Take Me To Church

Joe Ledger will NEVER catch a break. Not even when he is visiting the graves of his murdered family. This book picks up after the tragic events of Burn to Shine (RTI: Book 4). If you have been following along, you will recognize many of the characters in this latest installment, most notably Nicodemus. This one packs a LOT in—much of it are things Maberry's fans have been guessing at since, well, the beginning. And actually, this story goes back way beyond Joe's first encounter with Church, Bunny and Top. If you haven't been reading the Ledger books from the beginning, don't worry. Maberry is a master at weaving the old and the new, so the new readers won't feel lost, while long-time readers are still engaged.

Red Empire packs a lot between the covers. The Black Plague, the Crusades, Islam, and the Red Order. And in typical Maberry fashion, he weaves real history and current (and not-so-current) events into his tale. And if a modern-day, genetically engineered super-plague, long-time readers are finally going to get some answers to Church's mysterious past.  Whew. Yes. It is a lot to take in, but it is a hefty read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Red Empire

by Jonathan Maberry

Published by St. Martin's Griffin
March 10, 2026

ISBN  : ‎ 9781250892683

528 pages

#RedEmpire #NetGalley

As always. I encourage you to buy from independent bookstores. If you are in the North Florida area, try Happy Medium Books Café or Chamblin Bookmine. If you've never visited Chamblin's, plan to spend some time there. It is the largest bookstore in Florida, with about 60,000 square feet of space housing over 3 million books, both used and new. They have a great collection of Florida authors, too.

Take a Picture

The thing I find so intriguing about Josh Malerman's writing is that you never know where he will take you. I was first an artist and came to writing much later in life, so this story hit home for me. It didn't quite hit it out of the park, like his previous novel did. Hoo boy, that was a fun read. Pictures of You was a little slow in the action, but it is there. Like oil paint, it is rich and layered and takes time to finish. 

Pictures of You is more of a psychological horror. There are no weird monsters (unless you put Helen there) or supernatural entities. There are just two people on vacation in a small lakeside Michigan village who get the attention of the wrong people. A night of fun becomes a night of terror when one wakes up in their hotel room, and the other is gone. The night before is fuzzy, and we are brought along as witnesses for what is next. It is slow and there is little actual violence. It is much more cerebral. Great concept, and I loved the end story. I just wished the writer had pushed this story a little harder. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Pictures of You

by Josh Malerman

Published by Del Rey Books
Sep 08, 2026

ISBN  : ‎ 9780593723159

288 pages

#PicturesofYou #NetGalley

As always. I encourage you to buy from independent bookstores. If you are in the North Florida area, try Happy Medium Books Café or Chamblin Bookmine. If you've never visited Chamblin's, plan to spend some time there. It is the largest bookstore in Florida, with about 60,000 square feet of space housing over 3 million books, both used and new. They have a great Florida author's collection, too.

Pedro The Vast by Simón López Trujillo

The description of this book as “mind-blowing” certainly piqued my interest, as did the title and book cover.

If you are a fan of dystopian, fugal horror like The Last of Us, this will probably be your jam. Pedro The Vast starts with the story of Pedro, a farm worker on a eucalyptus plantation near Curanilahue, Chile. There is a fungal outbreak that kills everyone it infests, except Pedro; however, he does not remain unchanged. 

The story is somehow simultaneously dense and expansive. Trujillo’s narrative does not follow the canned structure that so many of the books follow these days. It was equal parts social commentary and eco-horror with a dose of body horror and religion. It was a lot to pack into the short novel. Just as I was finally getting into a flow with the story shifting to Pedro’s children, it was over. While it does make this an interesting read, I found it left me feeling a little disjointed and lost. I give it 3.5 stars. It was a five in many places, especially towards the end, but rambled too much in others, and completely lost me a few times. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pedro the Vast

by Simón López Trujillo, 

Robin Myers (Translator)

Published by Algonquin Books

7 October 2025

ISBN-13: 9781643757100 (print);
ISBN-13: 9781643757124 (ebook)

ISBN-139781668653661 (audio), read by Lee Osorio

144 pages

I encourage you to buy from independent bookstores. My appreciation to #NetGalley and the publisher, #AlgonquinBooks, for giving me an advanced review copy. #PedroTheVast #Post-Apocalyptic #EcoHorror #MycoHorror #Science Fiction