Random House Publishing Group Archives

The Changeling

The Changeling by Victor LaValle
Published by Random House Publishing Group on 2018
Genres: African American & Black, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Supernatural, Suspense
Pages: 431

The Changeling, especially the first half, is literary tension at its best. Victor Lavalle’s novel is part urban fantasy, part contemporary fairy tale with a splash of horror. He manages to weave in themes of parenthood while featuring the city of New York. I LOVED the first half of this book. I was at the edge of my seat and glued to the words on the page, despite being on a warm sunny beach while on my honeymoon. Unfortunately, Lavalle did not stick the landing. The second half of the book was meh, it wasn’t bad, but compared to the perfection of the beginning I was disappointed.

Because the joy of this novel is its suspense, I am going to give a limited description of the plot. The protagonist, Apollo Kagwa, is an avid reader (we would be great friends). Apollo’s father left him and his mother when Apollo was young. He sometimes has creepy dreams of his dad. Apollo eventually starts a book dealing business. He meets Emma, a librarian and they eventually get married. Emma and Apollo have a baby, named Brian, after Apollo’s father. Emma and Apollo are determined to be perfect parents, but Emma begins to act out of character leading to her committing a shocking act. This event leads Apollo on a magical journey.

I loved Lavalle’s prose. He is an excellent storyteller, and his writing is a pleasure to read. I love when a protagonist has a book related occupation. Reading about Apollo’s reading interests and how they flourished into a career of procuring and selling used books was great. The tension that builds in the first half of the story is off the charts. Based off the limited plot summary I read on the book’s back cover, I knew Emma was going to do something shocking. The slow burn leading up to those events ratchets up the tension. And the description of the scene when IT happens is very intense and scary. I also really appreciated Lavalle’s inclusion of themes of post partem depression, black fatherhood and experiences living as a black man in NYC into the story.

Explaining my critiques of the second half of the novel, without spoiling the plot, will be a challenge. The second half of the book features most of the magic and supernatural elements in the novel. Lavalle had too many great ideas. I believe editing the story down and using just a few of these elements would have created a tighter story. For me the plot at the end of the novel became muddled and character motivations did not make sense. I also found interest in the novel declining towards the end of the novel. This was a shame after start of the book when I was losing sleep because I was so captivated by the story.

Despite the weak ending, The Changeling is worth the read. Lavalle is a talented writer and storyteller. I found themes of parenthood especially relevant because my husband and I recently adopted a puppy. The scene of THE incident has become one of the most tense and memorable scenes I’ve ever read.

Mexican Gothic

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Published by Random House Publishing Group on June 30, 2020
Genres: Latinx, Fantasy, Fiction, Gothic, Historical, Horror
Pages: 320

Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic is a buzzy horror novel that I’ve seen featured all over Booktube and Bookstagram. Readers looking for a horror novel with an intelligent and assertive female protagonist should consider adding this to their Halloween reading lineup. Noemi Taboada receives a concerning letter from her cousin Catalina. Catalina has recently married Virgil Doyle, an Englishman, and moved into their family home called High Place located in the mountains near El Triunfo, Mexico. The Virgil family established themselves at High Place after operating a nearby silver mine. In the letter Catalina claims that Virgil is trying to poison her. Noemi’s father sends her to High Place to check in on her cousin. While at High Place Noemi is allowed little contact with her cousin, who is supposedly suffering from consumption. The house is very creepy and depressing. Most of the Virgil family is less than welcoming. The Virgil family is led by the patriarch Florence Doyle who spends most of his time hidden away in his private wing. The only friend Noemi makes is Virgil’s brother Francis. The novel follows Noemi solving the mystery of the Doyle family and uncovering the secrets within High Place.

I really enjoyed the character of Noemi, who is an intelligent and strong female protagonist. Too often in horror novels the main characters are either too helpless or too naive about the peril they’re in. There was excellent body horror in the later portions of the book. Some gnarly descriptions of a particular character’s body in the later portions of the book were wonderfully repulsive. There are also some dark dream sequences that I enjoyed. The book has themes of colonialism. The Doyle family has set up their home in Mexico to run a mine and Florence is an avid supporter of racial eugenic theories. High House is almost a character itself in the novel. The descriptions of the home and its impact on the mood and characters is strong and reminiscent of gothic classics (major Fall of the House of Usher vibes).

My biggest critique with the novel is how the big twist is handled. I saw the answer to the main mystery from a mile away and assumed there would be another surprise layer to the story. Unfortunately, it played out exactly as I predicted. Moreno-Garcia leaves too many obvious hints. I expect most readers will figure out what is going on before they even make it halfway through the novel. For me horror novels where the plot centers around a mystery need to deliver an unexpected answer. Authors need to balance having the mystery be solvable while also making the mystery clever enough that most readers will be surprised when they discover the answer.

Mexican Gothic did not wow me as much as I expected it to. There are great aspects to the novel, but the too easy to solve mystery really soured my opinion. However, if you want a Halloween book with a Latinx protagonist or a recent release with gothic elements this may be worth the read. Hopefully the Hulu adaptation of Mexican Gothic will do a better job of making the story’s twist less obvious.

Drawing Blood

Drawing Blood by Poppy Brite
Published by Random House Publishing Group on November 24, 2010
Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Gay, Horror, Paranormal
Pages: 416

Do you have a blood fetish? If yes, then I have the perfect book recommendation for you! (Don’t worry having a blood kink is not a prerequisite for enjoying this story) Drawing Blood, by Poppy Z. Brite, is a great, spooky novel featuring queer characters. One night in Missing Mile, North Carolina, Trevor McGee’s father murders Trevor’s mother and little brother before killing himself. Now, as an adult, Trevor is still tortured by the unanswered question: Why did his father let him live on that tragic night? Trevor has followed in his deceased father’s footsteps, working as a cartoonist. Seeking answers from his childhood, Trevor returns to Missing Mile, staying in his family’s abandoned home. Soon after arriving he he meets Zach, a cyber-criminal from New Orleans, who is on the run from authorities. Zach is bisexual and frequently enjoys casual sex but has never formed a deep romantic connection. But upon meeting, the two men quickly form a passionate connection and face the sinister forces that haunt Trevor’s childhood home. I selected this book because I saw it featured on multiple lists for queer horror recommendations. I enjoyed reading Drawing Blood, even if I was caught off guard by all the smut.

Drawing Blood is best classified as a psychological horror novel. Many of the scares and horror scenes involve visions and characters’ internal struggles. The book does a great job of maintaining a dark atmosphere throughout. As I mentioned there is a lot of blood in this book, especially in the sex scenes. The spicy scenes would’ve had me blushing if it wasn’t for all the blood. All the blood made me queasy, but no judgment if you’re into that 😉. I believe the author used blood as a symbol of Trevor’s connection to his father. He has inherited his dad’s artistic talent for drawing, and he fears he will also inherit his dad’s violent, murderous nature. The blood, which is only heavily featured in scenes inside of Trevor’s family home, is a manifestation of the father-son connection. I would not classify this as only a horror novel. The romance and internet crime thriller aspects take up a sizable chunk of the pages. I still really enjoyed the story, but if you are looking for a more purely-horror novel, this might not be the right book for you.

I loved that this book features multiple queer characters. There are more beyond just Zach and Trevor. And while the book has plenty of drama and conflict, none of the adversity characters face relates to their sexuality. While this is probably not realistic for a small town in North Carolina in the ‘90s, it is refreshing to slip into a world where homophobia does not exist. This reminds me of the excellent show Schitt’s Creek (different genre, but I highly recommend). The settings in the novel are very immersive. Brite does an excellent job of describing the settings of New Orleans and Missing Mile. I was not surprised to learn that Poppy Brite lives in New Orleans. Normally I roll my eyes when two characters fall in love at first sight and exchange “I love yous” just days after meeting. But with Trevor and Zach I was not bothered. Beyond my obvious bias for queer relationships, there is great character development for both Trevor and Zach. They help each other become unstuck from their respective struggles, which is very cute and wholesome. While this book was published in 1993 (my birth year!), the writing and story do not feel dated. Descriptions of large cellular phones and the internet, in its early days, were charming.

If you like your scares bloody and mixed with smut you should give this book a try. Reading about LGBTQ characters facing conflicts not related to their queerness is refreshing.

Trigger Warnings: Lots of blood-filled gay sex, Alcoholism, Murder, Recreational Drugs

Detransition, Baby

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
Published by Random House Publishing Group on January 12, 2021
Genres: Fiction, Literary, Transgender, Women
Pages: 368

Torrey Peter’s debut novel Detransition, Baby explores motherhood, through three individuals, brought together by one pregnancy. After detransitioning from living as a trans woman, Ames gets his boss Katrina, a cis woman, pregnant. Katrina is undecided on whether she wants to have the baby. Ames proposes they form an unconventional family with his ex, Reese, a trans woman. He is concerned he will be placed in the masculine, father-like role if he parents solely with Katrina. Ames hopes the gender roles of the parents will be less binary if a third parent is brought in. Ames is also aware of Reese’s deep, longing desire to be a mother and wants her to have an opportunity to have a child. Throughout the events leading up to Katrina’s decision with the pregnancy, Torrey includes flashbacks from Reese and Ames’ relationship. I really enjoyed this novel. The characters are delightfully messy (and not in a voyeuristic way), and Peter’s story is also informative on trans issues. This funny, sexy, heartbreaking story is well worth reading.

I really enjoyed Peter’s loose, wandering writing style. She often strays from the action, diverting into long tangents that I enjoyed. I was reminded of my close friend who can never finish a story without telling a handful of smaller stories along the way. I have seen criticisms of this chaotic style, but I thought it paralleled the characters’ messy behavior in the story. In my favorite of these digressions, Peter compares white trans women to orphaned elephants in South Africa (you’ll have to read the book to understand the comparison). There are many pop-culture references and some random celebrity appearances, including Sarah Jessica Parker (clearly Peters is a major Sex and the City fan). The most memorable and well-written scene for me was a flashback to when Ames first tried on woman’s clothes at a store. Ames’ pure joy while trying on the clothes and breast plates, contrasted with the shame and embarrassment when a cis woman and her daughter walked in, interrupting the magical moment, was very powerful. All three of the main characters are human through and through, flawed and make questionable decisions. I did not enjoy the book’s conclusion, but I will withhold the reasoning to avoid spoiling this otherwise excellent novel.

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a fun, dramatic novel, with queer representation. I am thrilled to see a mainstream, best-selling novel focusing on trans lives. And if you don’t have time to get to the book, great news a tv adaptation of Detransition, Baby is in the works!

Trigger Warnings: Suicide, HIV, Miscarriage, Trans violence