Books will be for sale at the event. Friendly reminder, no outside books allowed at stanza events.
REKT
A lot of folks shun horror because they think it’s all slashers and blood and gore. But as I’ve said many times, I view horror as a direct descendent of Greek tragedy. Great horror, truly great horror, is about people. The monsters, ghosts, or otherwise beasties are symbols, metaphors, manifestations of the darkness that lives in us all.
So, I’m starting to fine-tune my horror book club to include more dark and gothic fiction, in the hopes of luring more of you in. Our current pick Hungerstone is a great example. Check out my write-up in the book clubs section.
For the launch of REKT, I’ve paired Alex with horror legend John Langan. Two radically different writers using fantastical scenarios to explore grief.
Langan’s The Fisherman imagines a man so distraught at the loss of his wife, he employs occult rituals and wrestles a leviathan for the power to bring her back.
The Fisherman is not exactly scary. It is a horrifying and awe-inspiring gaze into the darkest parts of the human heart, by a master of the genre.
Gonzalez’s REKT shows us how profound loss can drive us down the deepest rabbit holes. A stunning debut, REKT bears down with unrelenting dread and terror as the lead character spirals into the dark web.
If you’re not familiar, the dark web is a secret internet hidden from search engines, devoid of friendly domain names, and only accessible via arcane web addresses. The dark web is where criminals sell drugs, weapons, and much, much worse.
REKT takes us to the most sinister possible version of this dark web, but certainly not the version you expect. REKT will not show you child or animal abuse, or anything like that. Like the modern web itself, REKT’s terrors are personalized, tailored just for you. There are no ghosts, ghouls, or cryptids. Oh no, the monsters in REKT are the scariest of them all.
Fans of the crime fiction like, say Gillian Flynn, will find a lot to love in REKT.
The Fisherman roots itself in Hudson Valley and Catskills history, and is largely timeless. The modern sections do not rely too much on current tech or customs.
REKT is immediate. It speaks directly to the anxieties the modern web creates in us right now. Beyond being a good book, REKT is an important book to read in 2025.
I’m cooking up a range of questions to get these two authors riffing, and I hope y’all come out. It’s going to be a great night.
-Mark
Alex Gonzalez
Alex Gonzalez is a WGA screenwriter and horror fiction writer. He is the cofounder of the horror zine You Are Not Alone and has taught genre writing workshops at various magazines and institutions. Born and raised in Florida, he now lives with his wife in Beacon, New York.
in conversation with
John Langan
John Langan is the author of two novels and five collections of stories. For his work, he has received the Bram Stoker and This Is Horror awards. One of the founders of the Shirley Jackson award, he serves on its Board of Advisors. His reviews and essays have been widely published. He lives in New York's Mid-Hudson Valley with his wife, younger son, and bubbling fish tanks.
