Book Review: Octoberland by Thana Niveau

Nothing is more disappointing than a book that has a GORGEOUS cover and a very promising introduction, where the author’s writing and story-telling is highly praised... only for it to fall into the mediocre category. Unfortunately I found this short story collection to be mostly unimpressive.

“And then we were alone. Octoberland was ours.”
I’ll start with some positivity. The story Octoberland was fantastic, the author truly saved the best for last as you had to mostly wade through 24 other stories to get to this one at the end. It’s about a young woman revisiting an amusement park that her and her brother loved, but where their lives were changed forever.

Another story that has stayed with me was Guinea Pig Girl - a disturbing AF Japanese horror story, combining body horror and erotica. It was CREEPY. Oh! And how did I almost forget Tentacular Spectacular - a really interesting Lovecraftian tale.

The variety and range of sub-genres that Niveau covers is another plus for me. If all the stories in a collection have a similar theme, they can easily become indecipherable from each other if not handled properly. However, you really get everything in Octoberland - erotic romance, steampunk, J-horror, quiet horror... the list goes on. It’s just a shame I found them utterly forgettable and somewhat tedious to get through (for the most part).

Although I wouldn’t personally recommend this collection, I would suggest reading the story Octoberland if you can find a way to! Same goes for Guinea Pig Girl and Tentacular Spectacular. I just wish Niveau’s other stories were as impactful and memorable. 2.5 stars.

Johann
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