Exploring How Circumstances Have Changed Since Our Last Conversation

AL: This horror novella received a lot of (largely positive) feedback on Twitter, and I had to pick it up after I saw the horrifically awesome Junji Ito-esque book cover. The book is a work of epistolary fiction in the form of online posts and emails sent between two women. It’s purported to take place in the earlier days of the internet, but the style and wording don’t make that very convincing. The story starts with Agnes selling a beloved family heirloom because her mother has just rejected her for being gay. Zoe reaches out to her about the item, and soon they become more than friends, but not in a positive way at all. Zoe has a nasty streak and seems to enjoy trying to get Agnes “help” herself by doing increasingly upsetting things to show her devotion to Zoe, as well as to show her determination to live. She uses the phrase, “What have you done today to deserve your eyes?” At first, it can seem motivational, that you should remember to behave worthy of the gifts life has given you. But, it is also a haunting and detrimental phrase, implying you don’t inherently deserve anything – and, in fact, don’t even deserve your own eyes. Agnes gets...

United States on Jan 13, 2023

AdreannaAdreanna: A friend had recommended this book to me and told me it was “very gruesome” and “disturbing”. I’m starting to think she didn’t read the same book that I had because this story fell flat. After reading it I felt a bit disappointed, but as I’m writing this I’m starting to appreciate this story a bit more. It’s very interesting to watch the main character become consumed with this person on the other side of the screen and how one simple encounter spiraled her life out of control. The characters explain so much about themselves and their personal lives, as the reader, I felt like i could understand them better. If you’re looking for a short read then definitely get this book. However, it is very overhyped and lacked something. I’ve read some other reviews about how this story is “bad” and “boring”. To each their own of course, but I never found the story boring, but I could see how someone would have thought that way. There are long emails sent back and forth between the two girls, so if you don’t like reading big paragraphs then maybe you shouldn’t get this book. Overall it was an interesting story, but it didn’t live up to the...

United States on Dec 02, 2021

xMoriartyx: Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke is a short stab to the cerebral cortex -the story is written in the epistolary form – as a series of emails and transcribed chat room conversations. This narrative format of writing is one of my guilty pleasures so I was right at home getting into the slow build of Agnes and Zoe - one a domineering figure with wealth and the other a lost soul. After listing an apple peeler on a website for sale, the two start an online relationship that quickly devolves into self destruction. There's some gut wrenching moments as the two characters interact with one another, and serves as a morality tale for online abuse, toxic relationships and selfish endeavours.

United Kingdom on Sep 10, 2021

John David FItzgerald: While Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke hardly needs my stamp of approval amidst the torrent of praise that's swirled up around it these past several weeks, I am more than happy to here add my voice to the throng. This intensely paced little tale of online manipulation draws you in with the all-too-familiar politesse of formal internet-speak, typing pretty words with one hand while the other sneakily winds you around its gnarled claw until you unexpectedly find yourself too rapt to unspool. I read it in one sitting, and I honestly can't imagine why anyone would do otherwise. Despite being formatted entirely within the e-mail and text exchanges of Agnes Petrella and Zoe Cross, two people who never meet IRL, the story moves at an alarming pace, mimicking the kind of sudden, agonizing desperation that can arise when one person allows themselves to be subsumed under a stronger personality, throwing themselves wholeheartedly into the hope for something better - be it financial stability, a kindred spirit, or the possibility of true love and family - only to have that hope cruelly exploited and callously dashed. Across a scant 112 pages, author Eric LaRocca...

United States on Jul 24, 2021

Mason: the power went out tonight, so i decided to read this book, as i have been seeing all of the glowing reviews it has been getting, i thought 'well, it'll be okay, don't get your hopes up'

it was incredible, way more intense and deep and dark and bizarre than i could have hoped

loved this, best decision to read it by candlelight in the middle of the night in the middle of a storm

what have i done to deserve my eyes?

Australia on Jul 09, 2021

Char: Psychological horror combined with body horror can be bold, can be inclusive, and still be shocking as all get out.

Epistolary stories are among my favorites and this is no exception. Told as a series of emails and direct messages, this is the story of two women. That’s all I’m going to say plot-wise.

I read this as two people meeting-those two people whose connection is almost a sickness. The two people who fill the gaps in each other, and then together expand to be something else entirely. A new entity. Sometimes, this is a beautiful thing-this time, it is not.

I found myself in mind of Kathe Koja’s THE CIPHER, due to the body horror and exploration of all it means to be, and to be a woman. (Funhole, anyone?) In certain respects this is reminiscent of old school Clive Barker too, but I can’t put my finger on exactly why. Perhaps because this tale is so wild? Perhaps it’s because of the story’s boldness, and its utter lack of caring what the reader thinks. It’s presented as fact and no matter how far things go, it’s already over, you’re hooked and you cannot pull away.

To that I say BRAVO!

United States on Jun 24, 2021

Cliente Kindle: I liked this book because things scale up on a fast pace, and the email exchange was an interesting way to tell such story. It is gruesome, but you can't stop reading. I just wish it was longer so I could have a better look on the two main characters.

Brazil on Jun 20, 2021

Alisa: WOW!!! Bizarre, dark and completely insane in the best way possible. Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke is a must read for any horror fan. This novella packs a powerful punch. My mind is still reeling. I feel uncomfortable and kind of dirty. No synopsis needed, best to go in blind and enjoy this story and the complex characters. Not to mention the range of emotions you will feel. This cover is what first caught my eye and I kept thinking about it and had to read it. Now that I’ve read it I will still be thinking about it for a long time. What have you done today to deserve your eyes? Yeah, I can’t even think about that. I’m slightly traumatized but I loved it!

Canada on Jun 10, 2021

Austrian Spencer: So “Things…” was a book I had waited for, and couldn’t wait to dive into as the first novella to read on my Holiday in Italy. A beach, a sunbed, great company, and this nasty creature of a book. Sounds like my kind of ideal date.

Eric has written the story of Agnes and Zoe in the epistolary form – as a series of emails and transcribed chat room conversations. The book presents itself as clarification of evidence to the ongoing trial of Zoe, after the tragic death of Agnes. So straight away, Eric sets up the tainted love tragedy, you already have a gut feeling that, not only is this all going to go south but that it’s going to do so spectacularly. And there, dear future reader is the genius of Mr. LaRocca. The absolute certainty of that end result makes reading the book a twisted form of its own voyeurism and longing for things to go bad. The reader is caught in a self-fulfilling loop – by wanting to see that end, we crave for it, and that craving helps us understand the most basic of self-destructive relationships, dominator and submissive.

I won’t go into the setup of how we get to where it all starts to go wrong, let’s instead...

Germany on Jun 07, 2021