Like Cuckoo, I struggled to connect with Felker-Martin's characters and often felt halfway removed from the story. There's a lot to love here, especially with the gross-out, Barker-esque elements. This is a simple issue between reader and author.

Black Flame is grim and a cautionary tale, within the same vein as the film I Saw the TV Glow, only with a much more violent and historical core.

I really enjoyed the lucid structure of Ellen's maddening present as opposed to the concrete and clear past of Bartok. The denial of truth, both personal and not, strengthens the narrative and makes it all the more grueling to experience.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this ARC!

This book follows Ellen, a closeted lesbian, who is tasked with restoring a film many believed to be lost during the Holocaust. She quickly becomes obsessed and chaos ensues.

Gretchen Felker-Martin’s writing is aggressively engaging. She takes you by the throat and throws you so deeply into the story that it’s all you can think about. I devoured this in one day, desperately needing to know the end.

With themes of sexual repression and antisemitism, this book excels at paralleling occult horror with the horrors of reality. That being said, please check trigger warnings before you read as the material is HEAVY.

Just like Manhunt, I know I’m going to find myself coming back to this book. Anyone who has spent 5 minutes talking to me about books knows that I love Gretchen Felker-Martin. This piece is just another reason she is on my “auto-buy author” list.

Cursed Films, Cosmic Terror, and Coming Out

Black Flame is not just a horror novel, it’s a descent into madness, identity, and cinematic dread that transcends the boundary between fiction and reality. Gretchen Felker-Martin continues to cement their status as one of the most vital voices in contemporary horror, delivering a story that is deeply disturbing, richly thematic, and undeniably brilliant.

At the core is Ellen, a film restorationist assigned to a long-lost, ultra-graphic cult film. But as frames are meticulously restored, reality begins to distort. Thus blurring the line between nightmare and lived experience. The deeper Ellen digs, the more unraveling occurs, not just externally, but internally. Her journey is one of delayed identity, suppressed trauma, and the raw, unflinching horrors of self-recognition. I saw myself in her; the silence around grief, the breakdowns, the terrifying clarity of truth finally surfacing.

Felker-Martin masterfully fuses perversion, cosmic dread, and queerness into something both grotesque and gorgeously human. This book is dark. It is graphic. And it is relentless. Certain scenes deliver imagery so vivid and visceral that I genuinely avoided reading after dark. I was fully convinced the shadows might birth the Baroness herself, in all her ghastly glory.

Clocking in at just around 200 pages, Black Flame moves fast. It wastes no time unleashing its horrors, and once the blood starts spilling, it does not let up. Despite its brutality, there’s a profound emotional core here—a story about survival, identity, and confronting the monsters within and around us.

If you’re a fan of cursed media stories, cosmic horror, or queer narratives steeped in blood and revelation, this is your next read. Just know what you’re getting into: this one pulls no punches.

For those sensitive to certain content, I highly recommend checking the trigger warnings before diving in!

This book was absolutely disgusting and I absolutely loved it. The gore and horror was the perfect amount of descriptive, enough to get your blood curdling but not so much that it was superfluous. There were a couple points where I got a little lost, but not so much that I couldn't catch up and the amazing description made up for it.

This book was... something else. I loved it and hated it. It was both repulsive and sensual.

It's not a breezy read. The main character is so disconnected from herself, from her identity, her queerness, her attractions. SA trigger warnings for those who prefer to know ahead of time. The writing was captivating and I lost myself in it.

This is sounding far too fangirl-y but I'm not sure what else to say - it's not going to be for everyone. But for anyone who's struggled with queer identity, who's pushed themselves into a mold to make other people around them happy, this book captures that struggle beautifully.

A visceral, terrifying descent into madness. Nothing is scarier than living an inauthentic life, a life stuffed in a closet you don't want to be in. This is such a powerful fever dream of identity and repression that explodes into a cathartically visceral conclusion. Gretchen is a powerhouse author that I think will be one I will forever gravitate to. What a novel.

Black Flame is the third book I’ve read by Gretchen Felker-Martin, and wow—she just keeps proving why she’s one of the boldest voices in horror right now. This book is raw, brutal, and absolutely fearless, blending body horror with deeply human themes of control, identity, and survival. Every page simmers with tension and rage, making it impossible to look away, even when you want to. If you loved Manhunt or Cuckoo, this one pushes the limits even further. Dark, messy, unforgettable—Felker-Martin doesn’t just write horror; she weaponizes it.

⭐ 5/5 – For readers who want horror with teeth.

As always, Gretchen Felker-Martin creates horrific art in the form of BLACK FLAME, a story imbued with a cinephile's love and a historical connection to what it is to be queer.

Do you like:
Queer horror?
Jewish characters?
Movie history?
Ambiguous endings?

It's 1985. Ellen is 33 years old, not married, no kids, and has a long history of being not what mother wanted. From a lesbian triste with a trans woman named Freddie when she was 18 to refusing to meet the men her mother is all but shoving her way. Ellen would rather spend her time repairing old film at her job where she deals with a slew of men looking down on her. To make it worse? Her boss insists she work on a film by a former Nazi. Ellen is dropped head first into the horrific realities of WWII and fights her inner self from coming out.

I genuinely was not sure how I would feel after reading this. After reading Cuckoo earlier this year I became a fan of Felker-Martin. I enjoyed reading Queer stories that hadn't been told and the harsh realities some people don't acknowledge. It's life.

I think Black Flame will stay with me for a long time. I tend not to read history focused books because of how much it sticks with me but I am so glad I read this. Not only does Felker-Martin paint a devastatingly beautiful story, you're also grabbed and yanked into Ellen's world and daily life. You feel the repressed feelings and self hate in every thought Ellen has. You want to sympathize with her but also want to shake her and tell her to grow up and defend herself. It's relatable on a whole other level as a fellow Queer person.

The reason this doesn't get 5 stars for me is some parts felt rushed. There are two deaths in this that felt either out of nowhere or just rushed by. Maybe I'll give it another read and see if I missed anything. The ending itself felt a little rushed but was easy to keep up with.

I look forward to seeing what comes next from Gretchen Felker-Martin.

I just think this author is not for me, as this is the second of their books I've read and the second I've had absolutely no emotional connection to. I just find Felker-Martin's prose to be cold, so when these graphic, disturbing scenes are being described, I don't feel anything; it's like reading a medical lab report sometimes in these pages.

Add to that the feeling of deja vu due to the plot's closeness to Silvia Moreno Garcia's Silver Nitrate, and despite a relatively short length, Black Flame often drags. Some interesting ideas and some shocking scenes, but maybe I just didn't "get" what they were supposed to add up to.

Holy Moly...this book was an experience. It's been a few days and I am still processing it. I read it in two sittings - a train wreck I needed a break from halfway through but could hardly look away from. Like the film in the story, I felt this book might be alive to haunt me.
Felker-Martin's writing is superb. I will read anything they write. Very visceral, very raw. The descent to madness is so real.

Misogyny, homophobia, repression and oppression, sizzling film reels, historical horror and film critics and restorations abound. When you start this book, you instantly find out that it's going to be quite the ride. I want so badly to avoid spoiling this one because reading it was such an experience, and I think anyone who reads it has/ will feel the same. This takes place in a time when we were much less cool with differences and originalities, and it shows. The gore was so unique and plentiful I had to take double takes and reread paragraphs entirely, so I think that might be my favorite part of this publication. The way Felker- Martin nails the tragedy of fearing fitting in, sexuality, and coming into your own is so....different, nuanced, interesting, and recommended by me. READ THIS if you're cool with hella triggers, Quentin Tarantino levels of graphic violence, and sex scenes that get real weird, maybe real bloody too. Thanks so much to the author and Tor Publishing Group for the eARC! #torpublishinggroup #blackflame #gretchenfelkermartin #blackflamegretchenfelkermartin

This was extremely dark. I wish there had been a trigger warning with this book so if you do decide to read it definitely look up those trigger warning. Now all that being said I really enjoyed this. It was definitely dark and has some serious triggers but if you can handle those things this book is worth the read. Its dark and interesting. It gives off similar vibes to like a freak show meets haunted film. It was great honestly.

Not sure this one is for me, though the setting is really interesting and I was oddly compelled by the protagonist's middling sexual experiences. That kind of bone-deep exhaustion resonates.

A film restoration project goes horrifically and spectacularly awry when the subjects within the cursed reels find a murderous life of their own. Like with most of Gretchen Felker-Martin's work, there are going to be some people who will immediately bounce off this due to the graphic nature of the topics being explored, but this is an absolute quality work of fiction that goes to some frankly incredible places. If you are going to read this, expect gore, body horror, and various prejudices, phobias, and acts of violence throughout, though nothing that feels like it is being done for mere shock value. Every element present in this story feels very deliberate, and the stuff that is meant to scare you will definitely leave you more than a little freaked out.

A great read! Definitely something to add to your horror collection.

CW: Gore (Major); Homophobia; Transphobia; Antisemitism; Misogyny; Fat Phobia; Obsession; Bodily Fluids/Odors; Nazis; Religious Preaching; Stalking

Felker-Martin's novel was a spooky, visceral thrill ride. The cursed film, and the setting of remastering and preserving it, were engaging, but just as much is Ellen. Ellen is a complex character, competent in her duties, haunted by her mistakes and desires, and great to follow as she grows throughout the novel.

The book has major themes that bolster this book for me, particularly in relation to our contemporary environment. It is openly against censorship, supportive of preserving queer history, balancing the remembrance historical atrocities, namely the Holocaust, while also recognizing contemporary ones, namely Israel's actions in Palestine. All of these are reflected in the book's 1980s setting organically, but nevertheless bridge to current concerns.

Gretchen Felker-Martin is rapidly becoming not just one of my favorite horror writers of all time, but also potentially one of my favorite writers ever. Violent, fascinating, creepy, deeply unsettling, and yet every page is dripping with love for the genre as well as for its characters. I don't know that I would recommend this book to everybody due to its content, but I do know I'll be blabbing about this title to anybody who will listen for a long time.

First of all, can we talk about this fantastic eye-catching cover. Art by @dysphic: Deena Ramli and designed by @esthersarahk: Esther Kim. Had I not been offered a free review copy I'd still be picking it up for this cover alone. I appreciate it even more having read the book. Seriously great work all around.

How to describe this book? Hmmmm gritty and graphic, vividly penned, s3xually explorative, cinematicly macabre with a disturbingly occultish vibe but deeply meaningful on multiple levels.

Trigger Warnings are in effect for this book. If you're sensitive to violence skip it. The average reader would probably find this book way too graphic. Splatterpunk horror fans, however, would call it literary and mild. I fell somewhere in between. The gritty prose served its purpose for me and sucked me right into the head of the main character. The graphic elements only added to the emotion that the plotline evoked. Full immersion. Though parts turned my stomach, I loved it.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Prose: superb
Pacing: fast
Scary: creepy
Gore: yes
Character Development: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Atmosphere: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Powerful, arresting, nauseating — “do I want it?” Yes, I want to read books by Felker-Martin until my eyeballs dry up. Black Flame is an exciting addition to Felker-Martin’s canon, and this installment feels laser-focused. Ellen is a mess, Ellen feels real, Ellen’s repression is detestable, it’s pitiable, and some of the most rewarding scenes are Ellen’s stomach-churning yearning. She wants filth, she wants freedom, and the box she’s folded into won’t allow it.

Our author’s love of horror is the lifeline of this novella, and you can smell Clive Barker in its DNA. The further Ellen succeeds in restoring an infamous and thought-lost exploitation film, the further she unspools. Unapologetically queer, trans, transgressive, and political, Felker-Martin is once again at her best as she hurdles readers into a pus-filled, throbbing mess of repression.

On a technical note, in the chapter The Can, the prose states, “There was a homeless woman in her guest bedroom, for Christ’s sake” (loc 1143). It’s not until the chapter The Artifact that Ellen is called about a homeless woman who knows her: “Do you mean Molly? I don’t, um, I don’t know her last name” (Loc 1456). It’s after this chapter that Ellen brings Molly home. I believe this might be an editing issue, not a looping-timeline-plot-point.

Thank you for the arc! A tremendous read.