Send us a text Well, we made it to the end of this nightmare of a year. And though there has been plenty of horrific stuff along the way – war, plague, corruption … literal armed insurrection, at least the fictional horror has been fun. To commemorate a special year in horror, I’m getting the band back together. Sadie Hartmann, AKA Mother Horror, and Emily Hughes of Tor Nightfire (and various other parishes) join me to talk about the stuff they have loved from the second half** of 2021. **if you missed our coverage of Jan-June, you can find it in episode 46. We pick the books that really stood out for us, plus many more that we enjoyed. We discuss the TV and movies that have shaken and stirred us since July, and we look ahead to the bright (dead)lights of horror to come in the New Year. We also pick apart some thorny issues plaguing the genre, like the ridiculousness of rating books by stars, and my own irritation at everything being compared to Get Out. Each of the books we mention is listed below, including an episode number if it has been previously featured on Talking Scared. Don’t look at that yet though; it’ll spoil the surprise. Enjoy, and well done for getting through the year. Books picked My Heart is a Chainsaw (2021), by Stephen Graham Jones **ep 54 Revelator (2021), by Daryl Gregory When Things Get Dark: Stories Inspired by Shirley Jackson (2021), ed. by Ellen Datlow **ep 66 Cackle (2021), by Rachel Harrison When the Reckoning Comes (2021), by Latanya McQueen The Spirit Engineer (2021), by A.J West **ep 71 Come With Me (2021), by Ronald Malfi **ep 49 The Deer Kings (2021), by Wendy N. Wagner **ep 69 Chasing the Boogeyman (2021), by Richard Chizmar **ep 52 Coming soon Manhunt (Feb 2022), by Gretchen Felker-Martin Such a Pretty Smile (Jan 2022), by Krist DeMeester All the White Spaces (Jan 2022), by Ally Wilkes Other books mentioned Reprieve (2021), by James Han Mattson Lunar Park (2005), by Bret Easton Ellis A Touch of Jen (2021), by Beth Morgan Flowers for the Sea (2021) , by Zin E. Rocklyn Nightbitch (2021), by Rachel Yoder The Last House on Needless Street (2021), by Catriona Ward **ep30 Certain Dark Things (2021), by Silvia Moreno Garcia Nothing But Blackened Teeth (2021), by Cassandra Khaw **ep 61 The Death of Jane Lawrence (2021), by Caitlin Starling **ep 60 Queen of the Cicadas (2021), by V. Castro ** ep 42 The Book of Accidents (2021), by Chuck Wendig **ep 48 Rovers (2021), by Richard Lange The Turnout (2021), by Megan Abbott Comfort Me with Apples (2021), by Catherynne M. Valente ** ep 62 The Glassy Burning Floor of Hell (2021), by Brian Evenson **ep 51 Support Talking Scared on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/TalkingScaredPod Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, and TikTok Or email direct to [email protected] Download Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.