Absolutely loved this book. Brilliant. Horrifying. Perfection. The plot was so twisty and crazy. Good body horror. Solid characters.

*Huge thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a digital ARC of this!*

I’m a huge fan of what Patrick and Wicked House Publishing have been doing and the books they’ve been releasing have been a ton of fun so far. I’ve had my eye on Mars ‘The Suffering,’ which came out a few years ago, but haven’t managed to get to reading it yet.

After taking a break for a bit from Netgalley, recently I’ve been jumping back on and when I saw this one, I hit request super quick. I’m a huge fan of the ‘sleep experiments’ trope of Reddit/Urban Legend/ Creepy Pasta type stories. The Russian Sleep Experiment is probably the one that’s spread the most of the years, and seeing that this one was based on a sleep experiment gone wrong, I was stoked to dive in and see what Mars conjured for us.

What I liked: Set roughly twenty years after a sleep experiment went wrong, teen girl Nala, is trying to find her space in the online webisphere of blogging. She’s created a true crime channel and sneaking a look at her mom’s case files – her mom was a detective but after a traumatic incident is now a private investigator – she gets some content. One such file sticks out – about the sleep experiments gone wrong AND it looks like the prime suspect from all those years ago, just happens to be Nala’s current high school teacher.

Naturally, she makes a video and posts it with no regard to what anyone will think and it goes mega viral. Her teacher, Josh, meanwhile has been dealing with sleep issues ever since he was the lone survivor of that prior experiment gone wrong. Now, he needs confront the literal demons he’s been keeping at bay since all those years ago.

Mars dives in with all the grace of an atomic bomb. It’s one blast after another of revelations and jagged deaths. A new sleep experiment is taking place, and it’s being lead by the daughter of the doctor who did the previous one Josh was in. Things go crazy quick here and we see just what horrors lie in the darkness when the participants close their eyes and the blackness forms into a shape.

The final quarter of the book is a full on occult-demon assault that ramped up the creepiness and the body count. It all lead to the terrifying conclusion, which was spot-on perfect.

What I didn’t like: There was a few things that kind of stuck out to me. For the depth of the story that was within, I just don’t think it was explored enough. It would’ve benefited from being another one hundred or even two hundred pages long. That would’ve given it the time to explore the occult back history, give us more depth of the first experiment and would’ve allowed the second experiment participants to not be characters I never really cared for or connected with.

As well, there’s a major, major death that happens involving a focal point of the book and the lack of any sort of real reaction just didn’t work – for me at least. I would’ve expected a surviving character to be crushed and break down and they weren’t. They just kept kind of plodding along and it didn’t feel like a natural reaction.

Why you should buy this: This slotted nicely into that Creepy Pasta world and was a ton of fun. I think for many of the voracious readers out there, this will be an unsettling, occult, one-sitting read that will keep them awake at night and question every shadow. Mars did a wonderful job of setting up the pins and knocking them down, which made for a very engrossing read.

The creepy and eerie vibes from this book grabbed my attention right away. The prologue was well done, unsettling and full of promise. The short chapters and fast pacing made it very easy to keep reading.

I would’ve liked more background on the past, the school experiment and especially the cult/ritual behind it all. The ideas were great, but I missed some explanation and depth. The ending also felt a bit rushed and I expected a little more from it.

It was a very quick and enjoyable read with a great concept. I also liked the writing style. With some more background this would be a fantastic book.

Horror that makes you afraid to close your eyes. This book sucked me right into the story and I didn't want to put it down. The gorey descriptions weren't too graphic for me and the fast pacing of the story was perfect for me. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the different POV's and how little the time jumps to past events bothered me. The whole story felt well planned and even though there are quite a few characters it's pretty easy to keep track of who is who. Really enjoyed reading this book and I think it'll stick with me for a while.

This was such a wild ride, I loved it. Such an interesting premise and told well, with intriguing characters.

This was a very solid story that I actually thoroughly enjoyed. It would have been a solid five star if it had just been a little bit longer because it did feel a little bit rushed, but not enough to be considered tedious. 4.5, for sure.

The Fovea Experiment is a super interesting premise with how little lights behind your eyelids can become something real and terrifying. It focuses predominantly on the character of Josh who took part in the experiment with his friends years before the main story and he’s the only one of them that survived. Since he has lived in a haze of alcohol and judgement from the surrounding community which only worsens when Nala - a secondary character - releases a Youtube video about the murders. Supernatural beings haunt the narrative and the characters simultaneously, lingering just behind closed eyelids.

This novel is a very very fast read and I think that’s where most of its problems lie. Whilst the story is interesting, there’s so much more than could be done. I wanted to know about the origin of the cult that summoned the first demons. I wanted to know more about Josh’s original friend group and the fallout from their deaths. I even wanted to know more about the characters that we meet in the present day experiment. Some of them are spared one or two chapters, which is fair enough when you only have a certain amount of pages, but it felt hard to feel as much sympathy as I did for characters at the end of the book where I’ve bonded with them for 75% of the book.

The final showdown felt rushed in a ‘everything works first try’ kind of way. Our protagonists have little to no real experience with the occult yet can somehow pull off a ritual that supposedly saves the world? It was too perfect. Obviously there is more after that and the twist at the with Lacey did surprise me but it felt weak in comparison to the build up that I’d had for the rest of the novel.

By all means, this is a good book. I enjoyed the writing style, the tone of voice, and the concept. I just wished there was more of it to establish the world.

I LOVED THIS!! I am new to this author and was influenced by someone's post that I saw on Instagram, so I was stoked when I was given the eARC. This was soooo good. I read it all in one sitting and ignored my life until it was finished. I was terrified and I loved that I felt like this could absolutely happen in real life. It was creepy, gross, and you just can't look away!! The vibes had my skin crawling and me unable to turn off the lights at night.

Well done.

I'm not normally one for demons/occult type horror, but the true crime YouTube channel aspect drew me in. And I'm glad it did because this was a great read!
It's got plenty of horror tropes like the small town setting, mysterious rich folks living in a remote mansion, a traumatised Final Boy, and a plucky detective and her content creator kid. The characters were all likeable yet flawed, and they felt real. We can understand their POVs but none of them are perfect - even Nala plows on with "true crime" content that damages her teacher's reputation.
The horror is really gnarly, and the fact that it's linked to something we all do - sleep - means it's even more scary. There's some really decent gore in this book so it's a nice mix of occult rituals/ideas and proper blood splatter.
Loved this one, really glad I gave it a chance!

This book was a blast. Easily one of my top reads for the year.

I always enjoy a good spooky story about some twisted medical experiment. When that experiment involves demons? Even better!

The story begins when a young Youtuber named Nala dives into a case about a doomed sleep experiment in which all the participants, except one, mysteriously died. Diving into the case reveals that things may not be over yet. Another round of experiments have been done, and this time there are no survivors.

I think my favorite thing about this story was the lore and the history of the experiments. So many demon/creature stories are played out, but this story had a fresh approach and a fresh solution to the problem.

I have to admit that while reading this, it made me really wary of closing my eyes because what if I see a face looking back at me?

Creepy and well-written, this was my first go at an MJ Mars story, but I understand now why her work is given such high praises! I can’t wait to snag a signed copy the first chance I get.

Dope read by Mars! I think this is actually my first full length novel by her and she’s definitely an author I need to check out more from. The Fovea Experiments is the story of an occultist scientist and his psychotic daughter. Dr. Ellis and his daughter (also Dr. Ellis) have tried a few times to bridge the gap between the worlds of dark and light for nefarious purposes. To do this they have been conducting experiments which involves attempting to extend sight while on the precipice of sleep. During the 2001 experiment all but one participant died within days of the supposedly non invasive study. When the sole survivor discovers another round has happened, he is forced to see this one through to the end.

The Fovea Experiments is well written and the characters felt dimensional. Their relationships are flawed and human and their decision making not always ideal. Some of the scenes of emergence will stick with me as Mars expertly crafts vivid imagery. To echo a few other reviewers, my only issue with this one was I was really hoping for some more focus on that liminal space between light and darkness/conscious and subconscious. I love a well written story with demons galore, but thought this would have a bit more of the sci fi aspect when it came to the experiments. Instead they’re more of a delivery system and I never fully grasped the hows and whys.

I will definitely be checking out more work from Mars moving forward. This was a great read throughout, I just thought there’d be more emphasis on the experiments. I’d definitely recommend this one if you appreciate occult horror. Well written with some very evocative events.

I went into this thinking it'd be a standard horror with subpar writing (as alot of them tend to have prose that doesn't really work for me) but this was actually really good! not only was it well written and easy to binge, but the story was unique and compelling. I was hooked from the start and ended up reading it all in the same day lol

The first 50% was spent building up some of the characters and setting up for the remainder of the story. I enjoyed that but others might not like how the vast majority of the actual horror doesn't come until the second half.

There are quite alot of alternating povs throughout the story, but we always came back to one of the main characters. It was fun reading a chapter from a side characters pov every now and then, it kept things fresh and didn't happen so often that it felt distracting or annoying. Towards the start it was slightly confusing trying to keep track of everyone, but I figured it out pretty quickly so it didn't become a problem.

The end part felt a bit rushed and I really would've liked this to have been a bit longer, but I get it probably wouldn't have been as effective if it was drawn out.

Solid book which I'd definitely recommend if you enjoy horror. Bonus points for the cover as it scared my friend so much she wouldn't even look at it fully lol

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ // The Fovea Experiments by MJ Mars

I read this in one sitting and I don’t think I blinked once. Partly from fear, partly because I was too scared to close my eyes 👁️😵‍💫

The Fovea Experiments is easily one of the most terrifying books I’ve read this year. The horror here doesn’t just creep up on you. It grabs you by the face and drags you screaming into the dark. What makes it truly unsettling is how grounded it feels. You can imagine this happening to you, which makes every shadow feel a little more threatening after you finish.

The character work is stellar, and the ending is absolutely brutal. There’s no fairy tale. No comfort. Just visceral, unrelenting dread.

If I had one wish, it would be for a deeper look into the ritual itself. We know it involves intense focus and some occult mechanics, but it stays vague until the end. Similarly, the origins of the entities involved could have been explored earlier. But honestly, that didn’t take away from the overall experience. It just left me wanting more (and maybe some holy water).

🩸 Huge thanks to Wicked House Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Do you fall asleep a little too easily? Want to have a harder time closing your eyes? Join The Fovea Experiments! This unconventional sleep study might be a touch deadly, but you *will* make $300.

This book has everything I love about the horror genre: unease, unpredictability, jump scares, gore. You will think twice before closing your eyes at night and find yourself questioning reality and consciousness. This is a fast-paced, exciting reading experience; I finished it in one day because I did not want to put it down. There is no opportunity for boredom in this book - it has the perfect sweet spot of character development without being bogged down with repetition or copious superfluous back stories.

One thing though, and without giving anything away (I will speak in code), I don't think I fully grokked how the "issue" was transmitted… I thought I understood, but then it felt inconsistent with a couple of the characters. Someone tell me. I was a little bit excited while reading, so it may be me.

Readers who enjoy the modern classic horror era of 1960s-1990s horror novels will absolutely adore this one. If you have just finished reading a slow-moving, heavy tome, this is also a great fast-paced pairing to rev up your adrenaline. I am so excited to read more by this author!

Thank you to NetGalley, MJ Mars, and Wicked House Publishing for sending me an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Just as Josh thought his past was in hindsight, a student and child of an ex romance , Nala, has uploaded a video about the Fovea Sleep Experiments he was involved with back in 2001. Faced with scrutiny from the public again and with his job on the line, Josh asks Nala and her mom Lacey for help. But 4 more bodies just turned up exactly how they did in 2001. Can they clear his name and find out what is really going?

I really liked this book. It was fast paced, the chapters were perfect going back n forth between characters but making it all connect smoothly. The author did a great job of tying in modern day content creators and how sometimes what they report on can have dire consequences. The characters were likable besides 2. I'm sorry to say it was one characters death I was just overjoyed about. The short background stories on the characters really helped the story along and put things into perspective on why they signed up in the first place. The ending wasn't what I expected. I guess I wanted a more satisfying calm ending but it did tie everything up nicely though. I could see this being a short horror film.

This was a fun fast paced little horror.

I would have liked more plot and build up. This premise isn’t new as I believe there’s a movie similar but I enjoyed the influencer portion and wish there had been more focus on that.

I would try more from this author.

The Fovea Experiments was fast, creepy, and full of tension. I liked the mix of horror and conspiracy, and the characters had surprising depth. But the plot got a bit chaotic, and some twists felt predictable. Still, it was a fun, intense read—solid 3 stars.

Some horror books might keep you up at night but this one might make you fear going to sleep ever again.

A demonic occult ritual disguised as a sleep experiment took the lives of several friends in 2001. Josh was the only person to live but not without consequences. Now that horrific experiment rears its head again and as people start dying, Josh and his ex girlfriend Lacy (a former police detective and now a private investigator) must get to the bottom of it before demonic forces turn earth into a hellscape.

This is a fantastic bloody novel with absolutely terrifying scenes that'll make your blood curdle. A lot of viscerally gore filled deaths abound as this book moves along at breakneck speed, upping the stakes and unceremoniously killing off characters left and right!

And with a gut punch of a dark ending you'll be lucky to close your eyes without fear. I highly recommend it.

The Fovea Experiments is an absolute mind-bender—visceral, claustrophobic, and unsettling in a way that crawls under your skin and refuses to leave. M.J. Mars has crafted a horror story that doesn’t just play with fear—it dissects it, studies it, and then throws it back in your face with a warped smile.

From the start, I knew I was in strange territory. This isn’t a traditional haunted house or monster-in-the-woods kind of horror. It’s clinical, psychological, and disturbingly intimate. The tension builds slowly, dread seeping into every sterile corner until it’s unbearable. And when things do explode? It's grotesque and glorious.

There’s a cold precision to the writing that perfectly mirrors the story’s medical-experiment-gone-wrong vibe. But it’s not just gore or body horror for shock value—Mars explores perception, control, and the terrifying fragility of the human mind. I kept asking myself: what would I see if my fears were made visible?

If you love horror that leans cerebral and twisted, with echoes of The Silent Hill series or Cronenberg’s Body Horror 101, The Fovea Experiments is a must-read. Bleak, bold, and brilliantly disturbing—I couldn’t look away, even when I wanted to.

M.J.Mars is ruthless with her characters and I loved it.

From the first pages the pace of the book was excellent and I absolutely devoured the whole book, I'd stop reading but then find myself drawn back into it to read just one more chapter.

The horror and gore level seemed to build through the book and the ending fit the tone well.