This is a horror novella, so it was a super quick read. The topic was actually quite unnerving because white supremacy and religious cults are alive and well in this country, sadly. Great religious and body horror throughout though! Worms give me creeps now.

Two brothers, separated by a tumultuous history and stark differences in belief, are reunited in an unexpected way. What unfolds is a story about blind faith, bias, and the unsettling pull of cult-like behavior - whether human or not. It asks us to consider: can we ever see beyond our own perceptions? Is there space for true variance in a world so shaped by conviction?

This was a quick read, yet it carried an urgency that made me need to know how it would end. Would the brothers find their way back to one another, or would this be a grim tale with no redemption?

Threaded throughout the story are political and religious undertones that push us to examine our own place, are we standing in earnest conviction, or in quiet naivety? It’s the kind of tale that lingers, unsettling in the questions it leaves behind.

A special thank you to Madness Heart Press and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy; All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Squirming All the Way Up undercuts the current political and cultural climates in the United States, highlighting the hold that White Christian Nationalism has on our country in this moment. Without giving too much story away, Powell manifests biblical imagery and symbolism as metaphors for the pervasive evil that not only seems to be sweeping the nation but may have very well become the norm.

On the surface we have a tale of body horror, but ultimately, it’s a story of love and family, compassion and acceptance. Squirming All the Way Up may very well be one of the best horror stories I’ve read this year.

A very special thanks to NetGalley and Madness Heart Press for the advanced copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Madness Heart Press for an eARC copy of Squirming All the Way Up by Joey Powell.

A creepy novella that echoes the supernatural horror of Lovecraftian stories. I would say there are mentions of homophobia, transphobia, racial power, converstion and deadnaming, so I do advise readers to know this prior to reading. Joey Powell does a wonderful job weaving these issues in a way that makes sense with the story and in a way to illustrate the beliefs of some of the characters of the story.

While I enjoyed the story of the two brothers and the redemption of their relationship, it still felt like there was a lot missing in the narrative that could have been explored a lot more. I honestly think that the novella could have been expanded into a full novel, more world building, more understanding of the cult and the "worms." It could have been expanded a lot more to feel more well rounded and more polished.

But, overall it was enjoyable and I would recommend it to those who want a quick, scary read.

This is a book steeped in real-world horrors, plus a heaping dose of creepy, crawly body horror that wiggles its way under your skin.

After thinking about this for a couple of days, I still can't decide whether I liked this book or not. It is quite well written and has a thought-provoking theme, but I also didn't like any of the characters for a variety of reasons. The statement the story made also felt a bit heavy-handed at times, though maybe that isn't unwarranted as people have very strong opinions in regard to personal ideologies and religious zeal.

Overall, I would recommend this to anyone looking for an uncomfortable, squirmy horror novel with a very pertinent message. 3.75⭐️

Thanks to Madness Heart Press for providing this book for review consideration via Netgalley.

If you’re looking for a new horror novella that blends cult dread with a supernatural twist, Squirming All the Way Up by Joey Powell might be your next creepy read. I received a digital ARC from NetGalley courtesy of Madness Heart Press, and at around 150 pages, it’s a fast but unsettling dive into the darker corners of human belief.

The story centers around two brothers whose lives have taken drastically different paths. One has joined an ultra-conservative religious cult, The Fellowship of the First Divine, and believes it “saved” him. The other, estranged after coming out as gay and enduring his brother’s betrayal, has gone in the opposite direction, rejecting the faith that harmed him. When a strange mystery begins to unfold within the church, the two find themselves reluctantly working together.

While the early horror in this novella feels disturbingly realistic, touching on the emotional damage of bigotry, conversion therapy, and cult manipulation, the narrative takes a wild turn. Without spoiling too much, the cult has connections to Norse mythology and a hidden supernatural element that ratchets up the tension. This is where the book shifts from unsettling realism to full-on horror with monstrous reveals and moments of visceral body horror.

This isn’t a “jump-scare” kind of horror. Instead, it builds its fear through real-world terrors like homophobia, transphobia, and the oppressive control of a cult. That said, there are some grotesque images and bloody moments, so it’s not for the squeamish. If you find topics like religious trauma or identity-based discrimination triggering, this might not be the right read for you.

For me, the blend of believable cult dynamics with an unexpected horror twist kept the pages turning. It’s a fresh take compared to the haunted houses or slashers I usually gravitate toward, and while it’s not going to be everyone’s taste, I found it both tense and thought-provoking. If you enjoy compact horror stories that mix real-world fears with strange, monstrous elements, and you’re looking for something you can finish in a sitting or two, Squirming All the Way Up is worth your time.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for granting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love a good cult horror, I love a good LGBT horror, and this one was pretty good. It does fall prey just a bit to a personal pet peeve I find in certain religious horror books, where certain character behaviors feel odd and out of touch because what is being portrayed is at war with how we're supposed to (currently or eventually) see certain characters.

For example, right from the start, one of our main characters, who has been raised in a bigoted church and is currently a member of a white nationalist Christofacist cult, uses a trans girl's correct pronouns and has to force himself to misgender her, even though he knew her pre-transition. Being raised in a comparatively more progressive Christian environment myself, I can say with confidence that none of these people need to make a solid effort to be bigoted, and certainly would not naturally respect a trans person's identity.

For another example, we get a tongue-in-cheek, critical sort of remark about this cult being white nationalist, and it's like... so you don't believe it? You don't believe these things, even though it's all you've ever known? It is very difficult in today's climate to read things like this where the people participating in these violent subgroups are "good people led astray". Perhaps in another timeline, this type of story would be heartwarming, but it left me a little colder than intended. Still, it was a good book, and I do recommend it!

2 stars

Short horror about a couple in a religious cult and the husband’s brother, a gay investigator, who comes to visit them to find out more.

As much as I love a good cult story this was a bit gross and I really didn’t care about any of the characters all that much. This one just didn’t speak to me.

3.5 rounded up, for two points that we'll get to in a minute. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

This did exactly what it needed to do. You get the sibling relationship, you get the worms, and you get the creeping dread that comes with thinking about Christian nationalism's dream state for the world. I liked both brothers, and I think I enjoyed the growing dread and release of their conversations as Joe or Darla would say something horrific the most out of anything in the novella. It felt frightening in a very real way, as I've had conversations with someone where I'm just waiting for them to say something like that. The novella is not groundbreaking or subtle thematically, but it's doing the "worms as prejudice" thing. It's not going to be particularly subtle. The pacing was good and the body horror was appropriately gnarly. I was well-pleased.

My two downsides: the ending was a little abrupt and could have used a little more resolution, and the worms should not have been black in color. You're writing a novella about the horror of white nationalism; don't make the worms and associated goo black! Please go read chapter 42 of Moby-Dick, "The Whiteness of the Whale"! Alternatively, take a leaf out of Brainwyrms.

Overall, a fun quick read. Read if you want something in the same thematic realm as Brainwyrms but a little less viscerally disgusting.

If you’re looking for a book that slaps you with the reality of what’s going on in the world, as we speak, this is it!
Yes, this is a fictional reading, but nothing is more realistic, more accurate and current than what is described in this book!
White supremacy rooted in religion is something we are still an audience for every day!
And Joey managed to write about it within a horror story that feels like it’s crowding you under your skin!
Squirming all the way up is not a great story, but it’s also written amazingly and I couldn’t put the kindle down!
I’ve been lucky enough to receive this ARC and I will forever be grateful cause it really had me on the edge of my seat!
It follows the story of 2 brothers who have been far away from each other for too long and not just in terms of distance or time. The 2 are separated by ideals and beliefs that will impact the whole journey! But none of them are expecting what’s going to happen!
Absolutely a must read!!!

Joey Powell's novella is perfect in every way: fast-paced, creepy, tense, deeply disturbing, occasionally absolutely claustrophic, and carrying a message against discrimination and hate. The premise is deceptively simple: two brothers get involved with a religious cult brainwashing people via unconventional means. One of the brothers, a former alcoholic and now a righteous member of the "Fellowship of the First Divine" (the aforementioned cult), has been a member for some time, and in fact considers himself an integral part of this Christian White Nationalist cult; the other, a gay journalist specializing in uncovering paramilitary groups and dangerous cults, has decided to shake his brother back into reality, and so accepts his invitation to visit and spend time with him and his young (and excessively devoted) wife. Neither brother realizes what the cult is involved with; neither has the faintest idea that the cult is serving an entirely different, monstrous, purpose.

The story is very rich in its implications, and very detailed in the masterful execution of its premises. This much richness presumably means that different people will get different things from it, though the emphasis on the cult members' bigotry, their promotion of a specific human type and rejection of everything not aligning with it, be it sexually, racially or even socially diverse, is bound to bring most readers' attention to the cult's transphobic and homophobic tenets; and, of course, their practices of transition therapy and deadnaming. That's one culturally relevant theme that can't be missed. However, for me personally what stood out was the author's subtle portrayal of the gay brother's attempts to deal with the cult members rationally, and, of course, failing disastrously at it. The idea that rationality doesn't work in this case was brought to light bit by bit, as the context demanded; and the worrisome, but inevitable, moral of this failure, is that there's no other way out than violence. This progressive realization was described with great care (whether it was the author's main intention or not), convincingly and unapologetically; this moral, as I understood it, made a deep impression on me, and it's actually what drives the story's last third forward.

On a final note, I should mention that this is not a work of mere psychological horror; there is a twist towards the middle, one that's been hinted all along, introducing cosmic horror and body horror elements of a revolting nature; but I won't spoil the surprise, limiting myself to quoting the title of the book's opening section: "Fifty-Seven Minutes After Deworming"! I hope that piques everyone's interest!

A special thank you to Madness Heart Press for providing me with this advanced reader copy.

This was my first time diving into a horror novel with a science fiction twist—and what a wild, unsettling ride it was. Joey Powell masterfully blends deeply human fears with the uncanny, creating a story that lingers long after the final page.

The book tackles heavy, triggering themes including religious trauma, homophobia, transphobia, transition therapy, and instances of deadnaming. These elements aren’t included for shock value—they are intricately woven into the narrative, serving to vividly illustrate the oppressive, manipulative world of the religious cult at the heart of the story.

The horror here doesn’t just come from supernatural elements; it seeps in from the cruelty and control humans can wield over one another. The result is a story that’s as thought-provoking as it is chilling

Fresh horror that feels terrifyingly plausible. I really enjoyed this exploration of the hate that blind faith creates. While it felt like the story could afford to slow down a bit in some parts, it is still an easy, fun read that leaves an impactful message.

This book perfectly represents the hate and discrimination people experience just for being a different race / sexuality than others. The relationship between the two brothers is another great representation of how family relationships look like when people choose to shut out their own family members simply due to who that specific family member loves. The creepy worms in the story made me feel like they were actually on me. So creepy! I love everything about this book including how it ended.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley & Madness Heart Press for accepting my request for this ARC for my honest review.

This book and I did not click, I found myself pushing to finish the short little novella. I think it was well written and the author did well but that I may not have been the right audience for this book.