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The Worm and His Kings
New York City, 1990: When you slip through the cracks, no one is there to catch you. Monique learns that the hard way after her girlfriend Donna vanishes without a trace.
Only after the disappearances of several other impoverished women does Monique hear the rumors. A taloned monster stalks the city’s underground and snatches victims into the dark.
Donna isn’t missing. She was taken.
To save the woman she loves, Monique must descend deeper than the known underground, into a subterranean world of enigmatic cultists and shadowy creatures. But what she finds looms beyond her wildest fears—a darkness that stretches from the dawn of time and across the stars.
Only after the disappearances of several other impoverished women does Monique hear the rumors. A taloned monster stalks the city’s underground and snatches victims into the dark.
Donna isn’t missing. She was taken.
To save the woman she loves, Monique must descend deeper than the known underground, into a subterranean world of enigmatic cultists and shadowy creatures. But what she finds looms beyond her wildest fears—a darkness that stretches from the dawn of time and across the stars.
116 pages, Paperback
First published November 15, 2020
About the author
Hailey Piper
97 books825 followersHailey Piper is the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Queen of Teeth, A Light Most Hateful, The Worm and His Kings series, No Gods for Drowning, Cruel Angels Past Sundown, and other books of dark fiction.
She is also the author of over 100 short stories appearing in Weird Tales, Pseudopod, Cosmic Horror Monthly, and various other publications, and of articles appearing in Writer's Digest, Tor Nightfire, CrimeReads, and Library Journal. She lives with her wife in Maryland, where their occult rituals are secret. Find Hailey at www.haileypiper.com.
She is also the author of over 100 short stories appearing in Weird Tales, Pseudopod, Cosmic Horror Monthly, and various other publications, and of articles appearing in Writer's Digest, Tor Nightfire, CrimeReads, and Library Journal. She lives with her wife in Maryland, where their occult rituals are secret. Find Hailey at www.haileypiper.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 435 reviews
June 29, 2023
I'm not going to write a plot-filled review because so many before me have done it so well and because I am very lazy and I think your time would be better spent reading this book of cosmic horror rather than reading my mishmash of words to describe the story.
The Worm and His Kings has a strong lead who you’ll hope finds everything her heart desires. I crossed every finger and toe I possess hoping that Monique would make it through this wild Worm King mind-bending world and come out the other side with everything her heart desires. She’s a fantastic character with a painful history and even though this story tried to break my brain and my heart, I could not stop reading it.
The comparisons to early Clive Barker, particularly his Books of Blood series (have you read 'em?! drop everything if you haven't because you need to read 'em!!), are very apt here. The writing is dense and smart and bloody and sensual and grimy with little surprise smatterings of levity - all those things I loved the most about Barker's early books are here and it made me incredibly happy.
4 1/2 Stars
The Worm and His Kings has a strong lead who you’ll hope finds everything her heart desires. I crossed every finger and toe I possess hoping that Monique would make it through this wild Worm King mind-bending world and come out the other side with everything her heart desires. She’s a fantastic character with a painful history and even though this story tried to break my brain and my heart, I could not stop reading it.
The comparisons to early Clive Barker, particularly his Books of Blood series (have you read 'em?! drop everything if you haven't because you need to read 'em!!), are very apt here. The writing is dense and smart and bloody and sensual and grimy with little surprise smatterings of levity - all those things I loved the most about Barker's early books are here and it made me incredibly happy.
4 1/2 Stars
September 16, 2022
This is my second Hailey Piper book and I've officially fallen in love.
On the surface The Worm and His Kings is a cosmic horror about a woman infiltrating a cult to find her missing girlfriend. It actually bears a resemblance to cosmic cults of Lovecraft. But once you start to peel the layers back this book is about the need of love from others and the need of love for yourself.
Beautiful writing. Engrossing characters. Satisfying end.
On the surface The Worm and His Kings is a cosmic horror about a woman infiltrating a cult to find her missing girlfriend. It actually bears a resemblance to cosmic cults of Lovecraft. But once you start to peel the layers back this book is about the need of love from others and the need of love for yourself.
Beautiful writing. Engrossing characters. Satisfying end.
March 28, 2024
This was my first Hailey Piper book, but it won't be my last!
Combining homelessness, body horror, and cosmic horror from an LGBTQ point-of-view, this was a masterful piece of work!
The narrator was excellent, especially since she had to come up with noises for the mimics. (You'll see when you read it!)
Overall, this was a dark, intriguing, and sometimes gory novella-sized story and I enjoyed the hell out of it!
*Purchased via Audible.*
Combining homelessness, body horror, and cosmic horror from an LGBTQ point-of-view, this was a masterful piece of work!
The narrator was excellent, especially since she had to come up with noises for the mimics. (You'll see when you read it!)
Overall, this was a dark, intriguing, and sometimes gory novella-sized story and I enjoyed the hell out of it!
*Purchased via Audible.*
December 22, 2020
Original review published at Cemetery Dance 12/11/2020
Women in Indie Horror have a powerful voice and if that’s a surprise to you, take note of the popular Best Of Lists from horror reviewers as 2020 comes to a close. You will see these names: Laurel Hightower, Gemma Amor, Samantha Kolesnik, Sara Tantlinger, Gwendolyn Kiste, Cynthia Pelayo, V. Castro, Stephanie Ellis, Jessica Guess, Briana Morgan, and many, many more.
One name I saved for last and special mention. Hailey Piper. Hailey is one to watch. She has had a stellar year of releases starting with the breakout novella, The Possession of Natalie Glasgow. Then it was just one winner after the next: Benny Rose, The Cannibal King (Unnerving), An Invitation to Darkness (Demain Pub), and several short stories in various anthologies.
This recent release rounds out an impressive year for Piper right to the top of the stack. The Worm and His King is the perfect selection for new readers. It showcases Piper’s greatest skill: versatility. I’ve read Hailey’s unique brand of Gothic horror, teen slasher, possession, and even romance (which is tucked neatly into the folds of horror, of course).
Monique lives on the streets, taking shelter when and where she can. Her sense of personal safety has been threatened with the sudden disappearance of her girlfriend, Donna. In a very Alice in Wonderland style, Piper leads readers on a journey through a landscape of madness where nothing is as it seems. Monique follows a stranger into a subterranean “wormhole” where she encounters an underground cult and a plethora of creatures — including the one she suspects has taken Donna.
Our “Alice” in this Wonderland, Monique, belongs in my reader’s heart forever. Her journey of self-discovery and identity apart from Donna is a gut wrenching and beautiful tale of transformation. Thrusting the story forward is that age-old power of love, but I love the way Piper crafted it around a cosmic transcendence. There are some bone-chilling moments. The ending almost breaks your mind.
If this book is any indication of where we’ll find Hailey Piper in 2021, it’s bound to be another year of confirming her as one of indie horror’s brightest stars.
Women in Indie Horror have a powerful voice and if that’s a surprise to you, take note of the popular Best Of Lists from horror reviewers as 2020 comes to a close. You will see these names: Laurel Hightower, Gemma Amor, Samantha Kolesnik, Sara Tantlinger, Gwendolyn Kiste, Cynthia Pelayo, V. Castro, Stephanie Ellis, Jessica Guess, Briana Morgan, and many, many more.
One name I saved for last and special mention. Hailey Piper. Hailey is one to watch. She has had a stellar year of releases starting with the breakout novella, The Possession of Natalie Glasgow. Then it was just one winner after the next: Benny Rose, The Cannibal King (Unnerving), An Invitation to Darkness (Demain Pub), and several short stories in various anthologies.
This recent release rounds out an impressive year for Piper right to the top of the stack. The Worm and His King is the perfect selection for new readers. It showcases Piper’s greatest skill: versatility. I’ve read Hailey’s unique brand of Gothic horror, teen slasher, possession, and even romance (which is tucked neatly into the folds of horror, of course).
Monique lives on the streets, taking shelter when and where she can. Her sense of personal safety has been threatened with the sudden disappearance of her girlfriend, Donna. In a very Alice in Wonderland style, Piper leads readers on a journey through a landscape of madness where nothing is as it seems. Monique follows a stranger into a subterranean “wormhole” where she encounters an underground cult and a plethora of creatures — including the one she suspects has taken Donna.
Our “Alice” in this Wonderland, Monique, belongs in my reader’s heart forever. Her journey of self-discovery and identity apart from Donna is a gut wrenching and beautiful tale of transformation. Thrusting the story forward is that age-old power of love, but I love the way Piper crafted it around a cosmic transcendence. There are some bone-chilling moments. The ending almost breaks your mind.
If this book is any indication of where we’ll find Hailey Piper in 2021, it’s bound to be another year of confirming her as one of indie horror’s brightest stars.
February 13, 2021
‘We sing the song that pierces the Universe and bring the world to its knees’
An unholy melding of ‘Books of Blood’ era Clive Barker and the cosmic terrors of H.P. Lovecraft, with a style and vision all her own, Hailey Piper’s ‘The Worm and His Kings’ is a nightmarish novella that will linger with you long after putting the book down.
Monique’s girlfriend, Donna has gone missing. A life living on the streets is tough enough but, without Donna, it has become unbearable. Rumours of multiple disappearances at the hands of a monstrous figure circulate the homeless population of New York City. It is said the victims are always women and Monique thinks that Donna was taken.
Determined to find her at any cost, Monique’s search will take her into the shadowy underworld of New York, where age-old monsters and dangerous cults proliferate, and rumours of a god known only as The Worm may turn out to be anything but.
When I first started reading ‘The Worm and His Kings’ it reminded me very strongly of Clive Barker’s classic short story ‘The Midnight Meat Train’. Cosmetic similarities aside (both set in New York City, where a lot of the action takes place underground, and feature urban legends of something inhuman that inhabits the subway system) Piper shares Barkers uncanny knack for mixing the brutal and the lyrical that results in a beautifully written book that simultaneously feels seedy yet breath-taking.
It isn’t long, however, until the book morphs into something altogether different. Once Monique’s hunt begins in earnest, things become a lot more surreal and dreamlike. The prose is quite dense and poetic, very much a literary horror book, and the tone works well for such an enthusiastically inventive and bizarre novella. To say the stakes get high as the book progresses would be a massive understatement. It’s Lovecraftian otherworldliness and sense of unfathomable scale are a startling contrast to the all-too down to earth realities of Monique’s situation.
While ageless gods, fanatical cults and otherworldly creatures proliferate, what stayed with me most strongly after reading this book was the depth of Monique’s backstory. Without giving spoilers, details of Monique’s past experiences and current life are deeply upsetting and incredibly tough to read and the reader is not spared at all in this regard. It is a true testament to Piper’s talent that such a strongly developed and rich backstory is afforded to a character is a book of only 114 pages. It feels like a much longer book, in a very good way.
The Worm and His Kings is a twisted, strange and haunting love-letter to the cosmic horror genre. Answers don’t always come easily and some difficult topics are addressed with unflinching honesty but being challenged is a big part of the horror genres appeal, and you won’t find another book that delivers something bold and new quite like this one.
You can read more reviews of new and upcoming horror releases at https://www.myindiemuse.com/category/...
I also promote indie horror via Twitter - @RickReadsHorror
An unholy melding of ‘Books of Blood’ era Clive Barker and the cosmic terrors of H.P. Lovecraft, with a style and vision all her own, Hailey Piper’s ‘The Worm and His Kings’ is a nightmarish novella that will linger with you long after putting the book down.
Monique’s girlfriend, Donna has gone missing. A life living on the streets is tough enough but, without Donna, it has become unbearable. Rumours of multiple disappearances at the hands of a monstrous figure circulate the homeless population of New York City. It is said the victims are always women and Monique thinks that Donna was taken.
Determined to find her at any cost, Monique’s search will take her into the shadowy underworld of New York, where age-old monsters and dangerous cults proliferate, and rumours of a god known only as The Worm may turn out to be anything but.
When I first started reading ‘The Worm and His Kings’ it reminded me very strongly of Clive Barker’s classic short story ‘The Midnight Meat Train’. Cosmetic similarities aside (both set in New York City, where a lot of the action takes place underground, and feature urban legends of something inhuman that inhabits the subway system) Piper shares Barkers uncanny knack for mixing the brutal and the lyrical that results in a beautifully written book that simultaneously feels seedy yet breath-taking.
It isn’t long, however, until the book morphs into something altogether different. Once Monique’s hunt begins in earnest, things become a lot more surreal and dreamlike. The prose is quite dense and poetic, very much a literary horror book, and the tone works well for such an enthusiastically inventive and bizarre novella. To say the stakes get high as the book progresses would be a massive understatement. It’s Lovecraftian otherworldliness and sense of unfathomable scale are a startling contrast to the all-too down to earth realities of Monique’s situation.
While ageless gods, fanatical cults and otherworldly creatures proliferate, what stayed with me most strongly after reading this book was the depth of Monique’s backstory. Without giving spoilers, details of Monique’s past experiences and current life are deeply upsetting and incredibly tough to read and the reader is not spared at all in this regard. It is a true testament to Piper’s talent that such a strongly developed and rich backstory is afforded to a character is a book of only 114 pages. It feels like a much longer book, in a very good way.
The Worm and His Kings is a twisted, strange and haunting love-letter to the cosmic horror genre. Answers don’t always come easily and some difficult topics are addressed with unflinching honesty but being challenged is a big part of the horror genres appeal, and you won’t find another book that delivers something bold and new quite like this one.
You can read more reviews of new and upcoming horror releases at https://www.myindiemuse.com/category/...
I also promote indie horror via Twitter - @RickReadsHorror
August 19, 2022
Holy shit 🤯 that was absolutely insane!! Truly a must read if you like weird horror, but esp if you liked the weirdness that permeated The Southern Reach trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer. They’re very different, but give off the same vibes!!
February 18, 2022
GORGEOUS 😍🔥💖
November 13, 2023
There was nothing in the newspapers far as Monique ever noticed, the rumors passing person to person. This city liked to forget people. No surprise that some of those stories had taken on a mythic tone. Some liked to joke about the Jersey Devil or that Cropsey had wandered over from Staten Island. Others didn't joke when they said a monster they'd dubbed Gray Hill had been frequenting Freedom Tunnel of late. There were only ever a couple hundred people living here, most too stubborn to leave. It might've been no more than a street-spawned boogeyman, but like alligators in the sewers, there was no telling just how real anything might be in New York City. Women living rough were disappearing and something was taking them.
This short but memorable horror novelette took me by surprise - it was excellent, and very much my thing, but from an author who's never even blipped on my radar before. Although now I do have a back catalogue to go through and explore - so overall definitely a win.
Monique's girlfriend, Donna, is missing and nobody cares when you're homeless - much less lesbian in 1990. So when a brush with a monster gives her a chance to find out just where all these women have gone, Monique plays Orpheus and follows a trail that leads to something far more than she every expected, even in the city where anything can happen.
This is probably the first time I've read another author that's reminded me of Craig Schaefer and his blend of urban fantasy and cosmic horror - that's definitely a plus - but other than that vague familiarity this stood pretty apart from anything I've read before. Also a plus! It's a quick and literal descent into a very unsettling underworld, one where nothing is safe. The beauty of a homeless, trans, lesbian protagonist though, is that that comes as absolutely no surprise to her - the usual cosmic revelations of insignificance against an uncaring universe are just her standard Tuesday kicked up a notch.
A great novella, and a new author for me to go and explore!
This short but memorable horror novelette took me by surprise - it was excellent, and very much my thing, but from an author who's never even blipped on my radar before. Although now I do have a back catalogue to go through and explore - so overall definitely a win.
Monique's girlfriend, Donna, is missing and nobody cares when you're homeless - much less lesbian in 1990. So when a brush with a monster gives her a chance to find out just where all these women have gone, Monique plays Orpheus and follows a trail that leads to something far more than she every expected, even in the city where anything can happen.
This is probably the first time I've read another author that's reminded me of Craig Schaefer and his blend of urban fantasy and cosmic horror - that's definitely a plus - but other than that vague familiarity this stood pretty apart from anything I've read before. Also a plus! It's a quick and literal descent into a very unsettling underworld, one where nothing is safe. The beauty of a homeless, trans, lesbian protagonist though, is that that comes as absolutely no surprise to her - the usual cosmic revelations of insignificance against an uncaring universe are just her standard Tuesday kicked up a notch.
A great novella, and a new author for me to go and explore!
March 7, 2021
Hmmm... The Worm is quite a story - big, big story with time and space and dimension and all manner of strange happenings. But it's also a story about people, about wanting to find love, about victims and those that want to dominate - the desire for transformation; to change the world and make it a better place. Of course there are monsters, and there are the deluded, the brainwashed, and a lot of strange, strange things that happen.
I admit that I got lost at times, when I felt that the protagonist Monique, knew things that would have been unknowable to her - but then again, this story is part allegory and is set in a world of fantasy and horror. I had trouble too, just a little, picturing Gray Hill - what was she really? (images of Kaonashi/No-Face from Spirited Away entered my mind, speaking 'Ooh ooh' - both a horror and a mystery).
This is a different horror than I'm used to, but it was good - like Alice's journey into Wonderland, I tumbled around in this story which was both smaller and larger than it first appeared.
I admit that I got lost at times, when I felt that the protagonist Monique, knew things that would have been unknowable to her - but then again, this story is part allegory and is set in a world of fantasy and horror. I had trouble too, just a little, picturing Gray Hill - what was she really? (images of Kaonashi/No-Face from Spirited Away entered my mind, speaking 'Ooh ooh' - both a horror and a mystery).
This is a different horror than I'm used to, but it was good - like Alice's journey into Wonderland, I tumbled around in this story which was both smaller and larger than it first appeared.
October 9, 2021
Homeless Monique’s search for her missing lover leads to an underground cult in New York that worships the Worm, an ancient deity. Loved that it dealt with homelessness, trans rights, and religious manipulation, but this whole Cosmic horror is really not for me. The whole thing came in at just over 100 pages but it seemed much longer.
April 6, 2023
**Terrifying, soul-rending, intriguing, and queer as hell, with a superbly written sapphic trans rep 💕🏳🌈🔥**
That was a lot to process. There are so many layers to The Worm and His Kings. On the surface, it's a haunting, monster-filled, mind-bending cosmic horror that is worth reading/listening to in and of itself. It's unique, creepy, and so intriguing. I'll definitely have to revisit this one again just to catch all of the intricacies that I'm sure I missed.
But more than all of that, the queer narrative told in this story had my heart. The sapphic relationship on its own made me happy, as always, but the MC being a trans woman and how central her identity and struggle as a trans woman was to the story was beautifully told. The story on its own was a 4-star for me, but it gets an additional star purely for the beautifully crafted queer aspect.
What to expect if you go looking for the Worm:
* An endearing, determined trans MC that you'll be rooting for
* Shameless contradictions to today's gender norms and assumptions (❤)
* A strange, cosmic palace of horrors
* Otherworldly bird/whale/IDFK monsters
* Crazed zealots, of course
* A time-/space-/universe-bending concept
* A mind-blowingly amazing ending to transcend it all
That was a lot to process. There are so many layers to The Worm and His Kings. On the surface, it's a haunting, monster-filled, mind-bending cosmic horror that is worth reading/listening to in and of itself. It's unique, creepy, and so intriguing. I'll definitely have to revisit this one again just to catch all of the intricacies that I'm sure I missed.
But more than all of that, the queer narrative told in this story had my heart. The sapphic relationship on its own made me happy, as always, but the MC being a trans woman and how central her identity and struggle as a trans woman was to the story was beautifully told. The story on its own was a 4-star for me, but it gets an additional star purely for the beautifully crafted queer aspect.
What to expect if you go looking for the Worm:
* An endearing, determined trans MC that you'll be rooting for
* Shameless contradictions to today's gender norms and assumptions (❤)
* A strange, cosmic palace of horrors
* Otherworldly bird/whale/IDFK monsters
* Crazed zealots, of course
* A time-/space-/universe-bending concept
* A mind-blowingly amazing ending to transcend it all
November 13, 2020
My first experience reading Hailey Piper was her short story Unkindly Girls in the Worst Laid Plans anthology which gave me just a small peek at the writing talent she possesses. I was excited to read some of her longer fiction as I have heard nothing but good things about her other works, The Possession of Natalie Glasgow and Benny Rose, the Cannibal King.
Alright now to talk about the book I'm actually here to review. First off I love the title, The Worm and His Kings. Sounds epic, right? I'll say it again in a deep bass voice, The Worm and His Kings. A story with that title just feels like it is going to be grandiose and mighty and sprawling. We do get glimpses of this larger world, this grander universe, this unfathomable infinity. Strip away all of the cosmic horror window dressings though and at its core this is a much more personal and intimate tale about love, discovering one's identity, and acceptance.
New York City, 1990. (Go Yanks!) Our protagonist Monique finds herself living on the streets after a series of unfortunate circumstances. Monique's girlfriend Donna is missing. Slipped through the cracks. In the City That Never Sleeps what's one more missing person out of a population of millions? With no one to turn to for help Monique takes it upon herself to uncover the truth behind Donna's disappearance. Only after hearing rumors of a monstrous creature stalking the night and snatching up other women from the streets does Monique begin to wonder what if Donna isn't missing, what if she was abducted?
We follow Monique on her search as she traverses through the gritty and grimy underbelly of the city before descending down the wormhole, much like Alice in Wonderland, into a shadowy, disorienting, alien subterranean world that defies the laws of logic and understanding. Despite the mind shattering new reality Monique is confronted with, finding Donna is all that matters. Monique's love for Donna is a love that she would tear a universe apart for.
Let's backtrack a little and talk about that love. Get a bit more perspective on how important it actually is here. The love that Monique and Donna share is a powerful thing. This love burned down the life that Monique once had but in that same instance it sundered the shackles of the person she was expected to be by those she thought loved her. It was this love that freed her, allowing her true self, her true identity to climb out of the shadows and into the light for all to see. No one had ever loved Monique, or accepted her for the person she truly is like Donna.
The characters in this book are well done but Monique really shines. She has a raw emotional depth to her. Through the use of flashbacks we learn that Monique is haunted by both the mental and physical scars of her past. It is this pain but also her perseverance that propel the narrative forward. Piper has crafted a character that you feel for, sympathize with, and cheer on despite the odds being stacked against her.
With all of the otherworldly cosmic horrors at play Piper did an excellent job of not letting the narrative get away by keeping us firmly grounded in reality by something recognizable, love. Love is the thread that held this narrative tapestry together. I know I keep harping on this theme of love, and I'm one who does not care for a love story, but this one was very well done and cloaked in horror which is seemingly the best way for me to ingest a love story. And it culminates in really the only way cosmic horror should when dealing with elder gods or beings beyond our comprehension to understand, in an utterly bleak fashion.
I don't normally do this but there were a few passages that really stuck out to me that I wanted to mention.
"We'd tear the universe apart for the people we love, but sometimes we forget to love ourselves."
"She once fantasized tragic deaths. Only later did she dare fantasize tragic lives."
"Healing and harm could be a matter of perspective."
A viciously bleak tale harboring but a sliver of hope. The Worm and His Kings by Hailey Piper is mind warping cosmic horror firing on all cylinders while seamlessly weaving in timely social commentary on gender and identity. With razor sharp prose reminiscent of Clive Barker, Piper pulls you along through the wormhole for a story that is at times riveting, heartwarming, and horrifying.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher for review consideration.
Video review: https://youtu.be/TRHIGWs_52s
Alright now to talk about the book I'm actually here to review. First off I love the title, The Worm and His Kings. Sounds epic, right? I'll say it again in a deep bass voice, The Worm and His Kings. A story with that title just feels like it is going to be grandiose and mighty and sprawling. We do get glimpses of this larger world, this grander universe, this unfathomable infinity. Strip away all of the cosmic horror window dressings though and at its core this is a much more personal and intimate tale about love, discovering one's identity, and acceptance.
New York City, 1990. (Go Yanks!) Our protagonist Monique finds herself living on the streets after a series of unfortunate circumstances. Monique's girlfriend Donna is missing. Slipped through the cracks. In the City That Never Sleeps what's one more missing person out of a population of millions? With no one to turn to for help Monique takes it upon herself to uncover the truth behind Donna's disappearance. Only after hearing rumors of a monstrous creature stalking the night and snatching up other women from the streets does Monique begin to wonder what if Donna isn't missing, what if she was abducted?
We follow Monique on her search as she traverses through the gritty and grimy underbelly of the city before descending down the wormhole, much like Alice in Wonderland, into a shadowy, disorienting, alien subterranean world that defies the laws of logic and understanding. Despite the mind shattering new reality Monique is confronted with, finding Donna is all that matters. Monique's love for Donna is a love that she would tear a universe apart for.
Let's backtrack a little and talk about that love. Get a bit more perspective on how important it actually is here. The love that Monique and Donna share is a powerful thing. This love burned down the life that Monique once had but in that same instance it sundered the shackles of the person she was expected to be by those she thought loved her. It was this love that freed her, allowing her true self, her true identity to climb out of the shadows and into the light for all to see. No one had ever loved Monique, or accepted her for the person she truly is like Donna.
The characters in this book are well done but Monique really shines. She has a raw emotional depth to her. Through the use of flashbacks we learn that Monique is haunted by both the mental and physical scars of her past. It is this pain but also her perseverance that propel the narrative forward. Piper has crafted a character that you feel for, sympathize with, and cheer on despite the odds being stacked against her.
With all of the otherworldly cosmic horrors at play Piper did an excellent job of not letting the narrative get away by keeping us firmly grounded in reality by something recognizable, love. Love is the thread that held this narrative tapestry together. I know I keep harping on this theme of love, and I'm one who does not care for a love story, but this one was very well done and cloaked in horror which is seemingly the best way for me to ingest a love story. And it culminates in really the only way cosmic horror should when dealing with elder gods or beings beyond our comprehension to understand, in an utterly bleak fashion.
I don't normally do this but there were a few passages that really stuck out to me that I wanted to mention.
"We'd tear the universe apart for the people we love, but sometimes we forget to love ourselves."
"She once fantasized tragic deaths. Only later did she dare fantasize tragic lives."
"Healing and harm could be a matter of perspective."
A viciously bleak tale harboring but a sliver of hope. The Worm and His Kings by Hailey Piper is mind warping cosmic horror firing on all cylinders while seamlessly weaving in timely social commentary on gender and identity. With razor sharp prose reminiscent of Clive Barker, Piper pulls you along through the wormhole for a story that is at times riveting, heartwarming, and horrifying.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher for review consideration.
Video review: https://youtu.be/TRHIGWs_52s
March 13, 2021
I reviewed Benny Rose, the Cannibal King by Hailey Piper only last week where I said that I think her writing was much too good for that kind of story and now I see that I was right! She can work wonders with a good story and proves it in “The Worm and His Kings”: This book blew-my-mind!
We follow the story of Monique, who lives in the tunnels under New York City after she and her girlfriend Donna lost their jobs and became homeless. But that’s not the biggest of Monique’s troubles; Donna disappears without a trace too. Word is under the streets that there is a taloned and absolutely huge creature called “Grey Hill” lurking underground snatching women and Monique is convinced that Donna was taken by this monster. But it turns out Grey Hill is nothing but a symptom of cold cosmic decay… Monique sets off to bring her girl back, but encounters a cult beyond her and our wildest dreams.
It’s truly impressive how Piper piles different layers of horror, beginning from real life ills worming her way to horrors of absolute magnificent scopes, bending minds and times. Piper again proves she can rock a MONUMENTAL ending, something she really has a knack for, in my opinion. I absolutely love the writing and, as I mentioned above, I’m so glad that it came to its own in an extraordinary story such as The Worm. There are sentences, phrases in this book so beautiful you will want to turn back and read over and over if you appreciate poetic sort of writing. And don’t let that scare you, she does it with such ease, such authenticity that it only feels natural. I admit that flowery writing can be sometimes off-putting or pretentious; Piper’s writing is nothing but awe-inspiring. There is bitterness here but there is also humor; cruelty but also justice. I am completely smitten and would intensely recommend it to every horror fan!
We follow the story of Monique, who lives in the tunnels under New York City after she and her girlfriend Donna lost their jobs and became homeless. But that’s not the biggest of Monique’s troubles; Donna disappears without a trace too. Word is under the streets that there is a taloned and absolutely huge creature called “Grey Hill” lurking underground snatching women and Monique is convinced that Donna was taken by this monster. But it turns out Grey Hill is nothing but a symptom of cold cosmic decay… Monique sets off to bring her girl back, but encounters a cult beyond her and our wildest dreams.
It’s truly impressive how Piper piles different layers of horror, beginning from real life ills worming her way to horrors of absolute magnificent scopes, bending minds and times. Piper again proves she can rock a MONUMENTAL ending, something she really has a knack for, in my opinion. I absolutely love the writing and, as I mentioned above, I’m so glad that it came to its own in an extraordinary story such as The Worm. There are sentences, phrases in this book so beautiful you will want to turn back and read over and over if you appreciate poetic sort of writing. And don’t let that scare you, she does it with such ease, such authenticity that it only feels natural. I admit that flowery writing can be sometimes off-putting or pretentious; Piper’s writing is nothing but awe-inspiring. There is bitterness here but there is also humor; cruelty but also justice. I am completely smitten and would intensely recommend it to every horror fan!
July 6, 2022
Underground lairs, wormholes in the soul.
The Worm and His Kings by Hailey Piper
This a special story, it has remained very close and fresh since I read it. It is a short book, the kind that many will argue that it should be longer and others, shorter. I found it a perfect measure. As not long ago, another short book I read, yes, I wish to know more about Monique, the cult, Donna, but as the story was made and presented, I found it delicately balanced and endearing.
In a way, it felt like discovering and coming along to a road of despair. But before I go on, as usual for me, I went in almost blankly, I would recommend reading the least possible about it, there are some aspects that are built steadily and I found the experience to discover them as I read the book very rich, just… tag along.
It starts in the middle of a strange situation, Monique takes you on a dark ride as you wonder about her fixations, her desperation, the harsh worlds that she inhabits, the relentless determination to find Donna, her missing lover. The dark ride isn’t only in the outside, as she gets deeper in the mysterious streets and tunnels leading to the psychedelic cult that looms below the surface, you get deeper in Monique´s story, the tunnels of pain in her soul that leave her constantly on the edge. How not to earnestly sigh in anguish with her?
A couple of thoughts now. Big time spoilers ahead.
Get the tinfoil hat ready and hold your knickers on, it is going to be a crazy ride.
The Worm and His Kings by Hailey Piper
This a special story, it has remained very close and fresh since I read it. It is a short book, the kind that many will argue that it should be longer and others, shorter. I found it a perfect measure. As not long ago, another short book I read, yes, I wish to know more about Monique, the cult, Donna, but as the story was made and presented, I found it delicately balanced and endearing.
In a way, it felt like discovering and coming along to a road of despair. But before I go on, as usual for me, I went in almost blankly, I would recommend reading the least possible about it, there are some aspects that are built steadily and I found the experience to discover them as I read the book very rich, just… tag along.
It starts in the middle of a strange situation, Monique takes you on a dark ride as you wonder about her fixations, her desperation, the harsh worlds that she inhabits, the relentless determination to find Donna, her missing lover. The dark ride isn’t only in the outside, as she gets deeper in the mysterious streets and tunnels leading to the psychedelic cult that looms below the surface, you get deeper in Monique´s story, the tunnels of pain in her soul that leave her constantly on the edge. How not to earnestly sigh in anguish with her?
A couple of thoughts now. Big time spoilers ahead.
Get the tinfoil hat ready and hold your knickers on, it is going to be a crazy ride.
December 19, 2020
There is no sub genre that Piper cannot make her own. Though her voice is utterly unique, comparisons to Clive Barker at his best are an accurate start. I predict it won't be long before budding horror authors will be thrilled to hear their work compared to Piper's - her storytelling chops are something to aspire to.
There is so much I want to say about The Worm and His Kings, but each time I start, I reconsider, because this is one of those tales best experienced in layers as they were crafted by Piper. I'll compromise by saying this is cosmic horror flipped on its tentacles, the darkness of a vast unknowable universe seen not from what reaches through for us, but what is left behind in the wake of gods. Piper has created a memorable and deeply empathetic character in Monique, and the reader's journey through her eyes is all the more terrifying for the speed with which we care about her. Read it, love it, ponder it, then go grab up everything by this author you haven't yet read. Thank me later.
There is so much I want to say about The Worm and His Kings, but each time I start, I reconsider, because this is one of those tales best experienced in layers as they were crafted by Piper. I'll compromise by saying this is cosmic horror flipped on its tentacles, the darkness of a vast unknowable universe seen not from what reaches through for us, but what is left behind in the wake of gods. Piper has created a memorable and deeply empathetic character in Monique, and the reader's journey through her eyes is all the more terrifying for the speed with which we care about her. Read it, love it, ponder it, then go grab up everything by this author you haven't yet read. Thank me later.
March 4, 2021
This was quite the novella! I spoke with Hailey on Books in the Freezer and one of the things we talked about was whether someone needed to have read Lovecraft and his mythos to enjoy cosmic horror. She told me I didn't, and stories like this prove that. She has created a fantastic Worm mythos that I'd loved to see expanded. This follows Monique, a homeless woman whose girlfriend has recently gone missing, and her journey to find her. There was so much to dig into in this story. I could see it being a good discussion book for book clubs because there was so much to discuss. Looking at reviews, I'm glad to find out I wasn't the only reader who was a little confused about the geography during the journey, because I'm not the most visual reader as it is. Great story!
September 11, 2024
Sometimes you give 5 stars to a book because it did what it promised AND what you wanted in ways that surprise and impress. This is one of those books.
August 9, 2024
I'm annoyed, wanna know why? Because it took me so damn long to read this
.
A story of self discovery, love and determination set against a backdrop of cosmic terror, I find there's always an ocean of depth to Pipers stories, what on the surface appears to be a downright creepy horror story in its own right, a homeless woman goes in search of her missing girlfriend and finds herself in an underground cult which worships an ancient diety, but simmering beneath the mind bending supernatural horrors is a poignant portrayal of homelessness and an unflinching commentry on religious manipulation and trans rights. This novella contains a vast universe and conveys a powerful message within a short amount of space.
.
A story of self discovery, love and determination set against a backdrop of cosmic terror, I find there's always an ocean of depth to Pipers stories, what on the surface appears to be a downright creepy horror story in its own right, a homeless woman goes in search of her missing girlfriend and finds herself in an underground cult which worships an ancient diety, but simmering beneath the mind bending supernatural horrors is a poignant portrayal of homelessness and an unflinching commentry on religious manipulation and trans rights. This novella contains a vast universe and conveys a powerful message within a short amount of space.
February 11, 2021
3/5: Entertaining:
Overall, the story line is well done and compelling, with great messages regarding trans rights. The down side is the descriptions are a bit disorienting making it tough to visualize several parts of the story.
I do recommend.
Overall, the story line is well done and compelling, with great messages regarding trans rights. The down side is the descriptions are a bit disorienting making it tough to visualize several parts of the story.
I do recommend.
August 17, 2023
Monique, a homeless trans woman, is trying to find her older girlfriend Donna who went missing three months ago. Within those three months, more homeless women have been abducted off the street. Then Monique discovers who took Donna. Or rather what. The Gray Maiden. A talon-wielding, cloaked creature that Monique follows and leads her to a cult. A cult that worships the Worm and awaits his return. Monique is now in a nightmare of utter cosmic proportions.
This is my second read of Hailey Piper's; I previously read No Gods for Drowning and quite it enjoyed it. The Worm and His Kings is an earlier work (not too early) is in the vein of Lovecraftian cosmic horror rather than mystery urban fantasy like the other book was. While somewhat slow in the beginning, The Worm and His Kings turned out to be a very interesting and fun read. Well, "fun" in that I enjoyed what I read, despite not-good-things happening to certain characters.
If you are on the squeamish side, don't worry, this doesn't get too gorey. There's definitely some moments that'll unnerve or make you hiss like you just got the injury yourself, but nothing too descriptive.
As I said before, the pacing drags a bit for a few chapters, but it does pick up as Monique tries to find Donna within the cult's dwellings and pieces together the history and mythos of the Worm and his cult. Monique is such an interesting character. She'd been hardened by her homelessness, the lost of Donna, and the hardships she's endured. Prior to Donna's disappearance, Monique was kicked out of her parents' home for being trans--this isn't brought up too much and there's no queer or trans suffering, but the event did help form Monique as a person--and then Donna lost her job because of how much older than she was than Monique. Afterward, Monique found Doctor Sam, a man willing to giver her bottom surgery in a back alley way; turns out, after basically botching the surgery, he nearly tried to take her kidney too, but Donna intervened.
So, Monique is cautious and careful and she's hesitant to accept new friendship. However, she is also desperate for wanting Donna back and does have empathy. I do love characters like this, able to flow naturally between hardened and empathetic. Monique does meet other characters, primarily Corene a professor looking for her friend and co-worker Abraham, and her interactions with them are mostly important for the plot progression. This isn't to say they were without emotion or that Monique never connected with anyone, just they help move the story along.
Really, what's most important to this book is its plot progression and its prose. I'll start with the last one. Piper's prose here is very accessible, she still manages to be atmospheric and capture the feeling of cosmic horror. It's Lovecraftian in a way that it clearly draws upon the themes and imagery that were present in the prose of H. P. Lovecraft himself, but without his floridity. I know some people dislike that aspect of Lovecraft's prose, I personally don't, but I say that to show that Piper has achieved the feat of having written a piece of cosmic horror that is influenced by Lovecraft without trying to be exactly like him. The way Piper describes the interior of the cult's dwellings, especially that of the subterranean chamber containing the, well, Chamber of Old Time is an example of good writing within cosmic horror. It feels otherworldly, as cosmic horror should, and it gives you a sense that something is off but that there are forces and people out there who feel it completely normal.
As for the plot progression, it's simple but effective. I never felt that anything was forced for such a short novella, though you can tell that Piper takes almost every moment to move Monique towards her goal. The other moments in the book are mostly Monique ruminating on her life and her relationship with Donna. These moments never feel completely robbed of emotion or sentimentality. Things do get quicker towards the end, after Monique discovers the truth of the Worm and why Donna remains with the cult.
In fact, Donna was another interesting character. We see her only through Monique's thoughts and eyes, but her reasons for remaining with the cult are understandable despite the cosmic horror the cult inflicts upon its sacrifices. Donna wants the Worm to return she he can build a world without prejudice. The Worm does not care for anyone's gender or sexual orientation, as we later learn, and in his new world, Donna and Monique can never be discriminated against. How tempting! I do not know if Piper was aiming to discuss "messy queers" with this, but it could be possible that Donna's goals and motivations linger within this descriptor. Although Monique is trans and there is some playing with gender within the cult's history and mythos, I wouldn't say that gender is a central focus of the story. Though, there is still a focus on the lack of autonomy over one's body. One threat, which I will not reveal, made against Monique reveals that even trans women can lose the autonomy of their own bodies.
In terms of the horror, as I said before, it isn't too graphic. This isn't a "scared shitless" horror book. Again, it's cosmic horror. Although cosmic horror can get that way, Piper takes the more traditional route of the subgenre in that she builds up the horror of the true, final climax. The most horrific part is where Monique thinks Donna is making love to her in front of the cult and it turns out it was--or Monique at least thought it was--a giant worm. That really made my skin crawl.
The climax of the book was bonkers, but also a little strange. I'm not sure I truly understood how certain things happened, but it was Lovecraftian as Hell!
Overall, a really enjoyable cosmic horror novella!
This is my second read of Hailey Piper's; I previously read No Gods for Drowning and quite it enjoyed it. The Worm and His Kings is an earlier work (not too early) is in the vein of Lovecraftian cosmic horror rather than mystery urban fantasy like the other book was. While somewhat slow in the beginning, The Worm and His Kings turned out to be a very interesting and fun read. Well, "fun" in that I enjoyed what I read, despite not-good-things happening to certain characters.
If you are on the squeamish side, don't worry, this doesn't get too gorey. There's definitely some moments that'll unnerve or make you hiss like you just got the injury yourself, but nothing too descriptive.
As I said before, the pacing drags a bit for a few chapters, but it does pick up as Monique tries to find Donna within the cult's dwellings and pieces together the history and mythos of the Worm and his cult. Monique is such an interesting character. She'd been hardened by her homelessness, the lost of Donna, and the hardships she's endured. Prior to Donna's disappearance, Monique was kicked out of her parents' home for being trans--this isn't brought up too much and there's no queer or trans suffering, but the event did help form Monique as a person--and then Donna lost her job because of how much older than she was than Monique. Afterward, Monique found Doctor Sam, a man willing to giver her bottom surgery in a back alley way; turns out, after basically botching the surgery, he nearly tried to take her kidney too, but Donna intervened.
So, Monique is cautious and careful and she's hesitant to accept new friendship. However, she is also desperate for wanting Donna back and does have empathy. I do love characters like this, able to flow naturally between hardened and empathetic. Monique does meet other characters, primarily Corene a professor looking for her friend and co-worker Abraham, and her interactions with them are mostly important for the plot progression. This isn't to say they were without emotion or that Monique never connected with anyone, just they help move the story along.
Really, what's most important to this book is its plot progression and its prose. I'll start with the last one. Piper's prose here is very accessible, she still manages to be atmospheric and capture the feeling of cosmic horror. It's Lovecraftian in a way that it clearly draws upon the themes and imagery that were present in the prose of H. P. Lovecraft himself, but without his floridity. I know some people dislike that aspect of Lovecraft's prose, I personally don't, but I say that to show that Piper has achieved the feat of having written a piece of cosmic horror that is influenced by Lovecraft without trying to be exactly like him. The way Piper describes the interior of the cult's dwellings, especially that of the subterranean chamber containing the, well, Chamber of Old Time is an example of good writing within cosmic horror. It feels otherworldly, as cosmic horror should, and it gives you a sense that something is off but that there are forces and people out there who feel it completely normal.
As for the plot progression, it's simple but effective. I never felt that anything was forced for such a short novella, though you can tell that Piper takes almost every moment to move Monique towards her goal. The other moments in the book are mostly Monique ruminating on her life and her relationship with Donna. These moments never feel completely robbed of emotion or sentimentality. Things do get quicker towards the end, after Monique discovers the truth of the Worm and why Donna remains with the cult.
In fact, Donna was another interesting character. We see her only through Monique's thoughts and eyes, but her reasons for remaining with the cult are understandable despite the cosmic horror the cult inflicts upon its sacrifices. Donna wants the Worm to return she he can build a world without prejudice. The Worm does not care for anyone's gender or sexual orientation, as we later learn, and in his new world, Donna and Monique can never be discriminated against. How tempting! I do not know if Piper was aiming to discuss "messy queers" with this, but it could be possible that Donna's goals and motivations linger within this descriptor. Although Monique is trans and there is some playing with gender within the cult's history and mythos, I wouldn't say that gender is a central focus of the story. Though, there is still a focus on the lack of autonomy over one's body. One threat, which I will not reveal, made against Monique reveals that even trans women can lose the autonomy of their own bodies.
In terms of the horror, as I said before, it isn't too graphic. This isn't a "scared shitless" horror book. Again, it's cosmic horror. Although cosmic horror can get that way, Piper takes the more traditional route of the subgenre in that she builds up the horror of the true, final climax. The most horrific part is where Monique thinks Donna is making love to her in front of the cult and it turns out it was--or Monique at least thought it was--a giant worm. That really made my skin crawl.
The climax of the book was bonkers, but also a little strange. I'm not sure I truly understood how certain things happened, but it was Lovecraftian as Hell!
Overall, a really enjoyable cosmic horror novella!
April 27, 2023
3.5 stars
March 5, 2021
The Worm and His Kings by Hailey Piper is an ambitious story that’s well told, but one that would’ve benefited from a higher page count to let all of the elements breathe. Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy the novella format, but this story has so much crammed in and moves at such a breakneck speed that I never felt immersed or connected to the setting or what was happening. Often, it felt as if I was being forcibly pulled through a fun house, the mirrors zipping past before I could actually see what was reflected.
This has a lot to do with all of the cosmic concepts present here. There are a lot of them, and they come at the reader pretty fast and furious without a lot of explanation. Here again, I actually really like cosmic horror and the concepts present here. I just never got a firm grip on exactly what was going on, or where we were (physically).
Another thing that bothered me a bit was how convenient (for lack of a better word) things come together throughout the story. The main character never really has to work at anything; everything just falls into place. She always ends up exactly where she needs to. There’s always someone there to either point her in the right direction or explain what’s going on. And while a lot of the things she’s told are necessary, and it doesn’t come off like an info dump, it just comes too easily. Who knew evil-cult-types were so polite and forthcoming about all their secrets?
All that said, this book’s main character, Monique, shines. The real strength of this book comes from how real Monique feels, how deep the reader gets to connect with her and her plight. As a straight male, I could never fully understand what she, a trans woman, has gone through, but through Piper’s description and characterization it was really easy to empathize with her, and as much as possible, feel her pain.
My only quibble with the character was just with how easily she accepts the existence of monsters, cultists living in a labyrinth under NY city, space worms, and alternate realities. There’s never a real a moment where she’s like, “what the F is going on?” She just rolls with it, not matter how crazy things get.
As to the ending, much has been said about it already, so I’m not going to dig too deep. Some love it, others not so much. It’s very esoteric, metaphysical, and given the book’s concepts that works. However, it left me feeling cold. The story itself is a very personal one, we spend the entire novella close on Monique’s POV, yet the ending pulls way back and feels almost entirely disconnected from Monique. I get there are some allegories here in relation to a trans person’s experience, and I appreciate that, but I would’ve preferred a more concrete ending for Monique.
So, would I recommend this book? Yeah. The writing throughout is wonderful. Piper’s prose is top notch; the dialogue is fresh and alive. The characterization is fantastic, and the cosmic horror concepts are interesting (even if not as fleshed out as I’d have liked).
This has a lot to do with all of the cosmic concepts present here. There are a lot of them, and they come at the reader pretty fast and furious without a lot of explanation. Here again, I actually really like cosmic horror and the concepts present here. I just never got a firm grip on exactly what was going on, or where we were (physically).
Another thing that bothered me a bit was how convenient (for lack of a better word) things come together throughout the story. The main character never really has to work at anything; everything just falls into place. She always ends up exactly where she needs to. There’s always someone there to either point her in the right direction or explain what’s going on. And while a lot of the things she’s told are necessary, and it doesn’t come off like an info dump, it just comes too easily. Who knew evil-cult-types were so polite and forthcoming about all their secrets?
All that said, this book’s main character, Monique, shines. The real strength of this book comes from how real Monique feels, how deep the reader gets to connect with her and her plight. As a straight male, I could never fully understand what she, a trans woman, has gone through, but through Piper’s description and characterization it was really easy to empathize with her, and as much as possible, feel her pain.
My only quibble with the character was just with how easily she accepts the existence of monsters, cultists living in a labyrinth under NY city, space worms, and alternate realities. There’s never a real a moment where she’s like, “what the F is going on?” She just rolls with it, not matter how crazy things get.
As to the ending, much has been said about it already, so I’m not going to dig too deep. Some love it, others not so much. It’s very esoteric, metaphysical, and given the book’s concepts that works. However, it left me feeling cold. The story itself is a very personal one, we spend the entire novella close on Monique’s POV, yet the ending pulls way back and feels almost entirely disconnected from Monique. I get there are some allegories here in relation to a trans person’s experience, and I appreciate that, but I would’ve preferred a more concrete ending for Monique.
So, would I recommend this book? Yeah. The writing throughout is wonderful. Piper’s prose is top notch; the dialogue is fresh and alive. The characterization is fantastic, and the cosmic horror concepts are interesting (even if not as fleshed out as I’d have liked).
December 3, 2020
“Long ago, in a time now dead, one note changed our world forever.”
The Worm and His Kings is a story about becoming. Sometimes we set out in life to become one thing, one kind of person that we’ve long envisioned, only to become something different entirely. I think for many of us, we spend our entire lives searching, to some degree, to understand our complex identities as we morph and shift and simply change over time. Life is far from static, and it only makes sense that we adapt, but sometimes, as we see from certain dark-dwelling characters within Piper’s complex underground setting, the world moves on too quickly without us. Some lifeforms fall through the cracks of time and never get the luxury of learning to embrace life, but rather they just learn to survive because what other options are there?
"...nothing could wash the death song out of her throat. She would always taste the piercing of the universe."
For our protagonist, Monique, her becoming is intimately intertwined with something cosmic hovering just out of sight, that is until she finds herself facing it head-on deep in the bowels of New York where a subterranean world lingers in the shadows -- a place that holds anything but mercy. Monique is a wonderful character that shows readers so many new perspectives; she is a woman searching for things in this world that are so often out of reach for women and minorities because all that power seems to constantly go elsewhere, to people like kings who have no desire to share their power, but who would rather recreate the world in their image at any cost.
The Worm and His Kings shows us horror at multiple levels. Yes, there are mesmerizing cosmic elements, things that lure us in deeper with the complexity of their origin (I loved the Pangaea backstory, by the way), but even greater horror is found in Monique’s desperation to be her authentic self, to have a chosen family and partner who show her love without that fear of being abandoned. Monique represents so many people who have suffered at the hands of a cruel world that too often turns its back on those who need the most kindness. Yet Monique never stops fighting, something that is perhaps her blessing and her curse as she falls down the rabbit hole of her fate.
“Starlight hadn’t meant to journey here, but since when did their intent matter? No one ever asked the stars what they wanted.”
This is a book you really have to read for yourself because it’s hard to talk about a lot without giving things away, but some things are for certain and that is Piper’s stunning prose, poetic imagery, excellent pacing, and unapologetic dive into cosmic horror in a way that is truly her own. For me, this is Piper’s strongest work to date, and I truly cannot wait to see what twisted goodness she releases on us next year.
The Worm and His Kings is a story about becoming. Sometimes we set out in life to become one thing, one kind of person that we’ve long envisioned, only to become something different entirely. I think for many of us, we spend our entire lives searching, to some degree, to understand our complex identities as we morph and shift and simply change over time. Life is far from static, and it only makes sense that we adapt, but sometimes, as we see from certain dark-dwelling characters within Piper’s complex underground setting, the world moves on too quickly without us. Some lifeforms fall through the cracks of time and never get the luxury of learning to embrace life, but rather they just learn to survive because what other options are there?
"...nothing could wash the death song out of her throat. She would always taste the piercing of the universe."
For our protagonist, Monique, her becoming is intimately intertwined with something cosmic hovering just out of sight, that is until she finds herself facing it head-on deep in the bowels of New York where a subterranean world lingers in the shadows -- a place that holds anything but mercy. Monique is a wonderful character that shows readers so many new perspectives; she is a woman searching for things in this world that are so often out of reach for women and minorities because all that power seems to constantly go elsewhere, to people like kings who have no desire to share their power, but who would rather recreate the world in their image at any cost.
The Worm and His Kings shows us horror at multiple levels. Yes, there are mesmerizing cosmic elements, things that lure us in deeper with the complexity of their origin (I loved the Pangaea backstory, by the way), but even greater horror is found in Monique’s desperation to be her authentic self, to have a chosen family and partner who show her love without that fear of being abandoned. Monique represents so many people who have suffered at the hands of a cruel world that too often turns its back on those who need the most kindness. Yet Monique never stops fighting, something that is perhaps her blessing and her curse as she falls down the rabbit hole of her fate.
“Starlight hadn’t meant to journey here, but since when did their intent matter? No one ever asked the stars what they wanted.”
This is a book you really have to read for yourself because it’s hard to talk about a lot without giving things away, but some things are for certain and that is Piper’s stunning prose, poetic imagery, excellent pacing, and unapologetic dive into cosmic horror in a way that is truly her own. For me, this is Piper’s strongest work to date, and I truly cannot wait to see what twisted goodness she releases on us next year.
Read
June 13, 2024DNF
November 21, 2020
The search for her missing lover draws a homeless woman to an underground cult in the tunnels of New York in Hailey Piper's latest novella, The Worm and His Kings. Piper draws an intriguing portrait of homelessness, religious manipulation, and cosmic horror as Monique is led deeper into a secret society that worships an ancient deity known as the Worm as she tries to discover what happened to Donna, who disappeared three months ago.
On a surface level, The Worm and His Kings has a killer premise, but the various levels of depth and meaning underpinning Piper's narrative makes this story all the more compelling and richer. The authors exploration of homelessness hits particularly hard given the current state of American life during a pandemic, where so many of us are learning just how fragile our day-to-day lives can be, and how many holes our safety nets truly have, with the prospects of unemployment and eviction at an all time high. Like Monique and Donna, our grasps on the good life are tenuous at best, and it doesn't take much weight any more for the bottom to fall out beneath us.
The streets have become home for these two lovers through a series of institutional failings. Donna is fired from her job at a law office and Monique was long ago disowned by her parents because of their sexuality, and rising rent makes it impossible for them to keep a roof over their heads. All they have is each other -- until Donna suddenly disappears, along with a spate of other homeless women. The stories the homeless share point toward a supernatural being known as the Grey Maiden, a ten-foot-tall, razor clawed beast. When Monique stumbles across this creature, she follows it deeper beneath the city, and into a hidden history of the world.
While there's plenty of social commentary on the fragility of American capitalism and sexuality, this is also a story of self-discovery, of peeling back those various layers of what society tells you to be and expects of your assigned roles in order to find out who you really are. But it's also about being misled and led astray, of being given too much false security and learning how quickly you can have everything ripped away from you.
The Worm and His King is a potent exploration of underground life for the downtrodden, backed up further still with some heady explorations of physics, deep time, and multidimensionality - all those fun scientific cum philosophical strangeness presented as religious fervor that make cosmic horror so damn compelling.
I was absolutely enraptured by Piper's secret history of the world and the cult of the Worm. I do hope she has more stories in this vein planned, and I would absolutely love to see her further explore this cult, its beliefs, and its creatures. She's really created something unique and fascinating here, and I wasn't quite ready to call it quits with these concepts once this book was finished.
On a surface level, The Worm and His Kings has a killer premise, but the various levels of depth and meaning underpinning Piper's narrative makes this story all the more compelling and richer. The authors exploration of homelessness hits particularly hard given the current state of American life during a pandemic, where so many of us are learning just how fragile our day-to-day lives can be, and how many holes our safety nets truly have, with the prospects of unemployment and eviction at an all time high. Like Monique and Donna, our grasps on the good life are tenuous at best, and it doesn't take much weight any more for the bottom to fall out beneath us.
The streets have become home for these two lovers through a series of institutional failings. Donna is fired from her job at a law office and Monique was long ago disowned by her parents because of their sexuality, and rising rent makes it impossible for them to keep a roof over their heads. All they have is each other -- until Donna suddenly disappears, along with a spate of other homeless women. The stories the homeless share point toward a supernatural being known as the Grey Maiden, a ten-foot-tall, razor clawed beast. When Monique stumbles across this creature, she follows it deeper beneath the city, and into a hidden history of the world.
While there's plenty of social commentary on the fragility of American capitalism and sexuality, this is also a story of self-discovery, of peeling back those various layers of what society tells you to be and expects of your assigned roles in order to find out who you really are. But it's also about being misled and led astray, of being given too much false security and learning how quickly you can have everything ripped away from you.
The Worm and His King is a potent exploration of underground life for the downtrodden, backed up further still with some heady explorations of physics, deep time, and multidimensionality - all those fun scientific cum philosophical strangeness presented as religious fervor that make cosmic horror so damn compelling.
I was absolutely enraptured by Piper's secret history of the world and the cult of the Worm. I do hope she has more stories in this vein planned, and I would absolutely love to see her further explore this cult, its beliefs, and its creatures. She's really created something unique and fascinating here, and I wasn't quite ready to call it quits with these concepts once this book was finished.
November 26, 2021
The Worm and His Kings follows Monique, down on her luck and homeless, as she searches for her girlfriend who has gone missing. She’s pulled headlong into a Lovecraftian nightmare as she scours the subterranean levels of New York and encounters cults, creatures and much more than she bargained for.
I really enjoyed this, it’s a quick read but it packs a lot of story and surprising amount of character development, I especially liked the mythos that Hailey Piper has crafted. If you’re a fan of cosmic horror and Lovecraftian fiction you need to check this out!
I really enjoyed this, it’s a quick read but it packs a lot of story and surprising amount of character development, I especially liked the mythos that Hailey Piper has crafted. If you’re a fan of cosmic horror and Lovecraftian fiction you need to check this out!
February 25, 2022
2 stars. I thought I would love this and there were some things I enjoyed like the commentary on homelessness and being trans. This book just felt hard to get through. I have enjoyed some of Piper's short stories, but every time I picked this up and started reading my brain would wander off or reading felt like a chore. Normally I read novellas in a day or two, but this took me several days. Review to come.
November 7, 2021
Dark, queer, and claustrophobic. An excellent cosmic horror novella. Layered, nuanced, it packs a lot in 116 pages.
December 4, 2022
What a cool fuckin story 👏
January 22, 2021
After reading Piper's Benny Rose, the Cannibal King, which is a delightful new Halloween mythology, I knew that she was an author I needed more from.
Cosmic horror is something I've not delved too deeply in (mostly because of an aversion to Lovecraft) but as evidenced by this novella, there is still much to explore in this genre and it can be otherworldly, strange, gooey, and representative of diverse voices.
At times, I felt that the story went a bit blurry—though it is told in a linear fashion, what is going on sometimes feels a little obscured and I wasn't able to quite string the pieces together and fully visualize it. To me, this seemed to emphasize the theme behind the story, which is all about people who have fallen into (or been forced into) the cracks of society. Monique, a transgender woman, is looking for more than her lost girlfriend. She's searching for validation that her scars—both the visible and invisible—don't define her. But hiding away from the hurt doesn't get her anywhere.
While reading this, I thought a lot about how things aren't always what they appear to be. It's sort of a cliche, but what does that really mean? It has to do with our conditioning: we think things are scary not necessarily because of our experience with those things but because that's what a lifetime of bombardment by society has taught us. We are immediately repulsed or embarrassed by a person sitting on a sidewalk corner without thinking of all the ways they are like us. Instead of forcing herself to fit the predetermined narrative, Monique finds power in redefining what it means to have scars, and that's a lesson we can all learn from.
Cosmic horror is something I've not delved too deeply in (mostly because of an aversion to Lovecraft) but as evidenced by this novella, there is still much to explore in this genre and it can be otherworldly, strange, gooey, and representative of diverse voices.
At times, I felt that the story went a bit blurry—though it is told in a linear fashion, what is going on sometimes feels a little obscured and I wasn't able to quite string the pieces together and fully visualize it. To me, this seemed to emphasize the theme behind the story, which is all about people who have fallen into (or been forced into) the cracks of society. Monique, a transgender woman, is looking for more than her lost girlfriend. She's searching for validation that her scars—both the visible and invisible—don't define her. But hiding away from the hurt doesn't get her anywhere.
While reading this, I thought a lot about how things aren't always what they appear to be. It's sort of a cliche, but what does that really mean? It has to do with our conditioning: we think things are scary not necessarily because of our experience with those things but because that's what a lifetime of bombardment by society has taught us. We are immediately repulsed or embarrassed by a person sitting on a sidewalk corner without thinking of all the ways they are like us. Instead of forcing herself to fit the predetermined narrative, Monique finds power in redefining what it means to have scars, and that's a lesson we can all learn from.
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