This was a dark and disturbing horror, and such a refreshing read for me! The pace is fast, I loved Julie and the grittiness of her character. This was my first novel by Kadrey and Khaw, and I was super blown away by them.

Really wavered between 3.75 and 4 because I just did not like Julie. She knew her flaws and short comings, but still would just excuse her fuck ups as "that's who I am what're ya gonna do" 🤷‍♀️
That being said though, the gore was great and I liked the plot. The writing was easy and descriptive enough you could picture these Lovecraftian monsters.
Still a bit confused as to how magic works in this world but hopefully it gets less confusing as the series goes on!

Man, I love NYC as a character. I love it. It always gets me. Khaw is a favorite of mine, and I was excited to check out this collab. Two bisexual women and a cast of non-human characters being actively chased down by their exes. There's aliens. There's monsters. There's GORE. There's so much gore. Did I say it was gory?

There are missteps here. The story lines don't always mesh well, the character story lines are a bit clunky, and the dialog is a little cheesy here and there. The fantastical elements and the lore were interesting, but I though the story line around it was presented in a confusing way at times. There were also a few characters that were named once or twice and then brought up chapters later, and I was like, "Who the hell is this again?" But I liked it. It kinda played out like a video game in my head, if that makes any sense at all.

Right from the start, this book plunges you into a world full of zombies and monsters that bring to mind H.P. Lovecraft's Eldritch Terrors, If you like ultra-modern, uncensored prose and don't mind blood, guts, and gore or descriptions of substance use, check it out!

I didn't know anything about this book going into it but I have read several of Kadrey's books and loved them. The Dead Take the A Train was weird fun and the perfect companion for my bus commute into NYC. I don't know what else Cassandra Khaw has written but I will be looking into it. Love you, Richard!

I really wanted to like this book. The cover didn't appeal but the write-up did. I should have stuck with my initial impression. I actually quite enjoyed the first chapter and was excited to see where the story would take me. And then the plot seemed (at least to me) to take a distant second place to the violence. I don't mind a bit of gore or pain if it progresses the story, but it felt like the violence was the point of the writing and that the plot was there simply as a link to the various violent descriptions. I did recommend this book to one customer who specifically asked for something gore-y, but in general I would not hand sell this title.

This was such a fun horror/dark fantasy. With a hardworking demon slaying heroine at it's center making an absolute mess of things throughout the story, I really couldn't put it down and raced through each page. These authors teamed up seamlessly; the character work and storytelling were excellent. It was fast-paced and kept me laughing which was surprise but this was definitely full of satire as well.

I do think the novel was a touch long, but I am still excited for this to be a duology and I can't wait to see how this author duo wraps things up.

One of the things I loved about the book was how the authors made sure to let readers know that magic has a price, and while it’s different for everyone, no one is free from losing something to the powers that be. It’s a constant theme throughout the book: the social ladder of magic. Too often Julie is at the bottom, doing the work for those at the top. This dirty work and her own belief in her self-worth keeps her reaching for coke, alcohol, and anything she can to numb the horrors she’s seen and brought about.

Really great, gory horror book. Loved the NYC setting and the twists and turns and humor. Highly recommend this book to horror fans.

I wanted more from this one than I got, but I don't regret reading it. The world building is without fault, and the visceral descriptions brought me so much joy to read. However, the plot itself felt stale at times. I also couldn't get behind the romance. It felt too forced and not organic at all. There wasn't enough showing of the romance, and too much telling. (At least in my opinion.) If you like fantastical horror set in a modern, urban world, this might be a worthwhile read. Especially if you like your horror grotesque.

a scary/sci fi adventure that i expected to compel me, but instead left me bored and longing for characters i cared more about. DNF about halfway through.

This book confused the hell out of me and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I'll have to read the inevitable sequel to see if that gives me answers. I will say a lot of the book felt unnecessary but maybe it will have meaning in the series later. I also feel like the book could have been shorter and while the descriptions where beautiful it sometimes felt as if I was reading a dictionary. The ending also felt kind of rushed and I know its going to have a sequel but it didn't really feel like it ended. Like there wasn't a good wrap up or even a cliff hanger that signaled the end of this book it just kind of ended.



Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I received a free copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group; all opinions expressed are exclusively my own.

This is a great book and I hated it.

Okay, let me elaborate: The Dead Take the A Train is an urban fantasy with magic, eldritch beings, action, love, and horror. It's like the Dresden Files but if Dresden was a lot more punk rock mixed with Lovecraft, and better than that sounds. The lore builds in slowly and is enthralling, and the story keeps up a quick pace without leaving the reader behind. It's gritty, weird, and wonderful.

But it is oh so very gory. Which is not a turnoff to everyone, but if you're a sensitive reader, you should know you're in for nonstop body horror of all kinds of flavors. It's also a very dark and gritty world, and Julie's life matches it. I had to keep reading because the story is fantastic and compelling, and I'll definitely read the sequel. It's just that the first book is so disturbingly brutal that I'll need to make sure I'm in a good place first.

THE DEAD TAKE THE A TRAIN by Cassandra KHAW and Richard KADREY
Publication: October 3, 2023
Publisher: Tor Nightfire
Page Count:400


Jump on board for a horrific ride into Lovecraftian Cosmic Horror as we are introduced to Julie Crews … a thirty-something Bitch on wheels … as she renders magic spells “for cash” in between consuming mass quantities of drugs, Vodka and Korean take-out. This marvelous urban-fantasy horror novel is the brainchild of the dynamic duo of Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey. Julie feels her magic career in the NYC scene is going nowhere and to “bump” things up, she congers up a “guardian” angel that is intent on progressively annihalting the world, rather than promoting her success. Blood, gore and entrails will drip from the pages. Julie’s ex boyfriend, Tyler Banks drags her into the mess of dealing with the eldritch horror, “ The Mother Who Eats” , as part of his ongoing battle to climb the corporate ladder of the nefarious law firm, Thorne & Dirks. His job at the firm was head of Excisions, meaning he made problems disappear. Cut them entirely out of existence. ( This law firm is the equivalent of Wolfram and Hart as seen on the television show, “Angel”) Complicating matters, Sara, her best friend (from her earlier life) and the essence of “ goodness” shows up on her doorstep, fleeing from her abusive boyfriend, Dan. Her present day friends, the ancient, sort of fairy god-mother, St Joan and the wheelchair-bound Dead Air (computer wizard and hacker) immediately visualize the “sparks between the two”
Khaw and Kadrey manage to dish up a carnage of gore and entrails in between their dark horrific humor. The convoluted plot progressively escalates in complexity and intrigue as the exciting action filled denouement draws to a close, with yet some unresolved loose ends dangling for the sequel. In between the snarky humor are frequent jabs of satire at corporate culture. I anticipate the need for further adventures in the burgeoning magic career of Julie Crews. Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for providing an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for allowing me to read a copy of this book.

Fans of Thrillers and Eldritch Horror should absolutely read this book. It's twisty and different and full of blood and gore. Trigger warning - with lots of mutilation, blood & guts, body horror, entrails, bugs, and carnage, it is not a book for the squeamish or faint-of-heart.

In the magical underbelly of NYC we meet Julie, a-down-and-out woman pushing 30, with a coke and booze habit and a penchant for magic. The story hits the ground running -- with Julie doing an exorcism at a Bachelorette party. Then, in desperate need of money, Julie takes a job helping her ex, Tyler and then all hell breaks loose -- almost literally. Julie summons a guardian angel but accidentally releases an elder god who wants to kill everyone and everything. Chaos and death ensue, with lots of blood, guts, gore, and eternal suffering. We also meet Sarah, Julie's best friend and the embodiment of goodness; but also the victim of domestic abuse. She and Julie are very clearly madly in love, but won't admit it. Special appearances by the Berghest sisters, The Mother Who Eats, and a bunch of other unpleasant horrors

The perspectives of Julie & Sarah's exes (Tyler and Dan) were painful to get through. They were so smug and self-important, and self-righteous it just made me hate them so much. They are terrible excuses for men, let alone human beings. These parts of the book were very difficult to enjoy, and almost made me not want to keep reading. The rest of the book is a blood-soaked story that ends with a slam and a bang.

Carnage. It's all carnage. I will definitely be reading the sequel of this book (Carrion City #2), and recommending it to all my horror-loving friends and Library patrons. I have never read anything like this book before and I love it!

10 out of 10. if you like horror this is the book for you. i can't get this one out of my head. it's amazing. i want the next book in my hands right now. phenomenal. weird. funny. bizarre. i can't wrap my head around what i read to even put it into words.

Okay so after reading this book, I was thinking, why did I take so long to get to it?! Because I absolutely loved it and cannot wait for what comes next! This book was grungy, dark and absolutely kept me interested. This book was fast-paced and I loved the characters, plot, and gore! If you are a fan of horror fantasy, this one’s for you!

I am a huge fan of Khaw's previous books, but for whatever reason, this book just didn't work for me. I felt like there was a lot going on, and I didn't really connect with any of the characters on a meaningful level. Maybe something I can revisit later, but for now, it's not for me.

Didn't get to finish in the time allotted to read, however, what I started was fresh. A unique magical system in a dark, urban setting as opposed to just straight up fantasy was exciting to read through.

Dark. Violent. Fun. Kadrey and Khaw are both great authors on their own, but combining them for this book is just a smart decision. When Julie sets out to boost her own career as a monster hunter in New York, she has no idea just what she's gotten herself into. The gig economy is hard for everyone involved, and adding life-or-death struggles, magic, and pretty intense body horror doesn't help. The Dead Take the A Train is an excellent adventure, and I can't wait to see what happens to Julie next.