I appreciated the imagery in the poems, but the poems themselves were almost feral. I reread a few before writing this review and I have yet to decide if that wildness, that untamed state is something I enjoy. Nevertheless, it compelled me to turn the pages and when I first picked this one up I finished it in one sitting.

A beautifully strange and eclectic read. For an introvert like myself this collection is like gold dust! The book cover captures the overall mood of the book brilliantly and everything within this book is genius. A book i will go back to again and again!

I didn't originally intend to read this, but it being Halloween month I was intrigued by the idea of a darker poetry. I wanted to be spooked, but wasn't in the right mood for a full-blown story. I hoped that 'The Hatch' would provide me with something a bit different, and in that respect I wasn't disappointed. I'd certainly never read anything like this before!

This collection was very dark. It's filled to the brim of some grotesque imagery, and unsettling depictions of life with a slight post-apocalyptic feel. It was never quite clear if this was a vision of the future or a different way of looking at the present. There's a touch of black humour in there too which I appreciated, and despite this not being my usual cup of tea, I did appreciate how vivid the descriptions were (often to the point of nausea).

But the problem I had was that I didn't really FEEL anything while reading this. I wasn't inspired, I wasn't totally horrified, I wasn't creeped out. I found myself making my way through this collection with a vague disinterest, and though there were certain points that I found parts I liked, I couldn't name them now because nothing here for me was particularly memorable. I think this will appeal to those that are looking for the bizarre, the surreal and like to read 'weird' but that sort of thing doesn't overly do it for me.

Being a fan of poetry, I have read a lot of the over the years. But I have never read any poems of the horror genre. While the author really did do a good job, this particular genre didn't appeal much to me.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I am not a huge fan of poetry but I love horror. This was a bit of a mixed bag for me, some really good and some I wasn't so fond of. I didn't find any of the poems particularly frightening or scary but it is an entertaining, quick read that is probably suited more to poetry fans than lovers of the horror genre.

What I liked: There aren't many "horror" poets these days. Not sure I can class this as horror but it was a dark read. My favorites where: The Wake, The Fly, Self Defense and Northwest Passage. Fletcher has a way with prose that makes you invested in what he is writing. The cover art even on the digital copy was beautiful and detailed.

What I didn't like: There wasn't much about this book of prose that I didn't like.

Star Rating: 4 Stars

My thoughts: I am hoping to read more from Fletcher in the future. The Hatch was something different to what I normally read and was a good palette cleanser.

This combination of horror and poetry didn't work for me. It didn't quite give enough information and imagery to make it feel like a story and not a collection of gruesome things.

I breezed through this horror anthology quickly and blissfully. Each poem withstands on its own and gives off their fair share of creeps. This collection is one of those that you truly have to focus on to get the full effect that they try to evoke.

Thank you Netgalley and Brooklyn Art Press for the chance to read this horrifying collection.

This was a unique books of poetry. Some I found interesting, while most I did not.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

It was pretty good. It'd start a bit slow but it got better The writing style was a bit different but I still liked it

Modern poetry is not something I am well-versed in. I have read a few anthologies now and the contents are sporadically hit-or-miss for me. I feel this reflects less on the poet or their creations and more on my lukewarm feelings for the genre, discovering a preference for more classic poetry.

A solid collection of contemporary poetry. Not every poem is a standout, but there's enough here that I highlighted several passages to go back to and ponder. Things can get a bit heavy on imagery, especially considering most of these poems read like stories, but the collection is enjoyable nonetheless.

I'm a massive fan of Edgar Allen Poe so when this poetry collection was compared to his I knew I just had to pick it up however, I didn't enjoy this poetry collection as much as I was hoping to. I enjoyed some of the poems such as Kindergarten, The Wake, The Hatch and Palmdale Area but most of them I didn't really understand. I gave this 1.5 stars.

I said it before and I'm saying it again - poetry is a complex genre to review. But I saw this and it looked interesting - a collection of poems with horror undertone? Yes, please. However, upon receiving an ARC, I realized it wasn't for me - at all. Poetry is very subjective in it's nature but it rarely ever happens to me that I don't get it AT ALL. Reading The Hatch was like reading empty words - just random combinations of flowery phrases glued together to generate a decent sized chunk of text and label it "poetry." I do believe that each and every one of them has a distinct meaning to the author himself, but I, as a reader, got noting out of reading the collection.

A compilation of poetry that writes on the darker side of humanity. Beautifully written and compiled. Very enjoyable to read.

This was an interesting set of poems. A story in each poem. Did not seem like a set of poetry at first but really nice.

This collection is an ambitious mixture of prose and poetry, and the prose definitely outshines the poetry. I found the flash fiction title piece to be stunning, but sadly most of the poetry seemed to just be lists of images the author thought might seem uncanny but fell short.

Aside from the odd prose poem not much was done with the form and I was left a little underwhelmed, I don’t really think this collection felt like poetry to me, partly because poetic technique was lacking though that’s just my personal preference.

I don’t really think marketing this collection as horror poetry helped, it didn’t really deliver on the horror front aside from in the few scattered prose poems and flash fictions

I got this book free from netgalley for an honest review

This book of poetry/Prose/Flash Fiction is way before it's time, to fully appreciate this work you need to be living in a dystopian future where the survivors are few, buildings are in ruin and people are a little bit mad. If you live in that future then great, start reading this book, if that future hasn't arrived for you yet then still read this book to get you ready.

I am a fan of Rusticles by Rebecca Gransden and this book's meandering randomness fits in perfectly. One of my favourites in this collection is a poem containing multiple parts, it is about a poet looking through a hole and each time seeing something odd. Each story in Rusticles is a bit like that.

There is the odd bit of humour that will give you a chuckle:

"Here comes the president,
so close to the screen you spy the elastic of his wig"

The book is not afraid to go a bit dark now and then either, there are some lines that are so random they are almost beautiful in their description:

"In a casino bathroom in Malta
I vomited two red dice
into a woman's hand."

The highlight for me though was the following wonderful bit of prose:

"A Woman in the Philippines receives news of the death of American entertainer Michael Jackson moments before she is to see a film. In the dimness of the theatre she unleashes sobs into her hands throughout the romantic comedy. Upon exiting, she notices several other people with reddened eyes."

This is the first thing I have read by Joe Fletcher and it certainly isn't going to be the last.

I think part of the reason I didn't love this book was because I went in expecting something and got something entirely different. I am not generally a poetry person but I have been delving into this genre a little. I think the way the whole book is written makes it very hard to give a proper feedback. There's something lacking and I am not sure I am the right person to point that out.

I was expecting horror and I did get it but at the end of the day, it did not leave me satisfied with my read. It just left me feeling as if something was left unfinished. It's a really good concept and I liked parts of it but the rest....I can't say much about them.

If I had to rate it and I guess, I do have to rate it. I will give it 2.5 to 3 stars. I feel bad doing this but I just can't give it more.

DNF @ 24% therefore, I won't be giving this any star rating on Goodreads.

I like poetry, and I like horror. This wasn't at all what I was expecting, it seemed like random nonsensical ramblings by someone who's swallowed a dictionary.

I'm not sure how important a characters breath stench is when it comes to creative writing, but Joe Fletcher has a thing about it. Yuk.

I didn't understand what I was reading, I tried very hard to connect with what the author was trying to portray, but I simply didn't get it.