Book Report: The Faceless Thing We Adore by Hester Steel
By: Cassie Birk
Welcome to the Book Report. This is the nitty gritty, spoiler-free review of one of my latest reads. Keep reading to see if Page Street Horror’s very first release, The Faceless Thing We Adore by Hester Steel is a good fit for your TBR!
BEFORE WE DIVE IN…
Genre: Horror
Age Group: Adult, although other readers have found that the focus on characters in their teens/early 20s can make the story come off as YA/New Adult
The following content warnings are described on page: Death, Cannibalism, Blood, and Gaslighting
Spice Level: Spicy meets scary. Romance is not a driver of the story, but there are moments of group sex and other sensual-based horror moments that may be read as erotic.
Page Count: 416 pages
Series: No
Aoife needs out. Her boyfriend is an asshole, her job sucks, and she is going nowhere in her terrible town. So when she sees a postcard from paradise sent to her terrible boss, she doesn't hesitate to drop everything and travel to a foreign country. There she finds two new friends who lead her to the Farmstead, their community full of sexual freedom, a greater purpose, and people who are ready to embrace her more readily than her boyfriend ever was.
If only it was that simple. Aoife discovers a teenager they keep locked up in a cabin with no windows, mysterious rot spreading through the farmland, a cave that isn’t always there, and their leader Jonah’s happy front can’t cover for the darkness of the god he worships.
The dread and horror is a slow burn split in the three parts of the book, so when the god finally wakes, we are already down the rabbit hole. Can we even trust Aoife’s narrative, which has been getting more disjointed and the writing style more experimental as the book has gone on?
READER PROFILE
You might find this book a great fit for your TBR if:
Cult films like Midsommar (2019) or The Wicker Man (1973) are top of the list of your favorite horror films.
You are a true crime fan who was enthralled with The Garden series on HBO or Cultish by Amanda Montell and are looking to change things up with a fiction read.
Books with a lush, poetic writing style like This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone or The City in Glass by Nghi Vo adds to your reading experience, no matter the genre.
You’ve read famous cosmic horror like Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer and want to see a fresh take on the genre.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hailing from the UK, Hester Steel is the queer debut author of The Faceless Thing We Adore. Outside of this book, Hester is a former English teacher who has worked as a freelance writer. Her short fiction can be found gracing the pages of such publications as Elixir: Stories of Hope and Healing, Awakenings: A Cute Mutants Anthology, and The Uncanny and the Dead: A Spooky By Association Anthology. She currently lives in London.
WHAT READERS THINK
“this was a cult horror that made my brain feel mushy with all its twists and turns, with a bunch of manipulative shitty men that deserved to suffer!! had some great characters with some genuinely great writing (although a bit overwhelming at times to know what exactly was going on). and the ending was actually my fav part.”
—♡ retrovvitches ♡ via GoodReads
“Though I read this in three sittings, the book completely deflated after Part 1. The mystery in the beginning was the most compelling part, and then the conflict faded and everything became a bit perfect—and only by circumstance. The pieces didn’t really click for me, and I found myself frustrated with the motivations, destruction of character, and vague language that plagued Part 3. What started as a really strong mystery/thriller had an unfortunate heel turn, which is a shame because all the ingredients are there!”
—davidjames_ via StoryGraph
“I went in thinking this would be your typical cult story full of secrets and lies, but it turned out to be so much more and way weirder. I wasn’t expecting the cosmic horror angle at all and I loved where it took the story. Besides the otherworldly elements, there were also some surprisingly sweet moments about found family and love. Who knew that an eldritch horror cult could foster such close bonds? However, I did feel it dragged in places and could have been trimmed down. But, despite the slow pacing, I enjoyed this and was satisfied with how it all wrapped up.”
—Alix via Amazon
BOOK REPORTER’S REVIEW
This was an insanely good debut! Steel’s writing is poetic and lush, making for a totally immersive reading experience. It may be frustrating and confusing to readers looking for a less “I get the vibes of what’s going on” situation and more of a direct rundown, but as someone who also reads poetry, I enjoyed my spore gore with a little creative flair. Aoife is equal parts sympathetic and frustrating as a narrator. What can I say, as a problematic bisexual, I love my kin. Being in her head for the first-person narration, I understood why she was making the decisions she was, they just happened to be the worst ones she could possibly make. Her total obliviousness to bad vibes made the middle sag a bit for me. Since it’s already a slower paced story, I can see people DNFing in Part Two. But I encourage y’all to power through! I refuse to spoil the ending, but that amazing twist is what took this book to the next level for me, but just know that the real villain is absolutely toxic men everywhere.
Thank you to Page Street Horror for providing a physical review copy in exchange for this honest report!