatterpunk novella. At just over 150 pages this can be read in one sitting. Fun, weird, and strangely addictive, I'd recommend this for any fans of the genre.