Justin Chen's Reviews > Nestlings

5 stars

A horror tour de force, Nestlings is an all-consuming experience in terror: body horror, checked, psychological torment, checked, societal discrimination, checked, packaged in a narrative that's clearly old-school influenced, yet unapologetically modern.

Nestlings is impressively layered, not only does it contain monsters (very creatively re-imagined from the classic) and gore as expected from the genre, but also deep psychological anxiety rooted in emotional trauma and self-identity. Many horror stories choose to tackle one or the other, but Nat Cassidy somehow manages to incorporate both without overwhelming the reader. Some of the thematic overlaps in the second half of the book is quite mind-blowing (as someone who isn't overly familiar with Jewish culture and Judaism), and I don't think I've read stories that have interpreted the topic in such manner. Lastly, I'm a HUGE fan of its ending—not the typical 'all's well' conclusion.

Nat Cassidy has now solidified himself as one of my must-read horror authors; Mary was impressive in its own right, even if at times it felt like the plot kind of got away from the author's rein. But with Nestlings, I'm dumbfounded at how much message and commentary is packed into this story, yet it remains well-paced, gut-punchingly written, and still delivers the 'I'm creeped out but can't look away' atmosphere a good horror story possesses. I'm floored.