It feels like every vampire story has already been written. But somehow Keith Rossen found a way to write a new story about classic vampires in a new and exciting way, and I was there for it from the first chapter.

The important parts of the story take place in Portland in the early seventies. The story features Duane, recently honorably discharged from the army after a tour in VietNam that left him scarred with PTSD. The counterpoint to his rage is his niece Julia, herself scarred after seeing her mother kill her stepfather. Duane is barely holding it together with support from his wife and her parents, and Duane and his wife both struggle to adjust to the addition of Julia to their family.

Plot complications happen, and Duane finds himself on the wrong side of a century old vampire who was sociopathic when he was turned and has had all this time to hone is cruelty and violent streak.

What could be either a simple revenge story, or even a buddy road trip, is elevated to something higher and a lot more exciting as Julia and Duane track down the killer vampire. More than the vampire, they have to learn to make peace with their grief and anger - and each other. It’s not an easy trip and both Duane and Julia are questioning their life choices the whole time.

This is a story that explores grief and regret first and foremost. While The Buffalo Hunter Hunter covered a lot of this same ground, Coffin moon leans towards “thriller adjacent" while TBHH is “LitFic adjacent".

It felt like a quick read, even though the book is emotionally heavy and dark, the story unfolds in exciting tidbits that make it easy to keep turning the pages. I liked both the depth and breadth of the book, and the finale was chef’s kiss perfect. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.

Bechdel Test?: YES Mako Mori test?: YES Vito Russo test?: NO Latif test?: NO

Reading Level: adult Romance: no Smut: no Violence: yes TW: child endangerment, various murders, drug use, alchoholism

Kindle only? NO

I’m not sure this book does what it says on the tin. Just from the title and blurb I thought I was in for an academic examination of how queerness is expressed through folklore. There is queerness and folklore in the book, but rather than rigorously examine the dialectic relationship between myths and cultures the author instead uses images and aspects of folklore to launch wide-ranging, though shallow, discourses on queerness in pop culture.

I think the author would be a great person to get stuck next to at a dinner party or a long flight, but scathing insight and erudition are not why. The author clearly has an encyclopedic knowledge of western pop culture (and goes out of his way to honor other cultures when appropriate) but after I’ve finished the book, I don’t have any deep insight into how queerness has been mythologized - but I know how it’s recently been commercialized.

I am not an aficionado of pop culture, so I got to learn about, for example, Disney movies that I’ve never seen. I did not feel like the threads of his discussion were especially cohesive; I did not see a clear narrative arc being drawn through all the disparate examples of say “mermaids"; instead I feel like anything related to mermaids in western culture from the last two centuries got thrown at me, with the hope that something would stick in my brain. As a nonfiction book, it’s a two star read - but once the initial verbiage was out of the way and the author got up to speed, it was an entertaining onslaught of trivia.

I listened to this audiobook while running/cycling/swimming/etc and I'm not an audio learner, so my retention of the book is iffy at best.

Reading Level: easy adult Prequisites (Prior Knowledge, etc): english speaking pop culture Credibility/Research/Citations: many cultural artifacts are referenced Tone: conversational Bias: the author is pro queer Author's Qualifications: I do not know if the author has any special qualifications

authenticity/uniqueness: ⭐⭐⭐ personal impact: ⭐⭐ intrigue: ⭐⭐ logic/informativeness: ⭐⭐ Does the book accomplish it's goal: ⭐

Kindle/Audible only? NO

This collection of short stories is nominated for the 2026 Splatterpunk awards (category:collection). It's the last nominee in this category that I finished, but it’s certainly not the least. Ms. Nola’s voice feels especially unique in this genre; she writes from a place of subtlety and feminist sensibility that is sorely lacking in the genre. Several of these stories deal with the feelings left after sexual assault. The eight stories in this collection all punch above their weight, and the sum does feel greater than the parts.

Absence of Absolution: Part II The first story lets you know right away this is not your dad’s latenight drivein exploitation grindcore splatterpunk. Immediately, we’re treated to a tale of revenge that hits so much harder for not needing the MC to resort to violence.

Skins A splatterpunk take on the burden to be beautiful that’s placed on women, and the overwhelming desire for acceptance. “We’re all born naked and the rest is drag” - but some people refuse to see the beauty in some people’s performance.

Ivy League Another revenge story, this time featuring my favorite type of victim: smug frat boys.

Rebirth This is a tale of eco-horror that draws heavily from neopagan ideas and takes sides in the “battle of the sexes" - and I’m here for it. These ideas have been many times, but rarely as eloquently.

The Lost Diary This was a miss for me, it’s the weakest of the collection IMHO. It felt drawn out way past any sense of surprise, and then horror. I feel like I’ve read variations of this so many times, and unfortunately this epistolic narrative went on too long.

Nubs Odd sexual fetishes are a staple of the splatterpunk genre, and this addition to the canon stands out for showing another way the obsession to possess is a type of madness that veers entirely away from the erotic.

Clownshoes Class conscious revenge! I am so here for it! The ending is given to the reader right away, but watching the pieces come together to the spectacular finale is totally worth it!

Music Box Dancer Another revenge story that centers the mother daughter bond, the reader is not only cheering for revenge but for the characters to find each other and try to find some hope in a hopeless situtation.

Bechdel Test?: YES Mako Mori test?: NO Vito Russo test?: NO Latif test?: YES

Reading Level: adult Romance: no Smut: no Violence: YES, this is splatterpunk TW: sexual assault, misogyny, homophobia, child endangerment, various gory murders

Kindle only? NO

Being hungry in LA is, apparently, no fun. If you’re thirsty for water, or hungry for food, or starving for affection, or dying to get famous - there’s no shortage of people trying to enforce the status quo and step on you on their own way up the ladder.

Even someone’s best attempts at being understood and vulnerable can lead to disaster. Everybody only sees what they want to see and most people are too selfish to give in kind. “EllAyy” is a lonely place full of heartbreak, punctuated by occasional bouts of genuine connection and heartbreak.

This is intensely allegorical litfic, but I felt it was easy to follow. The author does us the service of keeping the book gloriously short; there’s only so far you can stretch the concept of “cougar tries to make sense of modern civilization” over the concepts I described above and the author knows when to wrap it up and let the reader move on.

Bechdel Test?: NO Mako Mori test?: NO Vito Russo test?: NO Latif test?: NO

Reading Level: adult Romance: no Smut: vague Violence: yes TW: animal cruelty, classism, racism

Kindle only? NO