Of all the things this book contains, all the very many trigger warnings I want to place upon it, the one that turned my stomach the most is the fatphobia expressed in the narration. What was even the point of its long, vile description of a fat man that dripped with disgust and hate? It added nothing to the story - if you wanted us to hate the first person to encounter this minor character, that character is already a rapist so... Even the most sympathetic character in the story can't help but think about that man's body in sneering ways. 

This author came highly recommended to me and I am now questioning the judgement of those people, that is how pointless and vile I found this book to be.

Tyson is a famous horror writer struggling to stay relevant in the digital age. When his longtime girlfriend buys him a beautiful but mysterious desk for his birthday, he’s struck by a sudden urge to write. Creating a bestselling, gruesome, horror novel basically overnight under the dark influence of this new desk. Tyson starts to experience a relief to his writers block but at what cost? With violent urges, troubling dreams, and aggressive behavior, it quickly becomes clear the desk is more than just a furniture piece. 

I really enjoyed this novel’s classic horror vibes and while I usually hate books being compared to others, this one really did remind me of King’s novels in the masculine characterizations and the dark turns the book takes. I love haunted items and this desk was truly monstrous.

A few minor things that I didn’t like was the pacing and some of the more dated tropes, the usual misogyny, sexual violence and a weird fat phobia scene that felt very unnecessary.  The book starts doff strong, slowed to a crawl, sped up again, and then kinda fizzled out at the end. If this was paced a little better, it might have had a stronger impact but was still a fun ride. 

Also trigger warning for violence, rape, and domestic abuse! 

If all that sounds like things you can handle I would suggest trying Gothic, it’s a solid horror novel with a haunted object which we don’t see a lot these days! I would also highly suggest the audiobook, the narration really brought the characters to life .

Thank you to Cemetery Dance for providing me with a review copy.
4.5 stars rounded up. I really enjoyed reading this book. I even found myself thinking, "wow this is really good" while reading it. I appreciated the old-school vibe. I easily could have been reading a book published in the 80s or 90s, except this one has cellphones and laptops. I do love a good cursed object book. I did find myself thinking that it ended a bit abruptly, but the epilogue made up for that somewhat. This is my first Philip Fracassi book and it definitely won't be my last!

Had to sleep on this before I could gather my thoughts.

I feel like this had a lot of potential. A writer struggling with writer’s block receives a desk filled with malevolent forces? Him possibly being possessed by it and giving slight The Shining vibes? Sign me up. I got approved to read this in the summer of 2022 and i’ve had plenty of opportunities to complete this book. There’s a reason it’s taken me until now to finish it. This book was so slow in the beginning that I kept stopping and picking up other books. It spent too much time building up to the horror. That, plus the fact it flips back and forth between Tyson and Diana’s plot lines,  including chapters set in the 1700’s. For the book only being 408 pages, it felt like an eternity to get through. 

That being said, the horror really started to pick up halfway through. This book has wild body horror. It was mesmerizing to read it. There is a scene involving the desk and a character’s hand that I can’t stop thinking about. That, plus Tyson and Diana finally meeting really had me invested on what would happen in the end. It was a wild ride when it came to Tyson obsession with the desk and what he was willing to lose in order to write a new book. I will say the last lines of the book gave me a good chuckle and really brings the story around full circle. I did feel like there was an unfinished ending with Tyson’s daughter and another character. It seemed like it was leading up to a confrontation and then there’s no additional chapter with them at all, which was a little confusing. 

Overall, this was just okay. I really felt like it jumped between too many POVS and the pacing was just too slow for my taste. It’s shame because it has themes of occultism and body horror, which are some of my favorite horror themes! 

Content warning: along with some gruesome body horror, there is a rape scene and also mentions of rape. 

Once again, thank you to Netgalley for the digital ARC of Gothic. 

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC!

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Author Tyson Parks has hit a wall in his career. Unable to impress his publishers with his latest works, Tyson worries that he may be washed up after all. Until he's gifted The Desk. Then everything changes. So what if he's not been himself lately? It doesn't matter that he can't even remember what he's written so long as the publishers are eating it up. And they are. Tyson Parks has made his comeback. But at what cost?

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This was my first book by this author, and I was completely wowed by the end! The first handful of chapters were a little bit of a struggle for me, but once the story got going I could not put it down. Gothic was everything I was hoping it would be and more. It had strong 70s - 80s horror vibes and reminded me a lot of early [author:Stephen King|3389], particularly [book:The Shining|11588]. The whole descent into madness was wonderfully terrifying and seriously left me breathless with how dark it went. Really brings to mind the old adage "be careful what you wish for." Absolutely recommend this book to those who enjoy bleak stories that pay homage to older horror.

Make sure to check the trigger warnings for this read though!

Unexpected graphic sexual assault. Descriptions of female characters as if we're back in the 70s.