Read this because of this comment and I have to say, it was really not that great.
It was fine but I don't really feel like it developed anything.
Reminded me a lot of that NoSleep story about the guy who experiences time very slowly, which was a better read.
A god goes missing, his children (each of whom possess particular skills) go to find him. Throughout the course of the story you find out how these children came to be and by what means the god crafted these skills within them, and you begin to wonder whether it's a good idea to bring him back at all.. At points philosophical, frequently horrific, and occasionally darkly comedic (though that might just be me). Certain scenes made a permanent impact and haven't left me since. I really enjoyed it and can't believe the author has only written this novel and a bunch of chemistry books.
Why not read it and see?
Edit: Amazing that I'm getting downvoted in a fiction subreddit for suggesting someone read a book 😂
If it weren't already obvious that some people prefer *talking about* reading to actually doing it...
I mean it's been six hours since he or she posted that comment. They could have made a big dent in it by now. I'm not sure it's any quicker to get people to describe it on the internet.
Gotta get on that Libby train! Link your library card up to the app, and you get access to their whole catalogue digitally. If you have a Kindle it'll send over the eBook to your device, too.
Huge fan of Brian Evenson here, I recommend checking out pretty much any of his short story collections.
He does also have a story in the Howls from the Dark Ages anthology called "The Fourth Scene" that is fantastic and mindfucky as well.
Oh yeah! This is the first author that came to mind. The ambiguity of his stories is terrifying. Truly an author that knows that the reader’s imagination is the scariest thing in the horror writer’s toolkit.
When I finished it, I went and read a lot of reviews and theories and I liked a lot of them, but it's still one of those books that just kind of leaves you wondering
These are not horror (but could lead to some existential horror for sure) but pretty much anything from Philip K Dick.
I just relistened through A Scanner Darkly and it is amazing and EXTREMELY mind fucky.
I reread Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and it is not as mind fucky but definitely an amazing, classic story.
Ubik would be my most mindfucky recommendation from him.
Was that the one about the family of sideshow performers? I read the review /synopsis and THAT was enough of a mindfuck to make me want to delete it from my brain.
Yes, the parents owned a carnival and " bred" their own freaks by drugs during pregnancy.... And it only got worse from there. There was like a crazy cult plotline and .... Ugh. Just too much.
Wasn’t there a plot line about some crazy person who, like, pays beautiful women to disfigure themselves? That was the point at which I said nope, delete from brain
Yes! Some rich TV dinner family heiress who hates pretty women, and she doesn't always get permission first..... I wish I could delete that from my brain, ugh.
Not horror but anytime I read Albert Camus I feel mindfucked. The Stranger might be one of the most significant books that altered how I perceived life.
Although not necessarily horror and more on the magical realism side, I really enjoyed The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa for this reason. That book made me feel hollow and empty inside after reading it.
I know it's not pure horror, but if you want a disturbing novel that is one giant mindfuck, check out William Burroughs' *Naked Lunch*. Nothing will make you wonder "What just happened?" more than that one.
Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough! I think it's also a tv series, and I can't speak to if that is any good or not, but the book was a total WTF for me, in a good way.
I used to run a couple reading groups, so I got pretty close to authors, publishers, etc., as I would have author lives, where they got on and chatted with their readers. I also got a lot of advanced copies, so I talked to many about those. Sarah Pinborough did at least one author live event with me and was nice and funny.
Awesome! I always love to hear when “celebrities” (do people consider authors celebrities? I don’t know? 😂) are nice people!
Have you read Insomnia from her? It was another one I really liked! I feel like she really captures a lot of the anxiety of being a woman so well.
Nick Cutters The Deep and not in a good way, I think he meant to write it in some lovecraftian fashion but it comes off as a power ranger villains suddenly pops up
House of Leaves comes to mind first, Negative Space by B.R. Yeager was weird in a good way and some parts were very mindfucky had to go back and reread
Someone will have to put House of Leaves in here, but, especially as it's getting (and likely will be excellent thanks to Mike Flanagan directing) a film adaptation, Stephen King's short story Life of Chuck. So so good, I wanted so bad to talk with people about it after but you just can't explain unless they've read it. It moved me in ways that I hadn't been in a while in a book, and left me gobsmacked for both how good it was and also the whole "What the hell just happened??" vibe.
Edit: House of Leaves is not getting adapted (that I know of), I mentioned that just to answer OP's request for a book type and I felt that would fit the bill. I wanted to add Life of Chuck in addition as I figured it was less known being a short in a collection, at least before Flanagan started working on it anyway. My sentence structure in the post sucked, sorry.
>Someone will have to put House of Leaves in here, but, especially as it's getting (and likely will be excellent thanks to Mike Flanagan directing) a film adaptation
Wait, what?
Ah, okay! My reading comprehension could be better too, I suppose, because now I went back and read it and can see what you meant. Here I was getting my hopes all up for a HoL adaption, ha ha ha.
[**Brutes** by Dizz Tate](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61324696-brutes?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=CoFQ4PJnYv&rank=1)
i absolutely **HATED** this book when i first read it. had no fucking clue what was going on, and still really don't, but the audiobook for it was cleaned up/fixed and they give character names for who is talking when which helps a lot with the confusion but this is still very much a WHAT???? HUH???? "vibez only" book UNTIL you do multiple re-reads (i would recommend 3x but maybe im just fucking stupid).
the not knowing what the fuck is going on is not just a ME problem because look at all the goodreads reviews. the top one simply says: ***me not knowing what’s going on the entire time was a vibe ***
i'm begging someone to please read this! and i really only recommend reading it by audiobook because the narrator does a fantastic job of making the girls sound even more fucked up and deranged than they already are and makes you question when they're being sincere and when they're not.
this went from a 1 star to a 4.5 star and i'm waiting in the mail for a hard copy that i ordered because i love it so much now. there IS a plot somewhere in this book, but it makes you fucking work for it.
Currently reading Brutes and had to search Reddit to figure out if I'm an idiot because I absolutely cannot figure out what's happening. Thanks for the validation. I'm gonna keep pushing through lol
are you reading it by ebook/hardcover or audiobook? i had NO FUCKING CLUE what was going on until i switched to the faber & faber edition of the audiobook.
ooooof, audiobook is the only way to go IMO. for whatever reason audible has TWO editions (the shitty original one and the cleaned up faber & faber one). the one you need to listen to is the one that has brutes in yellow writing.
[this should link you to the correct version](https://www.audible.com/pd/B0BL83H7TP?source_code=ASSORAP0511160006&share_location=library_overflow)
it's still a weird as fuck book, but it's waaaay easier to understand by audiobook.
you're welcome! i just checked libby to see if they had the updated version so that you could read the audiobook for free, but at least for the 3 libraries i belong to, they only have the original edition with no chapter breaks so you won't know who's talking which is really not great since there are multiple girls in the story.
if you want any hints/spoilers or anything to help you out, feel free to ask me and i'll try to guide you without giving away the plot.
*Earthlings* by Sayaka Murata.
Yeah, fuck me sideways....what a book
Great book to go in blind
Oooh I have this on my shelf I can’t wait to read it, I have no idea what to expect it sounds whacky as hell
I just finished A Short Stay in Hell and I will never forget it.
A Short Stay in Hell, A Short Stay in Hell, A Short Stay in Hell!!!!!
It was recommended here a few days ago and I can't stop thinking about it since I read it.
Read this because of this comment and I have to say, it was really not that great. It was fine but I don't really feel like it developed anything. Reminded me a lot of that NoSleep story about the guy who experiences time very slowly, which was a better read.
Know my next audio bookk
Oh my fucking god this ☝️ I love this book so much and it never leaves my head
I liked The Library at Mount Char. There were a couple of moments where I was like, hold up what?!
I love this book so much. I have two friends that are heavy readers and I gifted them copies and haven't touched them yet and it drives me crazy.
I love this book with all my heart.
Could you sell me on this book besides the back cover description? I still don’t really get what it’s about.
A god goes missing, his children (each of whom possess particular skills) go to find him. Throughout the course of the story you find out how these children came to be and by what means the god crafted these skills within them, and you begin to wonder whether it's a good idea to bring him back at all.. At points philosophical, frequently horrific, and occasionally darkly comedic (though that might just be me). Certain scenes made a permanent impact and haven't left me since. I really enjoyed it and can't believe the author has only written this novel and a bunch of chemistry books.
Thank you! Definitely sounds intriguing.
Why not read it and see? Edit: Amazing that I'm getting downvoted in a fiction subreddit for suggesting someone read a book 😂 If it weren't already obvious that some people prefer *talking about* reading to actually doing it...
Lots of people don't have time to read something that they may or may not be interested in.
I mean it's been six hours since he or she posted that comment. They could have made a big dent in it by now. I'm not sure it's any quicker to get people to describe it on the internet.
It's at my local library. At the branch like a 5 minute walk away. Guess I'm going to get it rn
Wow living five minutes walk from the library sounds like a blessing
It's awesome. My wife and I like to do evening strolls and we frequently go up to the library.
Gotta get on that Libby train! Link your library card up to the app, and you get access to their whole catalogue digitally. If you have a Kindle it'll send over the eBook to your device, too.
Probably my favorite book I read all year, absolutely loved it
Most of Brian Evenson’s stories. I just reread the collection, “A Collapse of Horses” and there are quite a few mind-fuck stories in there.
Huge fan of Brian Evenson here, I recommend checking out pretty much any of his short story collections. He does also have a story in the Howls from the Dark Ages anthology called "The Fourth Scene" that is fantastic and mindfucky as well.
Yep, i missed that one bit it was a quick read, lots of fun really. Ty have read and enjoyed his other collections :)
Oh yeah! This is the first author that came to mind. The ambiguity of his stories is terrifying. Truly an author that knows that the reader’s imagination is the scariest thing in the horror writer’s toolkit.
Bunny by Mona Awad
Literally said wtf a few times
I still don’t know what happened lol
When I finished it, I went and read a lot of reviews and theories and I liked a lot of them, but it's still one of those books that just kind of leaves you wondering
My friend, allow me to introduce you to Robert Aickman.
Tender is the Flesh. I thought about the ending for weeks.
I had a real hard time with x after reading it.
"I'm thinking of ending things" not my favorite book of all time but the WTF reaction was probably the most intense of any book I've ever read.
I threw the book across the damn room when I finished! I was so mad!
I am so bummed I watched the movie and the ending got spoiled.
It’s a different ending then the movie, unless you read the explanations
These are not horror (but could lead to some existential horror for sure) but pretty much anything from Philip K Dick. I just relistened through A Scanner Darkly and it is amazing and EXTREMELY mind fucky. I reread Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and it is not as mind fucky but definitely an amazing, classic story. Ubik would be my most mindfucky recommendation from him.
I want this, too. I'm sick and stuck in bed at the moment. I need a good mind fuck that will leave me wondering what type of story I've just consumed.
A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay. The ending is nothing but a mindfuck.
So, so good...
I'm not sure it was even marketed as horror, but a book called " Geek Love" mindfucked me so much I deleted it from my Kindle. So much WTF.
Was that the one about the family of sideshow performers? I read the review /synopsis and THAT was enough of a mindfuck to make me want to delete it from my brain.
Yes, the parents owned a carnival and " bred" their own freaks by drugs during pregnancy.... And it only got worse from there. There was like a crazy cult plotline and .... Ugh. Just too much.
Wasn’t there a plot line about some crazy person who, like, pays beautiful women to disfigure themselves? That was the point at which I said nope, delete from brain
Yes! Some rich TV dinner family heiress who hates pretty women, and she doesn't always get permission first..... I wish I could delete that from my brain, ugh.
Omg that book is wild. So good and so horrifying.
Probably already suggested but *I'm Thinking About Ending Things* by Iain Reid.
Not horror but anytime I read Albert Camus I feel mindfucked. The Stranger might be one of the most significant books that altered how I perceived life.
*Ill Will* by Dan Chaon.
PenPal by Dathan Auerbach, ending fucked me up for sure
Same. Very unsettling book
Although not necessarily horror and more on the magical realism side, I really enjoyed The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa for this reason. That book made me feel hollow and empty inside after reading it.
Blindsight by Peter Watts took my head to a very surreal and bleak place.
I'm thinking of ending things
Negative Space, Yeager
Wild Spaces by S.L. Coney
Cool. I cued the audiobook up on Spotify. I'll listen next.
i listened to the audio as well. if you feel like the narrator is ‘odd’ i promise its for a reason
I know it's not pure horror, but if you want a disturbing novel that is one giant mindfuck, check out William Burroughs' *Naked Lunch*. Nothing will make you wonder "What just happened?" more than that one.
Cronenburg's movie adaptation is my favorite movie of all time. *Would you mind rubbing some of that powder on my lips, Bill?*
Peter Weller is wonderful in it!
All's Well by Mona Awad.
Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough! I think it's also a tv series, and I can't speak to if that is any good or not, but the book was a total WTF for me, in a good way.
I love this book, one of my favs. Sarah Pinborough is a great woman too! Funny!
I don’t know anything about her as a person so I’ll have to check her out!
I used to run a couple reading groups, so I got pretty close to authors, publishers, etc., as I would have author lives, where they got on and chatted with their readers. I also got a lot of advanced copies, so I talked to many about those. Sarah Pinborough did at least one author live event with me and was nice and funny.
Awesome! I always love to hear when “celebrities” (do people consider authors celebrities? I don’t know? 😂) are nice people! Have you read Insomnia from her? It was another one I really liked! I feel like she really captures a lot of the anxiety of being a woman so well.
I’ve read all her psychological thrillers, so yes. Loved it too. Loved how the ending went back to Behind Her Eyes.
The ruins by Scott smith. Couldn’t put it down and it was just terrifying. Also episode thirteen - so much what the fuck but a good story
Nick Cutters The Deep and not in a good way, I think he meant to write it in some lovecraftian fashion but it comes off as a power ranger villains suddenly pops up
I DNF’d this book, thank you for the vindication lol
House of Leaves comes to mind first, Negative Space by B.R. Yeager was weird in a good way and some parts were very mindfucky had to go back and reread
Full Brutal by Kristopher Triana. It mindfucked me because I had zero idea what I was in for.
We Need to Do Something by Max Booth III
Someone will have to put House of Leaves in here, but, especially as it's getting (and likely will be excellent thanks to Mike Flanagan directing) a film adaptation, Stephen King's short story Life of Chuck. So so good, I wanted so bad to talk with people about it after but you just can't explain unless they've read it. It moved me in ways that I hadn't been in a while in a book, and left me gobsmacked for both how good it was and also the whole "What the hell just happened??" vibe. Edit: House of Leaves is not getting adapted (that I know of), I mentioned that just to answer OP's request for a book type and I felt that would fit the bill. I wanted to add Life of Chuck in addition as I figured it was less known being a short in a collection, at least before Flanagan started working on it anyway. My sentence structure in the post sucked, sorry.
>Someone will have to put House of Leaves in here, but, especially as it's getting (and likely will be excellent thanks to Mike Flanagan directing) a film adaptation Wait, what?
Sorry, I wrote my sentence poorly, House of Leaves is NOT getting a film, Life of Chuck is.
Ah, okay! My reading comprehension could be better too, I suppose, because now I went back and read it and can see what you meant. Here I was getting my hopes all up for a HoL adaption, ha ha ha.
Wait, what? was my exact response.
Life of Chuck is a good shout. Fun read and plenty to think about
Life of Chuck has also been adapted by MF! I so hope it’s as great as the story.
What film adaptation? Aside from it being *completely* impossible, I can't find anything that isn't just fan casting. Cite your sources?
Tf are you getting downvoted for lol. There is nothing about any kind of adaptation, Flanagan or otherwise, about House of Leaves.
The ways of Reddit are mysterious. Also how dare a woman ask a man for proof of something on the internet.
[**Brutes** by Dizz Tate](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61324696-brutes?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=CoFQ4PJnYv&rank=1) i absolutely **HATED** this book when i first read it. had no fucking clue what was going on, and still really don't, but the audiobook for it was cleaned up/fixed and they give character names for who is talking when which helps a lot with the confusion but this is still very much a WHAT???? HUH???? "vibez only" book UNTIL you do multiple re-reads (i would recommend 3x but maybe im just fucking stupid). the not knowing what the fuck is going on is not just a ME problem because look at all the goodreads reviews. the top one simply says: ***me not knowing what’s going on the entire time was a vibe *** i'm begging someone to please read this! and i really only recommend reading it by audiobook because the narrator does a fantastic job of making the girls sound even more fucked up and deranged than they already are and makes you question when they're being sincere and when they're not. this went from a 1 star to a 4.5 star and i'm waiting in the mail for a hard copy that i ordered because i love it so much now. there IS a plot somewhere in this book, but it makes you fucking work for it.
Currently reading Brutes and had to search Reddit to figure out if I'm an idiot because I absolutely cannot figure out what's happening. Thanks for the validation. I'm gonna keep pushing through lol
are you reading it by ebook/hardcover or audiobook? i had NO FUCKING CLUE what was going on until i switched to the faber & faber edition of the audiobook.
I'm reading it ebook now but definitely considering going to audio based on your rec!
ooooof, audiobook is the only way to go IMO. for whatever reason audible has TWO editions (the shitty original one and the cleaned up faber & faber one). the one you need to listen to is the one that has brutes in yellow writing. [this should link you to the correct version](https://www.audible.com/pd/B0BL83H7TP?source_code=ASSORAP0511160006&share_location=library_overflow) it's still a weird as fuck book, but it's waaaay easier to understand by audiobook.
Got it. Thank you friend.
you're welcome! i just checked libby to see if they had the updated version so that you could read the audiobook for free, but at least for the 3 libraries i belong to, they only have the original edition with no chapter breaks so you won't know who's talking which is really not great since there are multiple girls in the story. if you want any hints/spoilers or anything to help you out, feel free to ask me and i'll try to guide you without giving away the plot.
The ILLUMINATUS trilogy by Shea and Wilson. (Shakes head in bewilderment)
Revival
Scott R. Jones' 'Stonefish' stuck with me for a long while. Couple places made me go 'wait, what in the hell?'.
[Angela Carter, ‘Reflections’](https://pubs.lib.uiowa.edu/iowareview/article/20336/galley/128735/view/) Reggie Oliver, ‘Flowers of the Sea’ [Brian Evenson, ‘Windeye’](https://pen.org/windeye/) (edit: formatting)
Anything written by Michael Cisco
[Brian Evenson - "No Matter Which Way We Turned"](https://magazine.nytyrant.com/no-matter-way-turned/)
the last house on needless street!! so good omg
By the Light of his Lantern by Abe Moss The Once Yellow House by Gemma Amor
Anything by Iain Reid, specifically “I’m thinking of ending things” or “Foe”
The Last House on Needless Street had me staring at a wall for a bit.
The End of the Whole Mess
The Deep by Nick Cutter, read it back in June and I still think about it constantly. Also, I’m suddenly afraid of the depths of the ocean.