I'm not sure I'm smart enough for this book - I definitely had a hard time keeping up. Nonetheless, I enjoyed reading Root Rot - it was a very interesting, though complicated, novel!

3,5⭐️

Certified weird book, which I really enjoyed. There are interesting ideas that creates this unique atmosphere – the perspective of children, the anonymity, the strangeness of time and space. I think I will come.back to this story one day, to explore it even further, as it is short, yet impactful.

3.5

What a fun little fever dream of a novella. Root Rot follows a family gathering at a Lake House. No character is ever named and we follow nine children, all cousins, who don't know the reason behind this get together.

The concept and writing style are really creative. As the story unfolds and the kids are not even sure what's happening to them, the reader must find the clues and metaphors to be one step ahead of them. The descriptions are very vivid and the book itself is very atmospheric. I found it successfully claustrophobic.

I love stories that make me write things down and this one did. I was taking notes on who the children were and their dynamics.
I don't think this will be for everyone, but I'd recommend it to every reader who enjoys something on the weirder side and, of course, fans of bizarre horror.

**Thank you to Creature Publishing and NetGalley for this digital ARC of Root Rot by Saskia Nislow. Expected pub date March 24, 2025.**

I was really excited to read this novel based on the synopsis-but I quickly realized the writing style was not for me. There are some fairly creepy scenes in the book, however it's just really hard to follow the characters because there are nine cousins and each child has a name like, "the one who runs away" or "the one with the beautiful voice." I would say that each sentence includes one or more "names" so it just became really redundant for me.

I did really like the plot of the story, it has a fever dream type feel to it. Honestly, just think magic mushrooms and fungus. Ultimately this one just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a review copy.

What a bizarre little book. Folk horror doesn't seem to quite fit, and neither does eco horror (although the book contains elements of both). The plot revolves around a family reunion, with an unnamed Narrator. The children in the house are referred to by what seems to be the Narrator's nicknames for them (The Liar, The Secret Keeper, etc). The book reads like a dopesick fever dream. I never quite knew what was going on, but I was riveted. I'm not 100% sure what was going on, but I do have some theories. If you're into weird horror, give this one a try. 4.25 stars

Root Rot is a wild ride through the heads of quirky characters like The Liar, The Secret Keeper, and The Crybaby. The author’s mind-bending imagery keeps you hooked and confused.

I loved the fresh ideas and the eye-catching cover, but the abstract titles made it hard to keep up with the story. It’s pretty complex, so it might not be everyone’s cup of tea.

That said, if you’re into weird, dreamy tales, I’d definitely suggest giving it a read. It’s beautifully crafted and a bit offbeat, making it a great choice

“It’s not the growing that makes [the soil] rich: it’s the dying, the rotting. That’s what makes it alive. Isn’t that funny?”

How on earth do I start to sum up this weird, fever dream-like, gothic and twisted fairytale? Everything about it was uncanny, from the characters with no names and the looming atmosphere, to the sheer oddness of what happens and dark images of backwards feet and things just being not quite right.

We broadly follow a family vacation to a grandpa’s house in the woods, and we see the whole thing from the kids’ point of view. We never know the names of the 9 kids, we only know them as The Liar, The Crybaby, The One With the Beautiful Voice and more.

From the start, this story doesn’t sit right - in exactly the sort of way you want a twisted horror tale to make you feel. The kids are off exploring the woods and finding strange mushrooms in the ground, then enduring awkward mealtimes and unsettled nights. They wake up with vague memories of what might have gone on, but are never quite certain of the truth.

And then there’s the mystery of the Baby. Where did she go? How did she end up under the bed? Why is there dirt under her nails.

The more this book goes on, the more unsettling it becomes. The familiar turns mysterious, everything gets darker and more menacing, and the whole thing makes you feel itchy. And so many off-kilter, nightmarish images; familiar faces that are unrecognisable, body parts turned the wrong way, fungi that bleed and look like bodies, and the Baby eating drywall. Random as heck and deeply unsettling.

The writing here is lush - atmospheric and unnerving. At once you’re swept away by its beauty while also left feeling anxious and tense. I can’t even come close to claiming I understood this weird, dark trip, but I certainly enjoyed it. Perhaps most unsettling was the frequent use of ‘we’ in the narration. Was this a tenth child? A random observer? Something else entirely? I don’t know and don’t know if I want to either!

Although horror is not a genre I tend to read, I was blown away by how eerie and creepy this book was. There were few moments where I felt at peace while reading this (in the best way), from the horrifying imagery of the mushrooms to Grandpa's Lake House, to the events of the summer that those kids would never be able to forget. A splendid read!

3.5 stars

Root Rot is an eerie eco-horror novella following a group of children on a family vacation at their late grandfather's property when their perceptions start to warp inexplicably. The children start to lose time, hallucinate and experience unnatural phenomena on the property. I went into this book mostly blind (because look at the cover!!) and I won't say too much about the plot because I think it's a good one to take it as it comes.

This book does two things to disorientate the reader, not naming characters and not following a clear passage of time so it's hard to tell how much time has passed at a few points. This definitely adds to the unsettling effect this book has and I thought it was executed well. The setting plays a huge role in this story and I thought it was atmospheric but not incredibly original, obviously acknowledging that there's only so much you can change up about an old estate but I would've liked something a bit fresher. The descriptions in this book are vivid and sometimes visceral. The way plants and nature are depicted is stunning and I could visualise most of the scenes quite easily.

As mentioned, the pacing is a bit cryptic which isn't a bad thing on its own, however I felt this book either needed to be a bit shorter or a bit longer which is kind of hard to elaborate on. It just felt a tad awkward overall because at times you're given so much depth and description, while other important parts feel glossed over, and I was left feeling like 'if you're going to divulge that much it should be even across the board'.

I think this is beautifully written even not being my preferred genre, and I definitely recommend it to those who read this kind of thing often. I think it just needed a little more editing.

The narrative in Root Rot is at times hard to follow with all of the nicknames and unsurety about what has and hasn't happened as the characters several times snap back to "reality"; whichever version of events that turns out to be.

I enjoyed the murky atmosphere created by Nislow but felt the reveal towards the end of the novella didn't fit and left me disappointed. Perhaps cutting that out and leaving this as a short story rather than a novella would have made this a 4 or 5 star for me.

I really wanted to get into this one, but I struggled with its structuring. I am still very thankful to the author -- Saskia Nislow, the publisher, and Netgalley for granting me advanced access to this one before March 25, 2025.

3.5 rounded up. Thank you to Creature Publishing and NetGalley for this book for me to review! Root Rot follows nine children visiting their grandfather's lake house as strange things begin to happy. This short novel packs a eerie and disturbing punch as readers try to understand what is real and what is not.

There were a few things that I really enjoyed about this. Firstly, the writing was incredibly atmospheric. Nislow does a great job at moving this story along while also maintaining the feelings of dread and unease that the characters are succumbing to. I also really enjoyed the personified setting. Truly the descriptions of the land and all the things that happen were the best characterized thing in this book. These aspects really saved the story for me.

I did not totally jive with the way Nislow has the characters unnamed outside of these descriptors like "The Crybaby" or "The Girl Twin." Because the story is so short I just felt so disconnected from them and the names played a huge part in that. I am sure that that was the point, but I just found it frustrating and difficult to connect to the themes of "predatory family dynamics" because I was so focused on that.

Overall, I think that this is a spooky and interesting read, but nothing to write home about. I really enjoyed the writing style and would love to read more by this author if I had some more time to connect with the story.

Thank you Netgalley and Creature Publishing for an ARC of Root Rot by Saskia Nislow in exchange for an honest review!

I am not normally into horror but was very intrigued by the synopsis of this novella. When 9 children travel to their grandfathers home things are definitely not what they seem. As each child succumbs to their fate, the liar must decide if she too will join them or set her own path.

This novella has stuck with me and I still think about the interesting anomalies throughout the book. A quick and interesting read. I did have some trouble with character names but also enjoyed that they didn't necessarily have 'names'.

This book felt like a fever dream in all the best ways. I ate it up!! I loved the mysterious, vague writing style. I read it in one day and I have no regrets.

**Thank you to Creature Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC of this sporific title!**

I LOVE mushrooms and foraging so this was such a fun one for me. I loved the fever dream quality of the writing and the nameless children puttering about.

Root Rot is definitely a weird one and I was appreciative of the length as the story seemed to wrap itself up nicely. While parts of the story were confusing I think reading this one with an open mind definitely helps make it more enjoyable!!

I will for sure be checking out more from this author in the future.

i admittedly gave up on this due to too many characters with too-complex pseudonyms. the books itself felt like a fever dream (which i love) but the character building made the plot and story harder to understand and enjoy, which took the fun out of it for me. loved the gothic, rotting vibes though.

What an exquisite book!

We get the perspective of the children in a large family, all come together for a vacation at the family estate. And I mean that-the beautiful prose is from the perspective of any and all of the children at once.

It’s a short read with impeccable vibes, exploring family dynamics in a unique way.

I received an arc copy of this book for review.

Root Rot caught me by surprise. It is a twisty book that is meant to be a bit confusing with no clear narrator and multiple perspectives which blend into one, and I did really enjoy it but it was a bit hard to follow at times.

Characters are named by characteristics as opposed to names which is actually something I really enjoy. I didn't always see how the names made sense to their characterisation but it does work really well in such a short text to define the characters without wasting words.

I love the ickiness and the earthiness of it all. Honestly a fantastic if not yucky short story.

If you like the idea of a weird fever dream surrounding nature and reclamation of literally everything then this book is for you.

I spent quite some time confused and lost. There are no chapters. Speech is not in speech commas, adding to my confused state. I found I spent a lot of time re reading segments to try and understand it.

This novella follows a group of children—cousins—as they gather for a family vacation at their grandfather's lake house. It's blurry, almost like a fever dream, with uncertain relations, nameless characters, and a constantly changing storyline. It's closely related to Lydia Millet's A Children's Bible in terms of form and content.

To enjoy this story, you must remain open to the metamorphosing nature of this book. It's not so clear cut, and even has some psychedelic elements (bleeding mushrooms, haunted figures in the forest). I would not call this meandering; rather, it's shifting focus mirrors (in my opinion + experience) the inner dialogue a child observing the world around them.