This is the kind of slow horror that creeps in that you knew was coming but didn't expect anyway.
The word I would use to describe this is eerie. It is a short story, so it doesn't try to do anything it can't handle with the plot, yet the motifs of decomposition and rot and renewal were very much present and enjoyed. The cast of children being given roles instead of their names adds dimension to the story and adds foreshadowing, which I did enjoy. This may be mostly vibes not plot, but the vibes are pretty good.

This is such an eerie, unsettling gem of a story that leans into the bizarre in the best way possible. I love when an author takes risks, and Nislow's choice to describe the children by traits rather than use names was a brilliant touch. It made their personalities and motivations feel even more vivid. Of course The Crybaby is always in tears, but when she isn’t? That’s when you really start to worry. The story carries a distinct Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) vibe, with a creeping sense of unease that builds through grotesquely beautiful prose. The body horror is visceral and chilling, and the warped sense of time and place only adds to the surreal atmosphere.

I really enjoyed this one!

If you are in the mood for a modern gothic horror with a bizarre abstract ending then this is for you. The story follows nine children, who are never given names, as they spend time at their grandfathers lake house for the summer. The story is driven primarily by the atmosphere of the house, woods, and lake. Inside the house voices are distorted, faces change suddenly, the parents exhibit strange behavior, and things smell and taste as they should not. Outside the house is even creepier. It’s set it a highly forested area that is full of rot and decay. Houses nearby have become completely succumbed by nature. There are mushrooms all over, forming odd shapes. The children see and hear strange things in the woods, lake, and even in the sky. The book will be released March 25, 2025. I look forward to seeing discussion about the meaning of the ending.

If "uncanny" and "derealization" were horror subgenres, this book would be right there. There has always been something creepy and mysterious to me about the concept of a mycelium network, so what a fantastically creative idea to weave this into a horror novella. The story is told from, (perhaps ?) the perspective of this fungal network with the literary application of a highly unusual omniscient first person *plural* narrator, "we." This is a uniquely challenging perspective from which to write a story -- in fact, I don't recall ever seeing another book that utilizes this point of view.

The atmosphere in this book is spectacular. Nislow did an expert job of creating a fever dream ambiance of unreality that kept me guessing. The characters are referred to by trait, rather than name, (e.g. "The Oldest," "The Liar," etc.). This was an interesting choice, and once I got use to the concept, it actually helped add to the dreamy quality of the storytelling. If you are having trouble keeping the characters straight at the outset, just give it some time, it all comes together as you wend your way through the story.

I noticed that other reviewers picked up on some less obvious themes that evidently went entirely over my head — this may be a novella, but there is a lot going on to keep track of, so this is a book that will require your undivided attention. It is packed with power and oozing with horrific creativity.

Is this the author’s debut novel? Give me more, please! Following.

Pick up this book if you are a fan of "weird" books, uncanny horror, and doppelganger horror (I may have made up those last two subgenres, but you know what I mean). If you enjoyed Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin, Lost in the Garden by Adam Leslie, or We're Safe When We're Alone, by Nghiem Tran, this will be right up your alley.

Although an electronic ARC of this book was sent to me, I will purchasing a physical copy anyway, because the cover art is *stunning.*

Thank you NetGalley, Saskia Nislow, and Creature Publishing for sending me an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

This is most definitely a fever dream in a short book, but I enjoyed it so much. I absolutely adore plant-based horror. It’s one of my favorite genres and this had so much of it. It definitely could get confusing at time, but I think that also just reflects the children’s memories warping during the story.

An extended stay at Grandfather's lake house, reads like a drugged fever dream. This is one of the books that at the end you think what did I just read. Very detailed imagery and atmospheric. If you like weird lit, give this novella a try. It's all about the vibes in this one.
Thank you to NetGalley, Creature Publishing, and the author for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars

Nine kids, one eerie lake house, and a whole lot of what the hell is going on? When a group of children arrives at their grandfather’s sprawling vacation property, things start feeling... off. Eyes blink the wrong way, mushrooms ooze blood, and faces don’t quite sit right—until you look again, and everything seems normal. Maybe.

Root Rot is an eerie, unsettling dive into predatory family dynamics, bodily autonomy, and the slow unraveling of self in an inescapable place. The creeping horror builds so well, and the choice to give the cousins descriptions instead of names made everything feel even more surreal and unsettling. Overall, I really enjoyed this one—deeply creepy in the best way.

I have been sitting on this review for almost a week, trying to figure out how to put into words all the things this book made me feel. This was such a good read; the voice was evocative, the mystery unraveled in a satisfying way, and the ending was incredibly satisfying. It's also the scariest book I've read in a minute - at one point when reading before bed, I had to stop mid-chapter because I knew I wasn't going to be able to fall asleep if I didn't get the images it was conjuring out of my head. A book has not scared me like that since I was much younger, and I LOVED it. I've missed being scared by books like this. I am eager to read everything that Saskia Nislow has ever written, and desperately hope that there is more to come from this author in the future.

“He hadn’t really understood before, he mused vaguely, how small he was in comparison to his body. There was so much space inside of him. So much empty space. Filling up.”

Growing up on the Dutch-German border, I remember exploring my families bookshelves filled with decades old books they held onto. One of them terrified me in particular. A book of classical regional fairytales. Not the Disney-variety, but the gruesome originals, filled with folk-horror and bizarre imagery. Many of them, including some of the lesser-known niche ones, had me looking over my shoulder whenever I was out in nature.
Root Rot felt like it came from the pages of this book. Bizarre, unsettling, but strangely hypnotic; I was under its spell.

Our story begins with nine children arriving at the grandfather's vacation property, for a family-gathering following the death of grandma. We don’t learn any of their names, as they’re only referred to by a moniker (“the Liar”, “the Secret Keeper”, the “Oldest” etc.), nor do we get any backstory on them. Whilst the adults convene inside the house, the kids explore the forest and gardens around the Lake House, where they encounter increasingly strange and unsettling events.
All of this is told through the voice of an unnamed narrator, watching from just outside the frame, referring to the kids as “we/us”. Are they one of the 9 children, a 10th child, or something else entirely?

Nislow proves herself a master of atmosphere. From page 1, she nails the “uncanny-valley” feeling, and truly shines in her ability to defamiliarize the familiar. Visuals and events that might otherwise be normal or even nostalgic are warped, transformed and twisted into unrecognizable shapes. It’s a brand of horror that I’m a sucker for, and Nislow executes it to perfection here.
Similarly, I loved how the story “flirts” with familiar figures of European mythology, whilst completely making it her own as well. There are hints at changelings, kelpies and treespirits, but the eventual answer to the mysteries are all Nislow’s own twist of mythology.
Root Rot requires quite some suspension of disbelieve, and a bit of work from the reader. It intentionally keeps you at a distance and in the dark for quite a while, and while it adds to the fever-dream-feeling, I can understand how not every reader will appreciate that. In its current dose, this being a novella and all, it was perfect for me.
That being said, if you your fairytale/folk-horror, nature-horror or even sporror with a hint of the bizarre and uncanny: this is one that’s 100% worth your time.

Many thanks to Creature Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

First off I would like to thank NetGalley and creature publishing for an ARC of this book for my honest review! So unfortunately this book really didn’t do anything for me. I loved the concept but the book was incredibly hard to understand. The characters did not have actual names which made it super hard to keep track of who was who. The book felt like a fever dream but did not make any sense. The timeline was jumbled, you never could figure out what was truly happening with one character because in the next second they were doing/or somewhere completely different. I also am not too sure of what the plot or story meaning even is. Looking back on it now, I couldn’t even tell you what happened in the book because it was such a weird mash of unnerving scenes that did not add up to anything. Although it was not my cup of tea, it may be yours & I would suggest checking it out! Especially being as it is a short novella.

This book will be available March 25, 2025!

this was such a strange and bizarre novella and i mean that in the most positive, affectionate way. it was creepy and eerie and so disorienting it felt like a fever dream. i loved the use of titles instead of real names for characters, even if it was slightly confusing at first, as it added to the uneasiness and strangeness to the book. i can’t complain when gothic horror is aced as well as this was.

Root Rot sounded interesting but it lacked in a lot of places. The characters were hard to follow due to lack of naming but also they just didn’t have much personality or descriptors. The story was confusing to follow. I did like the usage of foliage / mushrooms and it was a bit creepy once you understand what it’s about.

This strange little story is part fable, part fever dream. At a Lake House, a family of adults and many unnamed children (each given attribute nicknames like The Liar and The One With the Beautiful Voice to differentiate them) gather following the death of the matriarch Grandmother.

Over the course of the novella, the children venture into the Woods that surround the house, and the things they encounter there are as nebulous and perplexing as they are bizarre and horrifying. I don’t want to give too much away; I’m also not sure that I could.

I enjoyed the author’s writing style. There’s some really vivid and often disturbing imagery that creates a dreamlike (or nightmare-like) atmosphere that will appeal to fans of surrealist horror and weird fiction. While I ultimately found the story a bit too disjointed, I will look out for the author’s future works. And the epilogue gave me chills.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Creature Publishing, and the author for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

With Root Rot, I was not entirely sure what I was reading and I found it hard to follow along with due to the lack of names and plot. It wasn't until I got 50 pages in that I had understood what was going on. I am someone who enjoys reading weird and disturbing books but I do feel like there needs to be a purpose to them to make it meaningful for me and to find enjoyment in it but I just felt this book was weird for the sake of being weird with no clear intent or drive making it hard to connect with the story. I was also not a fan of nicknames, it made it quite hard to visualize who was talking and the scenes that were taking place and at times to have connections with these characters because I feel like I did not truly know who they were until the end. Overall, I like the concept and the idea and I understand what the author was trying to do, but in terms of execution it did not work for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read and review Root Rot.

A short horror novella (140 pages), Root Rot feels like a hazy dream. The unconventional naming sequence works far better than actual names when it comes to 9 characters. We know from the start that something is haunting these children. I absolutely loved Nislow's ability to draw you in and also make you doubt where you saw the character last; are they safe and genuinely left behind or are they gone? I was also taken aback by the parents and how they didn't seem to register anything about the children and I'm not sure if this was because the same had happened to them or they were just irresponsible boomer parents.

While I understand that this book is a commentary on family and how trauma can be passed down and harm everyone; I do feel like we needed a bit more clarity by the end of it. What is happening to the kids? Why have the families not come in so many years? How were the able to stay away? I'm also really curious about The Liar, because there does seem to be a hint that she may be intersex and thats why the adults find her so confusing.

3.5 stars

My brain could not comprehend anything because there were no characters names. I felt like it was very lazy. I didn’t get any kind of eerie feeling. I was just disappointed. I love horror and this just wasn’t one.

3.75/5⭐️

I so wish I could give quarter star ratings here but alas I cannot.

I’m going to be completely honest, I’m still not sure about what I just read, all I know is that from the moment I started till the moment I ended the book I was hooked.

Typically not a horror fan but I decided that I would try new genres in 2025 and this was not disappointing at all! Very eerie and creepy imagery which I really liked. I felt as if I was on a shroom trip throughout the whole book in the best way.

At first I wasn’t a fan of the characters lacking names but I actually ended up liking it at the end. The take on family dynamics was very fresh and I enjoyed it a lot.

I will most definitely be reading more from this author if this is the quality of their first book.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Creature Publishing for this allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

Rating: <b>B-</b>

Root Rot is a weird novella. The Lake House is home to the grandfather who is hosting his entire family for an annual gathering over a week or so. There are around nine children and several adults and through the book, weird things begin happening to the children and the others begin to notice.

If I wanted to compare this book to anything, it was a bit like The Haunting of Hill House + What Moves the Dead. A strange family, a strange house, hidden secrets. I did like the character names but I felt ultimately they never really were relevant in the story; we never see the Liar lie, or the Crybaby cry that much, the others are really just named for their roles in the family. The Girl / Boy Twin, the One with the Beautiful Voice, the Baby, etc. There is also a strange POV character that comes up a few times in the novel. By the end, this entity makes sense, but reflecting makes the story all the more eerie.

I really liked two of the scenes in the book, the first where the Crybaby crawls under the table during dinner and the second where the Girl Twin notices something strange with her brother. I found it a fast and enjoyable read, but I don't think it's going to be revolutionary.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This was slow to start with a lot of nameless characters to try to keep track of.
There were some parts of this I really liked, but it didn’t feel cohesive enough for me to work as a whole. I think it could have used some more development plot wise, to help us understand what is happening.
I’m ok with ambiguous but this felt more like multiple ideas glued together by force.

Thank you to NetGalley and Creature Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

So I don’t actually know what this book that I just read was actually about but I’m going to try to interpret it 😅 It’s about a family that takes a trip out to the Grandfather’s Lake House (and that’s about the only thing I can say definitively with my whole chest) and all the children start being replaced? with other beings? that live in the ground? and the whole exchange happens via a horse? made of rotting earth? One of the cousins wears a bracelet that acts as sort of a talisman against this happening to him and when the trip is over the “replaced” family members just go out into the world. I think that about sums it up. The writing was fantastic and some of the scenes were so f*cking creepy, one of my favorites being the scene when The Crybaby is underneath the table at dinner. the cover is also freaking beautiful. But I just can’t give a lot of stars to a book that I really didn’t understand, and it drove me absolutely crazy that the whole time you have no idea who the narrator is.
WE, WHO?!?! Song pairing is Where is My Mind? by the Pixies because it’s certainly not here 🙃🍄‍🟫🌳🪳

PUB DAY: MARCH 24, 2025 🥳