…this is the finest piece of literature to ever come out of the state of Alabama. Backwaters: 12 Murky Tales is a gloriously tumescent chimera of Southern Gothic hallmarks, obsessively-described body horror, and bizarro-absurdist humor which despite its myriad components, comes out exceptionally coherent and expertly paced.

The core elements of reality TV make great grounds for horror. Questionable motives, real-life situations, narrative arcs, as well and and the winner-take-all nature of the format, really make it an ideal backdrop to get creepy and/or murder-y. In this case, the show is one where a bunch of pretty women compete to marry a very basic Midwestern white dude, though some of contestants may have ambitions beyond making the handsome farmer-pilot from Iowa as happy as a Texas Roadhouse gift card.

‘Tender Is the Flesh goes hard and gruesome from the outset: in this novel, cows, pigs, poultry, and all other forms of animal life have all been rendered inedible by a virus which kills the humans who consume it, and hence humans simply consume each other. That’s right, Tender Is the Flesh’s premise is a world where humanity is less than three decades removed from the proliferation of mass cannibalism.’

‘What Moves the Dead is an exceptional novel that shows its strengths in the areas that both critical literary circles and the reading public value. However, its roots are in the pulp publications of yesteryear, and for better or worse, these hold firm when tested by the winds of the modern reader.’