I love me a little creepy mushroom story, so I jumped on this when I saw it on Netgalley and it did not disappoint! Creepy, surprisingly heartfelt, while not taking itself too seriously. I kinda wish it was more than a novella!

I didn’t recall this was a short story when I picked up my ARC again tonight. I had hardly read a few pages before today & had to back read a little. I loved how quickly the story was traveling, and the humor / sarcasm …

Great quick read, very satisfying. Thanks to Netgalley & Publisher for the advance reader copy

The book was a pleasant read, but it didn’t really stand out. The plot and characters were adequate, offering a straightforward story that was good enough to enjoy without being particularly remarkable. It’s the kind of book that fills the time but isn’t likely to linger in your memory.

This novella is a thrilling story that delves deep into loss, identity, and attachment to things. Paul is a man whose life is falling apart. His mundane existence consists of cleaning people's homes, but everything changes when he is assigned to a house that is the worst hoarder house he has ever seen—one that once belonged to a biologist. The house has fungi, strange growths, and an overpowering smell. As Paul works, he begins hearing voices and experiencing strange phenomena. This voice isn't just a figment of his imagination; it's something much more insidious. The voice, along with the unsettling sensations, compels Paul to confront memories of his dying mother and the end of his romantic relationship.

Paul's occupation as a cleaner symbolizes his attempt to manage the chaos in his life, but the house forces him to confront the things he's tried to keep buried. The character's gradual unraveling makes the reader question what is real and what is the product of Paul's fractured mind. His experiences in the house suggest that our mental health can trap us but also offer a path to understanding and finding meaning in life. Ultimately, the story highlights the importance of facing inner demons and the potential for transformation, even in the most overwhelming situations. Amazing story!

I received an ARC ebook for my honest review. Thank you, NetGalley and Stillform Press.

This horror novella is almost perfect. After reading this I feel like an other person with some new views on life. Beginning in hoarding, where the author in an exquisite way describes the ways of the mental health issue, and ending in sporror extreme. The author is now on my auto read list.

"You Will Speak For The Dead" is a strangely comforting read. This novella packs a big punch in so few pages. It is balanced with horror and humor. After finishing it, I have a new outlook on life and death. I highly recommend that readers dive into this book with little to no context. It is a perfect example of what Sporror is and should be. I cannot advocate for this book enough!

I was so excited to read this book! I have been living the fungal horror that has been popping up lately (such as What Moves the Dead) and You Will Speak for the Dead did not disappoint. Along with the creeping horror of finding out you are no longer alone in your body, there is the criushing loneliness so prevalent in today's society. Despite the original feelings of disgust and alarm, Busby provides us with a surprisingly uplifting and hopeful message.

In You Will Speak for the Dead, all Paul Simard really has going for him is his hoarder house cleaning business, and even that gets turned upside down when he arrives at 928 Avirosa, the home of an aging biologist. Beyond the typical hoard, 928 Avirosa is filled with fungi. In the carpet, in containers, in books, and, quite possibly, in Paul himself.

I've never read R.A. Busby before, but was quickly drawn into Paul's world by her prose. Given that this is such a short novella, I don't want to give too much away. But I do want to share that, while this novella contains some pretty gnarly body horror and utterly creepy depictions of mushrooms, it also captures a really profound sense of love and also grief.

Overall, this little novella packs a real punch on a surprising number of themes, and I enjoyed digging into Paul's psyche. Thank you to Stelliform Press and NetGalley for the eArc of this one!

This book started off great with hoarding elements and talks about grief and the process that love ones go when they are left to clean out the homes of those who pass. Unfortunately thats where it ends i found the story getting pretty stale and putting me in a reading slump. I DNF this one. Hopefully someone else will enjoy it better. Spores and mushrooms and that type of thing isnt what i consider horror.

Thank you NetGalley

I didn't realize this was a novella when I first started reading and this isn't what I usually read, but I really enjoyed the story!! The writing is excellent. I found the story relatable - yes, even though I'm not a hoarder or a gay man - while also being funny and creepy.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

You Will Speak For the Dead was a masterful ride through grief, loneliness, and letting go. Having lost my mother recently, I’ve had to go through her many items and it does feel like you’re throwing that person away, piece by piece. Except Paul brings home what is haunting his workplace in this disturbing body horror novella that will leave you as unsettled as it does horrified. Highly recommend!

An interesting, weird, emotional, abstract experience. It was thought-provoking, focused on grief and death, but in a way that will make you look at your surroundings with curiosity...and maybe make you reach out your fingers for connection. Also, I will never look at mushrooms the same way ever again. Don't Google skin carrots.

Thank you to @netgalley @stelliformpress and @r.a.busby for this advance reader copy!

This was such an interesting novella that packed so much into less than a hundred pages.

We follow MC Paul who is part of a crew who cleans up hoarder homes.
Written in a beautiful prose type writing that battles and examines grief through the metaphor of hoarding (i.e. scared to let something go because we feel that means its gone).

I also loved the science behind mushrooms and the integration of the structure of root systems and mushrooms as a metaphor for matter or energy never leaves, it is just changed.
This made me want to learn more about the science behind mushrooms to be honest.

You Will Speak For The Dead
By R.A. Busby

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book to review!

WOW !!! I loved this book. It was not what I was expecting but became to mean so much more.

YOU WILL SPEAK FOR THE DEAD is about a man who's job was to clean out hoarder's houses. We've all seen it on TV, those disgusting houses filled with tons of junk and garbage. What makes someone become a hoarder? What mental affliction has caused someone to clutter a residence with trash to the point of condemnation?

Told in a first person with a supernatural flair. The protagonist begins the demanding job of clean out as he keeps the reader thinking about what possible tragedy may have occurred cause this person to become a hoarder in the first place. I am definitely not doing this justice. It is a really amazing book. READ IT. Seriously.

Original and thought provoking. I highly recommend it .

5 Stars!

I loved this story! This story is about the things we can't let go of, the things we keep and hang on to and mushrooms. I don't want to say anymore but if you're a fan of mycology like me, you will know what's going on pretty early in the story. I still enjoyed it very much. It's sad, and sure a little scary. The writing is wonderful, the setting could be anywhere (one of the multiple storage units my dad and his girlfriend have, full of stuff they don't need), the characters felt real. You do need to stretch your ability to believe a little but just go with it, it's worth it.

“It is the secret of the world that all things subsist and do not die, but only retire a little from sight and afterward return again.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Explore the world of hoarding cleanup & mushrooms with our narrator Paul. He is a bit of a lost soul, alone in the world so to speak. The latest house he cleans begins to change in, drawing him into a network of connection unlike any other.

“Cancer, coronaries, Covid, or cholesterol may claim your family and friends, but throughout this turmoil the pile remains, year after year, decade after decade, a stable point in a swiftly turning world. Nothing is ever lost. The pile preserves everything intact.”

I loved the author’s prose; examining loss, clutter, and body horror in such poetic ways. I felt the other characters were a bit static, I would’ve loved to know more about them. Also why they didn’t seem to be affected by the same influences/biological factors as Paul.

“Most wept and wept, clinging to discarded water bottles, unpaid electric bills, plastic FroYo spoons, a dead dog’s collar, HBO Guides, flannel shirts, clay pots. Little china cups. Trash, maybe, but sometimes trash is all you have to cling to. All you have left to love.”

While I did overall find this book fairly sad and depressing, the ending brought peace to the narrator and closure to the reader. I definitely appreciated that.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Stelliform Press for a copy.

Well, that was the weirdest and most unsettling story I have read in a long time. It was also sweet. I could read this short story because I got it as an ARC off of Net Galley.

I love it. The ideas in the book were both horrifying and totally creeped me at several spots.

What a fun novella! Well…if you can call what happens to the main character fun. I love horror as told through grief, but won’t get into it any deeper than that to avoid spoilers. The care and empathy used to talk about hoarding? An attempt to understand, rather than judge? Wow, wow wow! Anyone who has known someone that has an issue with hoarding will know what I’m getting at.

The casual writing style made You Will Speak For The Dead a quick read, I just wish it had been a little bit longer! Give me more!

i received an e-ARC in return for an honest review :)

i loved reading this. i gagged a few times, was enthralled, intrigued. the background info we have of paul never being completely explored really worked for this book and i loved all the choices that were made throughout. however, the ending was a bit lackluster but the rest of the book did make up for it :)

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-copy of this novella!

I quite liked this story. I thought Paul was a great character and was too relatable at times. This book is billed as horror. While there is a lot of creepy imagery, I found the justifications for hoarding to be the most horrifying. I would feel a twinge in my gut whenever Paul would personify an object or justify hoarding. It's such a slippery slope and I feel like this story does a great job of showing that.