Author: Daniel Haeusser

Daniel Haeusser (He/Him) is an Associate Professor of Biology who teaches microbiology and biochemistry. He researches bacterial cell shape & division, and phage (bacterial viruses) that alter either in their host during infection. His constant reading spans many genres, but SF, Fantasy, Horror, mystery, and world literature remain closest to his heart. His regular book reviews can be found at Reading 1000 Lives, and he also contributes reviews to Strange Horizons, Fantasy Book Critic, Speculative Fiction in Translation, and World Literature Today. You can connect with him on Goodreads or Bluesky.

Into the Wardrobe: WAIT TILL HELEN COMES by Mary Downing Hahn

Cover of Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn, featuring a little girl looking at a slightly glowing female form, both observed from behind a bush by another child.

It’s a dark-fantasy/supernatural-horror middle grade novel that would’ve delighted young me with its spookiness and darkness, but also the strong central story and its emotional resonance.

Paperbacks from Hell #2: WHEN DARKNESS LOVES US by Elizabeth Engstrom

Cover of When Darkness Loves Us, by Elizabeth Engstrom, which comprises her novellas Beauty Is, and When Darkness Loves Us, featuring a broken-faced baby doll wearing an old-fashioned gown.

Two very different types of horror stories, the novellas are linked by female protagonists who struggle to survive the difficult situations of their lives and maintain control and choice in directing their futures.

A Book by its Cover: THE ADVENTURES OF TOM BOMBADIL by J.R.R. Tolkien

Cover of The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (2024 edition) by J.R.R. Tolkien. Features a man dozing on a hillside, with a long beard, tall hat, blue jacket, and yellow boots.

Joke column: “In recent years, several critics have argued that there would surely have been no Princess Bride or Secrets (Trials) of Mana if it weren’t for the pioneering neo-realist folk fantasy of Cather and Cummings combining as Tolkien.”

Book Review: CRYPT OF THE MOON SPIDER by Nathan Ballingrud

Cover of Crypt of the Moon Spider by Nathan Ballingrud, featuring a woman''s face with blue eyes and wild, dark hair that kind of looks like spider legs coming out from her head.

Gothic creepiness pervades the entirety of the novella, with a self-contained story whose characters and plot perfectly fit into the strengths of that format’s length.

Paperbacks from Hell #1: THE NEST by Gregory A. Douglas

Cover of The Nest, Paperbacks from Hell #1, by Gregory A. Douglas, featuring a cockroach sitting atop a mound in a dark forest, with a full moon above.

Through this series, Valancourt has been reissuing limited-edition, mass-market paperbacks of these “horror gems of the ’70s and ’80s” complete with the vintage cover art, whenever possible, and new introductions by [Grady] Hendrix or [Will] Erickson.

Book Review: FOUL DAYS by Genoveva Dimova

Cover of FOUL DAYS by Genoveva Dimova, featuring a female figure menaced by monstrous shadows at the edge of an alley, with a bright city at the top.

Dimova writes Foul Days as an amalgamation of traditional Slavic folklore, an urban fantasy style and tone, and social themes very much of the moment.