As Hozier said, I have never known peace like the damp grass that yields to me. But in a somber, foreboding, slightly melancholic tone.
Absolutely bizarre and disorientating (affectionate), this novella gave me chills I haven’t felt since standing in the basement of my childhood home, that slow itch on the back of your neck, feeling like something is watching you, too scared to look behind you and confirm it.
Incredibly well written, evocative as fuck, I would not recommend reading this on your plant-filled porch alone in the dark. Or, maybe, yeah, that’s exactly what you should do. Surround yourself with as many plants as possible. Take this to the middle of a forest, let the earth swallow you up.
Not sure what to make of the ending. Well, not sure about many things. Or maybe I am. I don’t remember. Every time I think about it, it becomes something else.
Thank you to Amanda Manns/Creature Publishing for this ARC, and to Saskia Nislow for making me stay awake way past my bedtime. I’m in awe and thoroughly disturbed and I gotta go watch High School Musical to avoid any nightmares.

What a trip. This book really put me into a dreamlike sequence and never let me go. I loved the narrator; the way it was all of them at once was a clever way to convey the fungal collective mindset to the reader. Loved the descriptions being beautiful and grotesque all at once, especially children experiencing things. It was a little difficult to differentiate every child from each other, so I had to keep re-reading entire pages to understand which one lost their sister, etc. Maybe it was on purpose, but it lost me a little bit. Also, I would've liked more explanations, but that's just a preference.

Overall really liked it and enjoyed it. I would recommend it, but I don't see myself rereading it.

I emphatically recommend this folklore fever dream of a novella to anyone for whom the phrase “folklore fever dream” elicits intrigue. If that’s you, stop reading this review right now, don’t read any other reviews, and pick up this book. You can come back and learn what the rest of us thought after you’ve experienced it yourself.

Have you ever had a dream where the plot turned sideways, and you knew it, watched it happening, tried to make sense of it, but fell deeper into the absurdity the harder you looked? Nislow’s story lets you simmer in that space alongside her collection of characters, staring at a grainy photograph that promises to contain a face but dissolves into pixels when you squint and strain.

I finished this book over my cup of tea this morning, just 34 hours after I started it, and I’ve spent all day at work today mentally trying to put the pieces in order. Not that the book’s conclusion is unsatisfying; there is semi-logical closure, but I wonder if my typical desire to theorize and tie up all the loose ends is entirely wrong for this book. I suspect that if I were to put the puzzle too close to right, the pieces might turn into dirt in my hands. Five stars, excellent.

Thank you to Creature Publishing and netgalley for free access to this book.

“Root Rot” is an eerie eco-horror novella that dives into the predatory dynamics of family, boundaries of homes and bodies, and the inevitable participation or pushback in harmful structures.

The family gathers at their grandfathers lake house, where unexplainable things are happening. With the adults basically absent, the nine children-who are named by their traits-explore the property where things start to get real weird.

A very unsettling and creepy novella. It’s very atmospheric in its diction. The choice to call the children by their traits got a little confusing at times, but it did add to the eerie atmosphere. It’s a descent into an abyss of confusion, fungi, and a creeping, gentle horror.

This book was weird in the best way! Every character is essentially just a trope of themselves, but in a way that resonates. I've not read a book like this and I was truly entranced from beginning to end!

Saskia Nislow's Root Rot is a haunting and surreal eco-horror novella that delves into the unsettling dynamics of a family gathering at a secluded lake house. Told from a collective "we" perspective, the story follows nine cousins—referred to by titles such as "The Oldest," "The Liar," and "The Secret Keeper"—as they experience a series of bizarre and disturbing events.

The narrative blurs the line between reality and nightmare, creating an atmosphere of creeping dread. As the cousins explore the forest and the lake house, they encounter strange phenomena, including mushrooms that bleed, eyes that blink unnaturally, and a pervasive sense of something lurking just beyond perception.

Nislow's writing is atmospheric and evocative, drawing readers into a world where the boundaries between body and environment, self and other, are constantly shifting. The novella's brevity enhances its dreamlike quality, leaving readers with lingering questions and a sense of unease.

While the unconventional narrative style and lack of character names may challenge some readers, those who appreciate experimental horror and psychological depth will find Root Rot a compelling and thought-provoking read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Creature Publishing for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

2.5 stars rounded to 3

I usually love this sub-genre of horror so when I saw this little novella I was so excited to read it! Throughout, I got vibes of The Haunting of Hill House and Coraline, which is the biggest compliment as I love both.

Unfortunately though, the vibes were the strongest part for me. The plot and characters are what lets this down. I was confused about 90% of the time, and the character names were all too confusing to me (perhaps this is just my brains fault, and no flaw of the author).

I would still definitely be intrigued to read more from Saskia Nislow as I loved the vibes and am always intrigued by this genre, but for me this was a little bit too odd.

I really enjoyed this read that breaks reality and has a real nostalgic flair. Would definitely recommend for someone looking for the same camaraderie vibes as IT but with more body horror and mushrooms!

4.

i dropped everything to read this horror novella and i devoured it. i was very interested in anything Creature Publishing was putting out and once i saw the beautiful cover and the tiniest sliver of the concept—forest horror—i was there. Root Rot surprised me but did not disappoint at all! :)

we arrive at The Lake House, a gothic manor surrounded by deep water which immediately sets the eerie tone, and start telling the story from a collective perspective: using no names throughout the entire book.

we follow nine relatively young children, who call themselves The Cousins eventhough they aren't all cousins. namingly, The Boy Twin, The Girl Twin, The Oldest, The Secret Keeper, The Baby, The Crybaby, The Liar, The One Who Runs Away, and lastly, The One with the Beautiful Voice, and we get tiny glimpses into some of their lives outside of the weekend this story takes place over, but other than that, their so-called names are all you know about them. their personalities and traits are distinct enough that it doesn't get confusing, don't worry.

as the children explore the property and the woods surrounding it, strange and creepy things start to happen almost instantaneously and it gets gross and bloody and gory and i loved it. there's not any real pain, though. it's a more gentle horror..? falling asleep in the moss and decomposing peacefully, it's not brutal.

i don't want to spoil anything as it's such a short story but i liked the little flashbacks a lot, they had some very nice quotes and i do have a solid number of highlights of the writing overall. :)

i feel satisfied by the ending. if there was more backstory on the other children and maybe longer individual scenes so that i could have gotten attached to them a lot more, i'd've loved that too, but this was great and i will be looking forward to other works by saskia!

thank you creature publishing and netgalley for approving me! all opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Root Rot starts with an intriguing premise: nine children with mysterious titles like "The Liar" and "The Secret Keeper" gather at their grandfather's lake house, where strange and unsettling events unfold. The atmosphere is eerie, and the horror elements are well-crafted, drawing on European mythology and folk horror.

However, the story can be confusing. The lack of character names and backstory makes it hard to connect with the characters. The narrative style, which keeps readers at a distance, adds to the disorientation. The ending, while aiming for a twist, may not feel satisfying or coherent compared to the buildup.

The horror elements were very descriptive, but just not enough plant horror for my taste.

Overall, Root Rot has a unique style and strong atmosphere but may leave some new readers feeling lost and unsatisfied. If you enjoy bizarre and uncanny horror, it might still be worth a read.

Bizarre but fun to try and keep track and work out what was happening. Excited for more stuff from this writer!

4/5 🍄

New weird / fungal horror… More of one of our favourite sub-sub genres of horror! Like many of the best mycelium horror stories, this novella is a trippy, hallucinogenic dream that is more about the feel than the plot. We can understand how this won’t hit with every reader, but if you like your horror weird and full of cosmically ambiguous atmosphere and an entangled plot, then this should be ideal.

No promises that you'll figure out what's going on, but by the time we've assimilated us, it won't really matter anymore...

Many thanks to NetGalley for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a brilliant rollercoaster of the weird and eerie of a family and its tales.

Loved the narration and the building of tension; not always clear where its taking you, but the story is one to read for sure!

Saskia Nislow’s Root Rot is a fever dream of a novel—hallucinatory, intimate, and crawling with quiet terror. Told in a chilling collective voice—we, the children—it reads like a chorus of ghosts half-remembering a summer that warped them forever.

Nine children arrive at their Grandfather’s secluded lake house, a property that seems to breathe, bleed, and hunger. They come with names like The Liar, The Secret Keeper, and The Crybaby—titles that feel less like childhood quirks and more like inherited roles in some unspoken family ritual. The air is heavy with secrets, and nothing stays quite right for long: mushrooms ooze blood, time loops in on itself, and faces don’t look the way they should—until they do.

Nislow doesn’t traffic in jump scares. Her horror seeps, like rot beneath the floorboards. It’s the horror of manipulation, of generational control, of what happens when children are raised under watchful, reshaping eyes. The land itself becomes a kind of organism, its roots digging into the children’s identities, its tendrils coiling around the boundaries of self and home.

As The Liar begins to piece together the hidden truths—about the lake house, the vials of sweet amber, the knots in the rope—the reader is pulled into a surreal, slow-burning reckoning. The question she faces, “join or resist,” echoes far beyond the forest. It becomes a haunting meditation on complicity, survival, and the twisted comforts of conformity.

Root Rot is not a book that hands you answers. It’s a labyrinth of dread and beauty that asks you to linger in the dark, to look closer even when you’d rather look away. Fans of Mariana Enríquez, Brian Evenson, or Kelly Link will feel right at home—and then, very quickly, not.

This was a weird and gross trippy fever dream, and I mean that in the best way. If I’m being completely honest, I didn’t really understand this book most of the time and got lost sometimes, but I thoroughly enjoyed the ride nonetheless. The way the story was told via the collective “we” was disorienting at times, which really fit the vibe.

The psychological and horror elements were so well done. The constant creeping vibe that something is wrong kept me turning the page quickly. This felt like it was written for people on mushrooms, by people on mushrooms, about people on mushrooms, and fans of sporror and tales that disorient as much as they entertain, should definitely check it out.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Creature Publishing for an e-copy of this book. All opinions and thoughts are my own

This book truly felt like a fever dream. Most of the time I had no idea what was going on. After finishing, I’m still not sure I fully understood. But I don’t mean that in a bad way. It was bleak and atmospheric and felt like you were right there with the children experiencing everything. Many of the descriptions were so vivid and horrifying that they will definitely stick with me. I’m not one to usually reread books but I think I will with this one. I’d like to read it again and look at it with a different perspective to try to understand it better. I definitely found myself wanting more by the time I finished it.

This book reads like a feverish, acid trip. It’s incredibly disorientating, but beautifully written. It’s about a family that visits their Lake House. The nine children in the story all hang out together as things get really weird. I enjoyed not knowing exactly what was going on. I felt immersed and part of “them” as they told their story. The children are altered in imperceptible ways, moments that just happened, are forgotten by the children. It makes you questions their reality and sometimes yours. I was guilty of going back and rereading lines thinking I misremembered something. This book is unique, a little out there, and not going to be for everyone.

Thank you NetGalley and Creature Publishing for the digital copy of the book!

I say this in the best way... At no point did I know what was going on in this story. And I loved it.

Nine children go to their Grandfather's lake house with their families. With the adults all but absent, the story slowly descends into a deliciously off-putting world. This book was atmospheric and the sense of foreboding throughout was so satisfying.

At first, I really did not love that there were no names and so many children to keep track of. However, I think this aspect of the story really contributed to the necessary confusion that the story produced. I found myself jumping back pages wondering if I really read what I read.

If you like atmospheric, foreboding, trippy, slow burn horror, this novella is fantastic!

Thank you to NetGalley and Creature Publishing for sending me the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Creature Publishing for the opportunity to read this book. I had originally requested it because I LOVED the cover, and I heard it dealt with mushrooms (and I love sporror!) Unfortunately, the writing style just wasn't my vibe. The characters were nameless -- referred to only by traits, for example: the Boy Twin, the Liar, the Oldest, etc. It was difficult to follow and had no chapter demarcations, which made it feel cumbersome, despite being only 140 pages. (In fact, if it wasn't so short, I may have DNFed) It had some really cool concepts and imagery, especially regarding the mushrooms, but it just missed the mark for me. Maybe I'm not smart enough for this one? lol It felt reminiscent of Shirley Jackson and T. Kingfisher, so fans of those authors, this may be more your vibe!

Thank you to NetGalley and Creature Publishing for an arc! All opinions are my own.

Root Rot is so strange and bizarre and I loved it. It’s told from the perspective of a collective “We” and none of the character’s are given names, instead they’re referred to by titles like “The Liar” or “The One who Runs Away.” This does sometimes make it a little confusing to figure out who is where and what’s happening, but I think that’s intentional and adds to the fever dream vibe.

I could see this being one of those books that people either love or hate, but I am strongly in the former category.