In a collection of short stories with a cover I really didn’t like, and like with most short stories, there are some I like and some not as much. I did love the authors inclusion with reference to Edenville, one of his previous novels Between each theme, are interconnected emails between siblings, the only repeat characters, and their discussions of the Renfield family. This was creepy.

The written imagery is overall fantastic but not for the light of heart. And some of the horror could leave a reader squeamish. So many of the sections started with the most outlandish sentences and it left me almost in a good disbelief. For the most part, the individual stories had small hints at being interconnect or really little Easter eggs to feel part of the same world. The story in the point of view of the 10 year old felt the most random, the writing was almost excruciating to get through. Did it really need every sentence starting with which?

As a horror anthology, this was fine. A few will stick with me, like Allison’s face and Old Wag. Probably more blatant body horror than I’ve read in awhile.

The Poorly Made and Other Things is a delightfully unhinged collection of interconnected horror stories that hit hard from the beginning, deliberately leave you unsettled, and refuse to let up until the very end. If you're a fan of horror anthologies that go beyond simple scares, or follow the known tropes, then The Poorly Made and Other things is definitely for you. These stories feature the antagonists winning robust victories over main characters that you may have been rooting for, and dialing up the gore and a outsized sense of "WTF?!" as so move from story to story.

I was thoroughly engrossed in each story, but it was the interlooping e-mail correspondence about the Renfield murders in 1927 that kept me reading for hours. For me, the e-mails contained Sam Rebelein's best storytelling in the entire collection. The sender's research, passion, and attention to detail in relaying the mysteries of the Renfield murders and subsequent strange occurrences in Renfield County were just perfect. The e-mails tie everything together.
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I wasn't in love with every story, and some of the endings left things to be desired, and the lack of fleshing out the elements of cosmic horror and body horror were a bit frustrating. It's clear that Sam Rebelein is a student of the horror greats, and has a lot of potential in rivaling the scares they conjured in their books, but, it seems that he was hesitant to really "go there" in these stories. Maybe he thought he didn't have enough space for that kind of detail, but as someone who really enjoyed this collection, I wish he had.

Overall, The Poorly Made and Other Things is a wild, wonderous, and fun ride that any seasoned horror fan will enjoy.

60/100 or 3.0 stars

This was promising, but I really couldn't get into the stories. I kept reading since the writing style was good, but I couldn't get into the world or stories, so I did DNF at 21%. I might try something else by Rebelein in the future, as maybe it was this storyline that was not working for me.

Holy cosmic horror!

This book is a disgusting, mindf*ck of a short story collection and I am so sad I finished it. This is unlike any short story collection I have read and it left me wanting so much more.

We are taken to Renfield County where it’s sinister past has left a dark stain on the community. Is it the history that causes these terrible things to happen to the townsfolk and neighboring areas. Each story was brilliant and different but all kept the same central story line.


Thank you to NetGalley, Sam Rebelein, and HarperCollins Publishers for the electronic advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Wow. Just wow. This collection from Sam Rebeline blew me away. Sam is an incredible voice in horror and knows how to draw you in with the close to home and then swallow your reader soul whole by the end of each of these tales. Truly a modern day Lovecraft.
By the time you start to see the light, just know, you may already be too late. Sam asks in this collection if it's the stories we hold on to or the history around us that makes places like Renfield county haunted then he brings you along for a gory unhinged ride.

I never read Edenville but I've seen it online before. But I think now I will because I prefer novels over short story collections. Though it is a great way to discover a writer's style quickly. I always find that I love half of the stories and can't get through some.

My favorite story was about the ceramic figurines. I liked how the stories were woven together.

I would check out more from the author. I think the title and cover are really cool and I think readers will be pulled in by them.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sam Rebelein, and William Morrow for the opportunity to read it! I have written this review voluntarily and honestly.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC acceptance! ◡̈
A daunting and dark experience of short stories, there are highly graphic depictions of gore (a personal fave). Red x & Hector Brim were exceptionally created; the emotions the author was able to get out of me were intense. I’m usually not fond of short stories, but this one drew me in!

Sam Rebelein has got some talent! When done right, a series of stories interconnected by the location can be a ton of fun, especially in Horror. Think Stephen King's Derry or Castle Rock. Think - I personally prefer - Josh Malerman's Goblin. Or more recently Eric LaRocca's Henly's Edge. Sam is making something special in Renfield. Something wrong, ugly, and special.

Sam snuck up on me yall.
I read Edenville last year for a book club and was taken by surprise by how much I enjoyed his weird brand of cosmic horror, then had the pleasure of meeting him at HRW. This ARC has catapulted him into the immediate auto-buy title.

Poorly Made is everything I had wanted Josh Malerman’s Goblin to be. Set in the same universe at Edenville, this collection is presented to us as an overarching bigger story of connection. Sam perfectly executes ten slow release of “oh my god they knew this person” and “ohhh that’s this person grown up” so that these stories feel well connected but not forced into anything.

The individual stories (as well as the hidden larger story told to us in email format) hold their own, experimenting with different POVs and notching up the dread and gore scale. Several of these stories had me absolutely squirming. There was one story in the whole collection that didn’t really do it for me, and even that one was obviously written well and could be perfect for someone else.

This collection goes on sale February 11, 2025, and I plan on buying my own copy and hope yall genuinely give this book a try. You don’t need to read his debut first, but if you enjoy this collection please check Edenville out as well!

"There’s something wrong in Renfield County" ... VERY. WRONG. The Poorly Made is a collection of short stories is a follow-up of Sam's debut novel Edenville, and reading this book makes me want to immediately pick it up. Edenville was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award and, despite not having read that one yet, I am not surprised. This collection of stories is set in the same universe as its predecessor and oh boy, is that one messed up universe. I thoroughly enjoyed every single story and the way they were all connected. I'll be truthful and say this is up there along with SGJs collections so do not miss out on reading this, if that's your jam. Thank you so much to NetGalley & William Morrow for the ARC. Pick this up when it publishes February 11, 2025!

The Poorly Made and Other Things by Sam Rebelein is a twisted collection of short horror stories.
This collection of interconnected stories was amazing and intriguing.
Rebelein’s skillful storytelling and richly drawn characters create a compelling narrative that keeps readers on the edge of their seats, blending suspense with a touch of the eerie.

Thank you Netgalley for this early arc. I really enjoyed the storyline. I would recommend reading this one and I rated it a 4 stars.

The biggest thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for sending an eARC my way!
Sam Rebelein made one hell of an entrance into the world of horror fiction with his debut novel released in 2023, Edenville. We were introduced to a peculiar place, a place known for weird happenings and little explanation ever offered for the missing people, strange deaths, and all that is certifiably weird. While Edenville was an absolute smash of cosmic, dark, and uncanny horror, Rebelein left many hints for us to know that there was more to Renfield County than suggested. Enter The Poorly Made and Other Things, a collection that feels wholly remarkable for numerous reasons, most of all the sheer breadth of horror that Rebelein manages to utilize within the span of 11ish stories. From the truly unhinged instances of grotesque shock to the more poignant resonance of being an outsider, The Poorly Made and Other Things is a collection of horror stories that feels so emblematic of all that we love about this genre, blood, severed body parts, and all.
There is not a single story within this collection that isn’t absurdly fantastic. This is a fairly grand statement to make, but I stand by every word of it. Trying to describe the merits of any one of these stories alone feels a bit like the blind men feeling the elephant; you’ll surely appreciate the literary prowess of each tale, but together, these stories function in a completely original, emotional way. My Name is Ellie is a downright chilling, yet somehow also amusing, time spent in the mind of a child recounting some strange things happening around her house. Another story, So I Knew This Guy, takes an entirely different tone, but is one that sounds so familiar as we hear about one man’s plight for peace. And my favorite of the lot, And Every Thursday We Feed the Cats contains some of the most forlorn, tragic insights to being an outsider. Yes, these stories are very different and showcase Rebelein’s ability to expertly navigate all kinds of perspectives and plots, but there is a commonality between them all, the feeling of being “other.”
Although there is a lot to be said for how deftly these stories shift with the drop of a few aptly chosen words, the thread that binds these wickedly captivating tales together comes from a place of real emotion beyond shock value or any amount of gore. Sam Rebelein explores the places loneliness will take a person even if they are the most unthinkable circumstances imaginable. Whether these characters feel isolated by their grief, their fears, or their harrowing experiences, this state of “other” permeates the page, allowing for some of the most frightening and astounding events to unfold. Rebelein’s writing is simply sublime, the perfect mix of jarring and resonant.
More than anything, The Poorly Made and Other Things is a collection that reminds us to pay attention to all that is weird, to look for inspiration in the uncanny even when the world feels like a cold place determined to set us apart. From old bathtubs in yards to the space in between walls, Sam Rebelein takes us to the strange and unusual, encouraging our imaginations to conjure the horrific, only to effortlessly remind us just how wrong (or maybe right?) these stories will turn. This is a memorable collection, one that feels so integral to the tapestry of modern horror and all the places we visit when we experience fear. Renfield County is a place rife with weirdness, a landscape dotted with danger. While I wouldn’t want to live there, I desperately crave more of this peculiar place.

Okayyyy I asked this when I read Edenville but, Sam, are you good buddy?! I haven’t felt so haunted (hunted?!) by a short story collection, or really any book, in a long time. This one is f*cked up and I loved every second of it.

My main endorsement for this book is that it gave me a nightmare so bad that I woke up from a nightmare saying “get away from me!” and scared the sh*t out of my husband. These stories were the perfect bedtime spookies and I really stretched this one out for maximum enjoyment.

If you’ve read Edenville, Rebelein’s debut novel from last year, you will be familiar with a lot of the settings in these stories. I loved learning about more of the lore and seeing how these tales slotted together - with each other and with the novel. I am personally glad I experience Edenville prior to these stories but IMO you could read them in either order. I think I had more of an appreciation for the stories having experienced a bit of the bigger picture already.

I knew going into this collection that is was going to be gory and dark but damn was it BLEAK as well. These stories hit, bite, and don’t stop. My favorites were Red X, Every Thursday We Feed The Cats, and Allison’s Face.

I genuinely can’t wait to see what this author comes out with next! Check this one out if you like body horror, haunted objects, goo, and terror!

**Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Books for the eARC of this terrifying title!**

The Poorly Made and Other Things is a unique and twisted collection of interconnected short horror stories laced with cosmic horror, body horror, and local legends. The stories take place in the same universe as Sam Rebelein's novel "Edenville" which I have not read, but now I think I may have to.

The stories in here were dark, grisly, and deeply unsettling. There wasn't a single story in here that I didn't enjoy, but the two standouts for me are "Allison's Face," in which a group of college kids looking for some fun wind up in the basement of a strange house with a mysterious woman who wants to cut them up for ...reasons, and "So My Cousin Knew This Guy," in which we are being told a story about the terrifying side effects that come after one man loses his eyes...

In between stories we get interstitial chapters of a woman named Rachel emailing her brother about an infamous murder that took place in the area and the lore behind certain keepsakes from the crime scene. These chapters help to keep up the flawless connection between each of the stories and I loved when one story or email referenced another story from the book. Overall, the writing was easy to digest and the stories hooked me early on. I would easily recommend this to horror lovers, but be warned, this book had me uncomfortable, appalled, and cringing inside at some of the scenes.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a review copy.

Edenville was one of the craziest books I read last year, and I mean that in the best way possible. I was seriously impressed it was a debut novel, and I was very excited to hear about the short story collection set in Renfield County. While I don't think it's strictly necessary to have read Edenville, it will add a lot of context and creepiness, and answer a few questions from the novel. 4.5 stars

Hector Brim ⭐⭐⭐⭐.25
My Name is Ellie ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Detour ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Wag ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Red X ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
10 PM on the Southbound G ⭐⭐⭐.5
So My Cousin Knew This Guy ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Allison's Face ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
And Every Thursday We Feed the Cats ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Glitch ⭐⭐⭐.5
Interstitial/Epilogue ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

I do love short story collections! I wasn't familiar with anything else in the "Renfield universe," so did feel like I was missing out on something. But this did stand alone and I loved Rebelein's literary tone, elevating the mood. I would recommend this for folks looking for more short fiction in particular and can see "Detour" maybe getting some longlist award attention. I loved the frame and mounting dread pulling you through until the end.

This collection of interconnected stories serves tension on a silver platter. As the story of the Renfield Wood unravels, we see the tendrils of darkness spreading through any of those who have come in contact with the county. A really masterful work.

This was such an amazing collection of truly unsettling stories. After the first 10 pages I ran to get my hands on Edenville and I can't wait to see what Rebelein does next

The Poorly Made is anything but! This is an outstanding collection of wicked tales connected by the evil that seeped into the wood, water, and land of Renfield County and spread through the country in the form of blood-stained souvenirs.

At the start of the book and in between each story is a frantic series of emails from a woman who is desperate to connect with her brother to share what she has learned about Renfield and its connection to their mother's death. These emails provide insight into the dark history of Renfield and the far-reaching consequences suffered by those who have come in contact with it. They also help to create a sense of urgency because for goodness sake why doesn't he answer her?

As for the stories themselves, they bring the tangible fear of finding yourself on a road that never ends, body horror, cannibalism, lost souls, and more. They are dark, disturbing, and imaginative. The writing is impeccable. This is the first time in a while that I have felt truly lost in a book as if the vivid descriptions made the real world disappear.

5 out of 5 stars.

My thanks to William Morrow for the e-ARC