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A review by aoki_reads
We Met In The Forums by Rob Ulitski, Rob Ulitski
5.0
First, I'd like to thank Rob Ulitski for providing an ARC of We Met in the Forums in exchange for an honest review. This book was fantastic.
"Just stay away from the water, okay?"
In the coastal, glum city of Portsmouth—something deadly is in the water. We Met in the Forums starts out as a simple story of online friendship between two unruly young men and quickly builds into an intense story of despair, death, and complete body horror. There's a touch of 'love story' in this one, too.
Josh and Leo meet in the forums, bonding over their shared love of the unconventional and macabre. While both of these men are quite nihilistic and bored with life and other people— they take to each other in a way that is indescribable, but quite admirable. They become close enough, eventually meeting in person, with Leo relocating to our depressing setting of Portsmouth.
And then shit starts to get really weird.
People begin to act strangely after getting into the water, and in really gruesome ways. Starting out with what looks like illness— sores, abscesses, and fuzz cover the bodies of the newly diseased. These people begin to spew similar nonsense, self-mutilate, begin mutilating and dismembering one another, committing suicide, and everything in between. Just what exactly is going on in Portsmouth? It's a mystery that Josh and Leo bond over even more during their investigation. There are graphic scenes of these visceral moments, and you begin to wonder if the story follows that of a growing cult. Josh and Leo will find out— maybe.
And while you're reading a fairly graphic story— Ulitski does a fantastic job at creating a narrative that involves a strained LGBTQ+ relationship, the yearning of one friend for the other in an exhausted friendship, perseverance and protection of the ones you love, and weaves in some internet forums as part of the storytelling to chug the reader along.
I enjoyed every bit of this book. If you liked Eric LaRocca's Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, you will love Rob Ulitski's We Met in the Forums. You get the elements of the internet and the story of meeting odd strangers online, while simultaneously receiving a well-written story with components of science fiction, a ton of horror, and plenty of emotion.
I'm eager to read more from Ulitski, as he absolutely has a way of drawing in his readers with well thought out characters and strong plots. This book's official release date is April 30th, with an early drop on Godless April 23rd. Be on the lookout and in the meantime—
stay the hell out of the water.
"Just stay away from the water, okay?"
In the coastal, glum city of Portsmouth—something deadly is in the water. We Met in the Forums starts out as a simple story of online friendship between two unruly young men and quickly builds into an intense story of despair, death, and complete body horror. There's a touch of 'love story' in this one, too.
Josh and Leo meet in the forums, bonding over their shared love of the unconventional and macabre. While both of these men are quite nihilistic and bored with life and other people— they take to each other in a way that is indescribable, but quite admirable. They become close enough, eventually meeting in person, with Leo relocating to our depressing setting of Portsmouth.
And then shit starts to get really weird.
People begin to act strangely after getting into the water, and in really gruesome ways. Starting out with what looks like illness— sores, abscesses, and fuzz cover the bodies of the newly diseased. These people begin to spew similar nonsense, self-mutilate, begin mutilating and dismembering one another, committing suicide, and everything in between. Just what exactly is going on in Portsmouth? It's a mystery that Josh and Leo bond over even more during their investigation. There are graphic scenes of these visceral moments, and you begin to wonder if the story follows that of a growing cult. Josh and Leo will find out— maybe.
And while you're reading a fairly graphic story— Ulitski does a fantastic job at creating a narrative that involves a strained LGBTQ+ relationship, the yearning of one friend for the other in an exhausted friendship, perseverance and protection of the ones you love, and weaves in some internet forums as part of the storytelling to chug the reader along.
I enjoyed every bit of this book. If you liked Eric LaRocca's Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, you will love Rob Ulitski's We Met in the Forums. You get the elements of the internet and the story of meeting odd strangers online, while simultaneously receiving a well-written story with components of science fiction, a ton of horror, and plenty of emotion.
I'm eager to read more from Ulitski, as he absolutely has a way of drawing in his readers with well thought out characters and strong plots. This book's official release date is April 30th, with an early drop on Godless April 23rd. Be on the lookout and in the meantime—
stay the hell out of the water.