"Coup de Grace" by Sofia Ajram is a unique horror novel where the main character, a man named Vicken is planning to kill himself, but while getting off of the subway, ends up in an unending labyrinth mostly devoid of life. The book mostly focuses on Vicken's thoughts while he explores the brutalist concrete maze of corridors and why he thinks he ended up here. The book ends with an interesting series of "choose your own ending" options. Recommended for horror collections, especially where "Piranesi" was popular.

This book is for those that love liminal space, The Back Rooms reddit, and existential horror. It is just the right amount of bleak, grotesque, and disturbing.

I thought the length of the book was perfect. It was just long enough to create the sense of dread, hopelessness, and despair without veering into too slow.

I particularly loved the “choose your own” ending. Of course I went back through each path and enjoyed every variant.

My one issue that kept this from being 5 stars was the language. Much like a Cassandra Khaw book, the language was beautiful. But, there were more than a few times a sentence would be thrown in that was so verbose, it was distracting. Rather than adding to the story, I felt those sentences were trying too hard to be poetic and ended up pulling me out of the narrative.

Over all, I very much enjoyed the read! It’s a perfect story for October.

More like a 3.5/5

This was definitely a unique read. Everything about felt a little weird, in a good way, and a little disturbing, in a good way. I don’t think i love it, just because it’s not my favourite type of horror, but i had a good time with it, i appreciate the vibe. Our main character was interesting and i liked his voice. The writing was fantastic, i’ve annotated multiple pages and the imagery was vivid and beautifully eerie.
And i really enjoyed the pick your own adventure aspect of it, that was a fun touch!
Extra points for the queer rep as always.

Overall, this was a very suspenseful, creative read. Certain scenes were very vivid, and the author was very good at creating a level of dread. However, there were sections that might be problematic for some readers, if they are struggling mentally as there was a lot of musings on existentialism and suicidal ideation. While it was part of the overall purpose, it was at times difficult to read, and made me want to skip to scenes that were more action based. The saving grace of the book was the extremely clever ending, which will be nostalgic for some readers.

All in all, a creepy story that explores how loneliness manifests itself.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for letting me have an eARC of this book.

What a wonderful, horrifying, engaging read!

The writing style is very ornate, which I honestly quite liked. It can bother some but I found that the extra difficulty really added to the unknowability of the impossible stm space and rendered it even more intimidating.

Coup de Grâce made me, through it's horror, be more aware of life's little pleasures like good company or even just colour. Things that our main character, Vick, was cruelly denied in his concrete and metal hellscape. I came out of this read seeing the leaves outside as a little greener.

This was a incredibly poignant book which wonderfully handled very serious mental health issues and I will be sure to look out for more books from this author.

This story follows the experience of Vicken, as he's traveling in a subway station, grappling with mental health struggles. He decides that he's going to end his life via a one-way trip to the bottom of the Saint Lawrence River. Having made up his mind, he goes to get exit - but instead steps into a deserted station with no exit in sight; a station that continues to unfold and defy reality the more he seeks liberation.

I loved the imagery and atmosphere depicted in this story - and was filled with a sense of looming dread throughout the reading experience.

This story was unlike anything I'd read before, and I loved it. DEFINITELY recommend.



Big thank you to NetGalley & Titan Books for providing me with an eARC in exchange for a review that is entirely my own.

I knew very early on that this one wouldn't be with me.

Poetic and meandering writing style. Some people are into it. I'm not.

I should've known when I saw the House of Leaves comparisons (most overrated book of all time)

I was intrigued by this book and enjoyed it to an extent but I will admit that they prose wasn't for me and that did lead to my disinterest in this. There were some genuinely creepy elements and I was particularly interested in the whole scene that revolved around the elevator game. But by the end I was ready for it to be over even though it was a quick little read. I think a lot of people will really enjoy this and so don't let my 3 stars discourage you from picking this up, especially if you're interested in a nightmarish little twisted world with heavy language to get lost in.

Thanks NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Finished this last night and needed to sleep on it. A bleak and haunting story, Weird with a capital W and incredibly moving. The tone shifts wildly throughout, funny and horrifying, sometimes in the same breath. I'm sure it's been comped to House of Leaves a million times over, and the comparison isn't wrong, necessarily. But this is a much tighter, much meaner story, really digging into the scabs and sores of life, pulling the protagonist apart and looking back at the reader explicitly and indifferently. Prose is great, some incredibly interesting choices being made, and I will be thinking about this book for a long time.

Many thanks to the publisher for this advance copy.

I can’t stop thinking about this novella. “Liking it” doesn’t make much sense here as most books don’t offer lingering dread like this once it is finished. It’s not a comfortable read and it’s skillfully designed that way with a surprising ending that solidifies the desperation within the entire narrative. Recommended.

From the first page I wondered how it would end.

Twists and turns, unexpected delights and heartbreaks.

Then, the ending. Delightfully unexpected! Fabulous! Daring!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for the ARC!

I was instantly hooked. I felt for the main character and the journey element helped explain some of the more haunting aspects of the human existence, pain and loneliness. I thought the choose your own adventure element at the end was fun.

I enjoyed the narrative style and how it added to understanding Vicken's mental state as things progressed. The choose your own adventure segments were quite fun! I think there are parts near the end where things get a little confusing, but it contributes to Vicken being perhaps an unreliable narrator and blurring the edges of reality and potentially psychosis. I think the sensitive topics covered in the book were well done; it was gritty and realistic without being too over-dramatic or painting people with depression and suicidal ideation in a negative light or further stigmatizing them. Overall, thoroughly enjoyed it, and will be purchasing a copy once it is released!

Coup de Grâce is a horror novella about a man trapped in an impossible subway station. Vicken is on the subway, planning a one way trip to the Saint Lawrence River, but when he gets off, he's in a huge, Brutalist station. A station with no exit and no return line. A station that changes as he explores. And suddenly things aren't as certain as they seemed when he stepped onto the train.

This novella combines some fantastic horror elements: liminal spaces, fourth wall breaking, body horror, and the kind of terrifying impossibility of space you get in House of Leaves. It is also a dark look at depression, suicide, and self-harm, and the warning at the start is important to note because it does make up a lot of the book. What you end up with is something visceral and weird, almost absurdly funny in the way it paints hopelessness and lack of control by its ending, and a book that never quite offers a reprieve. The ending might be a bit divisive, leaving a lot up to the reader, but it is exciting to see this kind of horror, that isn't afraid to be unrelenting, and I loved the creepypasta and liminal space elements (the book itself feels like it could be a creepypasta even as it refers to them).

Upfront: this book is incredible and one of my favorite reads of the year. So highly recommended I can hardly see the ground while I sing its praises. Read it!

Deeper down: I’ve been struggling for a week to put my thoughts in order enough to write this review. Not because I’m trying to be kind or politic or looking for nice things to say…no, I VERY much loved this book and have no problem announcing that. It affected me deeply. The questions are how, and in what way, and will I ever be the same again. Coup de Grâce is dedicated to those who know—the assumption being those who know are those who have personal connection to suicide or suicidal ideation. But I think the real magic Sofia Ajram has conjured here is that EVERYONE knows what she’s talking about in these pages. Maybe not specifically to the circumstance, but CERTAINLY to the feeling, the isolation, the trap, the gray, the GRAY, the bloody battle between knowing better and feeling less, the struggle, and the struggle to even put up a struggle. This is an ugly book. But it’s so beautiful, too. It shines so bright from within the confines of its drab concrete exterior. There’s horror here, unimaginable horror, but also hope. And the acceptance of hope’s loss. Surety in the unsolvability of life’s labyrinth.

Coup de Grâce is short, but it casts a leviathan’s shadow. And it’s a dark shadow. And it’s cold. But sometimes, dark and cold is just right. This is an all-timer, and while it may not be for everyone, it is certainly for anyone. I count myself among them. And I’ll forever recommend it to anyone in the future.

Phenomenal work. Highest recommendation.

I had difficulty getting into this book, it was quite jarring for the main character to announce that Virginia Woolf died in Leeds, which is nowhere close, but then the story was also a jumbled mess that revealed elements too quickly, and often left me confused as to what was happening.

This is a beautifully written excursion into a hellish place where the surroundings act as antagonist and the mind betrays you.

A man on a subway is going to end his life. But when he exits at a certain station, he finds himself completely alone with no way out. Nothing but endless bleak halls and rooms which defy reality.

Filled with monstrous imagery and a truly unsettling claustrophobic atmosphere, this novella will make you feel uneasy as the man slowly succumbs to this never ending environment both physically and mentally. The almost poetic prose adds to the fear. The author's sparce sharp phrasing paints a horrifying picture as it plays out in your head. It's beautifully grotesque and sticks with you.

It's also about life choices and we get to see from the perspective of this man just how life can be gloriously vibrant and endlessly harrowing at the same time. This is a fantastic novella and I highly recommend it.

Caustic and bleak Coup de Grace, is a mindbending story of a suicidal man trapped in a limbo of an endless Montreal subway station. Its lyrical and dismal, at both time humorous and horrifying and will leave you wanting to run outside and scream into the sun.

For fans of (or feared readers of?) I'm Thinking of Ending Things and House of Leaves.

This was such an interesting ride from start to finish. It was a very quick read, but if you love a good horror book, this is definitely for you. I am not normally super squeamish, but this was definitely something that made me squeamish. Beware the trigger warnings at the beginning, as they are definitely needed in this book. However, it was so well written and creepy/crawly I would highly recommend it if you want something to creep you out. The parallels being drawn between this book and House of Leaves is apt, but different. House of Leaves was a slog, and this is much more approachable and definitely easier to follow. I would recommend this book if you're looking for something to start the spooky season early!

This ebook was provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Coup de Grâce by Sofia Ajram is a thrilling short novel in the Montreal subway station. If you liked Susanna Clarke's Piranesi, you would appreciate how the labyrinth quality of the surroundings becomes a character in the novel. The depressed protagonist is trapped in an unending subway system. This setting creates a feeling of being lost in limbo, reminiscent of life with a mental illness. This sense of being trapped for an undetermined amount of time feels comparable to Sartre's No Exit or Huis Clos.

One of the most intriguing aspects of this novel is the author's decision to involve the reader in shaping the story. This interactive element further immerses the reader in the protagonist's world, contributing to the feeling that the protagonist doesn't have complete control over their fate or decisions.

I enjoyed this story. Readers should be aware that the novel deals with themes of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. The author didn't glamorize these elements; rather, I felt they depicted how those qualities can feel while crafting a suspenseful story.

I would recommend this book to readers. Thank you to Titan Books and NetGalley for the ARC.