The thing that struck me about this book was the cover and I think thats the best thing about the book, as for the rest it was not really my cup of tea I am just glad that it was a short book and could fly though it in a little over six hours.

The book features a gaggle for young people who visit their grandfathers lakehouse and go on adventures in the woods, river and surrounding countryside where strange things happen to themselves involving mostly fungi and mushrooms. The main thing for me was that there was no character development due to the fact none of the young people had names. Instead their names was "The Liar", "The One with the Pretty Voice" & "The One who always Runs Away" etc etc.

It seemed for me a little disjoineted and the narration was a little all over the place as I found it confusing at times trying to place who was talking. As for the story itself its not too bad and if you enjoy short horror novellas thats feature Fungi and the like you should enjoy this. As for myself it was not my cuppa tea.

I was to thank Netgalley, Creature Publishing and Saskia Nislow for this advanced copy.

This was a disturbing fleshy Grimm style horror tale. It felt like a story that you could smell and taste and it wasn’t pleasant.

Root Rot was a creepy, horror novella that I flew through! I highly recommend if you’re interested in a quick but gory and twisty novella!

If "Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle" had more of a nightmarish fever-dream filter applied to it, it might turn out to be something like Root Rot: a gaggle of children chronicling their strange days and stranger experiences at Their Grandfather's lake house in the jumbled, nonsensical way that only children can; the ways their forays into the woods change them, whether or not they realize; the way they are defined by their relationships to and among each other, and their generational divides... and then some added arboreal and mycological horrors for good measure.

"We ached in places that no longer existed for her to join us."

Fungi and natural subduction - or seduction - have been hot lately, haven't they? What Moves the Dead, Mexican Gothic, and others have all set the stage for the mystery and opacity of Root Rot. The style was a bit difficult to decipher at first, but by about the halfway point, things locked in and the flow began to flow. For a novella/novelette, that's not so bad. That said, the things The Cousins see and experience still refuse to fit neatly into any one box or border: is the family besieged by a sentient forest, malevolent mushrooms, mischievous fae, or yet something else altogether?

"At night, when we looked out our windows, the stars shone below us like seeds."

Root Rot is an interesting piece of art and surprisingly accurately illustrative of what I commonly refer to as "dream logic," which really isn't a logic at all, but I think I wanted (and expected) to like this a bit more than I did. More than anything, I think I struggled to digest it as literature due to its style and character conventions - there are many of them in the cast and few of them have any real defining features. Perhaps Root Rot is better regarded as a strange, thought-provoking creative endeavor rather than a plot-driven novella.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Creature Publishing, and Saskia Nislow for the opportunity to share my thoughts on this ARC!

An atmospheric little horror book that follows a group of kids at their family castle (?) wandering the halls and the creeping woods outside and seeing things that may (or may not) be there. Each character has no name, but instead a little superlative like "The One Who Runs Away," or "The Liar," which I enjoyed despite having struggled a bit at the start to differentiate each character. There was a fair share of mushrooms, and there's a review that shows a picture of the devil's tooth mushroom that is somehow both fascinating and traumatizing at the same time.

The writing style captured me initially, but as it went on I could sense a bit of a pattern in the structure, making the twists feel repetitive and predictable. I wasn't necessarily scared or unsettled because the writing did not flow in a way that built tension since I could anticipate that there was going to be a little reveal or a spooky moment. I still enjoyed it regardless, and it is a pretty short and quick read, so give it a shot if the synopsis intrigues you! plus the cover is absolutely stunning. 🍄

Thank you to Creature Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC!

I can honestly say I have never read a book like this. The characters do not have names, but nicknames that describe them, which is cool but also confusing. This was an amalgamation of horror, gore, nature, death, grief, and growth(?). It did leave me slightly confused, but in the way that i will be thinking about this book for a hot minute. Thank you NetGalley for sending me an ARC!!

While this book has a fantastic cover design by Luísa Dias, the story overall was not to my liking.

This surreal, weird, creepy dream-like plot was just too “out there” for me to follow and completely comprehend. Really just too bad, as my hopes were so high going into this.
It was a very distinctive choice, and a brave one, for the author to write their story in such a way. I’ll keep my eyes out for future works to see if they are more my vibe.

Thank you anyways to NetGalley, the author, and Creature Publishing for a copy.

4/5

This book was a strange fever dream. It was so poetic but also so bizarre and creepy. It’s hard to describe the strange story this book had and yet somehow I couldn’t stop reading.

I tried my best to understand all the clues and pieces that tied together, and ultimately I still am not entirely sure of all of the meanings there. But that didn’t detract from the overall uneasy feeling that the book captured perfectly. There are certainly many layers there that can be teased apart in future rereads.

It is a very unsettling and strange read and is a great example of a well done weird fiction book!

Root Rot is an intriguing concept with moments of brilliance, but it ultimately fell a bit short for me. The premise, a dark and twisting tale rooted in nature’s creeping dangers, had so much potential. There are flashes of genuinely unsettling imagery and thought-provoking ideas throughout.

Nislow’s writing is undeniably atmospheric, and there is a rawness to her descriptions that captures the decay and unease at the heart of the story. However, the pacing was uneven, with some sections dragging while others felt rushed. I also found the characters to be underdeveloped. While their struggles were compelling, I struggled to fully connect with them.

The book had a strong beginning and an intriguing middle, but the ending left me wanting more resolution. While Root Rot did not fully live up to my expectations, I still appreciated its originality and eerie vibe. It is a decent read for fans of nature-based horror, but it did not quite stick the landing for me.

Root Rot by Saskia Nislow is a deeply disquieting read, one where menace lurks behind every sentence but never seems to fully come to fruition.


As a lover of what I call grimy horror, any book with a focus on mushrooms and rot appeals to me, but this book perhaps straddles the line of weird fiction a little too closely at times.


The book explores themes of sacrifice and the role of families, as well as whether we can trust our own senses.


It hits on several interesting notes that I think aren't fully explored as much as they could be, but was ultimately very enjoyable.


Thank you to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book.

Root Rot releases on 25th March 2025 and is published by Creature Publishing.

#rootrot #creaturepublishing #NetGalley #horror

Root Rot reads like a drugged-fueled fever dream. Essentially it is a story about an extended family's stay at their Grandfather's lake house. I say essentially because other than this fact, very little made any sense at all to me. Maybe this is the point of the story but even then I can't figure that out.
I could continue writing and direct every little event in this mind-boggling book but you're far better off trying it for yourself.
Ultimately I did enjoy my reading of this short story so will recommend giving it a read. I just can't tell you what it's about.

While I appreciated the author's experimentation in the prose, the book was hard for me to follow. I found myself struggling to finish it and unclear of what was happening. I really wanted to like it, but I think it just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Creature Publishing for the ARC.

When I read the description for Root Rot it gave me similar vibes to “What Moves the Dead” by T Kingfisher and I was really really excited for it. I love anything fungi horror based and I was thrilled for that aspect. Unfortunately I didn’t love Root Rot as much as I wanted to. The lack of naming for the characters served its purpose to make everything kind of blend together and there were many scenes that are creepy and unnerving but overall I felt really lost and confused and not in a good way. I couldn’t figure out what was going on 70% of the time, and the ending did little to resolve it for me. The book was meant to be eerie and confusing, but I was hoping the ending would give me more understanding and it didn’t.

I truly think this author is talented and her ability to write eerie and uncanny scenes is absolute. I think I just may not be smart enough for this book. I also think that this style of writing maybe isn’t for me. I gave this book 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ because the book is good, but just not for me.

Root Rot is a tiny novella with BIG weirdness, And this is coming from someone who loves weird books. Nine children, who are only known by descriptors like "The Liar" and "The One With the Pretty Voice" attend a family reunion at a lake house, where strange things are afoot. Go into this one blind- it's worth it for the complete fever dream quality of the writing. TW for body horror.

Thankyou NetGalley for this arc copy, this book is a lucid dream in a short novella & I mean this in a good way, the experiences every character has keeps you on your toes creating your own theories and thoughts on how this book is gonna end. I found it fun making up my own theories and thoughts throughout this short read.

This was a trip! To be honest, I am not sure I can describe this strange little novella but I enjoyed it! It is told from a tricky perspective, that you have to experience to understand, and follows a group of children while on a family retreat at a Lake House. Things grow, die, rot, regrow, rot again. Lots of eerie moments, some visceral descriptions that will stick with me, and a final pay off that I’m going to read again just to let it sink in. Ha, not pun intended.

Root Rot was something…
I really wish the characters had names; especially seeing that we have 9 character to keep track of? Formatting makes it a bit hard to consume. The story is interesting but didn’t keep me entertained.
Thank you to Net Galley & Creature Publishing, LLC for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sadly I didn't care for this as much as I wanted to. The writing felt a little slow and melancholy for this story. I actually enjoyed the story but the writing is what made it less enjoyable for me.

Root Rot is a surreal, fever-dream of a novella that simply cannot be easily categorized. It’s not your typical horror story, but rather something entirely its own—blending unsettling ambiguity with a strange, hypnotic charm. The plot follows a family reuniting at a remote Lake House after the passing of their Grandmother. While the adults remain largely in the background, the narrative alternates between the perspectives of the nine unnamed children, identified only by their titles: The Oldest, The Baby, The One Who Runs Away, The Crybaby, The Secret Keeper, The One with the Beautiful Voice, The Liar, and The Twins (Boy Twin and Girl Twin).

From the outset, the narrative immerses you in a dreamlike haze, where strange events in the Lake House and the surrounding woods are glimpsed, partially understood, and then inexplicably forgotten by the children. Each chapter builds upon the last, layering eerie moments as ventures into the woods leave the children altered in imperceptible ways. Just when you think you’ve grasped what’s happening, the narrative slips through your fingers, leaving you lost in its disorienting labyrinth.

The use of labels for the children is both intriguing and frustrating. At first, one would assume these titles define their personalities or roles within the story, but as events unfold, it becomes clear that they reveal more about the limits of labels than the characters themselves. This subversion adds to the story’s enigmatic quality, but it also makes it difficult to distinguish the children or track the family connections.

While the progression of the story is often confusing, this confusion feels deliberate, challenging the reader to piece together meaning from fragmented perspectives. The narrative invites multiple re-reads, as each pass promises to reveal new layers, clues, and context. It’s a book that will thrive on interpretation, rewarding those who enjoy diving into the strange and unexplained.

Root Rot is a fascinating read that will appeal to fans of surreal, thought-provoking fiction. It’s a story that lingers in your mind, challenging you to unravel its mysteries long after you’ve turned the final page. If you enjoy books that make you question what you’ve read, and maybe even your own comprehension, this is the kind of story you’ll want to revisit again and again.

Thank you Netgalley for this advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review. I look forward to exploring more of this author’s work in the future.

Gothic, weird and beautifully terrible. It’s giving ‘We Have Always Lived in the Castle’ meets mycologic body horror. I was truly anxious and utterly captivated. A fantastic debut.