Olyoke by Vincent Endwell, Tenebrous Press, 2026. Cover art by Jenna Cha, interior illustrations by Echo Echo, edited by Alex Woodroe.
Olyoke is a tale of cosmic horror set in Tennessee* and other mind-warping places. The story, influenced by H. P. Lovecraft and Robert W. Chambers, is told in a collage of narratives, documents, and transcripts. Amid body horror, pandemic claustrophobia, fraught personal relationships, alien geometries, and questions of reality and identity, comprehension and menace slowly build. As I came to understand the conflict (to the extent that I did), my loyalties were divided. I didn’t know how this story would end, but when it did, I didn’t see how it could have ended any other way. This was almost a DNF for me because of the mannered prose in the opening chapter. I’m glad I stayed with it.
* The state where I was born, incidentally.