I was so keen to get my hands on this book! Two authors that I love working together? And that plot?! What could be better?

And it was indeed fun... but for some reason, I didn't find myself as gripped as I'd anticipated. I could tell who was writing which part from the tone and humour (which is fine), but things just didn't seem to flow as easily as they might. The story is gritty, with difficult scenarios and cynical protagonists, but that wasn't the problem; it was more that it seemed difficult to truly lose myself. I kept putting the book aside and finding it hard to return.

I have recommended this to some folk already because I suspect they'll enjoy - it's a brilliantly original creation after all! - but not my favourite of either writers' work, I'm very sorry to say. Maybe I'll try a reread in future to see if it suits my mood then.

Cassandra Khaw is an author I've read before so I was really looking forward to this one, and it did not disappoint. Plenty of creepy atmosphere and fantastic worldbuilding, well-written gory parts, a great plot and characters I really conntected with. Angels, exorcisms, elder gods, and a lead character who is very well defined... there's so much here to like. Recommended!

Gay and eldritch, if that doesn’t convince you to read this book, you’re better left to The Mother Who Eats.

This was blisteringly funny and face-pulling disgusting body horror drowning in vodka-laced cosmic beings. There were a lot of eyes and teeth so if that’s a no-no for you, I would recommend avoiding but if you can handle gore, then absolutely give this one a go.

The world-building blessed us with a highly entertaining satirical look at if the corporate world met monster-hunting and I loved it. If I’m honest, I was expecting a larger clash between cosmic entities but I have no doubt Tyler’s ladder-climbing will prove trouble for Sarah and Julie Crews in the follow-up.

This was a lot of fun and exactly the gritty urban fantasy horror that New York needs.

This was fantasic! To be honest, I would've read anything by Cassandra Khaw, and this absolutely did not disappoint. The best part of this story was the worldbuilding. Khaw creates a fantastical, creepy, verging on gross world that I couldn't help but enjoy, and Julie was the perfect protagonist to navigate us through it. The horror was on point, eerie and sickening and well-described. I liked the cast of characters and really leaned into the fact that no one was perfect and if not most, all were some version of an unhappy, depressed Millennial having to grapple with the supernatural and eldritch gods.

Would wholeheartedly recommend!

Book Review 📚
The Dead Take The Train by Richard Kadrey and Cassandra Khaw - DNF

Unfortunately I am unable to give a proper review on this book as I was unable to finish. Although the writing style was brilliant I just couldn't grasp the story or characters.

I really wanted to love this, but I just struggled to like any of the POV characters and, as much as I was living for the world building and magic, the fact I couldn't empathise or bond with the characters just made me struggle to get invested in the story.

The magic was wondrously weird and the horror elements were truly gory and creepy so if you're a 'story over character' style reader I would 100% give this one a go.

I was intrigued by this book, Richard Kadrey wrote one of my favourite urban fantasy series - Sandman Slim. Cassandra Khaw was an author I had never read so I was excited to see what this collaboration would create.
It is a novel perfectly timed to hit the shelves for Halloween as it has a lot more horror (tentacled, other dimensional, demonic entities) possession and squish gore than I would normally read but great for this season. I admit I may have skipped past some of the gorier moments but the characters, story and pacing kept me hooked to this page turner of a book.
Our MC is Julie Crews a 30 year old, freelance magic operative, who we first meet exorcising a demon from a bride to be at her hen do ( bachelorette in the US) - lets just say things get messy! Julie lives and works in a dark New York where Wall Street is controlled by elder gods manifesting to their acolytes via arcane rituals. Her ex Tyler works for one such Wall Street company, he hires Julie to a) avoid death b) gain a promotion and is definitely a rat weasel of a character.
Julie's life is complicated when her best friend Sarah lands on her doorstep, abused and in need of help. Desperate to help her friend Julie decides to summon an angel however what appears is not an angel but a shape shifting elder god who loves nothing more than wholesale annihilation.
If you like your urban fantasy dark, can cope with a dollop of gore and oozing then I can definitely recommend this book. I was rooting for Julie, as though she is big on drugs, alcohol and cheap food, she is a woman who defines herself who doesn't take crap from anyone.
My thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for access to the ARC, all views are my own.

The Dead Take the A train was a beautifully gory cosmic horror story set in New York City.
We follow Julie as she tries to establish herself in a very dangerous career but discovers that her actions have angered a God and there are repercussions for her acts.

The characters in this story were very angsty and had such sparky behaviour which made for an interesting read.

I do particularly love cosmic horror stories so I was excited to give this one a try. I must admit the first third of this story was difficult for me to truly feel immersed in but the following two thirds were incredible and had so much grit to it. It was a fun and gross read.

The level of body horror and profanity was intense but well received. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Pick it up if you're a fan of cosmic, and body horror.

Having read Nothing but Blackened Teeth and The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw and The Pale House Devil by Richard Kadrey I was interested and excited to read a book co-written by the duo. I personally really enjoyed this one despite it not perhaps focusing on the characters as much as I normally like. I thought it might have a sort of Dresden Files and in a way it was. I would say that its writing and prose style works well for the genre. It’s cosmic horror and gritty fantasy but the setting doesn’t allow for a slow build or to fill with a lot of character building. It’s pacy and the characters need to keep up with the action. I personally felt this style made it all the more tension filled since you get the feeling that time is running out and our characters need to get a move on before it’s too late.

I did like Julia Crews and found she was likable – probably because she is a thirty-something with a lot of burn out and I can relate (unfortunately I don’t have magic or hunt down demons and undead). While I do enjoy my characters fleshed out I do think we get enough of Julie and the other characters to either like or dislike them. I can understand why some readers might not like this or find it harder to care for the characters or follow the storyline but like I said I think it works for the plot line and pace.

It has all the things I like in my horror just perhaps presented in a different way (which is a good thing because now I have more options for the future!). We have snarky heroines, a ragtag group, cosmic horror, gritty urban fantasy and a pacy story. It’s a win for me.

Not for me, unfortunately. It had promise, and there were aspects I liked, but it didn't hit the right notes. A bit of a disappointment.

The Salt Grows Heavy is one of my favourite things I’ve read this year - poetic, dark and haunting it’s everything a horror should be.

The Dead Take the A Train doesn’t really hit any of those marks - full disclosure, I’ve never read anything from Kadrey - so I can’t comment on how much of this book is him.

What could have been an emotionally grounded gothic cosmic horror feels more like a mid-budget screenplay that focuses more on moving pieces than it does on the pieces themselves.