There was something about this book that had me hooked despite the soon and gloom and overwhelming mould creeping from the pages. A cautionary tale for development and humanity.

Rounding up to 2 stars because it seems like a very early ARC (80% hasn’t been formatted properly yet which also made it much harder to read).

The idea of this plot was so intriguing, but the execution was extremely lacking. There was essentially no world building or much description at all—I just couldn’t get a grasp on this futuristic society. The characters all felt exactly the same to me, to the point where I couldn’t keep anyone straight because the narration was all the same. Additionally, it felt like the plot went on entirely too long before explaining what “the wet” really was and then when it did it just felt even more confusing and unbelievable. Unfortunately I spent the entire book confused and no longer interested, and ended up mostly skimming until I got to the end.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC

Near future Toronto, where the gig economy has become a fullfledged gig dystopia. A kind of spore is slowly creeping through the city, taking over people's bodies. We follow a cast of characters, including two corporate investigators that are trying to find out more about the spores, and a whole lot of people living in a high rise called the Marigold, where the spores are claiming more and more people.

The story jumps from characters to characters, every other chapter being a character piece about someone living in the Marigold. And it makes the storytelling slo-o-o-ow. Too slow, for me.

Amazing piece of speculative eco-horror with deep, relatable characters and witty societal commentary I really enjoyed.

A good start, but it does drag a little in pacing in the middle. How storylines are connected isn’t always clear, though each is interesting in its own way. Found myself having to push through some parts later on, opposed to in the beginning where I was immediately hooked.

Loved the array of characters and perspectives so much. And the raccoons were brilliant.

The dialogue was excellent throughout, very realistic—but one slightly annoying thing: too often during a conversation there’s a line of dialogue, a paragraph of description or thought, then another line. Sometimes that paragraph between is so long that I forget what they were talking about in the first place by the time we get to the next statement or response.

Anyway, always love a look into the lives of the ultra rich—how they live and think, how they consume and plan, how they deal mentally with the cost of their success which affects so many people. Do they really make decisions with so little care, and what might their upbringing look like to have led them to hold such merciless worldviews? This book does a good job with that glimpse into their lives that some other great stories I love do as well.

Something is rotten in the ground under a future Toronto tower block skyline. Something that is stretching out its decayed tendrils, flooding and sucking in any life that comes close, undermining and claiming buildings and ground. The behemoths towers are being built by the ultra-rich. But some things cost more than money, the cost is really counted in lives. How many more will die? For me this horror fantasy hit the road running, but slowed as many different story lines started. Then, about a third of the way in I felt myself pulled (pun intended) deep into the character’s lives and struggles. Thank you to Harper Fiction, Borough Press and NetGalley fir the ARC. The views expressed are all mine freely given.

A great example of hybrid genre novel. It's most definitely a gripping horror but Sullivan's commentary on capitalism, corruption, gentrification, and social decline throws The Marigold into the heart of literary fiction for me.
what feels like a psychological horror at the beginning - where characters with a heavy conscience see their guilt, regret, and greed reflected in the bitter city landscape - ends up in a very visceral, physically quite gross criticism of consumerism and sacrifice for the sake of "progress".

I think thematically, you could draw similarities between the Marigold and Life Ceremony but Sullivan's writing style is very different from Murata's. The plot is a little predictable so I think it would have been better if the book was shorter, so the action hit you fast and hard for a bigger impact, but I really enjoyed the creepiness and conspiracy theory vibes.

I didn't love this one. Some elements of the plot were genuinely creepy, but every time I started to get really caught up in it, the story would switch to a different set of characters. There was so much going on Between the human sacrifice and powerful corporations and evil mold, it felt like I was following three completely different books. .

A well-written book with vivid characters. This is definitely a character-driven novel told from multiple POVs.

Thanks to Net Galley for a free ARC. I was intrigued by the premise here. Something is oozing up from below and taking over parts of a city. Lots of seemingly random characters that will eventually be drawn together into one unified story. But…I kept on not coming back to this book and choosing other reads instead or just not reading altogether. I made it about 70 pages before my access to the ebook expired. And I was kind of indifferent.

I hadn’t gotten attached to any of the characters yet, although a few had promise. I especially enjoyed the characters who actually lived in the Marigold and the duo who investigated the oozy thing. So. I think in a different season this could be a fun read. I may pick it up again once it comes out. DNF for now though.

Edited to add: I just opened my app and they gave me more time to finish so maybe I’ll pick this back up after all.

Edited once more: I finished this, mostly because it was already downloaded and my internet is iffy with moving. It was weird. I wish the storylines would have intersected earlier and I feel like the ending was a letdown.

This wins for the weirdest thing I read this year though.

I normally love books where there are different storylines that weave together, but this one was harder for me to get into. I think it's because of the sci-fi esque setting/elements. I think if there had only been two major characters it would have bene easier for me to follow along with.

Everything about this book drew me in. The multiple perspectives we encounter through the text provide the perfect amount of suspense and tension, while the atmosphere of fear intensifies. Add a biting social commentary, a myriad of human flaws explored through the various characters, and an unstoppable almost-supernatural antagonist, and the end product becomes a stunning exploration of what happens when capitalism reaches its extremes. Where the text disappoints is in the character development which is present for some characters, but not at all for others. Moreover, the digressions and ramblings of the characters often get overwhelming, especially since they do not always seem relevant to the story.

What is the inevitable endpoint of the world we live in — a world of unchecked consumerism, gaping inequality, and looming environmental disaster, where everything is multiplying on borrowed time, everyone always waiting for the other shoe to drop?

The Marigold answers that question, and it’s not pretty. In this future version of Toronto, people live in crumbling luxury towers with dead bodies in their foundations, waiting for food deliveries and traveling in driverless trollies or ride share cars that are meticulously surveilled. Now that I write that down it sounds pretty much exactly like how we live now — but the book dials everything up to to a fever pitch, showing how the relentless grind of this approach to building a society leads to nothing but emptiness, suffering, and death. The human price of our collective bad behavior is embodied in a fungus growing underneath the city, ready to consume whatever vulnerable people stand in its way.

I loved the way future Toronto was described in The Marigold. It was grimy and visceral, often horrific, but felt totally realistic — like a prophetic funhouse mirror. The characters felt fully realized, and everyone, even the villains, had something about them that I could connect with and understand.

What I struggled with was the number of perspective characters and following their respective arcs. The book is told in close third person and follows several Toronto residents, from a wealthy developer to a kid from the projects to a public safety worker. The characterizations were excellent, which made me wish I could spend more time with each of them. The number of characters also messed with the rise and fall of the action for me — I had a hard time staying invested when I kept switching locations and mindsets.

This is a really exciting and original book, and I’m looking forward to reading more by this author. Thank you to NetGalley for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, I want to thank you for allowing me to read this book! It took awhile for me to start this book, just due to the holidays and daily life. Once I was able to start it, I had a hard time putting it down. Horror is one of my new favorite genres and this book just goes to show how much I love it. The plot kept me on the edge of my seat, waiting for more.

Thank you to NetGalley and ECW Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The synopsis and cover of this book were really what grabbed me but about 50 pages in I could tell this was just not for me. The different storylines grabbed my attention and the overall concept is actually really interesting and could make an awesome book, unfortunately the writing style and the slower pace didn't make me want to keep reading. DNF.

I'm interested a lot by the concept of space, particularly in horror. How do places intended to be homely and familiar come to be warped, eliciting only fear and dread in those who inhabit them? What monsters lurk beneath the veneer of fresh-painted walls and up-to-date fixtures?

The summary of this book sounded incredible, but the actual book fell a bit flat for me. Don't get me wrong, the story was a great idea, but I found myself getting bored at times. I guess I expected it to a bit more terrifying.

I received this eARC from NetGalley and the publisher in return for an honest review.

Probably not the longest sentence to ever open a novel, but it is a behemoth:

“Before everything that happened, before the towers, before the site plans, before the deeds, before the failing sports bar and two-bedroom apartment above it that often operated like another, more financially successful, unlicensed sports bar until the police shut it down after that one Polish kid that got strangled with a pair of pink stockings behind the abandoned Shoppers Drug Mart a block or two south, there were trees here.”

Wow, not until I typed it out was I able to parse it. 70 words. I would cut that sentence.

This book reminds me of Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy. Set in a near-future Toronto, it’s about a city floundering but existing amid climate disaster exhibited by extreme heat, sinkholes, flooding, and most notably black, sludgy mold, known as the Wet, slowly and steadily infecting the city. As laid out in the story, an indifferent government, delegating government services to faceless corporate entities, and corporations operating with the driving principle of greed have significant roles in the rolling disaster without concern for community or humanity.

We experience this world through several characters with their own (not always compelling) storylines. Stanley Marigold, the scion of a developer trying to make his own name. Soda, a ride hail driver and himself the son of a paranoid eccentric who once was a participant in the corporate eco-system. Two city Public Health investigators, Cathy and Jasmine, frequently called to sites where the Wet appears, but no real investigations happen beyond their documentation. There is also a 13 year old, Henrietta, and her friends, and The Gardener who plants seeds at the site of new buildings. We also meet a series of tenants, each in their own, one chapter.

The last approximate quarter of the book the storylines come together for an interesting conclusion, although the motivations of some of the characters were still lacking. The world was interesting, some of the characters less so.

The Marigold is so many things - a beautiful exploration of humans deteriorating their environment, a look at how desperation morphs our behavior, and a true horror story. I loved the blend of genres all wrapped up in this thriller. Be prepared to clear your day to finish this one in one sitting.

Quick Synopsis: A city in shambles, a society crumbling and a devastating new biological threat brewing that may finally tip the balance and send us an into despair.

Review: ⭐

There is a story in here somewhere.

The marketing team behind this book is amazing; the cover and the summary of the novel really sell it and I went in with high hopes, unfortunately this one wasn't for me.

It actually does start strong, the high concept is really interesting and you can see the foundation of where things may have gone. It starts out introducing several main characters living in a... pseudo dystopian Toronto. Infrastructure has almost crumbled and after climate induced flooding seems to catalyze an aggressive new fungus, things go from bad to worse.

One of the main concerns I have with The Marigold is that the story seems to take a back seat for about 90% of the novel. There is a lot of... pontificating and rambling that just goes on and on.

I wanted to like it and I think fans of Cronenberg might get more out of it but for me it was just a bit too abstract and dallied a bit too much in its own musings for my taste.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and ECW Press for an advanced copy of this book.

Unfortunately I had a hard time getting into the book... I decided it was best to DNT this book. I was intrigued with the synopsis of the book but once I dived in I had a hard time staying connected. I thought it was best I didn't continue reading and give my forced take on the book.