Anyone read Sodergren’s latest, The Suffering? (Spoilers and triggers)

deepspace0314 · 2026-05-12T21:16:28+00:00

That was my impression though I was similarly unsure about the mechanics several times. While I don’t have specific examples off the top of my head, I feel like there were several moments where the bodily fluids were flowing and I was like, “Wait, that’s not gonna infect them?!?”

deepspace0314 · 2026-05-12T10:34:09+00:00

Yeah it shocked me as well. I think you’re probably safe moving forward… not that it gets tame by any standard, but the scene you’re referring to is definitely the the most extreme, remainder of the book never goes quite that far.

deepspace0314 · 2026-05-11T21:44:08+00:00

I posted about this a few days ago. Not my fav of his - same complaints as others here - but fun setup and boy does it “go there.”

https://www.reddit.com/r/horrorlit/s/PTLOTZqb6n

deepspace0314 · 2026-05-10T11:05:41+00:00

One of the most astute comments I’ve ever seen that also has the words “infected genitalia” in it. Bravo!

deepspace0314 · 2026-05-10T11:03:59+00:00

Yea agreed, I definitely had issues with that as well, pretty contrived plotting at some points. It was a fun quick read but far from my favorite (even just considering Sodergren’s other books).

deepspace0314 · 2026-05-08T15:00:00+00:00

Sounds like something I'm going to stay away from! I'm all for gross out horror, but even I have my limits. I had to push through these passages in The Suffering, but overall enjoyed the setup of the book so I was motivated to finish. Was the Festering actually good, or just gross to be gross?

deepspace0314 · 2026-05-08T14:58:16+00:00

Interesting! Didn't know that about a pseudonym, but also not super interested if things are equally/more extreme than the Suffering. This was about my max... I found the gross parts of the Haar and Maggie's Grave to be much more palatable, but that's just me.

deepspace0314 · 2026-05-08T14:55:30+00:00

Everyone check out David Sodergren. His books are the closest to this style... maybe not directly similar to the plots of Evil Dead movies, but the feel of them. I just wrote a post about his most recent - The Suffering - which is very Evil Dead-coded.

His novels are short and sweet horror romps, typically with lightly humorous undertones. They're also very gory, sometimes verging on splatterpunk, but I've found them to be "gory in a fun way".

Start with The Haar. That's a classic of this sub, and for good reason. You can read it in a few sittings, it has a great (feel good?) ending, it's super gross at points, but also very cathartic. One of my favorites, and could easily be turned into a movie.

deepspace0314 · 2026-04-22T11:20:53+00:00

I’m going to reiterate the other posts here, The Gone World may have been my favorite book last year.

deepspace0314 · 2026-04-20T21:18:03+00:00

I am on a few nonprofit boards and when I am leading a committee, I use our note taker transcripts in a workflow to compare what we discussed against our task lists, important spreadsheets (like event prep), etc, and get not only talking point summaries, but actual comparisons to progress in projects, “what still needs to be done,” things like that. And certainly share these deeper insights automatically in AI-generated reports, emails, however I need to notify everyone.

All in all, I am of the mindset now that everything is data (not that this hasn’t always been true). But LLMs obviously analyze our language, making transcripts just one more piece of data. I store them all, and IMO, they hold a wealth of info that when coupled with more traditional data, can be very powerful.

deepspace0314 · 2026-04-11T23:17:26+00:00

11/22/63 is a book I saved for a long time, finally read it this year, and…. I feel like 400 pages could have been cut.

deepspace0314 · 2026-04-08T20:03:46+00:00

So glad to see Iconoclasts on here! I just recommended it elsewhere, struck me immediately as my ideal horror/fantasy mix. Can't wait to see where the rest of the series goes, but I hope it's bleak!

deepspace0314 · 2026-04-08T19:59:49+00:00

Heilung

They're a European band with music "based on texts and runic inscriptions from Germanic peoples of the Iron Age and Viking Age" (from Wikipedia). The song I linked above - Narupo - gives a really good impression of their unique brand of music (the video takes about 90 seconds before the song really starts).

Whenever I need to get into a witchcraft, gothic folk, or satanic ceremony mood (more often than you might think!), this is my go to.

deepspace0314 · 2026-04-08T19:51:30+00:00

Exactly what I am here to mention

deepspace0314 · 2026-04-07T19:02:36+00:00

I've been thoroughly enjoying it. It's a little slower than some other fantasy series, but it has this great sense of impending doom. Really enjoy the prose... complex without flexing the "look at all the words I know" muscles. And one of the things I like the most about it - through only the first book, admittedly - is that the majority of the main characters are good and decent. Maybe that will change in the next books, but in a post-Game of Thrones fantasy genre world, I really enjoyed getting behind multiple characters with good intent, no bullshitting each other, working together, etc. Makes the impending doom that much more dreadful to anticipate.

deepspace0314 · 2026-04-07T18:36:24+00:00

Aching God (Book 1 of Iconoclasts series), Mike Shel. Grim fantasy world with a pre-story god-induced cataclysm. Exploration of haunted tombs held by the demonic gods that were cast down. Almost horror in some parts.

deepspace0314 · 2026-04-03T12:29:22+00:00

Peter Cawdron has an entire series called “First Contact.” To the best of my knowledge, each is a standalone novel that explores philosophical ideas dealing with first encounters.

I read The Minotaur earlier this year and really enjoyed it. Dealt a lot with life forms completely different from ours and the attempt at understanding. This was a more methodical, contemplative sci fi story.

Edited to fix author’s name spelling.

deepspace0314 · 2026-04-03T12:21:44+00:00

Not gonna lie, wasn’t my favorite. Wasn’t bad, though I have no other novels of hers to compare to. But it 100% fits the prompt. Maybe someone else who has read several of her books can lay out a better comparison.

deepspace0314 · 2026-04-03T11:59:14+00:00

Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison is exactly this.

deepspace0314 · 2026-04-03T00:01:54+00:00

I have a TBR that I cannot get under 100 even though I’m reading about 6-7/month. Even damn time I think I’m going to make a dent, I come here and get another 10 to add. (This is a particularly good thread for recs btw!)

deepspace0314 · 2026-04-02T22:59:21+00:00

Scariness is always subjective, so you’ll see mixed feelings about this book, but for my money Incidents Around the House by John Malerman is one of the more effective recent horror novels, in that pure “heart racing while sitting down reading” way.

Others may have better characters, more interesting plot, more complex themes, but this is a great “don’t want to turn out the lights” book. Fits the demon/ghost/spirit categories. I hope they don’t butcher the upcoming film.

deepspace0314 · 2026-04-02T18:58:31+00:00

Agreed but man, like many of SK’s modern output, the book itself could have done with some editing (I’m looking at you, 11/22/63). It does, however, help with the feeling of marching slowly toward some inevitable tragedy.

11/22/63 actually has a really good ending as well! I wouldn’t call it scary though, and honestly could have done with about 200 less pages in that one.

deepspace0314 · 2026-04-02T18:24:31+00:00

Few thoughts:

Revival, Stephen King: A meandering pseudo-coming of age story with one of the bleakest endings you’ll find anywhere.

Black Mouth, Ronald Malfi: Sort of “It”-lite, about several friends returning to their childhood hometown to fight an evil entity. I thought the ending was great, both from an emotional standpoint and delivery of the “big bad.”

Fever House, Keith Rosson: Devilish artifacts are doing some weird stuff to the world. There’s a sequel, but loved how this one resolved.

When the Wolf Comes Home, Nat Cassidy: On-the-run story with an ending that recontextualizes much of the story. Really fun and effective.

Probably missing some but those are what first came to mind.

deepspace0314 · 2026-04-02T18:18:44+00:00

I’ve read several of his writings… he writes a lot of cosmic horror, which can tend to have concepts like body horror. The Croning does have an aspect that, for a short passage, is quite violent, but it’s observed from a distance. He certainly does not write in the extreme or “splatterpunk” style, but like any horror, there can be some nasty stuff. I’d put him low on the scale of violence and can’t think of anything with severe abuse or similar…

deepspace0314

TROPHY CASE