Just like its predecessor Composite Creatures, Mothtown is moody, murky and mysterious. Unreliable narration, body horror and feelings of alienation abound. If it was an album, it would be one made up of field recordings and ambient sounds, its music videos all in black and white. It is, to briefly stray into the modern parlance, a vibe. But is it any more than just vibes? And, if it’s not, does that even matter?

Our narrator is David, an individual in the truest sense of the world. He has always got on with his grandfather better than anyone, and whilst it’s true that his loss seems to exacerbate David’s issues, his isolationist tendencies and general awkwardness would likely always have set him apart, driving him on his search for somewhere to call home. For what David really seeks is a sense of belonging. Mothtown is replete with weighty themes: grief, depression, loneliness and obsession are all woven through the narrative, but things never feel like they’re mired in misery. It’s more that everything is suffused with an otherworldly, eerie feeling of disconnection, as if David is at a slight remove from the rest of the world. The timelessness of much of his surroundings only adds to this; it’s not until much later on that there’s any indication of what decade Mothtown is likely to be (roughly) set in. Many scenes could have taken place any time over roughly a fifty year period in history, David’s child’s eye view emphasising the things which matter to him personally but not noticing the wider world around him.

The general air of mysteriousness permeates everything about Mothtown. Glimpses of what’s happening behind the scenes are there, but don’t expect to have your theories confirmed. There are hints as to what could be behind the disappearances and the general air of malaise that the nation seems to be in the grip of, but picking at threads and musing on them is perhaps sometimes more entertaining than having all the answers. Adding to the enigmatic tone are gorgeous illustrations from the award-winning Chris Riddell, which capture the otherworldly tone beautifully.

If you are the sort of reader who needs all the answers, with everything wrapped up neatly by the end of the story, this might not be the book for you. But for those of us who don’t mind a little ambiguity, this is a hugely enjoyable and haunting read, proof that sometimes the journey really does matter more than the destination.

I found this book really confusing and strange. I read 70% of it and eventually gave up. The constant reference to insects, the switching back and forth and lengthy descriptions were all too much. From what I gather, it was about a dystopian world where people disappeared to another world but nobody spoke about it. Some people are actually beetles?

Bizarre, Haunting and truly unique.

Caroline has written a horror book with such beautiful prose that it instantly sucks you in. Combined with Chris Riddell's as always incredible illustrations, this is a haunting new horror book unlike anything I've read before.

I will admit, the beginning and past flashbacks felt a little long and drawn out, but I feel like it set the mood necessary for the end to make sense. Between his fragile mind and the viewpoint of a child it was a bit confusing and twisted. Which added to the uneasy atmosphere but wasn't as engaging to read.

I can't decide if I'm happy or sad it was all a mental health issue and not actual parallel universe's but I did like that until the last 20 or 30 pages I really wasn't sure.

Also, I might be slow but the imagery of the cocoon to the butterfly meaning opening up and discussing mental illness dawned on me only towards the end. Not sure if that was intentional with the writing or I was just slow to pick it up but it being the final imagery was powerful.

I do wish there was more info about "The modern problem" but I realize that because it is only from an unstable mind, we wouldn't learn more than he did. Maybe a chapter or 2 from a "news source" or something to explain more but I understand why it wasn't in there.

My only real problem with the story was the overuse of imagery to describe everything. Every little thing was described using some sort of imagery, which can be nice but it felt a little too much and took me out of the story.

Overall it is a slow burn but well worth the read

I really tried to like this book, but after still dragging on and on at 30%, I knew i wouldn't. I didn't find any Midsommar like I was promised in the synopsis.

Mothtown is a bizarre, dark, winding reading experience. Caroline Hardaker is a skilled author and her commitment to her craft is clear from every angle, but particularly from a structural one. However, while I enjoyed the ride very much, it didn't quite stick the landing for me. Still, I'm rounding up in honour of the whackiness of it all - it's quite the feat to have your reader not understand wtf is going on for more than half the reading time, and still be compelled to read on - and for those illustrations!

'𝐼 𝒹𝒾𝒹𝓃'𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓁𝑜𝑜𝓀, 𝒷𝑒𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝑒𝒾𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒷𝑒𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓇𝒾𝓅𝓅𝑒𝒹 𝒶𝓅𝒶𝓇𝓉 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓇𝑒𝓈𝒽𝒶𝓅𝑒𝒹, 𝑜𝓇 𝒾𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝒾𝓃 𝓂𝓎 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝒹. 𝐼 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹𝓃'𝓉 𝓉𝑒𝓁𝓁 𝓌𝒽𝒾𝒸𝒽 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒷𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓈𝑒.'

𝑴𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒏 - 𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒓

Many thanks to @netgalley and @caroluna_writes_stuff for providing me with an ARC of this book.

This is definitely something that I’m not used to reading, but I really enjoyed it. I will admit that I think I’m too dumb to understand the book thoroughly, especially the ending. It’s hard to pick a genre for this book because while I didn’t feel fear while reading it, it kind of matches the horror genre, but then it is also a fantasy and could also be science fiction...

What I enjoyed the most about this book was the scenery, the aesthetic and the mystery. We get involved in these mysterious disappearing groups of people so quickly, and we want to find out what is out there as much as David. I really liked how the book goes back and forth with the before and after, it was a dynamic that worked really well with the story.

I loved David. We could tell right away that he was different from the other members of his family. It was also easy to empathise with him because of the way the story was told, it gave the impression that other than his grandpa no one else cared about him.

In terms of plot, I feel like the ending was a plot twist. For me, it felt like it, but I could be wrong because, as I said, everything is so bizarre that I don’t think my brain processed it all. It was not the ending I was expecting, and because of that, I liked it.

For reference, I feel like this book has ‘Dark’ the Netflix show vibes. So, if you liked that, give this a try!

PS: the illustrations are EVERYTHING!!!

Wow...this was an absolutely beautiful, brilliant novel, and it also broke me. This is not a modern day Metamorphosis. This is a book about mental illness, isolation, feeling like you don't belong in this world, families that don't connect, and so much more.
I love unreliable narrators and it took me awhile to understand what genre I was reading , sci-fi, horror, surrealism? Of course, in David's mind, it's all very much real.
Also the added artwork was absolutely phenomenal. I really loved the last piece and saved it on my ereader.

Mothtown i an exquisite read that is impossible to categorise into any specific genre. David's path in life has been marked by the disappearance of his beloved grandfather when David was a child. In the background, there are increasing disappearances related to the "Modern problem" Determined to find his grandfather, his relationship with his parents and sister becomes increasingly distant and strained as he is convinced that they are keeping the truth from him as he increasingly disappears into himself. Mothtown switches between the past which focuses on the aftermath of his grandfather's disappearance and the present as David sets out to follow his grandfather.
Elements of the story are eerie and remind me of a much darker version of "Land of the Dead" in his Dark Materials and the selection of illustrations is striking.
Nothing is as it seems in Mothtown so I do not want to give any spoilers away. Would highly recommend reading this book.

Sorry, nope, I’m out! This one was too strange and confusing and parts of it seriously dragged.

Thank you to the author & NetGalley & Angry Robot for a copy!

This story had a really interesting premise. I'm not sure the writing style was for me. There is a lot of figurative language packed in, and it had a little too many similes, metaphors, etc. per page for my personal reading taste. However, I'm sure it may work for others! I ended up DNFing at around 20% and lost interest at a point.

This is a beautiful, genre bending emotional landscape of a book. It’s hard to say definitively what I loved most…was it the poetic-type prose? The visually stunning backdrop to every scene? The emotional impact delivered with the excellent aid of before and after? I don’t want to spoil too much but it left me in emotional shambles while being in awe of the authors literary genius.

The writing is absolutely beautiful - delicate and visceral at the same time. It's confusing and unbalancing, and I felt at times that I didn't know what was happening - which is, ultimately I think, part of the point. I longed for more answers and explanations of certain aspects but, that said, it is a work of WILD imagination, deeply unsettling, wonderfully written and will definitely stay with me for a very long time.

this is undeniably a beautifully written book, with dark notes throughout, however I am sad to say that it did not work for me at all. I could not connect with any of the character and that for me is fatal. I also did not case as much as i would've liked for the plot. Bonus points for the gorgeous cover.

They had me with the 'Sorrowland' comp--I compulsively had to request this ARC. But I should've known better with the "blending horror with literary fiction" caveat at the end....if there's the need to advertise it, it's probably going to read as a bit pretentious to me, and I have so little patience with traditional literary fiction these days. I'm excited others seem to be enjoying it so much, and the premise is indeed intriguing, but the execution absolutely was not for me.

Caroline Hardaker creates a haunting story with beautiful prose in Mothtown. Defying genres, it is a slow read, but rewards readers for their patience as it takes them on a wondrous journey.

Mothtown is such a unique blend of horror and fantasy. There were dual timelines and we follow David through his life. It was very cleverly written. The eerie atmosphere of the book was perfect for this time of year. Also, the illustrations added a nice touch to the story. I highly recommend it. Thank you for the early arc.

This was a slightly unusual one for me but I really really enjoyed it. The writing is very strong and I felt myself quite easily and immediately immersed in their universe – which isn't the nicest one, quite frankly.

Mothtown was so unnerving!

I read an eARC of this book so thank you to the author, the publisher and Net Galley for this.

Mothtown takes place over two timelines, the present where we meet someone on the run in a survival situation, in the past where we meet David, a young boy who only feels seen and understood by his grandfather.

I wasn’t keen on the present sections at first, I was enjoying the ‘before’ sections but it took a little while to see how the two linked. Once that happens they made much more sense and I understood them and why they needed to be part of the narrative.

I’m still thinking about this book a day after finishing it. What was real? What information can I trust? It was a very clever and unsettling book where information towards the end completely changed how I had viewed the narrative up to that point.

The missing people and the blue pilgrims really did create a sense of a society where something is truly wrong. David’s parents harbour so many secrets from him and there’s so much distrust both between characters and as the reader.

A thought-provoking, creepy and well-crafted read.

Horror books have a special place in my heart. Prior to working at the library, our collection of horror books was slim to none. We had the typical Stephen King/Joe Hill books but not much other selection. Since working here we have buffed up our horror collection to include diversity, different levels of horror, and book length.

Mothtown will have a special place in our library, I can't wait to see if we are able to order it.