The cover and synopsis instantly pulled me in. I was so, so excited to get started and have it potentially be a new all time favorite. Unfortunately, that wasn't what ended up happening. I restarted this book a total of three times, hoping that I was just picking it up at the wrong time. After the final try, making it approximately 11%, I have decided to DNF. While I'm very interested in The Divine Flesh as a character, I couldn't get in to this writing style. It was so long winded, but also confusing. I would rather read a spoiler review than actually read the book for myself. I am so heartbroken. I really wanted to love this.

Take Clive Barker’s lurid world building, mix in Chuck Palahniuk’s audacious nerve, and top it off with Rachel Harrison’s storytelling, and you have something approaching The Divine Flesh. With her sophomore novel, Drew Huff presents a book that roars, equal parts rage and redemption, terror and transformation. This is what modern horror should be doing.

The Divine Flesh (Dark Matter Ink, March 2025)

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7037352855

Are YOU a freak, pervert, or weirdo endlessly attracted to (and possibly aroused by) depictions of flesh transformed and desecrated? You should read The Divine Flesh. Even if the answer to that question is no, you should read The Divine Flesh.

In this story of tendrils, deities, and parasites, God is flesh. All is flesh, almost. The body is home for violence, for sex, for drugs, for worship, adoration, and for abomination. The novel, broadly, follows Jennifer, her husband Darryl, and their relationship in the face of a fight against addiction, parasites, Gods, fascism, and human vessels carrying larvae.

Drew Huff, a name that is appearing more and more frequently in short-story genre collections, pulls from a conceit of scorned lovers, addicts, and a cosmic love triangle an epic, exhaustive, and over-reaching treatise on female bodily autonomy, Queer rights, and the apathy of a God that allows babies to be born addicted to heroin, to name but a few. In fact, the gamut of moral, theological, and philosophical musings is so wide there’s the temptation to fault the novel for it’s inability to focus, but this would be futile in the face of what is essentially one long, too long possibly, gooey climax with all the sloppy chaos that that entails. What I’m saying is The Divine Flesh is baggy and scatty and full of narratives asides, but they feel encoded into the very DNA of the book. What else could a book about a transformative God in love with humanity and yet painfully unaware of the violence of Her kindness be if not too ambitious?

Obvious allusions to Clive Barker and David Cronenberg do little to minimise the text’s originality and offer a post-modern-ish edge to proceedings. However, it is Twin Peaks, specifically The Return, that feels the most thematically aligned with the part domestic and part inter-dimensional darkness lying at the centre of this novel. In both texts, ‘creator’ figures from a realm beyond ours construct and shape the tragedies of our lives, escaping through places and acts that hang on the very edge of reality: gas stations, drug deals, and sites of domestic abuse. This shared energy extends to Barker too, and present in all of these texts is the idea that the most infinite and unimaginable cruelty exists not in creatures beyond our understanding but in the homes of the nuclear families of America.

This darkness, this violence, this reprehensible ugliness thrives in the contemporary right-wing, both in this novel and in general, destabilised by their own anxieties and driven by capitalist enemies into spaces of pure hatred. Huff’s point is clear but not didactic: conservatism is American threat, and it is festering in plain sight.

A must read.

Thanks to Netgalley, Drew Huff, and Dark Matter Ink for the ARC.

A rambunctious, hedonistic, evasive, exhilarating, unbelievable, perfect book. Reading about starved sincerity, suicidal gods, and the intrinsic weakness for healthy, horrifying love was a brilliant shock to my system. Never came across a book like this. The Divine Flesh has easily become - 10 days to the end of the year - one of my favorite books of 2024, and perhaps of all time.

a truly disturbing read. super funny. super twisty. it was so damn slow but omg i ate it up. I just got into horror books this year & i found a new fav author. I AM BUYING A PHYSICAL COPY OF THIS!

✨REVIEW: 5/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
🫀The Divine Flesh by @druhuf 💕

🎀synopsis: Jennifer Plummer and the Divine Flesh have exactly three things in common: 1) they’re trapped inside Jennifer’s body; 2) they despise each other; and 3) they’re in love with Daryl Plummer, Jennifer’s ex-husband.

🫀my opinion: I had two sleepless nights because I needed to finish this book 🫠, and I don’t regret losing a few hours of sleep...don’t judge me, pls. 🙂‍↕️💞

The story is about Jennifer, a girl with a drinking problem and.... Inside her is the ✨Divine Flesh✨, an entity, a kind of god that wants to be released... and it happens.

It’s a bit hard to explain for me everything I felt reading the book, it was definitely a very crazy trip 👀, it has body and cosmic horror. Plus really good sarcasm and lots and lots of twists and turns where I didn’t know what else to expect anymore… 😂

And that’s what I loved about this book; you really can’t know what’s going to happen next with Jennifer or Daryl or ANYONE.

🎀Highly recommended if you:

✨Like Jennifer's Body.
✨Like bizarre concepts.
✨Like the idea of possession (or possessions) of the same body.

The Divine Flesh is a delightfully macabre body horror that keeps me glued to every single page. With every skinsuit bursting and fleshy bits enveloping yet another person, I keep asking "What the f*** did I just read???". But the payoff is just sooo goood.

Docking a star because I get a little confused about the constantly switching POVs and timelines. Sometimes I have to back up a few pages and reread just so I have a firmer grasp of what's going on.

I think I may be obsessed with this book? Has the Divine Flesh Herself gotten Her loving tendrils into me and assimilated me? Maybe?

This book is an absolutely unhinged, deranged wild ride, following a junkie and her ex-husband as they combat - but also love - a cosmic Eldritch murderess monster goddess called the Divine Flesh. Although truly horrific and disturbing, I often was laughing out loud and could not put this book down. I also had no idea what was happening or where it was heading - though it does eventually make sense in the end and wrap up nicely (?). There were several points I was thinking "my God, this is insane, this must be the finale" but then I'd realize I was only 38% or 56% through, and it only got more insane as I went.

The Divine Flesh, who is trapped inside Jennifer the Junkie's body and fighting for control, talks like a silly little kawaii princess who just wants to PLAY with FLESH please Jennifer let her OUT! TEEHEE! it was just so ridiculously silly and I dunno, I just love her. Flesh abominations and brutal murder sprees and all.

It is absolutely not for the squeamish or faint of heart - there is gore, body horror, sexual violence, violence against children, drug addicts, religious zealous, racists, homophobic hillbillies - truly check your trigger warnings before diving in. It reminded me a bit of Chuck Palahniuk's early writing (Guts, Invisible Monsters, Snuff). But also like, if Venom and Men in Black had a crazy meth horror baby. Take that how you will.

And the cover... *Chef's kiss*. Obsessed.

I was happy to receive a review copy / ARC from Netgalley, thank you NG, Drew Huff, and Dark Matter INK!

2.75. Thank you to NetGalley and Dark Matter for the digital arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Where do I begin. This book is weird which I tend to love. It had a lot of body horror which I also enjoy however I got tired of it since there was just so so much. I loved the divine flesh as a character and when we were with her I was having a great time. Where I felt this went wrong was just how many things it tried to do. Addiction, serial killer/rapist, mirror people body snatchers, getting siblings out of foster care system, religion and everything going on with the Devine Flesh and Jennifer. I felt this made it unfocused and difficult to follow and stick with. It took me awhile to finish because I just got fatigue from all the body horror and well flesh of it all. I feel like if the book had when pared down and focused and or in shorter form I would have enjoyed it much more.

'The Divine Flesh' in a word is unhinged. An unapologetically weird cosmic horror about a dysfunctional drug mule and the Eldritch Goddess trapped inside of her. The writing is grotesquely vivid, the descriptions of the body horror were gruesome and not for the easily squeamish.

The overall story felt like reading a fever dream and keeps you on your toes throughout with my only issue being that it dragged towards the middle before picking back up again for the ending. There are quite a few heavy topics including but not limited to drug addiction, alcoholism, emotional abuse, self harm and SA. The characters were interesting to read about with all of them being flawed in some way or another, you never know who to root for from one moment to the next.

Thank you, Net Galley and Dark Matter INK, for the ARC!

i wanted to like this book so badly, but it just wasn’t for me. the writing felt choppy and all over the place. so much was happening at once which made it hard to follow along with the plot. loved The Divine Flesh though! She truly carried the chapters that i made it through. i wish the book was more about Her than Jennifer.

Book Review: The Divine Flesh by Drew Huff
Drew Huff’s The Divine Flesh is a visceral and unflinching exploration of humanity, addiction, and identity, wrapped in a darkly imaginative tale of cosmic horror. This novel is not for the faint of heart, as it plunges readers into a nightmarish world where body horror meets interdimensional power struggles and the limits of morality are tested. With its bold narrative, complex characters, and unapologetically grotesque imagery, The Divine Flesh carves out a space in the intersection of horror and speculative fiction.

A Twisted Duality
At the heart of the novel is Jennifer, a deeply flawed protagonist who serves as a vessel for the titular Divine Flesh, a being both horrifying and oddly endearing in its psychotic cheerfulness. This duality is central to the story, as Jennifer’s struggles with addiction and self-destruction mirror her constant battle with the entity that inhabits her body. The tension between Jennifer and the Divine Flesh is brilliantly depicted, showcasing their bizarrely co-dependent relationship.

The Divine Flesh’s perspective adds a chilling yet strangely comedic edge to the narrative. Her godlike ambitions and obsession with assimilation stand in stark contrast to Jennifer’s gritty, grounded struggles, creating a fascinating interplay of the cosmic and the human.

Themes of Transformation and Identity
The novel delves deeply into themes of transformation, both literal and metaphorical. Jennifer’s journey is as much about battling an external threat as it is about reclaiming her sense of self. The Divine Flesh’s constant attempts to reshape Jennifer—and, later, the world—serve as a grotesque metaphor for the invasive pressures of addiction, societal expectations, and the struggle to define one’s identity against overwhelming forces.

The story also examines power dynamics, especially through Jennifer’s relationships with the people around her and the Divine Flesh’s godlike control. These dynamics are further complicated by Jennifer’s history with her ex-husband, Daryl, whose own arc intertwines with the central conflict in unexpected and poignant ways.

A Bloody, Gut-Wrenching Plot
The plot is relentless, filled with moments of shocking violence and graphic imagery that will leave readers both horrified and captivated. The murder of Daryl and his friends sets off a chain of events that escalates into a full-blown cosmic horror showdown. Jennifer and Daryl’s quest for vengeance against the small-town bigots who killed him serves as a framework for unraveling the deeper, more disturbing conspiracies lurking in Rosetown, Idaho.

The small-town setting is used effectively to create an atmosphere of claustrophobia and decay, with the festering corruption of the town mirroring the grotesque transformations wrought by the Divine Flesh. Huff spares no detail in depicting the body horror, making the Divine Flesh’s powers both awe-inspiring and utterly repellent.

Content Warnings and Impact
It’s impossible to discuss The Divine Flesh without acknowledging its extensive content warnings. Huff tackles difficult topics with unflinching honesty, which may be a strength or a drawback depending on the reader’s tolerance for graphic content. The depictions of body horror, addiction, abuse, and discrimination are intense, but they serve the story’s purpose of confronting the darkest aspects of humanity and existence.

Readers should approach the book with caution, but those who can stomach the graphic content will find a narrative that is deeply rewarding in its exploration of resilience, morality, and the cost of redemption.

Strengths
Complex Protagonist: Jennifer’s flaws and struggles make her a deeply relatable and compelling character, even as she grapples with a godlike entity inside her.
Imaginative World-Building: The concept of the Divine Flesh and the cosmic stakes at play are unique and horrifyingly creative.
Unapologetic Themes: The novel’s exploration of addiction, identity, and small-town corruption is bold and thought-provoking.
Atmospheric Writing: Huff’s prose is vivid and visceral, pulling readers into the grotesque world of the Divine Flesh.
Potential Drawbacks
Graphic Content: The extreme violence and body horror may alienate some readers, even those accustomed to dark fiction.
Pacing: The relentless intensity of the plot can feel overwhelming, with few moments of respite to balance the chaos.
Complexity of Themes: The novel’s ambition sometimes makes it difficult to juggle all its thematic threads, leaving certain ideas underexplored.
Final Thoughts
The Divine Flesh is a bold, grotesque, and ultimately unforgettable work of speculative horror that challenges readers to confront their own discomfort. Huff’s ability to blend cosmic horror with raw, human emotion sets this novel apart, making it a must-read for fans of body horror and psychological thrillers. However, its intensity and graphic nature demand a careful approach, ensuring it’s a story best suited for those who can appreciate its unflinching examination of humanity’s darkest corners.

Rating: 4/5
Perfect for fans of Junji Ito’s body horror, Caitlin Starling’s The Death of Jane Lawrence, and the existential dread of Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation. The Divine Flesh is as grotesque as it is profound—a twisted masterpiece of modern horror fiction.

I love a book that involves religious themes and body horror so this really hit a spot for me. It also had such an incredible writing style - I simultaneously felt like I completely got everything whilst also feeling like I couldn't begin to explain what I was reading.

I loved how none of the characters in this book were good; everyone was flawed or awful (the latter especially applying to Trojan). I loved the approach this book took to godhood through Susan, Divine Flesh, and Light. I love how, by the end, I'm not completely sure if D.F. is the God of Abrahamic faiths or not. I love how messy the characters were and how messy this all felt to read.

I also loved how distinct the characters and their voices were - Divine Flesh in particular had probably the most distinct voice I've ever read, whenever she spoke it was so clear it was her.

Just, this book was a horrific exploration of love that jumbled my mind and took me on a journey. I'd definitely recommend it to fans of cosmic/weird/body horror.

(I'd also recommend taking notes of content warnings because this was heavy with certain things like SA, gore, and addiction.)

This book was so bizarre and felt like I was being taken on a drug trip and I loved it. I haven't had much experience with this genre but I am now obsessed.

This novel is like a car crash, you just can’t look away… but in a good way? Everyone is crazy and I wasn’t sure who to root for or if I WAS rooting for any of them. Wild premise, but written so well I devoured it in one sitting.

Unfortunately, I do not think this book is for me. I hate to give this book a low rating, but it is very different from what I expected it to be. Not necessarily a fault of the book, just a conflict of my own expectations. I would still try other works from this author.

This book was bonkers! I’ve never read anything quite like this, it has a heavy premise but boy was this a winner for me! I share the name of the main character-though we couldn’t be anymore different, so that was a fun addition to the craziness that is The Divine Flesh. Splatterpunk fans will surely tear through this one with reckless abandon as it was a visceral gore fest of epic proportions. The only critique I have is that beginning was a bit to a crawl for me but once the pace picked up it was like having to tear yourself away from looking at a car wreck on the side of the road, you couldn’t help your morbid curiosity!

Thank you to NetGalley and Drew Huff for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What the hell did I just read?!

This book was absolute insanity in the best way possible! Jennifer Plummer is a junkie, a drug mule, an alcoholic, and pretty much just an all-around shitty person. Oh…and living inside her since she was born is an Eldritch god that just wants to love, and by love, I mean assimilate everything in her path, and make them part of her. Her name is the Divine Flesh. Jennifer and D.F. love the same guy…Daryl. Through a series of batshit crazy events, including Daryl’s murder, even though he’s very much alive, Jennifer and the Divine Flesh get separated, and the Flesh’s quest to take over everything becomes a lot easier!

I’ve never read a book like this before. It was off the wall. It was confusing. It was funny at times. It was absolutely brutal at other times. But at the end of the day, it’s just a really sweet love story!

The world building was great. Huff’s world building is just incredible. So excited to see what her future holds!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dark Matter INK for the eARC!

Wow that was an intense one with the dense writing and heavy themes.
Experimental horror with a philosophical edge ? absolutely !
Mix of psychological horror, twisted relationships, and cosmic dread ? absolutely
A huge success for me.

Thank you so much netgalley for the copy

tw for a lot of things but particularly animal death which i know will upset people.

i am not those people! this was excellent. u ever read a novel that has you going What The Fuck every five seconds while u desperately turn the page bc its just that good? i have! this mindbending book is definitely not for everyone— it’s So Much, perhaps Too Much for a lot of readers. a nasty little piece of fiction with teeth. i loved it.