by eric larocca
warning: this novella contains extremely violent imagery and should likely be enjoyed only by mature audiences! reader discretion is advised!
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the title is correct. things got much worse.
i first learned about things through twitter. i saw the cover art and was immediately interested, and who wouldn’t be? the cover, created by kim jakobsson and ira rat, shows the profile of a person turning to face the viewer, the side of their face closest to us smeared dreadfully upwards in a vibrant burgundy shade that looks exactly like what you’d think it is. I followed the writer, eric larocca, and intended to buy the book immediately. but, you know, paychecks.
when i finally started reading, my intention was to enjoy a couple chapters before drifting off to sleep. cue the “jonathan frakes tells you you’re wrong” video. this novella is written the way all good internet stories are written: you’re not supposed to come back to it later. i finally made myself go to sleep 80% of the way through, mainly because my boyfriend very sweetly asked if we could please turn out the light, but i lay awake, thinking about things for almost an hour.
to give you a spoiler-free review: things have gotten worse since we last spoke is a mockumentary-style novella, comparable to any found footage movie with a “we’d like to thank the san diego pd” intro card. the story follows the interactions between two people, agnes and zoe, after they meet on an online forum. the messages and emails they share are presented by “the author,” who is much less intrusive of a narrator than house of leaves’s johnny truant, and claims to be 100% impartial in the introductory piece.
agnes and zoe’s relationship grows more involved and things, of course, take a turn for the worse. things uses body horror as its vehicle of choice, with some pretty detailed descriptions of serious gross-out moments. i don’t want to give anything away, but seriously, if you have a nervous stomach, I’d proceed with caution here. I just took a sip of my morning coffee and looked back at it very doubtfully.
using the “experimental” (i hesitate to even call it that anymore, we know this style of storytelling works) form of emails and message threads, eric larocca manages to give us complete character arcs, impressive commentary on mental health and abusive relationships, a non-cliched portrayal of lesbian characters, and some truly nasty scares that’ll stick with you long after the obligatory second read-through. another word on the gross stuff: yes, it’s truly nasty, but larocca somehow manages to pull it off without cliche. no hyper-realistic eyes or super-vibrant blood here.
i will say i found myself wanting more at several points - more worldbuilding, more of agnes’s internal monologue, more of an ending - but the reader doesn’t necessarily need more. because we’re reading a collection of “evidence” presented by an “impartial author,” there’s no way we could get more internality for agnes, not unless the author went the old-school route and said “we found some entries from her journal but things were scratched out, so scarey!!!!”. and the emails and messages tell us everything we need to know: histories for both characters, the dreadful procession of events that bring us to the inevitable conclusion, and some absolutely delicious dramatic irony.
you'll see reviews for this title that echo my same thoughts. if you're on the fence about buying this title, i'll say this: for every free creepypasta thread you ever loved, or for every reddit thread that ever kept you awake at night - buy this novella and not only support the publication of internet horror, support a new voice that's breathing vitality into stephen-king inundated bookstore shelves.
...or, it was. according to author eric larocca, things is now officially out of print - but is presumedly going to be part of a collection forthcoming in 2022. if you can get your hands on a copy, jump at the opportunity. if you do, you'll deserve your eyes for that day.
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