This story was a short read and absolutely strange, in the best possible way! This was very different from what I am used to reading, it almost felt like a fever dream spiraling into madness. I thought it was incredible! It may not be for everyone, but I definitely would recommend giving it a try!

This was a strange book and I enjoyed it but honestly I’m a bit confused about what I read. I had trouble keeping the characters straight because of the names: The Liar, The Secret Keeper, The Crybaby, etc.

This was an interesting read and the writing was great but I wish I had a bit more clarity. If you want a strange, fever-dream of a book, I think this will be for you! The cover to this book is absolutely stunning as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc. All opinions are my own.

To start, I want to give this book a 5/5. My only hold back was the length, I felt like SO much more could've been expanded on and that's pretty much the only disappointment I have in the book. I also think I would want to have a book copy instead of digital. I feel like with novellas or shorter stories they just feel better reading a physical copy.

I absolutely loved the way Nislow writes, they've detailed enough to paint a clear picture without it being wordy. I'm really curious about reading more from them and can't see what they come up with next.

I can see how this won't be someone's cup of tea, I've had multiple moments in the book where I had to mentally refer back to something I just saw to make sense of what is going on. You'll have moments where you have to remind yourself who each character is and where they are in the story to make sure you aren't getting them mixed up with another. However, I love the "names" they have and how in the end you get why they are specifically named that.

Thanks to NetGalley & Nislow's publisher for letting me have a digital copy to check out!!

What did I just read. That felt like a slow descent into madness and you can’t see the darkness crawling up behind you until it’s too late. There’s a distance in the point of view which makes it more terrifying. It’s a perfect example of almost an unreliable narrator because no one is really sure what’s going on and you’re watching the horror unfold as the characters are. It was atmospheric and disgusting and I loved it. Thanks to NetGalley and Creature Publishing for the ARC!

From the very first pages, “Root Rot” brims with descriptions of the natural world; tree-studded, algae-slicked, “green on green on green”, mushrooms that grow in circles, bats, and of course, rot. Come to the Lake House. The one that The Grandfather built.

Nine unnamed grandchildren and their parents (and an omniscient We) are eager to spend time at the Lake that’s actually a river. The story unfolds like Russian nesting dolls inside of more Russian nesting dolls; going into the rabbit hole. Into another. And another. Down down down.
Nislow is fantastic at describing uncanny never-felt-before feelings. “There were things like sounds, but they weren’t sounds, not exactly. They didn’t hit his ears, but somewhere else instead. Behind his eyes maybe, though they were closed.” Their writing pulled me in with every sentence.

All the rot and decay create new life. And the cycle continues. This little tale is all about interconnectedness and dispossession.

For readers of New Weird, Body Horror, and Magical Realism ✨

Off I go to read this over and over!

Root Rot is such bizarre little read! I went in to this arc from NetGalley pretty much blind and said wtf to myself more times than I can remember :)

The story follows a family gathering at The Lake House, with Grandfather, The Adults and nine unnamed children: we only know them as The Oldest, The One Who Runs Away, The One With the Beautiful Voice, The Baby, The Twins, The Cry Baby, The Secret Keeper, and The Liar.

The focus is on the children - mostly their relationship to one another, but also their questions as to why they are there and what is even expected of them as they are often left on their own. Soon different kids witness strange things they can't explain and quickly then forget. Some go for meandering walks and return not quite themselves. Very curious.

While I’m still unsure of what it all meant in the end, I loved it. The writing was weird yet captivating and I found the relationship and dialogue between the children very immersive. It wasn’t at all what I expected and I think that’s what added to my experience.

Like shirt wtf kinda’ reads? check out Root Rot - it publishes in March.

"We didn't know if it was the whole house or just The Children's Wing, but there was an unsettled feeling to the air inside that made us not want to be along."

I finished this novella two days ago and it's been haunting me ever since. I needed to sit with my thoughts to figure out how in the world to write this review.

Here's my recommendation: Skip this review, put on the 'Melancholic Instrumentals' playlist on Spotify and just dive into 'Root Rot'. It's unlike anything you've ever read. You'll especially enjoy this if you're a fan of psychological horror and Shirley Jackson!

Now for the actual review:

Root Rot is a fever nightmare that leaves you feeling vulnerable, emotional and exposed. Nine children join their family on a visit to their grandfather's property. More concerned with playing with their cousins at first, they find themselves slowly questioning what is real and what is not.

The children are unnamed, but are given titles such as The Liar, The Oldest, The Crybaby, etc. This may be confusing at first, but the more you read, the more you start recognizing their voices, their quirks and their inner thoughts. You start to feel their emotions, learn glimpses of their lives and questioning their titles. The plot explores their family dynamics and themes like boundaries, family vs individual, toxic parenting and self-acceptance.

The story is told from a strange, oddly-inclusive POV through scenes that at times bleed together. This leaves you wondering whether something is actually happening or not. Especially when you compare them with later scenes. Was X actually with the group? Where did Y go? Why is Z acting this way now? I enjoyed trying to decipher what was being unraveled and this writing choice definitely added to the tension and creepiness. Especially as your brain starts seeing the patterns and connecting the dots (shudders).

It's really hard for me to explain this without spoilers, but by the end of the book, I found myself expressing many emotions including grief and release. I admit I ended up crying a bit after the last page and just staring at the wall. If that's not 5-star worthy, not sure what is.

I seriously applaud the author and Creature Publishing for this novella and can't wait to discover more works from them both.

Now excuse me while I go and try to forget about Devil's Tooth Mushrooms. Nature can be both impressive and traumatizing. So is 'Root Rot'.

I'm really surprised that I just didn't enjoy Root Rot. On paper, it should be a 5 star read for me. I just couldn't get used to the narrator's voice. The characters don't have names, they're titled their most obvious trait (the baby, the one who lies, the crybaby etc.). I hated reading that and didn't get a good grasp of who anyone was.

Not for me.

This really is unlike anything I've read before. part horror, part musing on grief, part feverish biological nightmare fuel, Root Rot is fascinating. I think I need to re read this to fully grasp the plot, but I'm a sucker for books about life cycles. surprisingly low on gore for the most part, there are a couple of descriptions of events in this that I will never forget. It reads almost like a long-form poem - there's some truly striking passages. What an interesting experience reading it! This is absolutely a book my audience will *love* !

I finished this day before yesterday and was letting myself sit with the experience before I posted. I LOVED this reading experience!

Following a cast of cousins who return to their grandfather's lake house, we are plunged into the bizarre as shadows begin to move in unusual ways and faces don't look quite the way they used to.

Root Rot feels hallucinogenic and feverish, and I found it truly very scary! Imagine being trapped in a bad trip, you're scared of what you are seeing, no one can be trusted, you have no control over what is happening or when it will end...while also doubting whether it is even real. That is the horror of this book.

For me, this was not a book to be understood so much as it was to be experienced. Nislow names their characters in an unconventional way, and I would not be surprised to find that difficult for some. I found myself fighting it a little bit at first, but once I let go, I enjoyed the book much more and still found the scares plenty scary (the scene under the dining table was particularly creepy 😫😫) without having fully grasped who was related to whom. I have always had a special love of "weird" books and I know this may not be for everyone but it worked in many ways for me

I think fans of Ian Reid's I'm Thinking of Ending Things and Marcus Kliewer's We Used to Live Here could enjoy the "what the f* is going on" scares of this book!

Thank you to NetGalley, Creature Publishing and Saskia Nislow for the ARC and reading experience!

4.25*

As someone who likes to read weird books, I found this to be incredibly weird and continued to get weirder as the book went on. I enjoyed how the characters didn't have actual names but were referred to by a nickname such as 'The Crybaby' or 'The Oldest' even though at some parts I found myself getting confuses as to who was who and who was meant to be where in the story. There didn't seem to be too much of a plot apart from it getting weirder and I don't think I really understood what was going on for most of it. In saying that, it doesn't detract from the enjoyment I got out of reading the descriptions of the odd things the children witnessed happen and their own confusion when trying to work out if it was reality or not. I overall enjoyed this novel and would recommend to anyone who enjoys weird books. I will definitely read more of Saskia Nislow's work in the future!

As I read Root Rot by Saskia Nislow, I felt it crawling under my skin, convincing me to wipe my hand against my arm to get the dirt off. Root Rot follows a group of cousins: The One Who Runs Away, The Twins (The Girl Twin and The Boy Twin), The Oldest, The Baby, The Crybaby, The Secret Keeper, The One with the Beautiful Voice, and The Liar, during a family vacation to their grandfather’s lake house. The children are sent to one side of the house, called the children’s wing, and left to explore the grounds all day long, coming together only for dinner. One by one, and yet all at the same time, The Cousins are no longer the same as they were when they began their vacation, but neither is the lake house.

Nislow’s artful use of perspective left me in a dreamlike hallucination as I followed The Cousins through the children’s wing, the forest, and the lake, never truly understanding what was happening, only that something was wrong. The novella flips between stories that different cousins would know but is told from a weirder, oddly included presence that the cousins don’t seem to be aware of.

Nislow never shares the names of any of the characters, yet capitalizes the names they were given and group names such as "The Adults” and “The Cousins,” which leaves a feeling of unfamiliarity and unease seeping into the story. After reading it, I wonder if I understand why the choice was made or if even my own epiphanies are confused as well. The amount of unnamed children is a bit difficult to keep up with. I would often be shocked by a pronoun or a reference to age or relationship because I kept getting mixed up. While this got confusing, it added to the unsettling unease of this book.

Nislow’s use of nature throughout the book added to the creepy feeling that saturated Root Rot and reminded me that while nature can be beautiful, it is also terrifying and capable of things we are not. It would be wise to love and respect it but to be aware of its ability to take back what it has given.

As a true fan of the gothic, I appreciated how Nislow provoked the feeling of uncanniness. We also see a scene between twins later in the novella that, while I will not spoil it, tickles my doppelganger-loving heart. The rundown lake house, the dark forest, and the late grandmother’s eaten plate all add to the beautifully gothic horror of this novella.


A huge thank you to Netgalley and Creature Publishing for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for an honest review

This novella is very unique, a fungal horror fever dream. Due to how short this book is, the rising action accelerates very quickly. For that reason I wish the book was longer, or the first third was more fully developed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Creature Publishing for the ARC.

3.5 rounded up

Thank you to NetGalley and the author and publisher for the eARC!

This book was weird but in a good way! I loved how the atmosphere and the setting was being built up and it was sooo good and eerie! I loved the writing and while normally the abrupt change in perspective confuses me, I found that this time, it gave more to the whole strange narrative and the build up to the finale.
I loved all the characters, found them interesting and they had hidden depths that came out in the course of the story.

I found the imagery sometimes a bit confusing and in the finale especially, which took me a bit out of the story.

Overall, it was a really good horror book, with an amazing setting and story!

The thing that struck me about this book was the cover and I think thats the best thing about the book, as for the rest it was not really my cup of tea I am just glad that it was a short book and could fly though it in a little over six hours.

The book features a gaggle for young people who visit their grandfathers lakehouse and go on adventures in the woods, river and surrounding countryside where strange things happen to themselves involving mostly fungi and mushrooms. The main thing for me was that there was no character development due to the fact none of the young people had names. Instead their names was "The Liar", "The One with the Pretty Voice" & "The One who always Runs Away" etc etc.

It seemed for me a little disjoineted and the narration was a little all over the place as I found it confusing at times trying to place who was talking. As for the story itself its not too bad and if you enjoy short horror novellas thats feature Fungi and the like you should enjoy this. As for myself it was not my cuppa tea.

I was to thank Netgalley, Creature Publishing and Saskia Nislow for this advanced copy.

This was a disturbing fleshy Grimm style horror tale. It felt like a story that you could smell and taste and it wasn’t pleasant.

Root Rot was a creepy, horror novella that I flew through! I highly recommend if you’re interested in a quick but gory and twisty novella!

If "Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle" had more of a nightmarish fever-dream filter applied to it, it might turn out to be something like Root Rot: a gaggle of children chronicling their strange days and stranger experiences at Their Grandfather's lake house in the jumbled, nonsensical way that only children can; the ways their forays into the woods change them, whether or not they realize; the way they are defined by their relationships to and among each other, and their generational divides... and then some added arboreal and mycological horrors for good measure.

"We ached in places that no longer existed for her to join us."

Fungi and natural subduction - or seduction - have been hot lately, haven't they? What Moves the Dead, Mexican Gothic, and others have all set the stage for the mystery and opacity of Root Rot. The style was a bit difficult to decipher at first, but by about the halfway point, things locked in and the flow began to flow. For a novella/novelette, that's not so bad. That said, the things The Cousins see and experience still refuse to fit neatly into any one box or border: is the family besieged by a sentient forest, malevolent mushrooms, mischievous fae, or yet something else altogether?

"At night, when we looked out our windows, the stars shone below us like seeds."

Root Rot is an interesting piece of art and surprisingly accurately illustrative of what I commonly refer to as "dream logic," which really isn't a logic at all, but I think I wanted (and expected) to like this a bit more than I did. More than anything, I think I struggled to digest it as literature due to its style and character conventions - there are many of them in the cast and few of them have any real defining features. Perhaps Root Rot is better regarded as a strange, thought-provoking creative endeavor rather than a plot-driven novella.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Creature Publishing, and Saskia Nislow for the opportunity to share my thoughts on this ARC!

An atmospheric little horror book that follows a group of kids at their family castle (?) wandering the halls and the creeping woods outside and seeing things that may (or may not) be there. Each character has no name, but instead a little superlative like "The One Who Runs Away," or "The Liar," which I enjoyed despite having struggled a bit at the start to differentiate each character. There was a fair share of mushrooms, and there's a review that shows a picture of the devil's tooth mushroom that is somehow both fascinating and traumatizing at the same time.

The writing style captured me initially, but as it went on I could sense a bit of a pattern in the structure, making the twists feel repetitive and predictable. I wasn't necessarily scared or unsettled because the writing did not flow in a way that built tension since I could anticipate that there was going to be a little reveal or a spooky moment. I still enjoyed it regardless, and it is a pretty short and quick read, so give it a shot if the synopsis intrigues you! plus the cover is absolutely stunning. 🍄

Thank you to Creature Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC!

I can honestly say I have never read a book like this. The characters do not have names, but nicknames that describe them, which is cool but also confusing. This was an amalgamation of horror, gore, nature, death, grief, and growth(?). It did leave me slightly confused, but in the way that i will be thinking about this book for a hot minute. Thank you NetGalley for sending me an ARC!!